Extra post 1.426 on Sunday June 4 2023

FRENCH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
in Standard and 15 m and 2-seaters.
27 May 2023 – 3 June 2023

They finished yesterday so best to start with them. The standard and 15m competition included the French female Nationals.
task 4 , flying-day 3 on May 31;
standard/15 m; 177.21 km...37 started this day and 34 finished. They all started close to 4PM, a few however after 4. The 3 “out” did so after 58 km.
There was a winner too; Fréderic Hoyeau with a speed of 91.41 km./h. flying his Discus 2a. A tad slower was Anne [Ducarouge]in the 15m JS 3. Top pilots as Laurent Aboulin and Christophe Abadie were on spot 11 and 22.
After 4 days Anne leads [994] before Kevin [987] and MAX.[974] HC pilot from Belgium has the most points till now; 995….after 4 days, that says a LOT!!!!
2-seaters; 174.82 km...16 started and 1 was out. The daily winners from the day before Bruno Pieraerts & Patrick Stouffs did not start!!!! The daily winners now were team Francis Svobodny in ARCUS M; 96.30 km./h.
Runner up was Philippe de Péchy, but quite a bit slower; 85.28 km./h.

Task 5,flying day 4 on JUNE 1; The weather improved!!!But NOT yet good enough…..
Standard/15m; 3 hour AAT…changed in 2.45 AAT…with 267 km in time 2.48 a new face at the daily podium Eric Garnier in ASG 29e. Speed 95.30 km./h. Great runner up spot again from Belgian pilot Thomas Leduc; 265 km in time 2.50; speed 93.16 km./h.
36 Pilots started and only 2 were “out”.
2-Seaters ; 3 hour AAT....changed in 2.45 AAT...264 km in the ARCUS M for Philippe de Péchy; speed 95.92 km./h.
16 French teams started and 2 were out. Pieraerts & Stouffs , Bruno and Patrick, were in the race again and 7th for the day [HC]

task 6; flying day 5 on June 2;
Standard/15 m; 125.77 km….still not a real French task. Anaïs Gaubert was the ONLY finisher! 44.73 km./h for 5 points!!!! But,…they flew and it was a valid day . So not really points to loose or gain, though sometimes ONE point can be enough to make you happy. A lot were 30 km out others closer as 115 or 105 . With one day to go Thomas from Belgium[HC] shares pot 1 with Eric .
The first 7 pilots are between 1623 and 1786 points after 5 competition days!!!!
It all depends on the last day.
2-seaters; 125.77 km…..5 finishers in this class!!!!Starts between 15.35 and 16.13. A late starter at 16.12, Bastien Naud in the ARCUS s won the day; fighting speed of 39.06 km./h. for 107 points. The other 4 had 106 and 104 points.

Task 7 VERY LAST DAY ; and finally better weather on June 3!!! BUT….
Standard/15 m; 326.45 km…..CANCELLED
2-seaters; 315.20 km….CANCELLED
Could n’t find why it was cancelled, must be the weather, but for now the French Championship is over;
Overall scores in standard and 15m and NATIONAL CHAMPION after 5 out of 7 days;
1. Eric Garnier in ASG 29es with 1.786 points. EQUAL points for Belgian HC pilot Thomas Leduc. Good !!!
2. Jean-Denis Barrois in LS8 with 1.713 p.
3. Christophe Abadie in JS3 with 1.701 p
Kevin was 4th with 1.692 p.
CONGRATULATIONS!

Overall winners and CHAMPION in the 2-seater class;
1`. Svobodny & Montigny in ARCUS M with 1.664 points. CONGRATULATIONS.!
2. de Péchy & Bouderlique in ARCUS M with 1.591 p.
3. Napoléon & Petit in ARCUS T with 1.424 p. 4 Points more than Bastien Naud in ARCUS S.

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The UK NATIONAL standard,15m and open/18m class at LASHAM
27 May 2023 – 4 June 2023

Task 5 on May 31, with still not that great weather Lasham sometimes has. But they do have tasks.
Standard; 153.78 km…scrubbed…
15m; 152.56 km….scrubbed…
Open/18m; 181.67 km…scrubbed….
June 1….
“Unfortunately for the second day running temperatures have not been sufficient to sustain decent thermals. As a result today has been scrubbed/cancelled.“

“Earlier this week we launched 76 gliders in 53 minutes! A movement rate of over 150 an hour, making us briefly one of the busiest airfields in the world.
We have to launch quick to ensure we can get gliders on task in their classes within the weather window. A huge team with experience is involved in making this all possible for the competitors from the Grid Marshal to Crews to Competition Directors and not forgetting our hard working rope runners!”
VERY PROFESSIONEL.

June 2; Task 7 on competition day 5. In the evening the news was :
‘What a day!
70 gliders launched in 46 minutes and some good albeit challenging racing to be had with many racing right up until the finish!”

Standard class ;210.32 km/224.30 km....18 started and 13 finished ,that does not straight away say “what a great day”. Jez Hood, flying in one of the 13 in this class competing LS8 gliders ,won the day; speed 71.09 for 871 points.
Jez leads the overall scores with 2 more days to go;3.245 points. Tim has 3,062 and Henry 2.997 p.
15 m; 208.12 km...Kim Tipple [ASG 29E] flew with 75.25 km./h over the track for 854 points. 5 K./h faster than the runner up. Ayala and Liz did well, the girls were on spot 3 and 4 starting and finishing together after a rather early start at 14.24. Most started at 14.47.
19 started and 13 finished.
open/18m; 273.25 km/ 285.54 km....a 1000 points-day for Toby Freeland in the ASH 25; 81.08 km./h ,just a tad faster than Andy in his JS 1C; 80.84 km./h. Tim [Jenkinson] in JS 1c ] was 5th . These 2 pilots are on top overall with 2 days to go; 3.421 p for 3.405 p.
30 Started and only 12 finished! Russell and Pete were among them.

June 3 ; Task 8 on flying day 6. “Welcome to Day 8. And what a task we have in store today.“
Penultimate day
Standard; 3 hour AAT….and a 1000 points-day and those points were for Paul Fritche of course in an LS 8; 378.85 km in time 3.45.46…speed 100.68 km./h The only one over 100 km and just!
Jez ,Tom and Henry followed with 99.75 and 98.81km./h.
19 started and 12 finished!
15 m; 3 hour AAT….Gary was in this class the only one over 100 km.h. He flew 332.41 km. Andy’s son Matthew Davis was runner up in JS3. Ayala and Liz belonged to the 11 outlanders from 19 starters.
Open/18 m.; 3 hour AAT...with a relative late start at 14.24 Andy was the daily best; 372 km in time 3.14….speed 114.99 km./h. An other “old hand” in this sport Steve [Jones] was runner up. He flew nearly 25 k less but was back in 3 hours and 2 minutes;114. 74 km./h.
Tim who won task 3 was now last and out after 43 km., dropping overall from 2 to 8. OUCH!!! I feel it too.
30 Started and 21 were in.

June 4; their last day indeed is today
Task 9 on June 4; “We’re launching at 1315 on Task Bravo.”
Who is who and where on this last day!?
In standard Jez is in the lead when he begins on the last day; 4,234 points. Henry follows with 3,946 and Tom has still possibilities too; 3,915 p. 3x an LS 8.
In 15 m with today still to go Philip Jones leads with 3,716, that should be enough when he does n’t land out. Neil McLaughlin has 3,592 p, and Owen McCormack 3,546 p.
In open/18 m; Andy Davis is 200 points ahead of at this stage runner up Ian MacArthur with 4,222 p.

standard; 197.24 km./207.47 km….Tom , as it looks, will be the daily winner. Not all are scored yet; 67.22 km./h Howard was 1 km/h slower and Henry 5 km./h/ Jez about 7 km./h. No worries for him though as he had a good lead , but for Henry this last day was just 1 too much. By being 3d he lost some points and his 2d spot.
15m; 200.28 km…/209 km….David Bray in the Ventus 2bx was the new face on the last daily podium; 66.56km./h Only just as Matthew had 66.37 km/h.
Only 18 started and 10 finished. Another pretty marginal day.
open/18 m; 248.44 km…./256.57 km.…also here a new face on the last day; Richard Browne in the JS 1c. Andy only lost 6 daily points so not a lot changed overall.

OVERALL SCORES after 7 out of 9 days in
STANDARD CLASS;
1. Jez Hood in LS8 with 4,899 points. CONGRATULATIONS Jez!!!
2. Tom Arscott in LS 8 with 4,702 p.
3. Henry Inigo-Jones in LS 8 with 4,655 p.
8 pilots over 4000 points.

15m. CLASS;
1. Philip Jones in Ventus 3 TS with 4,432 points Congratulations Phil.
2. Neil McLaughlin in Ventus 2ax with 4,285 p.
3. Owen McCormack in Ventus 2a with 4,247 p.
5 had over 4000 points.

Open/18m CLASS;
1. Andrew Davis in JS MD1 C with 5,415 points . AGAIN CONGRATULATIONS ANDY!!!!
2. Ian MacArthur in JS 1b with 5,170 p.
3. Martin Clark in JS MD1C with 5,019 p.
They were the only 3 over 5000 points.

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The Open Belgian National championship at Kiewit Hasselt
27 May 2023 – 4 June 2023

The host , aeroclub Albatros, celebrates with their members and guests their 50thiest anniversary!
Happy anniversary. Great idea to celebrate this with the top from Belgium’s glider pilots.

Task 5; On May 31, improving weather! 25 dgr.C and blue here and that is 51 k N of Kiewit
Club; 261.27 km…9 started and 6 finished. Another winning day for Ward Gysemans in the DG 400 and 1000 points in the pocket. A “bugger-day” for Thomas after 3 runner up spots and a first place he now was out due to airspace infringement and lost 500 points. That hurts!!!
Sport; 324.07 km…another daily win for Jef, he is in winning mood!!833 points for a speed of 87.88 km./h. Daan [Spruyt] was 3d today. After 5 tasks Daan still leads but Jef is only 79 points behind .
9 started and 6 finished.
Open/18m; 367.29 km….again 4 Ventus 3 gliders in the top 4. This time Wim [Akkermans] was the best again and together with Dennis [Huybreckx] they flew just over 100 km./h. Bert and Tijl [Schmelzer] started 4 minutes earlier and the 4 finished at the same time.

June 1 was , after 5 days, a well deserved “day off” and with 2 days to go it’s ALL ABOUT, 4 Ventus 3 types and 4 Keiheuvel pilots and they are close;
1. Wim with 3.071 p. 2. Bert jr. with 3.050 p. 3. Tijl with 3.038 p and 4. Dennis with 3.021 points.

June 2; task 6 on competition day 5. The weather improved here at noon…cold though 12 dgr. C. At 3 the skies opened it was sunny and for sure flyable, so 50 km further S. I reckon as well.
Club; 2 hour AAT....He is back “in Business” Thomas!! After an off-day he won with 186 km in time 2.10; speed 85.57 km./h. All 10 started and finished.
Sport; 2 hour AAT…221.75 km. and speed 102.82 km./h. for Daan his “so maniest” daily win, which shows in his overall score with 2 days to go; 3.679 p for 3.464 for Jef.
10 started only 1 in the LS6 was out.
open; 2 hour AAT…ALL 12 starters finished and best for the day,…the Schmelzer brother Bert jr and Tijl ; both 241,72 km in time 2.08. How they do it I don’t know but bot got the same amount of points;524.
What I know is that they both fly very well ,but that Tijl is some kind of “male calculator”.

June 3; task 7 on competition day 6 FINAL DAY day; Very blue here and 3 bft wind. But a rather good soaring day!! AND,…indeed a very nice day in Flanders.
Club; 306.15 km….All 10 started and finished and Thomas in his LS4 could celebrate his 3d day-win. He moved up again to spot 2 overall ,but Ward who was runner up has a big lead; more than 300 points. One airspace mistake cost Thomas more than 500 points. A lesson learnt to NEVER forget.
Sport; 370.76 km….A DUO DISCUS XL on spot 1 GOOD!!! Simon Berx from the local club won the day; 99.27 km./h. Bart, Jef and Daan followed. Daan leads overall with 1 day to go with more than 200 points.
Open/18m; 427.19 km….12 started and 11 finished. Good day again for Bert and Tijl with a speed of 114 km./h. Less good for Dennis and Wim who somewhere lost each other; spot 4 and 8.
Also less good for Bert sr. who was “out” after 422.20 km, but the turbo could bring him home I hope.

As often it is not very clear if June 4 is the last day or June 3. It was TILL June 4, so not included.
That means after 7 out of 8 days that we know who the overall winners and Belgian CHAMPION is in
OPEN CLASS;
1. Bert Schmelzer jr, in Ventus 3 with 4.515 points. CONGRATULATIONS.
2. Tijl Schmelzer in Ventus 3 with 4,489 p.
3. Dennis Huybreckx in Ventus 3 with 4,340 p.

SPORT CLASS;
1. Daan Spruyt in Ventus 2ax with 4,621 points. CONGRATULATIONS Daan.
2. Jef Kell in LS 8 with 4,407 p.
3. Bart Leysen in Ventus 2a with 4,230 p.

CLUB CLASS;
1. Ward Gysemans in DG 400 with 4,344 points. CONGRATULATIONS Ward.
2. Thomas De Bruyn in LS 4 with 4,033 p.
3. Niel Deijgers in St. Libelle with 3,949 p.

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German Nationals in 18m. open and 2 seaters at Bayreuth.
28 May 2023 – 9 June 2023

I nearly missed out on the German Nationals and as they are the most important in Europe,… here we go.
They are flown in 3 classes with 90 pilots in total, 30 in 18 m and 29 in open and 29 teams in the 2-seater class. A lot of them I know by name, a lot I met personally.
I was in Bayreuth during the WGC from 1999 and loved the place, have great memories .
But it’s 2023 NOW.
The last 3 days of May had in each class good tasks and winners.
In 18 m. they started with a 4 hour AAT, won Sebastian Huhmann in AS 33es;1000 points for 455.10 km. in time 402.29.[speed 112.61 km./h]. Jan Umlauf , 1 of our frequent flyers at Tocumwal in the past, was runner up in a JS MD3 jet missing out on ONE points. Both are from Hamburg.
39 Started and 2 were out.
The next day had a racing task from 471 km and was won by Mario Kießling in the Ventus 3 T; 126.19 km ./h Runner up was Simon Schroeder [ Ventus 3ts] with 125.,52 km./h.[989 points]
The very last day of May showed task 3 with 346.77 km and now it was the other way around. Simon won with 126.79 km./h whilst Mario had 126.27 km./h SO CLOSE!!!38 started and finished .

The first 3 days of open class showed rather big tasks. The pilots started with 518.93 km won by Felipe Levin in EB 29r. By the way MANY EB’s in this class. Holger Karow and Michael Sommer in the same glider flew about the same speed; 119 km./h for 1000 ,999 and 994 points.
Bugger day for local Bayreuth hero Alexander Müller as he was “out” after 251 km. With mechanical problems he had to quit temporarily the comps.
The next day, task 2 , showed a racing task from 373.18 km. and Felipe and Michael, both multiple world champions , fly together and both do this so well that they deserved BOTH 1000 points. This time a “bugger-day” for Holger. He was out after 76 km.
Day 3 on the last day of May had a 3 hour AAT ; 401 km for Holger and Markus Frank starting and finishing together for 1000 and 994 points. Michael and Felipe had 929 and 927 points.

The last days of May showed for the ” DOSI’s” 327.88 km as task 1 , 3 hour AAT on task 2 and the biggest task for the day on task 3 ;449.64 km.
27 teams and the Theisingers are in the lead after those 3 days; Laurenz in ASG32 and Martin in ARCUS M.

From now we are going to have a closer look on all 3 classes;
18 m. class;
Task 4 on June 1; 3 hour AAT….great to see that Katrin Senne in her JS MD3jet won the day. Katrin has been twice WWGC champion. Simon was runner up.
38 started and only 1 pilot was out.

June 2 ; Task 5 370 km….93.33 km./h was the best daily time by Thomas Kuhn in ASG 29Es. Simon was runner up [ dad was out after 239.25 km] and Matthias [Sturm] was 3d for the day.??????
End of thermals was forecasted by Bernd Fisher for 6.30 PM. BUT,…nobody finished before 6.56 PM , so tough fighting for the pilots.
Katrin missed out on 1 km; she flew 369.76 km.
At 8. 06, the last finishing pilot on the horizon….. 12 were still not scored.

June 3; task 6; 373.48 km….with 129.72 km../ h. Michael Streit won the day. In 2003 he won in Nitra the JWGC in club class .Simon [ JWGC champion in 2019 in Szeged] started 9 minutes later was back at about the same time; 129.28 km./h!
38 started and 2 were out.
June 4; task 7 …511.34 km….They are all counted for so I can add them quickly. Good speed for Simon who is in a great flow; 129.63 km./h Ahead of another young TOP pilot Stefan Langer with 127.49 km./h .
37 started and finished. CHAPEAU with a reasonable long distance!
After 7 out of 7 GOOD days I presume they have a rest-day tomorrow.
Overall scores after 7 tasks;
1. Simon Schröder with 6,688 points. 2. Matthias Sturm with 6,383 p and 3. Stefan Langer with 6,147 p
Will be back on these Nationals on Wednesday.

Open class;
June 1; task 4…..423.34 km...3 pilots with 117 km./h; Michael, Uwe Foster and Felipe. Close, very close…1000, 999 and 996 points.
21 Started and 6 were out. “Bugger-day” now for Marcus; out after 292 km.
Alexander did not start anymore.
June 2; task 5 …..261.63 km.… launches not before 1PM and starts between 3.23 and 3.42. But,..those late starters did not finish. 20 Pilots started and 14 finishers and a best speed of 93.94; normally you don’t take an EB for a day out with such circumstances, BUT,….. when you have too you do. Markus won the day and with pleasure I noticed that Bruno was runner up. Felipe, Michael and Holger were 5,6 and 7.
Uli Knauss was the first “out”, but still flew 246 km.

June 3; task 6 ..4 hour AAT…changed in 3.30 AAT; Michael and Felipe are a strong couple.1000 and 999 points for a speed of 137.89/87 km./h. They flew 516,58/54 km. AND…they had clouds!!!!
20 Started and Finished.
June 4; task 7 ..596.98 km and another win for Michael; 123.44 km./h. He was already good when he flew with us in Tocumwal [he then lived in Melbourne]and at all those comps he flew and our ways crossed, but still is GOOD!!!! Felipe was 5th.
21 started 18 finished.
Overall scores after 7 days;
1. Michael Sommer with 6,526 points. 2. Felipe Levin with 6,472 and 3. Oliver Binder with 6,229 p.
More on Wednesday.

dosis;
June 1; task 4…..269.52 km….Laurenz was the best , The Theisingers belong also to the in-crowd of pilots flying for ages.
June 2; Task 5 …2.30 AAT.…and a Duo Discus XT as daily winner!!!! Jan-Frederic Müller flew around with 91.15 km./h that was with handicap the best performance for the day. The Theisingers started together at nearly 4Pm and were 18 and 19.
29 Teams started and 23 finished. The last one, Angelica Mayr in ASG 32MI, at 6.39. BUT,….She was IN!!!
June 3; Task 6...520.95 km….quite a long distance during a competition but no worries for Martin he is used to it and won the day with 119.35 km./h. Laurenz was a tad slower; 117.38 km./h.
June 4; Task 7…388.11 km and I am very pleased to see that Marcus [Geisen] won the day!!!117.67 km./h. in their ARCUS M [with Karin]
29 started and 27 finished.
Overall scores after 7 days;
1. Laurenz Theisinger in ASG 32 with 6,194 points. 2. Kai Lindenberg in ARCUS M with 6,167 p and Jan-Frederic Müller in DUO DISCUS XT with 6,156 points Very close!!!

Several comps finish today the German Nationals continue till June 9.

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And this is what you DON’T want!!!!!!

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CU on Wednesday June 7 with the latest on the German Nationals and Junior Nationals .
Then again on Sunday June 21…..holiday!!!!
For most scores and info when I am off ; www.soaringspot.com
Cheers Ritz