First couple photos of our AS33Es have come from Schleicher! I’m looking forward to it.

Just started my latest “light” analysis of each contest task from the USA 2023 18 meter Gliding National Championship. I managed to win again and really flew one of my best ever competitions. I felt very in control the whole…

This FAI Gliding WORLD (isn’t that ironic? lol) ranking appears to have been “earned” at a US Regional competition (Perry) for the open class division. This was not (to the best of my knowledge) a US nationals from what is…

Team 7T is enjoying our US National Soaring Championship CHARLIE SPRATT 18 Meter Class Trophy immensely! After three years of winning it, but not taking it home with us to enjoy, we finally got it (thank you!). It is exquisitely…

Link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlXIESJdn64FIcoYNeF3ZkrmlVh90FJog&si=Udn8TVSdurKpGRrb

Amazing pilot.

Nothing, absolutely nothing compares to the sport of Gliding or Sailplane racing. The highest performance aircraft on the planet, racing over incredible mountains and thru incredible weather, against an elite international group of pilots who have reached the summit of…

It’s time for a quiet victory lap. It just is. Literally ALL (100%, even AHRS) of my opinions expressed in years of various RAS comments (which they triggered and turned into shit fights as they do with anything they don’t…

Sweep 🧹 😂 Very satisfying and enjoyable to win “three in a row” of the USA’s 🇺🇸 most challenging class (18-meter) at three of the most challenging contest venues in the United States! Nephi, Utah is the USA’s best high…

SSA/USA Team Highlighted…

After second competition day…

And huge thanks to those in the SSA who promoted, supported approved funding to reimburse expenses, totally over 40k, to enable all of this! https://groups.google.com/g/rec.aviation.soaring/c/hhLgba2qNbM

Easy to rig, outstanding flying characteristics, fast, AWESOME! 5 stars!

https://soaringweb.org/PRL/prl.2024.html

Seems to me that there may be tomfoolery on all sides here. Political circus tricks, in any sport, destroys the natural enjoyment of the sport. Rules must be simple, enforceable, and not purely decided at the whim of biased viewpoints.…

Rich Owen (Orlando, FL, ex Navy and Delta Pilot) deserves some serious thanks from the contest pilots and soaring competition fans of the USA/SSA for his steadfast commitment (and writing talent) in writing outstanding contest reports for the SSA contests…

Pilots identity still unknown as of this publishing. My friend deepest sympathy to his/her family, friends, and colleagues. It always hurts when a fellow sailplane pilot is injured in this sport we all love and cherish. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/glider-pilot-killed-near-colorado-wyoming-state-line/ar-AA1g8ag4

https://www.weglide.org/user/5329  

https://www.soaringspot.com/en_gb/usa-18-meter-nationals-and-uvalde-glide-uvalde-garner-field-2023/results/18-meter/task-11-on-2023-08-25/total The final day was just short of a 400km racing task.  As they say in auto racing it’s often hard to take your foot off the gas and not push 100%, and it throws off your rhythm.  This was…

https://www.soaringspot.com/en_gb/usa-18-meter-nationals-and-uvalde-glide-uvalde-garner-field-2023/results/18-meter/task-6-on-2023-08-21/total https://members.ssa.org/ContestResults.asp?contestId=2548&ContestDetailId=30585&ContestName=2023+18%2DMeter+Nationals&ContestDate=8/21/2023&ResultsUpdate=True  

Rest day today.  Results below (screenshot). Unofficial but VASTLY SUPERIOR SoaringSpot.com link here (SSA stubbornly refuses to use it): https://www.soaringspot.com/en_gb/usa-18-meter-nationals-and-uvalde-glide-uvalde-garner-field-2023/ UNUSABLE to public SSA link here (facepalm 🤦‍♂️): https://members.ssa.org/ContestResults.asp?contestId=2548&ContestDetailId=30437&ContestName=2023+18%2DMeter+Nationals&ContestDate=8/18/2023&ResultsUpdate=True  

The SSA website locks the result info (highly disappointing for those of us who want to share our sport openly) so you likely cannot see the links without paying an $80 membership fee, and they don’t use International Standard Contest…

Having a great time… Doing well, staying conservative…        

Did a video recap today, watch below.  Scores under that… Full results and data on soaringspot.com @ Canadian Nationals Day 3 Results Overall Results Pic of XG on leg one…       More  

Looks like a convergence day in a narrow corridor (photo 1) to the west of rockton (Sosa).  Narrows more later in the day.  See photo 2 at 430pm.  As always it will be tricky and tough Canadian competitors who know…

Congrats to Sergei and Jerzy and all.  Difficult day.  More reporting added here soon on the task itself.  Photos just below are approaching the top of first turn area with scattered heavy showers to navigate around…dicey! SEEYOU DATA – https://seeyou.cloud/flight/public/6iBA3secPdDgevpGEMDMfk#…

Long story short, a rain shower (moving south) split the first turn area.  I wanted the distance due to the undercalled 2.5 hour MAT (with showers limiting the final southern turn area) so I went to the left (downwind) side…

Results (Day 1) 2023 Canadian Soaring Nationals https://www.soaringspot.com/en_gb/canadian-nationals-2023-rockton-2023/results/18-meter/task-2-on-2023-07-31/daily

Hanging out this morning at Southern Ontario Soaring Association (SOSA) after day canceled due to extreme rain yesterday.  

https://brantaero.com/2019/12/18/ads-b-implementation-in-canada-vs-united-states/  

Great soaring weather today but a flooded airport forces another scrub of the day.  😢 Huge thanks to the SOSA club for hosting this contest.  They are doing everything they possibly can but a glider contest on a wet field…

It’s still raining and the SOSA field is wet.  As you can see from the radar a huge amount of rain has fallen last night and this morning with obvious effects on the soaring conditions moving forward.  Also an issue…

We launched today (both classes) at 2pm!  But it was weak (barely soarable at first) and the days weather window was extremely tight with a forecasted collapse of soarable weather by 5pm and a minimum required task distance of 140km…

Day 1 – Cancelled on the grid.  FLAT TIRE DRILLS   …A bit of fire smoke, a bit of 30kph SW wind (which here just W of Hamilton and just N of Lake Erie which will eventually wash out the…

https://www.soaringspot.com/en_gb/55-hww2023/results/18m/task-4-on-2023-05-20/total I guess I was spot on about the JS3….

I’m in 5th, low stress, staying high, conservative, all going well

What an incredible view. What an incredible place to fly! Here are some photos!

In a sailplane, which lands very slow already, there is ZERO REASON, to be dangling on the tail close to stall speed at anytime on final approach, at flare, or at touchdown. The video below demonstrates why. Notice the huge…

Kawa impressions of AS33. Not the best choice for Grand Prix unfortunately because the smaller wing area, ala the JS3, ala most modern 18m sailplanes. Shocker. I STRONGLY maintain that it is utterly unfair, illogical that in the a “600…

Only 12 oz. fully built including all servos (6) and batteries! Magnificent workmanship. Delicate! I have begun the build at Larry’s shop! 2 weeks I’m guessing until 1st soar!

https://theclubspot.com/regatta/9GgTQLcS1B/results?fbclid=IwAR0iJ0nBhKVp0VLZXcYh7wruhqJcO2QPVOS56MARpU-z6TtfTrHbs6K3yLY

I’ve created and am running a script that gathers Inreach data (Spot soon) and uploads it to the OGN to be visible on any website that gets OGN data. https://github.com/DavisChappins/InreachToOGN if you want to sign up and be visible. In fact, please…

https://ayvri.com/scene/g0jg607eko/ckr55yy4c00015e64qgdso32c

105 mph and I was still 5th! It was a good day, a reasonable task call for the SSA GOBs, albeit very short as usual. Strong crosswinds on landing created some minor excitement. I could have gone much faster but…

Trace of ride: https://strava.app.link/nrzItehethb

It’s a long drive from Michigan, 26 hours nonstop…

I won my first RC soaring competition!!!! Something clicked today and I managed to win every round (six), and ended up throwing out a 1000. This did not feel real. The competition was very tough as usual, similar to the…

*UPDATE* 3 June – The event title is now amended to ‘European Championship’ following consultation. That way we can look forward to a ‘successful’ European Championship rather than the likelihood of a ‘soft’, perhaps disappointing, Worlds. This action feels appropriate and fair with…

Flew with John Iacobucci in his Arcus M most of the flight. What an incredible day it was to fly. 6-8 knot climbs to 8000 AGL at times, clouds the whole way, some streeting later in the day. Absolutely perfect!…