Welcome to the U. S. Soaring Team blog and thank you for your support and interest!
The first competition day of the 2014 World Gliding Championship is July 27 in Leszno, Poland. Six pilots will represent the United States in fourteen days of competition against the best pilots from thirty-one countries. This contest will decide the World Champion in the 15 Meter, 18 Meter, and Open Classes of sailplane racing. I'd like to introduce our Team. In the 15 Meter wingspan class we have David Mockler and Mark Keene. Our 18 Meter pilots are Gary Ittner and Pete Alexander. Ron Tabery and Dick Butler are our two Open Class pilots. Each pilot has at least one crew member to assist and relieve him of the multitude of daily tasks required to prepare a racing glider for competition. Don Coder will crew for Dave Mockler, Mark Townzen for Mark Keene, Paul Weeden for Gary Ittner, Ben Mayes for Pete Alexander, Gena and Julius Tabery for Ron Tabery, and Rick Sheppe and Christian Streifeneder will crew for Dick Butler. I'm privileged to serve as US Team Captain and Colin Mead will assisting me. Our Team has great depth of experience in international competition including a previous WGC in Leszno
I mentioned the daily preparation for racing, but that doesn't begin to describe the planning and effort required in sending six pilots and a supporting crew to a World Gliding Championship. The preparation for our Team began immediately following the WGC two years ago in Uvalde, Texas and is ongoing and continuous. Team selection, based on pilot rankings earned in U.S. National Championships, was solidified in the summer of 2013. Our Team pilots have been practicing and preparing together. Logistical arrangements were outlined. We are shipping five sailplanes to Europe from the ports of Galveston and Baltimore. They will arrive in Bremerhaven, Germany and be shepherded through German Customs by Alfred Spindelberger, owner of the Cobra Trailer Company. Alfred and Agnes Spindelberger are long-term friends and supporters of the U.S Soaring Teams and we deeply appreciate their kind and valued assistance! The sixth sailplane, a Ventus 2cxa, is on loan to Gary Ittner from Antti Lehto of the Finnish Soaring Team. Antti is a good friend, also, and is supplying a crew vehicle to Gary as well as his sailplane.
Our Team pilots and crew plan to arrive in Leszno around the 17th of July to get set up and begin local practice. We'll be updating our blog often, so please stay tuned!
Dennis Linnekin, Captain
U.S. Soaring Team
2014 WGC
Leszno, Poland
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