Post 1.546 on September 18, 2024

——On September 11 Sebastian Kawa shared pictures and news about the new DIANA 4!!!!
And WeGlide wrote about it:”Time to update our glider list
We already did an interview with the manufacturer Avionic about the Diana 4:
https://magazine.weglide.org/avionic-polish-gliders…/
Avionic, the Polish company behind the successful Diana 2 glider is now turning to 18m class with the Diana 4, an electric self-launcher. 
Interesting interview.

——The new JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPION , Martijn Eerdekens, had promised to share his experiences on FB, so he did and when you are not on FB you can read it here;
“Some delay due to my internship but as promised the report from the JWGC 2024 in Poland.”
First of all, I would like to thank again everyone who made this possible, as well as everyone for the kind and supportive messages during the competition.
Second, some statistics This period has more than made up for the bad gliding season in Belgium: 10 out of 12 flying days, 4700km, a total of 61 flying hours and four podium places 2x2xWhat a beautiful weather we had There was 1 day you should not thermal below 3.5m/s
I am incredibly proud of what I achieved, but I am equally grateful for the lessons learned along the way

This might sound weird but my biggest concern going into the championship was consistency At the juniors in Venlo (Netherlands) in 2022, I made a habit of taking too many risks. There were days when I finished first (due to taking high risks), but just as often, I ended up having to land out in a field Let’s say that this experience taught me a lot, especially about the importance of a steady and reliable performance over the long haul. These lessons constantly flew through my mind during the competition. Yet, there were moments during the championship when I felt I was flying too conservative. I was constantly balancing the need to stay in the race with the fear of making a costly mistake. But fortunately I also dared to take some calculated risks. The thought of consistency being key helped me stay focused, even when the temptation to push harder crept in.
Every day was another adventure how it would go, but I like to briefly explain the last 2 days.

Team France was in first place for a long period with quite a few points in lead That all changed on the penultimate day. On that day, my starting moment made a big difference.

After receiving the scores and reviewing the flights that evening, I noticed that the French pilots had a challenging and low moment at the second turn point, which surprised me since I hadn’t expected them to make any significant mistakes. On that day, I decided not to wait too long after the start line opened, as I had noticed on the satellite radar that the clouds near the second turn point were beginning to thin out. This meant I had to leave almost first, but I didn’t mind because I prefer flying alone. It allows me to make my own decisions and thermal in a free way. In hindsight, this decision paid off. By the end of the day, I found myself in second place, just 24 points behind the leader. This realization was a very special feeling and was mentally not that easy. The night before the final competition day was one of the longest and most agonizing of my life. My mind was racing with “what ifs.” What if I became a world champion? What if I made a mistake and dropped out of the top 10? I agonized over every detail, particularly the forecast of blue thermals for the final day. Blue thermals can be very tricky. In such conditions, it’s often safer to fly with the gaggle, but I knew that flying with others could compromise my decision-making.

When the time came, I stuck to my plan. I waited, feeling the pressure build, until I decided to fly away and start alone (but behind some gaggles). It was a nerve-wracking decision, but it turned out to be the right one. I waited until two gaggles had left, which I then eventually rolled up, making it into the area of cumulus clouds, so I could still make my own choices. My solo flight allowed me again to focus entirely on my strategy, free from the influence of other pilots. I was even able to fly the exact route I had planned before the flight (see the photo on WeGlide)
After the landing, it soon became clear that I had become world champion An indescribable feeling and still hard to believe.

Unfortunately, due to my studies, flying a lot and finding time to participate in numerous competitions is challenging. However, I’m already looking forward to the next competition. Hopefully the JWGC in Germany in 2026. “
When I would have seen him at the Keiheuvel, I would have asked him about the last day, so I am very pleased he writes pretty specific about it.
Thanks Martijn!

—– Upcoming Namibian season message; from <info@kiripotib-soaring.com>
“Dear friends,
still not tired of summer and gliding? That’s great! Extend your flying season and come to Kiripotib. Due to cancelations, the following slots became available at short notice:

ArcusM: 26 November to 6 Dezember
ArcusM: 14 to 29 Dezember
Ventus3M: 15 to 27 Dezember
Spend amazing cross-country flights over the fascinating landscape of Namibia and chat about your experiences with like-minded people in the evening.
Do you fancy an exciting break in European winter? Check out our website:
https://kiripotib-soaring.com/
charter a glider
prices for gliding
prices guest farm

——Veronica [ Veronica Flying]also in in Namibia is ready too for their guests; “This week we have loaded 6 gliders in one container to be shipped to Namibia” HpH Sailplanes

——-Gliding Club of Victoria [ we are in Australia now] shared news about Mount Beauty.
“Congratulations to Mark Bland who logged his 10,000th glider hours today, @ 10,000 feet at Alpine Soaring Mt Beauty. Yes, you read that correctly… 10,000th GLIDER hours! Legend!“
CONGRATULATIONS Mark!!!!!

——Our full sport summer is over! My goodness me, it was a busy time following all the news on the laptop and on TV. Olympics and Paralympics….top !
European soccer comps, F1 races and of course the JWGC , the EGC and WGC. All top events and awesome to follow.
I enjoyed it VERY MUCH!!!!!
Last weekend Davis Cup quallies- tennis [with the Dutch team] , Formula 1,[With Max] European cycling races [with Mathieu]We got through to the finals in Spain in tennis, Max was 5th after a “fight” with his car and Mathieu, sent his mate to a runner up spot.

——80 years FREEDOM , here in the Netherlands.
The allied forces arrived on September 12 1944 in the Southern part of The Netherlands. With operation MARKET GARDEN it all started. Canadian, American and British soldiers passed the borders of Belgium into South Limburg.
Still 7 of them were alive and visited Holland. One was even 103 years old. The queen and king where at the spot to welcome them.
Sadly enough the more northern part of Holland had to wait longer, till Mai 5 1945, a devastating time without food and still huge fighting and bombing .Then they were free too.
Here where I live, it was on September 17 and the big town not far away, Eindhoven on September 18, so today 80 years ago.

——Army Flying Museum….About operation Market Garden; “Operation MARKET GARDEN began on this day 80 years ago. The Glider Pilot Regiment played a vital role as 667 Horsa, Hamilcar and Hadrian gliders were towed to Landing Zones near Arnhem to deliver around 4,500 troops, 600 jeeps, and 95 guns. This photo shows 4 gliders at LZ ‘N’.
Find out more about Operation MARKET GARDEN in our online exhibition: https://bit.ly/4e5sGBp

Back to NOW:
We had a concert at the market …absolutely beautiful with 100 musicians from the area playing and singing loud and with passion….and we could look at 300 historic army vehicles/motorbikes, from the Liberation Task Force , slowly driving through town with occupants in mostly original army clothes. They come from France, Belgium ,Italy and Malta, but mostly from the UK.
Last Sunday we had the flower parade, closely associated with the liberation .When out little town was freed we thanked the Allied forces with bikes and wheelbarrows decorated with flowers .
You can see on the pictures in what huge event it turned out.

Here is an impression from the some historic vehicles and the flower parade.
Also 1 HARVARD flying over twice and both times somebody in the crowd pushed me over, hence a ” poor” picture. It was so crowdy!!!!! But good to see , memories were made for the young ones.
AND,…do you see the skies??!!!

As ever year the flower parade was awesome. The weather was superb , meaning a huge amount of spectators, rows and rows, but they got where they came for; a colourful show of the BEST!
The winner on display before the parade, 2 parts.

And the one I liked best also in 2 parts.

80 years of freedom deserves some more [private] pictures than normal.
That’s it for now.
Though just read this;
——shared by Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett  ;”
**FRANCE 3 SAFELY LANDED!**
Team FRA-3, with pilots Alex Bejat and Paul Henry Carail, has successfully landed near Ourique, Portugal, after covering an impressive distance of 2013.46 km!
Congratulations to the team on their remarkable achievement and safe landing!’

INDEED….Big achievement!!!!!

Cheers Ritz