Alphen aan den Rijn July 4 2010 ritzdeluy@hotmail.com
Last Friday we could reach here in Holland the highest temperature ever measured. That was 38.7 dgr. We ”could” , but we …. did n’t…. ”only” 36 , so we have to wait till mid next week when we will have nice hot weather again.
It is very hot and stable so no great soaring weather here in Holland, but around us nobody complains. The UK however had some rain , France some thunderstorms , Switserland and Austria are still OK , so is Sweden and Finland and …..Germany still had weather to fly up to 924 km. in an LS8 and indeed I totally agree, with the pilot, that it is a shame to not be able to make the last kilometers of such a nice set FAI 1000 km. triangle. Still great effort.
Spain with Ocana and Fuente is going to be more and more busy from now on and some of my friends enjoyed great flights over there.
I just checked what happened yeaterday in Europe and Alexander Mueller added a great more or less out and return in his ASW 22 from 1.231 km with a nice speed of 110 km. ph. He seems to feel really good in Bayreuth like he does in Kiripotib in Africa. Other super flights with this super weather in Germany were 824 km in an ASW 15, 911 in a Kestrel 17 m. and 909 km in an ASW 20 from Trieben in Austria. Pilots in Holland did not even go to their field, but maybe today they have better luck for a nice flight.
Prievidza has started with 3 official practise days and the opening yesterday with an airshow and a banquet in a real castle. I hear that the organisation is excellent, to be honest did not expect anything else from Jozef and today seems OK with some high cirrus and very early in the morning still blue skies. Let’s wait and see what this first day will bring, an important day, as you can see quickly who are performing well. You do not have to win that day, that gives less pressure, but you should be atleast within the first 10. Well, good luck to all 106 participants from 26 countries.May the best pilot in each class win. By the way it is not always the best pilot who wins, the luck-factor is important as well it all has to fall in place on the right moment. Look at www.wgc2010.sk
To share with you the news about the open class and standard class Nationals in the USA, I give you a link to my source Rick in the USA. As he writes….Our situation is not very good. We have been the victims of two consecutive low pressure systems, the second one being Tropical Storm Alex. This area has not seen this much rain in a long time. The desert is turning green….you expect already that there is not a lot of flying. Here is the link to his blog;
http://hobbs2010.blogspot.com/ Enjoy!!
By the way Alex is the first tropical storm of the hurricane season. It grew to a hurricane [155 km./h] and touched land on Wednesday evening in Mexico close to the border of Texas, and that is not too far from Uvalde. When we were in Uvalde for the WGC , we passed the border and visited very short Mexico.
The biggest airfield in the world is open now! It is called Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai. It has 5 runways, 4 terminal buildings and can handle 160 million passengers a year and 12 million ton of freight!!!
This Facebook-stuff is indeed great fun. I found lost friends and happily receive mails every day from friends from other friends willing to be my friend.
Here is one more sensitive-message I would like to share with you as I could not agree more.
Richard Jones
Two planes landed in England Monday…One brought back a group of overpaid, underachieving footballers.The other brought back seven coffins, each with the Union Jack draped over them.Footballers play for our country, soldiers FIGHT for our country.Footballers give ninety minutes, soldiers give their lives…….I know who I respect more. R.I.P. Our Boys.Copy & Paste this to your status, show your support.
Don’t want to bore you with too much soccer news, but……you might have noticed that ”we” ….the Dutch ”fighting orange lions” ”eat” [sorry to my Brazilian friends!!!] the Brazilian ”divine yellow canaries”. I was amazed to see all people on the bike just after the match with their mobile on their ear. The lines were like in the New Years night sooooo busy that some did not work anymore;800.000 sms messages were sent in 5 minutes!!!! And…everybody must have seen it as 7 million looked at home and a few more millions on big screens in several towns and in thousands of cafe’s. They say that from the 16 million people living in Holland 11 million saw the match.
Don’t forget the temperature that day at 7 PM was still 31 dgr.!!!!! A fantastic day for ALL of us !!! But ”we” are not yet there!
By the way the Tour de France started yesterday as well in Rotterdam, also Holland, while Wimbledon stops today with a for sure great match between Berdych and Nadal. To be honest the ladies final was boring. But…the Germans played great soccer [ in a Dutch way, as they admit!] again, I hope we can meet them in the final, but both have to win the semi-finals first.
And then this…….received it yesterday from George. What about that!!! RITZ FOR SALE !!!!!
It happened in 2006 and yesterday the guy was convicted . It was a complete fantasy, but this British unemployed truck-driver got 1.8 million Australian dollar as an advance payment for the sale of the Grand Hotel Ritz in London [ 449.36 million Australian dollars] and ”used ” it all! The final sentence will be on July 27. By the way I AM not for sale!!!!
Conman convicted of trying to sell Ritz |
Plaster is off but the next 3 months are needed to “repair” my left hand, so I started practising within the pain-zone , straight away. Will get there!
Yesterday it was 22.5 years ago that our son Dennis died, after crashing his tug by hitting a power-line, on the way to a happy German customer who just flew his first 50 km. from Tocumwal to Jerilderie.
————-Never forgotten !! July 3 1969-January 3 1988————–
Ritz