Latest News

Today is looking blue again, and as a result first launch is not before 1215. On the horizon to the north east we can see the tops of large looking cumulus as well as drabs and streaks of top cover above, perhaps indicative of the predicted thunderstorms by 4pm . It is looking to be a fairly short day due this and so we have an A and B task.

Today’s A task is a 4 point polygon of 268km.

And the B task. A 2 1/2 hour AAT with min distance of 160.9km and a max of 411.1km. Point to point is 283.7.

During briefing 54 was next in the queue for scrutineering and Steve and Garry for the compulsory bail out demo, which they completed in a stellar 5 seconds. Beats the 6 seconds most pilots have been taking!

Pilots are now waiting patiently in team tents or on the grid. A fairly short foretasted window means it could go several of many ways!

A second asg32 has turned up, although I was beginning to think the 20 metres was in fact the Arcus class

Official practice day 1! This was the third practice day for much of the team and so far the weather has really played ball. After briefing there was a bit of grid squatting before first launch occurred at 1230. G and Ayala were the first to head off in the club class, followed by Howard and George in the Standards. Steve and Garry were the last to go with the 20 metres. Launching was fairly efficient today, especially since only 3 tugs were operating and 2 of which climb very slowly.

The grid from a tug

Initial worries of showers and thunderstorms didn’t come to anything and while the day started off pretty blue, we had some nice looking clouds beginning to appear about midday that then went on to develop into decent energy lines once the grid launching was well under way. Since all classes were given the same task and streets were limited, competitors were funneled down some pretty narrow bands!

It has been pretty hot on the ground here today and looking to be about the same tomorrow, however warnings again of thunderstorms (they keep saying this and it keeps not coming to much). Certainly for me it is too hot for tea…Anyway those of us not flying sweltered on the ground listening to the radio, watching the tracking, and getting some general housekeeping done.

Finishers started appearing towards late afternoon, and a steady stream of gliders tricked in until around 6pm.

It was a 2 1/2 hour AAT,  our libelles clocked an actual speed of just over 100kph, around 110kph for the standards and then 137kph in 54.

Here’s hoping tomorrow brings similar conditions.

Getting close

54 playing with no.6

(Very small) Gaggle

With glider trailers still rolling in, the first briefing has been done on the first official practice day. Gliders are gridded and ready to go but it is looking really rather blue. A 2 1/2 hour AAT has been set for all classes, with a minimum distance of 196.2km and a max of 479.9km. At current it is expected to be blue on task,topping out about 6,500ft, with the possibility of showers and thunderstorms to the south and later in the day. It is certainly going to be warm, so on the ground we are grateful for the gazebos and ice creams available in the airfield cafe.

First launch is expected to be 1145 however this is likely to be pushed back. Stay tuned!

We have a 2 1/2 hour AAT set

The team studying the task sheets.

We have a prime view of the grid from team base

We are all here at Moravská Třebová for the practice week of the Europeans, with Ayala and her crew, Tim, being the last to arrive. Suggestions of thunderstorms later on the day put flying in doubt early on however with the sky looking soarable the team took launches. Howard was the only one not to fly due to scrunineering (for those of you not familiar- the weighing, document checking of the glider, and in this case ensuring the pilots can bail out in an acceptable time), as his time slot was during the better part of the day.

6 undergoing scrutineering with Howard

The flying day itself was less than straight forward for the pilots as conditions were very variable. Certainly from the airfield we heard rumbled of thunder but nothing that came too near us. Plenty of showers around meant taking extra climbs to get home. Probably a good thing as G appeared to have forgotten how to derig his libelle… The weather looks to be similar the rest of the week, plus getting a lot hotter than us Brits are accustomed to.

Thunderstorms in the area meant rain showers around

Tomorrow is the first official Practice Day so keep an eye out on Facebook, twitter and Instagram for photos and updates!

Key dates:
19th July– Official practice begins
22nd July – Opening Ceremony
23rd July – Earliest possible competition day
5th August – Last possible competition day
5th August – Closing ceremony

The next outing for the British Team is the 19th FAI European Championships at Moravská Třebová in the Czech Republic. This next week is practice week and as I (Alison Randle) type, the gliders are on the road. After that the contests come thick and fast with the 10th FAI Junior World Championships in Lithuania overlapping both the 19th FAI European Championships in the Czech Republic and at Lasham later in August. Pull up a chair – we should be in for a treat and there will be some great racing to watch! Content will be posted here on the website, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

The Team is taking a different Media Manager with them to each of the four International contests this summer, and each will vary the themes with their own style and approach.  Your next Media Manager is Amy Jo Randalls. Amongst other things, Amy Jo (known as AJ) is a juniors glider pilot and artist, based in Scotland. Many of you may already be familiar with her extensive portfolio of work which includes portraits of gliders in flight, photographs and videos. Some of you may even own one of her paintings.

Having held the reins as we begin to get this new role established, there were some major backroom technical teething problems and I have greatly appreciated your support, patience and forbearance as we gradually picked up speed. You have helped me to create a foundation for my three colleagues to build on. I would like to publicly thank Keith Auchterlonie and Jez Hood for all their work behind the scenes, and Keith and Susan Newby for their advice, support and encouragement.

I have also seen first hand how your support is greatly appreciated by the pilots. Please keep the likes and comments coming over the next few weeks, and to really help to raise the profile of your British Gliding Team, if you like it, share it – the most effective way we have of extending our reach.

With very best wishes to the pilots, captain, crew and media manager for their time at the Europeans in the Czech Republic, I’ll hand you over to AJ.

We’d love your feedback on the recent British Team media coverage!
It will only take a few minutes and will help to improve coverage for future competitions:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfS6_U-un8wVxp1Xnf8Bp8jgC7ZAZhgmJ84fYG34WPV1hCpCQ/viewform