On Apr 25, 5:05*pm, bildan wrote:
On Apr 25, 2:48*pm, Mitch Polinsky



wrote:
Last Wednesday Gordon Boettger and Hugh Bennett flew a Duo Discus for 2,200
KM as measured by the OLC, making their flight the highest ranked OLC
flight in world, beating even Klaus Ohlmann's and John Williams' flights
in the Andes. *Here's a description of the flight prepared by Doug
Armstrong, who provided wonderful meteorlogical support to them for the
flight:

"Gordon Boettger and Hugh Bennett on April 20th established a new record
distance for sailplane flight in the northern hemisphere and their
endeavor catapulted them to the best flight in the world for the sport of
soaring in 2011. *Their flight in a Duo-Discus covered 2200 km or 1367
miles in 13 hours and 20 minutes with an average speed of 103 mph.
The flight's journey began at Minden, NV's airport using meteorological
lift of the Sierra wave (well known
to general aviation interests). *The first turnpoint was Inyokern, CA in
the Owens valley in the lee of the southern Sierra and then retracing
their path to the next turnpoint at Susanville, CA near the northern end
of the Sierra with a favorable tailwind component and ground speeds of 160
mph. *The next leg of their flight was along the full length of the Sierra
back to near Inyokern and the last leg headed north again and finished at
dusk in Winnemucca, NV. *Soaring, NV launched them with an aerotow just
after sunrise while the FAA's Air Traffic Control in Oakland graciously
handled the safety of the flight's airspace for the entire flight."

Without doubt Boettger and Bennett's flight is a great achievement and
they are due our congratulations, but how does it beat Klaus Ohlmann's
3008 Km flight?

Boettger and Bennett's flight is the highest scoring for the 2011 year
(so far) on the OLC.