US Soaring Team WGC Reports & Results

The Weather has changed for the better and the pilots are off on an unofficial practice task. It is a long 231K triangle. This will be the type of task they assign here given the expectation of 2-3 knots and a maximum altitude of 3500-4000 feet MSL. We were monitoring radio chatter but they are currently out of range. Word is that one contest pilot has already landed out so I expect that the day will be a challenge.

So far the contest has been run with perfect organization and coordination. The excellent organization has been matched by the friendliness of everyone here from the racing committee to the club members. Additionally, our team is fortunate to have Adrian Hatter, a very experienced British contest pilot, as our local expert advisor. Contact with Adrian was arraigned by George Moffat through Mike Bird (Platypus, for those who read S&G). He met with Mike and Garret over weather, problematic areas for flying, and a host of other information. One aspect of the competition that differs from flying in the USA is the low height of control areas. Today one area of the task has a prohibited zone which usually starts at 4500 feet, but was raised to 5000 from 1PM to 5PM because of the contest. Adrian told the team that pilots, usually a few each day, inadvertently enter controlled areas and receive a penalty. However, the penalty varies according to the infraction as opposed to our USA rules which are very severe.

Another difference from USA contests is team flying. Both Mike and Garret have been practicing this in the US and are continuing to hone their skills during the practice period. In general, the US Junior team has put a great deal of emphasis on our group as a Team. The Team is organized to reflect the fact that each member, pilot, crew, and captain, is integral to the overall effort and no one is more important than any other. If the team does well we all have done well and contributed and shared in any accomplishments. We believe that the placings of any individual eventually will be forgotten, but the sense of sharing in a successful accomplishment and the camaraderie that comes of that is something that lasts. To this extent we hope to do well in the team competition in which the scores of all pilots of each nation team are awarded a place on the podium.

These pictures reflect the colorful ambiance of the airfield. First is the rigging area. Next is a sign at the entrance of the Airfield announcing that the British Teams are financially supported in significant part by a government lottery. If only we had such a system for our National Teams!!!! Finally, the national flags and our powerful Land Rover retrieve vehicle, "Gandolf the Grey". I hope to be able to include SeeYou traces in succeeding days so everyone can watch our flights.

Cheers from the UK

Bob Leve, Team Captain

. See the Junior Team web page here and the WGC official site here.

Captions for photos: From top to bottom: 1. Rigging Area 2. National lottery sports sponsorship 3. Nation flags and 'Gandolf the Grey' About the pictures. Images are taken by the U.S. Team Captain and other U.S. Team Members. Some of the images used here can be found on the official website and were taken by one of several excellent contributors.
U.S. Soaring Team Standings
Class	Pilot	Sailplane	Contest Number	Day Place & Points	Overall Place & Points
Junior	Garret Willat	LS-8 18	L58
Junior	Mike Westbrook	ASW-28	C6
				See the official scores here
Points of Interest
ABOUT DAY REPORTS The U.S. Team Day Reports are brought to you by the US Soaring Team and hard working volunteer Frank Whiteley. Thank you Frank!
YOUR TEAM SUPPORT All US team members would like to thank those of you who have contributed to make participation in these international events possible. If you have not contributed to the team please consider making one! To see how, visit the U.S. Team Funding page here and the Robertson Trust Web here.
U.S. TEAM COMMITTEE The U.S. Team Committee has been working to establish a more stable management structure and better resources for our soaring teams. The objective are more transparent, accountable, sustainable and competitive United States soaring teams. See the full information on the new U.S. Team Committee here.
U.S. TEAM E-NEWS Sign up today for the U.S. Team E-NEWS. This electronic newsletter is sent out roughly quarterly and covers all the team news. The sign up process is simple - start by clicking here.
TEAM NEWS, HISTORY & ARCHIVE To catch up on all the news for the U.S. World Soaring Teams see the U.S. Team News. See the U.S. Team Archive for team background since 1950. As part of the Archive tour see the U.S. Team History page for a complete listing of US Teams since 1950 or the World Champions page for a complete listing of champions since 1937.
2005 Junior Team Sponsors & Helpers

The Junior Team would like to thank their sponsors who are providing products for the team's use.

Roy McMaster, as the US distributor for SeeYou, the flight planning, analysis and in-flight software is personally is sponsoring copies of SeeYou for the Junior Team. Contact Roy directly via email by clicking here.

Kevin Brooker of Peetot Pants is supplying the team uniforms and several pairs of his innovative pants. See Kevin's web site for more on these pants that allow you to watch your P's and Cu's here.

Many thanks to the Jaguar and Land Rover Engineering teams in England for arranging crew vehicles for the US Junior team. This went a long way toward helping the junior team finances.

Country and Contest Site

In 2005, The Soaring Centre, in association with the BGA, will be hosting the 5th Junior World Gliding Championships. This will be the first International gliding championships to be held in the UK in over a generation. The Soaring Centre, has with 400 members and a large fleet of modern glassfibre sailplanes.

Situated in the heart of the Midlands, the airfield is only 3 miles from the major motorway networks, and 1/2 mile from Husbands Bosworth village, making access easy from any part of the country.