US Soaring Team WGC Reports & Results

Yesterday was a good day for the US Team. It was the first official practice day and pilots were sent out on a difficult 225K task with rapidly changing WX. Only 11 out of the 30 in Standard class were able to complete the task. Garret Willat took second in his LS-8 completing the task at 82.3 kph. Garret was able to carry his full tank of water for the entire task and that helped on a rather dicey final glide. Actually, it was so marginal that he had to top off 250 feet only 4 K from the finish. He had 640 points 32 points out of first place for the day and and 23 points ahead of the British pilots who took 3rd, 4th, and 5th.

Mike Westbrook took 16th place with 271 points. He managed to make all three turn points but hit an airspace violation 117 K out and violating airspace is scored as a landout at the point of entry. He was not alone in that as other pilots also had airspace violations. In the UK where control areas can be as low as 3500 feet and are peppered throughout the region, it is pretty easy to earn a violation. Mike landed out on the final glide home along with a French and German pilot. Ryan and I went on the retrieve which was interesting as finding downed gliders is not easy in the UK. First we entered a highway going in the opposite direction from what we wanted because the entrances are opposite the US. Since Ryan was the designated navigator I blame him for the error and he blames me as the pilot in command of the vehicle. Five miles later we were able to reverse at a roundabout and after a scenic journey through the farms and glens of East Anglia we found the town of Old and Mike in front of the local pub. The local farmer whose field he borrowed was very helpful, but Mike was a bit surprised to see that he had a tattoo in the middle of his forehead. The ship was quickly tucked away and we made it back to the field in time for dinner. Most of the UK Gliding Clubs have a restaurant or snack bar as part of their operation and the food is homemade and very good. Maybe we in the US ought to adopt that idea.

The other highlight of our day was the raising of the American Flag. The task of constructing a flagpole was given to Ryan and he responded with in a truly patriotic manner. First he "borrowed" three long iron rods from the debris in back of a hanger and bound them together electrical ties. A trip to Market Harborough for rope and stakes produced a 24 foot high pole for our flag which now waves as high as the Australian flag which had been the highest. Ryan will probably win the team Patriotism Medal for his efforts. The only problem was a complaint from a British team member who was afraid that it would fall on their team tent if the wind starts to howl. In the interest of harmonious international relations we have ignored her complaint and told her that she was quite fortunate to be under the protection of the United States

At the pilots briefing today the WX report was depressing; cirrus cover and low probability of flying. However, there was a hole in the cover and so they called a short task. Most of the class did not grid, but Mike and Garret have taken off and we will see if anyone can complete a task. Their instructions were to take everything easy as this is a long contest and they need to avoid mental and physical fatigue during the last flying days.

Tonight is the formal Team Captain's meeting. Friday, we have the Parade and Ceremony that begin the actual competition.

Update!

Well the Weathermen in the UK are like Weathermen everywhere. The call was for maybe a minimally flying day, but probably not. Cirrus was overhead and likely to thicken. Only 11 gliders gridded. Two hours later the cirrus left and Cu's began to grow. Garret and Mike have landed. They completed the task, saw 4-6 on the averager, and said the day was awsome. The scores are very preliminary but as of now Garret is in 5th place and Mike in 6th.I will know more tomorrow and send that along adding the SeeYou traces if possible.

Cheers,

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. Mike Westbrook landout. 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.
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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.