Uvalde 2024 WGC
Late Report
Day 11
Today we mark the 11th day the World Gliding Championship have taken to the skies. There have been many things that have transpired over the past 17 days that I have been here. As a first time Worlds volunteer, it was a very enjoyable experience to be around all the teams. Renewing friendships with Adam and Pasi that we flew against in the Uvalde Glide last year. Being with my friends Jerzy and Sergei from Canada. Talking with the Italian team about Rome, the British team about London, getting a trailer for the French team in payment for spilling a glass of wine at their table during International Night and hanging with all the crews when the pilots are flying. The only thing that would be better is if I was flying with Pete in this contest in the 20-meter class. Gone are the memories of 107F temperatures on the runway, lack of sleep, waiting for the team to show up on the trackers on a hard leg, airspace that seems to creep up on our pilots and the sad faces when they thought they did poorly. It was always great to find out how well they did when the scores came out. Pilots sometimes have bigger mood swings than a 4-year-old at Walmart.
The captains and their staff are a group that gets left out at these competitions when credit is being given. Watching the effort they all give to their team to resolve all the issues that seem unimportant to many but makes the pilots’ lives so much better. Any problem that comes up, the captain and his crew resolve it. Whether it is standing up for their pilots during a penalty dispute, an issue with the tow or a friendly reminder when they a bad day that they did a great job of recovering from a bad break. Pilots, before you leave on this next flight tomorrow, thank your captain and crews for the support that has allowed you to compete virtually worry free, at least on the ground. Now for the flying.
After a weather brief that had everyone thinking the day was going to be as bad as yesterday, the sky looked good. Sitting out on the field in the afternoon, I was thinking it should be a fair day. You could already see energy lines forming. The tasks were long but achievable with smart decisions. Today was not a day for start games.
The 18 Meter Class was sent off on a 4:30hr Assigned Area task of 591km nominal. After start, they went northwest to Martin Ranch, southeast to Laredo, northeast to Seven C’s Ranch and then northwest to finish. The last turn area of this task had prohibited airspace in it, so the pilots had to be careful. However, several pilots did suffer the penalty of entering forbidden airspace. With all the technology we have in the cockpit, we still seem to make the same errors when we flew with cameras. The first leg did not look bad. However, the pilots who could get across the foothills higher all seemed to do better on the scoresheet. Being higher allowed them to connect better with the clouds and maintain good forward momentum. The foothills are like transition areas on ridges. You cannot allow yourself to get low. There were basically two places where pilots made their turn in the first area. One was on the northeast corner and the other was right around the nominal point. The second and third legs did not present too many problems until the 3rd turn area. The airspace did cause issues. Some had to make a turn that was less than advantageous, but others journeyed into the forbidden airspace and were landed out on the scoresheet. Final glides going downwind is always a joy, and unless you were landing at 7:30pm, did not cause many issues. For the day, Ian MacArthur (Great Britian) finished in third with Zoltan Hamar (Hungary) in second just 5 points off the lead. Winning the day was Jeroen Verkuiji (Netherlands) with a speed of 141kph (88mph) over the 640km (398mi) task. Nice flight Jeroen!
In the 20 Meter Class, they were sent on 578km racing task that went west to Anacacho, southeast to Callaghan, north to Aero Saylee, west to Indio Faith and northeast to finish. Straight lines, good energy lines and staying consistently in the upper third of the height band worked for this group. Not many issues on this flight. In third place was the team of Lutz & Janowitsch (Austria) with Bouderlique & de Péchy (France). Winning the day with a speed of 132kph (82mph) over a task of 578km (359mi) was the team of Borgmann & Van Houweninge (Netherlands). Very nice flying.
The Open Class also had a racing task of 614km (382mi) that went south to Santa Maria Ranch, northeast to Silverhorn Ranch, north to Kerrville and southwest to finish. Again, straight lines, staying high and getting through the third leg and not get stuck, were the keys to a good finish. Getting low in the foothills cost a few pilots minutes of being in the lower half of the height band. Again, the German team showed how they fly so consistently well in all types of conditions. Felipe Levin and Michael Sommer finished second and third respectively today. If you did not realize, the Netherland Team garnered the top spot in all classes today. Winning in Open Class, and completing a clean sweep was Franois Jeremiasse (Netherlands) with a speed of 130kph (81mph) over the 614km (382mi) task. I think we should give the pilots and captain a round of applause in the morning. Nice flying!!
Tomorrow is the last day and I’m looking forward to seeing how the leaders approach this flight. Do they trail their competition, or do they fly the way that got them to this point. In the morning report we will look at the total scores again. It is too late tonight to continue. Tomorrow, I plan to be the first customer at a new coffee and breakfast restaurant called the Local Fix. I have been a loyal customer of theirs for several years and they have moved into a brand-new building. Hope to see you there at 7am.
Cheers,
Rich Owen
Media Team
