World Class: Recent Great News

With Spring and a new season arriving, here are some absolutely GREAT news
for the World Class:

- Our Breakfast event at the Convention was the best attended ever. A full
room, with 36 attending, made this the largest breakfast event for the
World
Class, and one of the largest breakfast events at the Convention. We are
definitely growing...
Our friend Miroslav Rodzewicz from Warsaw University of Technology gave a
beautiful presentation about the history of gliding in Poland and about
the long
series of Polish glider designs, including of course the Orlik, Foka,
Zephir,
Jantars, SZDs, and PW-5 and 6, among many others. I gave a brief
overview of
the WCSA status and plans for 2004. With the National in Hobbs and an
Eastern
Regional at Bermuda High Soaring, it looks like a great year in the making.

Now to the several VERY GREAT NEWS: The IGC (International Gliding
Commission, the international body of the Federation Aeronautique
Internationalle - FAI,
that deals with all matters of Soaring internationally) has a World Class
Subcommittee, which is responsible for following-up and reporting to IGC
the
developments related to the World Class. I am on that Subcommittee,
together with
6 other people. The 2004 plenary meeting of the IGC, where all important
matters and proposals related to international Soaring are presented and
voted on,
took place Feb 27-28 in Lausanne, Switzerland. The World Class Subcommittee
decided to hold a meeting the day before the IGC plenary meeting to address
important issues. Of concern was a proposal by the German delegation to
discontinue having World Championships of the World Class after 2009
(the World Class
was guaranteed to have World Championships until 2009 in previous
meetings) and
replace that event with a new 20-meter two-seater class World Championship.
Similar proposals were also submitted by the French (replace with a 13m
class)
and the Italians (replace with a 13m motorglider class).
- After discussing the matter, the Subcommittee decided that the proposals
were likely the result of a lack of information about the progress of
the World
Class, and decided to prepare a presentation, which I delivered during the
plenary session the next day, outlining the successes of the World Class
in many
countries. As a result of the presentation, the Italians and French
withdrew
their proposals. The German proposal was voted upon and overwhelmingly
defeated
(with only the German voting for their proposal). So the IGC overwhelmingly
reiterated their support of the World Class, in particular as a class in
the
World Championship. First very great news.
- The IGC Subcommittee on World Championships Structure had a proposal
regarding the organization of the post-2006 World Championship events.
This proposal
was voted on and passed. So, it is now official: Starting with the 2008
events, the World Soaring Championships will be held in two major
venues, one
regrouping the Open, 18m, and 15m classes, and the second regrouping the
Standard,
World, and Club classes. Each country will be allowed up to two pilots per
class. This essentially puts all 6 FAI classes on the same level for these
events, and it is another great news for the World Class.
- For the 2006 World Championships, the Lithuanians and the French
presented
their proposals to hold events combining the World and Club classes. The
French won, and the 2006 World Championships of the World and Club
classes will be
held June 30-July 15, 2006 in Vinon, France (about 30 Km south of St.
Auban,
where the 1997 WGC took place). This is a great place to fly, about 50
miles
from the foothills of the Alps, with beautiful scenery (it is in the
heart of
Provence) and with great weather, which practically guarantees a lot of
great
flying and a superb contest. I talked with the French delegation and
they are
very aware of the need to, and very willing to work on, finding local
(European)
gliders for overseas teams. So, things look very good for 2006.
- By the way, the bid for the 2008 WGC regrouping the Standard, World, and
Club classes will be due in March 2005. Is hosting this 2008 WGC in the USA
something we should start thinking about...?
- An additional great news was announced at the IGC meeting by the PW-5
designers regarding the previous altitude limitation on the PW-5. The
long process
of tests and formalities has been completed and the altitude limit for all
PW-5, including all previously manufactured, is now 11,000 meters
(36,500 ft..
Brrr, must be cold up there). The official papers should be dispatched soon.

So, I thought you'd like to hear all these great news as a good start to
the
Soaring season. By the way, the Regional at Bermuda High, SC is but 60 days
away, and the National is only 4 months away... Make your plans, and if
you are
halfway sure that you will come, PLEASE register on line on the SSA
Website as
soon as you can. It definitely helps the organizers to have an early
count so
that they can plan on tow planes, etc...

Spring is here. Happy flights to all.
Francois

“Starting with the 2008 events, the World Soaring Championships
will be held in two major venues, one regrouping the
Open, 18m, and 15m classes, and the second grouping
the Standard, World, and Club classes.”

Outstanding. Have any of the people who dreamt up
that idea ever flown a glider…?

Let me spell it out. This means that 40+ fully laden
Standard Class gliders will be flying with 40+ Club
Class gliders and 40 PW5s (assuming 40 people bother
to show up with a PW5). Having attended a number of
international events it is highly apparent that the
most dangerous aspect of flying gliders in large competitions
is pre-start gaggling. Despite recent moves towards
distributed starts, all classes inevitably end up crammed
into two or three thermals around the airfield. On
two occasions I have seen all 100+ gliders in one thermal.

A fully laden Standard Class glider has completely
different flight characteristics from a PW5 or (empty)
Club Class glider. The Standard class ship will fly
approx 12 to 15 knots faster, with a larger turn radius
and higher sink rate. These differences will undoubtedly
pose a very dangerous problem. Even the comparatively
small difference between Open Class and 15m/Standard
Class ships provides challenges in current comps.

I suggest the IGC reconsider this decision urgently.

Regards,

Ben Flewett.


At 18:00 07 March 2004, Charles Yeates wrote:
With Spring and a new season arriving, here are some
absolutely GREAT news
for the World Class:

- Our Breakfast event at the Convention was the best
attended ever. A full
room, with 36 attending, made this the largest breakfast
event for the
World
Class, and one of the largest breakfast events at the
Convention. We are
definitely growing...
Our friend Miroslav Rodzewicz from Warsaw University
of Technology gave a
beautiful presentation about the history of gliding
in Poland and about
the long
series of Polish glider designs, including of course
the Orlik, Foka,
Zephir,
Jantars, SZDs, and PW-5 and 6, among many others. I
gave a brief
overview of
the WCSA status and plans for 2004. With the National
in Hobbs and an
Eastern
Regional at Bermuda High Soaring, it looks like a great
year in the making.

Now to the several VERY GREAT NEWS: The IGC (International
Gliding
Commission, the international body of the Federation
Aeronautique
Internationalle - FAI,
that deals with all matters of Soaring internationally)
has a World Class
Subcommittee, which is responsible for following-up
and reporting to IGC
the
developments related to the World Class. I am on that
Subcommittee,
together with
6 other people. The 2004 plenary meeting of the IGC,
where all important
matters and proposals related to international Soaring
are presented and
voted on,
took place Feb 27-28 in Lausanne, Switzerland. The
World Class Subcommittee
decided to hold a meeting the day before the IGC plenary
meeting to address
important issues. Of concern was a proposal by the
German delegation to
discontinue having World Championships of the World
Class after 2009
(the World Class
was guaranteed to have World Championships until 2009
in previous
meetings) and
replace that event with a new 20-meter two-seater class
World Championship.
Similar proposals were also submitted by the French
(replace with a 13m
class)
and the Italians (replace with a 13m motorglider class).
- After discussing the matter, the Subcommittee decided
that the proposals
were likely the result of a lack of information about
the progress of
the World
Class, and decided to prepare a presentation, which
I delivered during the
plenary session the next day, outlining the successes
of the World Class
in many
countries. As a result of the presentation, the Italians
and French
withdrew
their proposals. The German proposal was voted upon
and overwhelmingly
defeated
(with only the German voting for their proposal). So
the IGC overwhelmingly
reiterated their support of the World Class, in particular
as a class in
the
World Championship. First very great news.
- The IGC Subcommittee on World Championships Structure
had a proposal
regarding the organization of the post-2006 World Championship
events.
This proposal
was voted on and passed. So, it is now official: Starting
with the 2008
events, the World Soaring Championships will be held
in two major
venues, one
regrouping the Open, 18m, and 15m classes, and the
second regrouping the
Standard,
World, and Club classes. Each country will be allowed
up to two pilots per
class. This essentially puts all 6 FAI classes on the
same level for these
events, and it is another great news for the World
Class.
- For the 2006 World Championships, the Lithuanians
and the French
presented
their proposals to hold events combining the World
and Club classes. The
French won, and the 2006 World Championships of the
World and Club
classes will be
held June 30-July 15, 2006 in Vinon, France (about
30 Km south of St.
Auban,
where the 1997 WGC took place). This is a great place
to fly, about 50
miles
from the foothills of the Alps, with beautiful scenery
(it is in the
heart of
Provence) and with great weather, which practically
guarantees a lot of
great
flying and a superb contest. I talked with the French
delegation and
they are
very aware of the need to, and very willing to work
on, finding local
(European)
gliders for overseas teams. So, things look very good
for 2006.
- By the way, the bid for the 2008 WGC regrouping the
Standard, World, and
Club classes will be due in March 2005. Is hosting
this 2008 WGC in the USA
something we should start thinking about...?
- An additional great news was announced at the IGC
meeting by the PW-5
designers regarding the previous altitude limitation
on the PW-5. The
long process
of tests and formalities has been completed and the
altitude limit for all
PW-5, including all previously manufactured, is now
11,000 meters
(36,500 ft..
Brrr, must be cold up there). The official papers should
be dispatched soon.

So, I thought you'd like to hear all these great news
as a good start to
the
Soaring season. By the way, the Regional at Bermuda
High, SC is but 60 days
away, and the National is only 4 months away... Make
your plans, and if
you are
halfway sure that you will come, PLEASE register on
line on the SSA
Website as
soon as you can. It definitely helps the organizers
to have an early
count so
that they can plan on tow planes, etc...

Spring is here. Happy flights to all.
Francois

Hmmmmmnn

Ben -- your comments do not match what happened at the the 1999 Leszno,
PL, competition with mobs of Std, 15m and World Class ships flying
together. The kinds of problems you forsee never happened.

Ben Flewett wrote:
“Starting with the 2008 events, the World Soaring Championships
will be held in two major venues, one regrouping the
Open, 18m, and 15m classes, and the second grouping
the Standard, World, and Club classes.”

Outstanding. Have any of the people who dreamt up
that idea ever flown a glider…?

Wasn't there - can't comment.

If the problems didn't happen then perhaps I am wrong.
I just can't see how 40 fully laden Std class ships
can cohabitate with 40 PW5's.

By the way - what comp are you talking about...? 1999
was a WGC year (Bayreuth Germany). Was it a juniors
or something...?

B



At 20:54 08 March 2004, Charles Yeates wrote:
Hmmmmmnn

Ben -- your comments do not match what happened at
the the 1999 Leszno,
PL, competition with mobs of Std, 15m and World Class
ships flying
together. The kinds of problems you forsee never happened.

Ben Flewett wrote:
“Starting with the 2008 events, the World Soaring
Championships
will be held in two major venues, one regrouping the
Open, 18m, and 15m classes, and the second grouping
the Standard, World, and Club classes.”

Outstanding. Have any of the people who dreamt up
that idea ever flown a glider…?

The Junior Worlds in 1999 was in Terlet, Holland. Not
sure what comp the other guy is on about.

At 09:42 09 March 2004, Ben Flewett wrote:
Wasn't there - can't comment.

If the problems didn't happen then perhaps I am wrong.
I just can't see how 40 fully laden Std class ships
can cohabitate with 40 PW5's.

By the way - what comp are you talking about...? 1999
was a WGC year (Bayreuth Germany). Was it a juniors
or something...?

B



At 20:54 08 March 2004, Charles Yeates wrote:
Hmmmmmnn

Ben -- your comments do not match what happened at
the the 1999 Leszno,
PL, competition with mobs of Std, 15m and World Class
ships flying
together. The kinds of problems you forsee never happened.

Ben Flewett wrote:
“Starting with the 2008 events, the World Soaring
Championships
will be held in two major venues, one regrouping the
Open, 18m, and 15m classes, and the second grouping
the Standard, World, and Club classes.”

Outstanding. Have any of the people who dreamt up
that idea ever flown a glider…?

Ben Flewett wrote in message ...
?Starting with the 2008 events, the World Soaring Championships
will be held in two major venues, one regrouping the
Open, 18m, and 15m classes, and the second grouping
the Standard, World, and Club classes.?

Outstanding. Have any of the people who dreamt up
that idea ever flown a glider??

Let me spell it out. This means that 40+ fully laden
Standard Class gliders will be flying with 40+ Club
Class gliders and 40 PW5s (assuming 40 people bother
to show up with a PW5).



I reckon it will be more like 52 + 54 + about 10.
At least this class combination won't ever have the problem of
exceeding the 120 pilots per event limit.

European women flying the heavy iron and the MEN flying 25 PWees
[)All classes started at different well separated points and flew
tasks that rarely had common legs

Ben Flewett wrote:
Wasn't there - can't comment.

If the problems didn't happen then perhaps I am wrong.
I just can't see how 40 fully laden Std class ships
can cohabitate with 40 PW5's.

By the way - what comp are you talking about...? 1999
was a WGC year (Bayreuth Germany). Was it a juniors
or something...?

B



At 20:54 08 March 2004, Charles Yeates wrote:

Hmmmmmnn

Ben -- your comments do not match what happened at
the the 1999 Leszno,
PL, competition with mobs of Std, 15m and World Class
ships flying
together. The kinds of problems you forsee never happened.

Ben Flewett wrote:

“Starting with the 2008 events, the World Soaring
Championships
will be held in two major venues, one regrouping the
Open, 18m, and 15m classes, and the second grouping
the Standard, World, and Club classes.”

Outstanding. Have any of the people who dreamt up
that idea ever flown a glider…?

I think the point is being missed here.

Why does the IGC continue to support a class that very
few people are interested in. When will we get a one-glider-class
that people want to fly in? Someone mentioned that
it was great that 25 pilots turned to a meeting or
something (I cant be bothered to read back) to do with
the PW5. So what?!?! We have more than 25 people on
the reserve list for the UK Nationals (not PW5 nats
of course, real gliders. We dont have anywhere near
enough interest to hold a rated PW5 competition.).

When will the gliding quango realise that the majority
of sane people dont want to fly the PW5. It is worse
than my glider, in both climb and glide (and certainly
looks), which is over 30 years old!! And its double
the price! What is the point!?!?

When will you people see sense and change the one class
to either the LS4 or the Discus?

Your posting is not 'Great News'; it is indicating
that you are just delaying the inevitable.

Charles Yeates wrote in message ...
With Spring and a new season arriving, here are some absolutely GREAT news
for the World Class:

...Of concern was a proposal by the German delegation to
discontinue having World Championships of the World Class after 2009
(the World Class
was guaranteed to have World Championships until 2009 in previous
meetings) and
replace...

I don't know you and I don't know what you said at the IGC meeting but
it must have been retorically f-ing brilliant if you could change the
IGCs mind on discontinuing the WC-WGC after 2009. I still fail to see
why it should be contiued given the fact that the concept of the WC as
it is defined know does not seem to work.


...the Subcommittee decided that the proposals
were likely the result of a lack of information about the progress of
the World
Class,....

I seem to lack that kind of information, too. Can you please explain
or even better: send me your presentation?

and decided to prepare a presentation, which I delivered during the
plenary session the next day, outlining the successes of the World Class
in many
countries. As a result of the presentation, the Italians and French
withdrew
their proposals. The German proposal was voted upon and overwhelmingly
defeated
(with only the German voting for their proposal).

I'll definitely have a word with our delegate about that very soon...


Marcel

Why walk when you can soar?

I'm not a big fan of a flying sperm cell either, but you can forget
that Discus or LS4 will ever become a world class. One of the major
requirement for that class is: can you produce NEW, laminate, low cost
glider that will be widely accessible to everyone that wants to fly?
NOT, can you buy a 30 year old LS3 at the similar price or if you can
buy new Discus for $70,000, making gliding even less accessible for
regular folk. Now take a wild guess dont you see any LS4, or Discus in
majority, if not all American clubs? Is it because Pewee is better? Or
is it because Pewee is cheaper to aquire and operate? If that wasn't
the requirement Poles would probably propose Jantar.