Our autumn , here in Holland, really has started now, not a lot of leaves on the trees anymore and 925 km. of traffic jam on the first rainy, windy day where it “snowed leaves.”The colors are/were just fabulous.
In Finland some of my friends shared pictures from the first snow!!
As shared by Jorma and Antti.
And Art [Grant] and his wife, moved quickly from Canada to their summer residence in Texas.
Reinhard [Pankow] who flew in the past with us at Sportavia, is one of the first Namibia pilots for the season and settled down in Pokweni, as did Axel Nuss, who flew a 524 km. task with a speed of 151.88 km./h. in the Nimbus 3D ,…..so it’s all happening there as well.
Bitterwasser had it’s first flight for the season too; 400 km. to start with in an ARCUS. And yesterday a 1000 by team Reinhard Schramme in the EB 28; with 133 km./h.
Gariep Dam is unpacking and nearly ready to go.
as shared by GARIEP DAM GLIDING
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POTCHEFSTROOM is HOT in different ways, 7th SGP final!!!!
Last Friday practice for pilots and organizers as the official practice day on Saturday should be TOP. Important part; the scuteneering . Here is Mike [Young]waiting with the JS 1 for his turn.
AND,…..look at the skies!!!!!
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Both pictures shared by the SGP organizers.
www.sgp.aero
RACE 1;209.61
The very first competition day was last sunday and the regatta start was at 2PM.The skies of picture 1 were the skies from day 1.The practice day by the way, was scrubbed.
So not the very good SA weather,tricky, but very interesting for a first day.
Youngest participant and from Germany,Simon Schroeder was the first daily winner. Well done !!!Even with some penalty points he got the 10 points for the day. A slow day as the top speed was 86.1 km./h.
As they said on the SGP site; “This was a day that called for conservative and quick thinking, but in the end it was won by the pilots who played their own game.”
Can’t say it better!!!
Ready for race 1 as shared by Oscar.
RACE 2; 225.78 km.
Another day with difficult circumstances as there was a possibility for thunderstorms. 3 Tasks were set , in the end the weather held and the 225 km was flown .
This time the 10 points were for Sebastian flying around with a speed of 125.8 km./h. Simon only flew 2 km./h less but only got 3 points. Oscar[Goudriaan] and Holger [Karow] arrived at the same time and both were called for a 3d- place- celebration.
Andy [Davis] was punished “hard”with 436 penalty-sec, mainly for a much too high start.
After 2 days the 2 German pilots Holger and Simon top the total list,but still enough time for the others.”it ain’t not over yet!”
RACE 3 ; 365.31 km.
the weather for race 3….;the picture says it all. Cloudstreets to follow, super conditions!
As shared by Philippe de Pechy from France .
Racing weather means ,….FAST,means……OSCAR!!!!! Yes he won the daily 10 points with a speed of 150.1 km./h and that was just enough as Petr Krejcirik was on his heel/tail!!! 149.9 km./h. So 8 points for Czech pilot Petr.
Andy and Mike were on spot 3 and 4 both flying over 146 km./h.
Oscar raced to the top with 17 points in 3 days , then 3 pilots with 15 points, Sebastian, Andy and Holger.
Race -3-winner OSCAR.
As shared on the news site from www.sgp.aero
Today; 324.64 km. and an early start.
Cancelled due to upcoming thunderstorms.
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And last but certainly not least
GLIDING INTERNATIONAL.
The cover from the November/December issue is a glider half an hour before sunset in Germany in GOLDEN skies. Very appropriate for the Christmas season.The picture is by Tobias Barth. You can find his web page on ;
https:/www.flickr.com/photos/1114908652NO5/
Much more in this last Magazine for 2016 as 2017 is awaiting.
— Aldo starts with a great story about flying in the Pyrenees.
He flew himself during the Spanish Nationals in Santa Cilia and won in open class in the ARCUS. Great pictures as well.
—Why do so many [at least 5] military air forces buy/order the DG 1001 Club??? That’s what Myles Hynde wanted to know . A full story also about DG where Holger Back, who flew his first 1000 km. from Tocumwal after the Benalla WGC in 1987, is the president and one of my friends and in the past in “my” junior team Jelmer Wassenaar ,is the chief designer.
—Gliding at the Olympics?? Why not yet? Already in 1936 it was a demonstration sport……
—another story by Aldo, about the first two seat electric sustainer, the new electric variant of the 20 m. 2-seater by Schleicher
—is the 13.5 m. class a success?
—the provisional entry list for Benalla 2017 and chief editor John Roake [already in his eighthies but forever young] will be there in the last week to make the full story for his magazine.
—my last ” Ritz reports from Europe” due to my health problems, sorry but doctor’s advice.So there is a vacancy for a European correspondent!!
You can contact the editor at www.glidinginternational.com
I will receive my Magazine in the future too, so I can keep you up to date.
Cheers Ritz
Not too much news today have been in bed with a real painful bursa inflammation of my right hip.
Still suffering , but the medicines help.
Worried as well about our WORLD. Populists are slowly taking the lead [ Trump now, Brexit in the UK and in March most probably an ultra right winger with the most votes in Holland]
Sad.