Dear Gliding Friends,

The 1st World Gliding Championships in 13,5 m Class is over today in a beautiful day. Closing ceremony is finished and all competitors are leaving home. Please check the last Championships day in PHOTOS section.

We would like to thank all the Competitors, Glider Manufacturers, FAI, our Sponsors, the team of Kaunas Gliding Club, the people of Prienai and Birštonas who made possible this event to happen!

Looking to these very light gliders and it demonstrated speed performance in Cross Country flights and combination with FES selves-launch electrical engines made us strong believe that this Class will become one of the most popular in World in the nearest future.

Looking forward to see you in Pociunai next year when 34th FAI World Gliding Championships will be performed in Standard, Club and 20 m Classes!

With our best regards,
Organizers of WGC2015

August 15 Report

On the last day of the competition, an Assigned Area Task was set, only the second one of the contest, and the only one that was actually flown. The nominal distance was 288 km, and the minimum time was 3 hours.

We had the same easterly wind as yesterday. Today the conditions were a bit weaker, and there were no cumulus clouds. Everyone left at about 1400, and with the AAT, it was easier to predict when they would return.

As usual, the best climbs were in the southern part of the task area, about 2.4 m/sec to 1900 m MSL. But the typical thermals were not that strong, and the best average speed was 83 kph, as compared with 100 kph yesterday.

It was a good day for USA. Francois Pin and Tony Condon were together the entire day and took the first two places. Their times on course differed by 23 seconds. Stefano Ghiorzo was third with 81 kph, good for 961 points. The win by Francois allowed him to claim third place overall.

So, the 1^st FAI World 13.5 Metre Class Gliding Championship ends with almost 11000 points for the Champion, Stefano Ghiorzo of Italy.

Congratulations Stefano! And congratulations to Italy for winning the Team Cup.

Final results:

Team cup after DAY 11

2015-08-15 18:40

We have the last competition day, the last chance to change result table.
Although yesterday were clauds in the begining of the day, today we expect no clouds.
All three classes will fly Asigned Area Tasks. Time of these tasks – three hours.

August 14 Report

A useful part of every weather briefing is a thermal forecast for the afternoon, based on an actual sounding from a station upwind of the home airfield. Today the wind was from the east, and we learned that there are no radiosonde stations east of here. Something to do with politics. Instead, metorologist Viktorija based her cloudbase forecast on a sounding from Latvia, to our north, and her forecast was “no clouds all day.”

It turned out that the air to our east was not as dry as the air in Latvia. As Tony and Leah Condon brought JEN to the grid one of them took a photo through the windshield of the crew vehicle. By the time launching began, we had 3 octas in all directions.

Big Al sent everybody on the second longest Task of the Championship: south to the border with Belarus, then west along that border, then south again to Sztabin, Poland, and finally back home, for a total distance of 348 km.

We have become familiar with the pattern of progress that such a task produces – slow at first, then good conditions in Poland which usually follow the gliders back to within final glide range.

It was a good day for the French team. Antoine Havet was the day winner, with 100 kph, and Frederic Hoyeau was not far behind at 98 kph. However, the two leaders of this competition, Vladas Motuza and Stefano Ghiorzo were also very fast, creating a virtual three-way tie for first that pushed Frederic into fourth place.

In the overall race to the podium, not much has changed from yesterday. The first two places belong to Stefan and Vladas, and the third one is still undecided. Tomorrow is the last day of the competition.

[Photo credit: Organizers]

Eleventh day of the competition promises us blue termals and flight top 1500-1800m.

Task for 13.5m class: 347,5 km.,
Task for Club class: 320,3 km.,
Task for Mix class: 367,1 km.

August 13 Report

Today is the day we have been waiting for! Post-frontal fresh air moved into the area last night, and we were told to expect 3 m/sec to 1500 meters, with good visibility and cloudbases rising throughout the day.

The gliders were sent to the northwest today, in order to avoid the retreating front to our east. At first, the 310 km Racing Task seemed too short to some of the pilots, but later they changed their minds about that. In fact, it was the perfect distance.

The gliders were launched without delay, and they departed in three distinct groups. Four gliders (VS, ZR, I, GO) left before 1400, a pair shortly after 1400 (LR2, FES), and the rest of them half an hour later.

The secret to success today was pair-flying. The pilots of the French, Italian, Russian, and American teams started together, and for the most part, finished within one or two minutes of each other. The two most successful teams were USA and France. François Pin and Tony Condon finished second and third, while the next two places were taken by Antoine Havet and Frederic Hoyeau. But nobody was able to catch Vladas Motuza, who claimed his fifth daily win at 99 kph.

In the overall results, Stefano Ghiorzo and Vladas Motuza seem to have secured their positions on the podium. With two days to go, the third spot is still very much in contention!

[Photo credit: Organizers]

Front passed away and today we expect good weather.

13,5m class will fly 310 km. task,
Club class will fly 311,3 km. task,
Mix class will fly 365 km. task around Kaunas CTR.

August 12 Report

Today we find ourselves squeezed between a cold front to our west and a high to our east. The result is a moist trough, diminished visibility, and light southerly winds. At Briefing, Meteorologist Viktorija told us we could expect late afternoon thunderstorms and wished us luck.

The first takeoff wasn’t scheduled until 1300, so at the end of the meeting, we all stayed in the Briefing room and listened to a fascinating presentation by Morgan Sandercock on the Perlan Project. They hope to reach 27km altitude by this time next year!

Out on the grid, the mood was a bit pessimistic, and the time of first takeoff was delayed until 1345. The gliders were launched, and with all the uncertainty about the end of the day, they departed immediately on a 2-hour Assigned Area Task.

The winner today was Vladas Motuza (Lithuania) in the mini LAK. He flew 237 km at 92 kph, the longest distance flown, by a large margin. Stefano Ghiorzo (Italy) was only a little bit slower in his Versvs, and Morgan Sandercock (Australia) was third in the Sparrowhawk R. All the other gliders flew smaller distances and speeds, and four of them did not complete the Task.

We are all getting a bit tired of this milky airmass, and fortunately, Viktorija has promised clearer air for tomorrow.

[Photo credit: Vytautas Maciulis]

Day 9 started late, because we waited the temperature will reach 33 degrees.

All classes fly Assigned Area tasks, 2 hours, start lines are already open.