US Soaring Team WGC Reports & Results

Yesterday was a frustrating day as we waited and waited for the weather. It got a bit better, then a bit worse, and finally around 2:00 it got a lot worse and began to rain. I have never seen such changeable weather as here in England. Needless to say we did not fly.

We all went off in different ways to take care of things and ended up at the Gliderport in the evening for a series of British games called a "Knockout" where four different groups were formed from the different teams and they competed in different silly events. I would like to describe some of the games, but modesty prevents me as most were rather raunchy and raucous. However, the USA team contributed mightily to their group and all had a very happy time. In addition, most got thoroughly soaked and a good bit of beer was consumed.

Today the weather has cleared and it looks like it will be that way for the next couple of days. Mike and Garret are eager to fly and put some points between them and the other teams. George Moffat wrote with some sage advice about the importance of the last days of an international competition as that is when fatigue sets in and that is a crucial time when the contest is won or lost. We have planned our activities to provide the pilots with the maximum amount of rest and a minimum of distraction from their tasks.

The task today is a 348 K flight first to the south, then west going between two parachute areas, then a long slog to the east, and a final leg northwest and home. We want long, difficult tasks as that gives us the best chance to put points of the other teams. Of course, another day when our guys come in one and two wouldn't be so bad, but the main thing needed is to gradually gain points each day. Weather calls for 2-3 Knot average thermals with a low ceiling of 4500 MSL and that should make for tricky flying. Since they are the second group to launch the plan is to start early and that will allow them to finish around 5:15 (if all goes according to plan).

1ST UPDATE

The guys are off on their task. They left at 1358 with a start height of 3300. That means they have to be two minutes below that altitude which is about 2700 AGL. There were some groans and moans from the fleet when they heard that low start height.

Ryan's rope art today was a skull and crossbones so the team decided that we are "Pirates of the Air" and our guys are going to rape the thermals and pillage the air. We had our second injury today after the team coach's food poisoning two weeks ago. Renee has sprained her ankle so she is hobbling about with an Ace bandage on her foot. However, that has not stopped her from helping put on wings, etc. and keeping Garret's ship squeeky clean.

Cheers from the UK,

Bob Leve

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

Captions for photos: From top to bottom: 1. Ryan's Skull & Crossbones rope art. 2. The grid. 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	9th 959	16th 4090
Junior	Mike Westbrook	ASW-28	C6	29th 486	22nd 3891
				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.