 100 competitors from 26 countries are competing in the World Gliding Championship in Italy in July 2008. This is a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world championship event. Competitors will be competing in 3 of the 7 FAI classes - Standard Class, Club Class and World Class. The competition is being held at Rieti in the central Italian Alps, one of the most scenic places to fly in the world and only 70 km from Rome. Over the competition a race is set each day over the 13 days, with the winner the pilot with the fastest overall speed. Each race is different and pilots are tasked to fly between 2 or 3 defined waypoints for a distance normally between 300 and 500 km and returning to the airfield. Average speed over a race can be as high as 150 km/hr with some parts close to 300 km/hr. Gliders don't have engines, but soar using the same rising air currents that birds use to fly. Most commonly the pilots use thermals, columns of warm air often marked by cumulus clouds, but can also use rising air over ridges and lee waves off the back of mountains. During the world championship all three forms of lift are expected. A profile of the Australian team for this event is available here. This website will be regularly updated with the latest information on the world championship from a uniquely Australian perspective. For more information take a look at Australian team websites for the 2007 Sabina Glide pre-world competition from Rieti last year and the previous 2006 club class world championship in Vinon France. FAI Glider Classes The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) is the sporting body overseeing air sports at the international level. Seven glider classes are currently recognised by the FAI and are eligible for European and World Championships:
The formal recognition by the FAI of a handicapped class suited to contests between gliders with different levels of performance is quite recent, with the first Club Class World Championships having taken place at Gawler South Australia in 2001. The class was intended by the FAI as an affordable entry-level class where the competitiveness of the entrants would not be limited by their ability to purchase the best ship. Club Class competitions are restricted to older gliders within an interval of performances based on handicaps published by sporting bodies. Current state-of-the-art gliders are thus excluded. The Club Class has been extremely successful, attracting some of the most talented and experienced pilots in addition to the young or impecunious it is supposed to target. Among the reasons for this are the long lifespans of gliders that invite their continued use in competition, the relative simplicity of the class rules where e.g. water ballast is not allowed and even the typically more relaxed "atmosphere" of Club Class competitions. |
