US Soaring Team - Junior Class

Mike Westbrook
Mike Westbrook (21) took off solo for the first time on his fourteenth birthday. He had his first contest experience at 15 while flying a 1-26 in a local contest and has since flown in two 1-26 Championships, three regional and four national contests. During these experiences he won the junior trophy for the 1-26 Championships once and the World Class Nationals twice. In 2005 Mike participated in the Junior Worlds in England, winning a day along the way. During 2006 he placed third overall at the World Class Nationals in Marfa and participated in a training week at Rieti to prepare for the worlds in 2007. Mike is a Commercial glider pilot with his CFI-G. He holds a Gold badge with two Diamonds, Century I, II, and III awards, a handful of state records, and is a recipient of the Kolstad Scholarship. He has 1,100 hours of flight time, with 700 being in gliders. Mike is currently a senior at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a full time flight instructor with Floatplanes and Amphibs in Sebring, FL. Mike is excited to be headed to Italy and looks forward to a team success.

Kathy Fosha

Talented 24 year old commercial pilot Kathy Fosha has flown over 300 hours in gliders since her solo at age 19 in Minden, Nevada flying a Grob 103. Kathy has competed successfully in two National championships and holds numerous records including the Colorado 15m Feminine Altitude Gain and Free Distance. Kathy is Co-Holder (with Mike Westbrook) of New Mexico Multi-place Free Distance, Free Out and Return Distance and Out and Return Distance, Absolute Altitude, and Altitude Gain. Holder of New Mexico 15m Feminine Absolute Altitude. In addition Kathy has earned many awards including the Gogos and Kolstad honors and is a graduate of three time world champion George Lee's elite cross country and racing school. A recent transplant to Southern California from Fort Collins Colorado, Kathy now works with advanced aerodynamic design and analysis at Northrop Grumman Corporation in El Segundo Calif. "I love competition flying because it truly is a test of pilot skill. While differences in aircraft performance can cause a difference in the standings, a very good pilot can overcome these differences. Taking advantage of the energy inherent in the sky to fly great distances is an awesome thing", says Kathy. She is looking forward to flying and competing with a large group of Junior pilots at the WGC in Reiti and hopes to fly Standard Class.

Richard Maleady - Team Captain

Richard (59) began soaring a bit later in life - in 1989 - but has accumulated 1380 hours in gliders. He soloed in a 2-33 at Bermuda High Soaring in Chester, SC. He is a soon to be retired General Contractor in North and South Carolina and has operated his own business in Charlotte, NC for the past 14 years. Currently he flies his DG808S out of Bermuda High Soaring (now outside Lancaster, SC) where he served as club president for two years. He is also a member of the Carolina Soaring Association as well as the New Castle, VA Soaring Club. Richard began competing about six years ago and has competed in numerous regionals as well as 7 National Contests. He is excited about his upcoming involvement with the Junior Team in Rieti, Italy, and the opportunities to contribute to the team's success.

Billy Hill was forced to step down as Junior Team Captain due to an unavoidable scheduling conflict. Thank you Billy for all your help early on getting things on track for the Juniors.

Junior Class Background

The Junior category is a relatively new addition to the growing roster of FAI Championships. A first international "student" meet was held by the Dutch at Terlet in 1985, as a way for young glider pilots to fly competitively among peers. Further contests established a tradition of European competition every two years.

The idea of a fully sanctioned youth contest grew with each event until the first FAI World Junior Gliding Championships were held in 1999, once again in Holland. The USA has not missed a chance to compete on this international stage since 1989. There are typically two Classes (Standard and Club) but adding Classes has been discussed frequently. The Junior Soaring Team is made up of pilots all under age 26. Team candidates are selected based upon their performance in any U.S. national competition. To be eligible for the Junior Soaring Team and international competition candidates should have achieved a score equal to at least 60% of the national winners score.

Many people have been instrumental to the USA Junior Team effort including most notably Rick Nelson, John Campbell, Eric Mozer, Rudy Mozer, George Wiederkehr, Tim Hanke, Ken Sorenson, and Sean Franke.

Junior News eBulletin, Web Links & Camps

Junior Pilots INVITED TO SUBSCRIBE
United States Soaring Teams, the Team Committee and the U.S. Junior Soaring Association (USJSA) have developed a publication just for Junior pilots under age 26 interested in cross country and competition soaring.

If this is you are invited to subscribe to the Junior News eBulletin and start receiving periodic issues of the free publication by email. The Junior News eBulletin features special opportunities and news for soaring pilots under age 26 including cross country, camp, competition and team related items. The new eBulletin format replaces the original printed version of the Junior News. In addition the newly created U.S. Junior Soaring Association will be contributing to the editorial content of the team sponsored Junior News eBulletin.

Junior pilots under age 26 are invited to sign up and start receiving the new team sponsored Junior News eBulletin by clicking here. Sign up now! Find a full range of Junior oriented web links and resources for Junior pilots here.

TEAM SPONSORED JUNIOR CAMPS
The U.S. Team sponsors several training and performance camps for pilots of all levels from beginning cross county to more advanced competition pilots, including special camps specifically for Junior pilots under age 25. These camps are typically taught be US team members and include a mix of dual training flights, group discussions, flight analysis and one-on-one instruction. Team sponsored Experience, Training and Performance camps have proven to be great fun and an excellent way to experience cross country and performance soaring. See the team camp page here...

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.