US Soaring Team - Club Class

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USA Club Class Team Pilots

David Stevenson
A 40-year veteran of cross-country and competition soaring, David Stevenson has logged about 3000 hours in 64 different types of gliders. He soloed in a 1-26 at the age of 14 in Middletown, New York, and gained many years of experience in California (Douglas Soaring Club), Colorado (Colorado Soaring Association), and Idaho. For two years he ran a soaring operation in Hailey, Idaho. The past 24 years have been flown with the Mid-Georgia Soaring Association in Monroe, Georgia, and Chilhowee Gliderport in Tennessee, where he headed the towing operation for three years. He has won half the national contests he has flown – twice in Sports Class and three times in Motorglider competition – and set three national records, all since broken. David continues to demonstrate that a medium performance, low cost sailplane can be competitive in the Sports Class. His wife Meredith and teenaged daughter Meghan will accompany him to France to the 05 Pre-World competition.

Tim McAllister
Tim McAllister learned to fly gliders in Hinckley, Illinois when he was 15 years old. He has logged more than 1,100 hours since then, flying the majority of his time in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. He has also honed his soaring skills in such diverse places as Norway, Kenya, Central Pennsylvania, Colorado, Utah, Texas, Germany, and most recently, the Alps of southern France. He won the U.S. Sports Class National Championship in his Standard Libelle in 2003 and was the top-finishing U.S. team member at the 3rd Club Class World Gliding Championships in 2004. He was one of 17 elite pilots who competed in the First World Sailplane Grand Prix in 2005. Of the eight National Championships in which he has competed, he has placed in the top-five four times, including a third place finish at the 2004 Norwegian championships. He has recently been named to the U.S. National Team for the 2006 Club Class Worlds in Vinon, France. He and his wife Susan owned a commercial glider ride operation in Steamboat Springs, Colorado from 1999 – 2003. McAllister has served on the Soaring Society of America Board of Directors. He is a member of Texas Soaring Association, Colorado Soaring Association, and Gardermoen Seilflyklubb in Norway. He is a rowing coach by profession, and has coached his crews to national championships wins at the masters level. He lives in Dallas, Texas.

Susan McAllister
Team Captain/Manager Susan McAllister has been involved in soaring for the past decade as a glider crew person, commercial operator and contest organizer. A passionate volunteer in many areas of soaring, she is a Contributing Editor for Soaring Magazine and served as Contest Manager for the 2005 Sports Class Nationals in Parowan, Utah. She was Team Captain at the Club Class World Gliding Championships in Norway, 2004 and the First World Sailplane Grand Prix in France, 2005, and has been named Team Captain for the combined Club and World Class team in 2006. She worked as a marketing consultant and freelance writer for the past several years before joining Ursuline Academy of Dallas in 2004 as Communications Associate.

Club Class Background

This is the handicapped class. Gliders across a reasonably wide range of performance are allowed; each is assigned a handicap based on its performance qualities. The Club Class has its roots in the idea that gliders with mid range performance, while no longer competitive against modern designs, offer an affordable and available alternative. The class includes handicaps for each glider based on performance. This class has been very successful in both Europe and the US. The US rules are somewhat different than the European version. The biggest difference being that under the US rules all gliders are eligible to compete while in Europe only mid performance gliders are eligible. The first FAI Club Class Championship was held in 2001.

Club Class Web Links

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NOTICE: These pilots are those selected to US Soaring Teams using the US selection procedure. The final number of team members may be limited by the organizers or by funding availability. Team members selected before their respective Pre-Worlds have the incentive to participate or re-qualify for their team position in the year prior to their WGC. Confirmation will be made through the US Team Committee as pertinent information is available.