Slavnica

All the known are flown, and now we have started the frees. 40 of them done by Sunday evening. This morning briefing pilots selected the figures for unknowns....  And now they are drawing the proposals.

So far ( with all my 5 year experience in World Championship) this is definately the best airport bar and best championship food!

Free programs about to start

Warm up flight, low/low-line, 100m, Y-axis... 

Early mornings.... 

At Slavnica airfield is probably the best playground ever!

View from the judging line, straight to the box... 

Our hotel Elizabeth is located in Trencin, right in front of the old castle which is up there somewhere. This is carved *or otherwise made* to the wall of the cliff! Quite cool!

The fountains under the stairway at the hotel!

3rd time is the charm, or how do you call it. 2011 EAAC. 2012 WGAC and now this. Same airfield!

Couple more planes at the museum they have here at Slavnica

and quite few Cessnas. View to the runway *and the other side where is the juding line for mornings. See the mountains behind? Well, neither did we the other day!

It was a bit foggy one morning, but flights begun eventually!

Hurry hurry, hurry, to wait, wait wait!

Yesterday we flew in to Vienna. Just by accident, we met the German judge Sabine at the same time in arrivals hall and after couple of hours of waiting, we met more and more judges. Together we waited about 7 hours for our ride and eventually, all 10 of us hopped in the bus and drove to the airfield for registrations.
After visiting airfield and meeting many old friends, we headed to the hotel, me, Kimmo, Irma and one Austrian pilot - just to find out, they don't have our reservation. After few phone calls we got to the next door hotel for that night and decided to sort rest of the things tomorrow - since it had been a really - really long day.

Had a quick bite to eat and headed to get some sleep. Thursday (today) we had breakfast in the morning, then got our luggage, walked to the hotel Elizabeth and left our luggage there for the evening. The rooms were said to be ready then. And the bus left to the airport.

So, judges briefing was the first thing - meanwhile the pilots had their opening briefing. We went through all the questions from the judges evaluation test and had a nice time with PIK, who is in the jury this time - but knows the software in and out. After briefings, we were taken to the judging line and we actually had the warm up flights and ONE pilot - and then the rain came! So, after lunch, we waited a couple of hours for transport and headed to the hotel.

Got to the room, and after some refreshing we had the opening ceremonies (nice and short, thanks CD) and a nice gala dinner. Me and Kimmo sat with South African judges and after CJ and his assistants joined us, we heard quite a lot of stories about South Africa, it's nature, politics, animals (including warthogs, elephants, hippos, snakes, lions, spiders etc) and now I just want to go the South Africa to see all the amazing elephants and lions and all!

Oh well, transport tomorrow 7.20, so better start sleeping.... Briefing at 08:00.

Our hotel is right under the castle of Trencin. Quite pretty during the night!

Panorama from the judging line. Not a very good quality, but this is what I got out of my samsung!

Opening ceremonies are about to start

And then to the gala dinner. 

WAAC 2014

It's time again. Bags are packed and I am sitting in a bus. It's past midnight. Flight leaves at 08:25 from Helsinki to Vienna and then a couple of hours drive to Slavnica airfield.

So, world advanced aerobatic championships 2014. All old and new friends. See you soon!

This is my all time favourite cartoon Chicken Wings by Michael and Stefan Strasser. 

Same procedure as every year....

Contest is over and we have winners.

There was a day, when we didn't fly one flight- it was raining the whole day. Nothing new there, but we got a bit of a CIVA-job done with LG. Then most of the Friday and half of the Saturday we managed to fly and got all three rounds done. So, prices have been given out. Planes have flown home. I am laying on my hotelroom, waiting for my flight back home tomorrow.

This was yet again one experience more. And not a bad one. Definately not. Got a few new friends and a lot of experience.

Photos will follow, don't have the right cord with me to get them out from my camera.....

I am sinking, I am sinking...

Things tend to happen on my trips and travels and this is not an exception.... I started my trip to Sweden nationals / Glider Nordics again in the middle of the night.  My bus left at midnight from Pori, so about 20 minutes to midnight I walked to my car and started my trip. Only problem was, that some idiot set the neighbors paper trash on fire, so I had to call the fire brigade and wait for them to arrive. No big losses there, and I made it to the bus and to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. From there I had a flight to Göteborg via Arlanda. 

After arriving to the airfield I met many old friends and met few new ones and then we went to the forest to check the judging position with Lars-Åke, the chief judge. The SM-veckan, during which the Svenska mästerskapen i konstflyging is held, is in a different location every year, so you have to build the box every time again... So, this was a bit tricky, but we had a very good car for it... 

¨

After a while we had the judging position ready and we went back to the airfield and met the third member of our judging team, LG.

Wednesday morning we had the briefing in the morning and after that - it was off to the judging line. With some rain... The weather is giving us some hard time, it rains, and then it stops -we get few flights and then it is a break again - precipitation in the box. The ground got a bit of soft, so we had a good laugh of the classic video clip...  And in the judging line. At some point, it was raining on us, but there was almost cavok in the box :D

The clouds were really nasty and we even got some thunderstorm, but after a lot of driving back and forth, we managed to get the first round - all flights in known- done. That was a good moment to call it a day!

With the voice of David Attenboroug: After the rain, the judges comes out slowly, carefully from their tent, to see if it is safe to come out, if it is ok to be outside.... They glance to the sky, feel the weather, sniff the wind, and if there is even a smallest doubt that their paperwork gets wet, they flee immediately back to the warm shelter of the judging line tent.... 

And just after the flights were done, the sun came out behind the cloud. I think the weather genie is making fun of us.... 

SM Veckan i Borås & Glider Nordics

I printed out the next tickets today. Tuesday morning I'll be flying to Göteborg and hopefully from there to Borås somehow.  They are hosting the glider nordics and their SM-veckan (Svenska Mästerskap), so many different sports will be present.

So, sorting out my luggage. I came home late in the evening yesterday from Lappeenranta. There was
this Unlimited Racing event and I was there with Fouga-Team. Still need to go to the hangar to refuel it (there was no service last night when pilots flew back home) and empty my car from "travel set" of covers and oil cans.  I also commented the flying show in that event, Unlimited Racing. It was mainly a car and moto show, but with a twist with airplanes. Finnish Aviation academy was present and flew in the show with their Extra 300L. "Our Fouga" from Pori and the other from Kuopio flew in formation and a solo. And the hit of the show was Martin Sonka, who flew some amazing freestyle aerobatics and actually someone jumped over him with a Mini.

So, more stories to come, next from Sweden.

Both Fougas and one Red Bull Extra in the hangar of Lappeenranta airclub. 

Waiting for their turn, OH-FMA and OH-FMM ready to go!

3/5 display pilots, Martin Sonka, Ari Tolonen and Mika Kanto. Missing from the photo are Ari "Asa" Saarinen and Risto Viljanen.

There they go. the guy in the Mini had much worse landing than Martin with his Extra! :D

UK Nationals in Saltby

Few photos from UK, pardon the quality, just got my phone with me....

On the way to Saltby...
So close, and still so far away. What? Duxford and the Imperal war museum. Now I have driven pass it four times. Come on! Need. To. Find. Time. To. Visit!

This is how you know you have arrived to an airfield. Besides the gliders, this time you had to watch out for cows too. And rabbits. And hares. And Partridges. And Pheasants. And Queils. And Chris and Cindys dog, Sonny (which was one of the friendliest dogs I've seen in a while :D )

Chief Judge Bernard and Assistant Leif

Judge Graham Saw and his temporary assistant Dietmar and his friend

Judge Rod and his assistant. Which changed quite few times during the days. 

It was only Sunday morning, when we got a nice blue sky. But then the clouds came for a while so again a bit waiting...

THE Apple tree. When there was some low clouds, we did some shopping, and visited Sir Isaac Newtons home and THE apple tree. I mean, how excited can one be about an apple tree? But it is THAT apple tree!!!

Sir Isaac Newtons home

Not much photos taken about flying or that, so to the price giving ceremony....

Judge Graham and Contestant Chris 

Leif does his magic also outside judging line, guy takes incredible photos. Besides, I think at least one of his lences costs more than my car, so there was a bit of lence-envy in the air. In a good way tho :D

Team France, Chief judge Bernard and Judge Rod

These guys finished very close in points, less than 1 % difference, Paul and DJ

And then the winners. Sportsman, Bronze, Steve Hardy (no photo) and  Silver, Fran MacLoughlin, Ireland

Sportsman, Gold, Alex Harris

Intermediate, Bronze, Charles Baker

Intermediate, Silver, David Gethin

Intermediate, Gold, Peter Sharphouse

Advanced, Silver, Chris Cain (only two contestants, so no Bronze medal was given out)

Advanced, Gold, Adam Hoskin

Unlimited, Bronze, DJ Gibbs

Unlimited, Silver and UK Champion) Paul Conran

And Unlimited Gold, Dietmar Poll, Austria

And then we were on our way back and I just had to get a photo of that lovely architecture, so, so very English view over there.

On the way to the airport

THANK YOU UK, UNTILL NEXT TIME (and France, Ireland and Austria too)