Post 1.529 on August 20 2024

Tuesday August 20 task 2; 4hr AATs for all classes today in record breaking temperatures mostly flying in ‘Blue’ conditions, though there were clouds!!!!
18 m; 4 hour AAT... Germany also has a lot of top pilots, In the past they shared a lot of news , pictures and blogs, nowadays it is pretty quiet on their side.
Not qua flying; Stefan Langer and Simon Schroeder combine their efforts and today it was their day with a spot 1 and 6.  Stefan Langer in the AS33es was the daily best and somewhere in the end he was faster than Simon. They started at 14.26 , like many other pilots, but Simon [ Ventus 3e] finished 4 minutes later and flew less kilometres ; difference…Stefan 613.83 km with 151.97 km./h and Simon, 585.96 km. with 146.49 km./h.
Very good to see that “our” Sjaak {Selen] , brother from the team coach Baer, was runner up!!; 597.46 km with 148.84 km./h!!!
My Aussie mates did well too; Lumpy [ this is his very first WGC] was on spot 3 and Matthew on an equal spot 4 with Manu [Litt, a very experienced WGC pilot] from Belgium. They all fly JS3 .
All 32 pilots started and finished.
Matthew always has great analyses here is the one from today;
“A highly unusual day today – almost every competitor was undertime on the 4hr AAT. The first turn was blue and weak, and most turned immediately towards the better conditions in later circles, even though the maximum remaining task speed was “only” 160kph. I was certain they were making a major error so extended a bit further but not too far in case everyone else had seen something huge that I hadn’t. After it became increasingly obvious we were all undertime, I set myself on cruise control and enjoyed a leisurely guided tour from the amazingly talented Pôle France Planeur team.
Incredible watching the three(!) team pilots work together so effortlessly.
My extension in the first circle placed me well in the points, though less than I might have had if I’d had more faith in my on judgement presently…Exhausted already after only two days but nearly 11 hours in the air. Ominous.” Matthew Scutter’s Gliding
Matthew shares a video as well on his site.
Lumpy; “The 18mtr task today was a 4 hr AAT with 420 kms as a min and 630kms as the max distance. The tricky bit today was navigating the blue holes which covered the first leg and as we headed south the conditions got better and better. The key today was pushing as far as you dare into the first sector as it was much softer than the rest of the task, this was to ensure you didn’t come in under time even though we maxed out the rest of the task ….” more on Tocumwal Soaring Centre
Rich Owen;“The 18 Meter Class had an Assigned Area Task that was 524km (325mi). After the start they went east to Kennedy Regional, southwest to Silverhorn Ranch, west to Lewis Ranch and to the finish. The key to this task was the first leg. There was cu on the first leg, slightly better to the south side. Unfortunately, the geometry that resulted in turning early in the first 30km radius area caused many pilots to be under time. The extra 40km (24mi) flown in the first turn area was the difference from being in the top 5 or having a less than optimum day. The top 5 pilots all made extra distance in this circle and avoided that error.”
Jonker Sailplanes; ” The JS3 Rapture is the top choice in the 18m class at the World Gliding Championships, with 21 out of 32 competitors flying this model. Jonker Sailplanes has now produced 212 JS3 Rapture gliders, where half of them are equipped with the new RES (rear electric propulsion) system as their preferred propulsion method. The dominance of JS gliders in the competition reflects their exceptional performance and popularity among top pilots.“
With this news they shared this picture [not from Uvalde]

20m multi-seat; 4 hour AAT…..More mates flying GOOD; this time Andy and Wolfgang from Austria in the ARCUS M. Lutz & Janowitsch flew 565.60 km with 137.22 km./h. They started late at 14.44 , whilst the S African team started at 14.04. The Polish team in the ASG 32 MI, was runner up AND,…my Dutch mates Erik and Mathijs, were on a good spot 3!!!!
All 16 teams started and finished!
One was launched a bit later; here is Adam:
“Yup, that’s us, on the grid after everyone had launched. Thanks to Dylan, Tim & Ron for getting us underway so fast. Everything & everyone was cool, calm & collected in the 20min turn-around.
What happened, the undercarriage door bungee let loose & we were met with a load drowning sound. Thanks also to Matty Scutter for confirming our thoughts in flight .
Back in the air, we started comfortably at our pre-determined time. We identified a weak area on the 3rd & 4th leg that we had to cross twice, so an early start was selected so we could pass here with the strongest thermals. As it turns out, seems the later start was as good as our start, but I felt our time was less risky.“
More on Adam Woolley’s Gliding Adventures

And the Finish team had troubles too; Here is Pasi;
“It get’s interesting when your LX9070 dies before the last turn area. Then you go blind back home 5 min overtime and lost the 2nd place. Oh, and we did not have working vario. We had one vario like instrument which did what we wanted. Defence win.” Pasi Pulkkinen

open class; 4 hour AAT…And,…I was waiting already for him to win a day. So many times WORLD CHAMPION ,Michael Sommer in the EB29R. Daily winner with 667.93 km with 164.53 km./h. which was 10 k more and 5km./h than runner up Francois! Our Dutch open class topper is in a good flow with a spot 3 yesterday and spot 2 today. TOP!!!!!
Felipe Levin , another German world champion was 3d. Somewhere they must have lost each other too. Both fly the EB 29R.
All 17 started and finished.
Some were lucky with 3 m lift at 6.30 PM on the last leg home, others missed it and struggled a bit, read lost speed!
A bit of a weird JS day; The first 4 finishers were EB’s. Then a JS1 CTJ /21 m on spot 5 and on spot 9, 11 and 14 the JS 5.
Rich on the open class; “Open Class had a 616km nominal Assigned Area Task. After the start they went southeast to Uno, southwest to Callaghan, northwest to Queso, northeast to Canyon Ranch and then home. The first leg was pretty good for the top pilots who started early. It seemed all the legs were straightforward for the Open Class and the final glide was a little soft for some and nice for others. One or two good climbs for the top 5 pilots made the day for them.” more on WGC Uvalde 2024

There is a very interesting interview from Paul with Keith Essex and his female co pilot Marju Rossi. Marju is born in Finland and since a few years, 13 to be precisely, she lives in N.Z. Keith is USA born, Alaska, but adopted now by NZ, though he still flies a lot in the USA mostly from Minden in Nevada, where he flies only LONG tasks, that’s why I call him the kilometre-eater.
Paul Remde

Tomorrow is another day; CU then.

Cheers Ritz

Sunrise in Uvalde.