Alphen aan den Rijn June 30 2010 ritzdeluy@hotmail.com
As every Monday, I travelled to Amsterdam 2 days ago. In the train I heard an elderly lady; “For me it can start snowing NOW”. She clearly did not like the high temperatures in Holland and in more places in Europe. I noticed on the big pole in front of the RAI building 32 dgr. at 13.29. Never saw such a high temperature on that pole.[ because it is rather high and in the wind] So….yes we have nice weather here and June has been really good. July looks great as well, certainly the beginning with 30 dgr even up to 37 on Friday, but then it seems in the weekend, we have to “pay” with thunderstorms. This started already in France and Spain on Tuesday.
When you are already looking ahead at the next 32d WGC in 2012, in Chaves in Argentina, I can give you a link which I got from Horacio. Great shots from the area by air , from some pilots and in total a nice promotion for gliding at Chaves Airport. The video is made for a TV channel and covers the South American Gliding Championships in Chaves.This is a preview on the programme which will ”go air ” next month. When that programme is ready I will receive it as well and share the 45 minutes with you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8211RTSboFg
Horacio is leaving in 11 days for Rom to get the glider for Damian Goldenzweig, young toppilot from Argentina and will crew for him in Szeged. In this video you can see that Horacio is doing well in soaring too , standing at the podium ,[ winning st.class ], with a few other top names. Horacio flew the Junior Worlds in Finland and is just a great young and very enthusiastic guy.He loves gliding!!!
Last Saturday it could have gone wrong with a small aircraft doing a joy-flight around Berlin , carrying 4 people including the pilot. Luckily he knew how to glide his plane having a failure in the engine,and ……where to? To Tempelhof the closed airport at Berlin and this is the 2d emergency landing at this field. Everybody was well!!!
Less lucky were 5 people in a helicopter above a cycling-tour in Rotterdam here in Holland. This town has the prologue from the great event the Tour de France,next week, but a shade has fallen over all excitement now the pilot and 3 other people, 2 of them press photographers were killed. The crash could have been even worse as cyclists on the ground claim that the very experienced pilot tried not to hit them. This tour with 1000 enthusiastic non-prof-bicyclist was stopped immediately.
Prievidza is ready for the 31 WGC and lot’s of my friends have arrived already and find their new temporarily home on the camping site, a motel or in private houses. I noticed Jozef , the competition director did a good job in building some nice wooden houses where you can live with a few. Friend Art has started his job weighing and will be like in Italy doing the virtual race-visualisation . He has the best voice to do so and knows all about soaring.
The Dutch team has arrived with a brand new TC Bart ,his very first time, but I am sure he will do a great job, knowing him.
I am very pleased to see that the daily bulletin editor Zulu, is doing a good job as well and in perfect English, so the world is going to enjoy theirselves with his stories. Thanks Zulu! www.wgc2010.sk for news about the first practise days and pictures.
About the OLC over the last 3 days; Still Hammerwetter in lots of parts from Europe!!!!!
You know I have ”something” for 1000 km flights and when a pilot flies a set 1040km FAI triangle I really get excited!!! That’s what happened in ELY in the USA one of those great soaring places where pilots go to fly 1000 km-plus and to just enjoy the great conditions. Minden had, as well as Mountain Valley, great weather.
Guy does n’t have to go to Fuente[Spain], this year to fly nice long distance flights he flew several [4 till now] 1000 km from his home field in Luxembourg already.
One of the German pilots was super-enthusiastic about this hammer- wetter he could not believe that there was still 2.5 lift at 8 pm. A lot of set tasks…… and flown on that Tuesday.
Yesterday was total overcast here in Holland, after another glorious morning. At 1 pm it was raining!!!!!!! Temperature dropped at-least with 6 dgr. after ….the sun started shining again. But it was much better in other parts of Europe.
Another 1060 km set FAI triangle was flown from Köningsdorf in Germany in a Ventus 2CT/18m. while another pilot thought in retrospect he did not make the correct decisions on track ; he set the task flying his discus 2b/18m. but could not make all the TP’s as the 2d one was unreachable due to a too low base. He still flew his 1065 km. but not as a 1000 km FAI triangle.
Some open class gliders also flew 1000 km tasks in Austria yesterday.
Finally I reacted on a Facebook invitation and …I am now on Facebook sharing with [in 2 days] 52 of my friends, news and having just fun and ”finding” some friends , I had lost!!! I did not know it was such fun, but I am still not good in it. Sometimes I loose what I just wrote, but I will be fine. And…friends even advise what to do and not to do! Thanks! Also love the pictures!!!!
Got a message from the USA that pilots over there started with their National Open and Standard class competition in Hobbs New Mexico, the place where in 1983 the WGC has been flown. Our Dutch pilot Kees Muster won in one class that year. Will keep you informed. Not much happened as I heard ,since they started on June 28, but more can happen as they fly till July 8.
Off to the hospital now, see how we go. See you next Sunday, will tell you how we survived up to 37 dgr. in the South of Holland on Friday and….of course I keep an eye on Prievidza. Cheers Ritz