Horsham ready for world grand prix

Some of Australia’s best glider pilots will descend on Horsham at the weekend to compete in the ninth World FAI Sailplane Grand Prix series.

The sailplane event will kick off a massive three weeks of racing at Horsham Aerodrome.

Horsham Flying Club president Arnold Niewand said he was excited to welcome the sport’s elite to the Wimmera.

Federation Aerionautique Internationale, FAI, the world’s premier air sports organisation, offered the Horsham club back-to-back World Sailplane Grand Prix legs following the success of an initial event in Horsham in 2016.

The Horsham event is the sole Australian leg of the series.

Mr Niewand said organisers looked forward to an action-packed week.

“The grand prix is the formula one of glider racing,” he said.

“It is an international event so we have places for international pilots, but unfortunately none of them have taken us up on it.

“A maximum of 20 pilots can take part and we have 10 signed up at the moment. We don’t have a big field, but we have a quality field.”

Entrants include multi-winning state gliding champions, a former Qantas pilot and the former head of the RAAF.

“The grand prix will feature the fastest and latest gliders and they will all be starting at the same time,” Mr Niewand said.

“They will start in full view of spectators at the aerodrome and then fly around certain checkpoints at various towns around Horsham.

“There will be public viewing areas at the airfield so people can come along and see the start and finish.”

Mr Niewand said grand prix racing required great concentration and skill as pilots sought out and tried to make the best use of available energy in the air.

“At the same time they need to employ tactics to gain an edge over other competitors,” he said.

Pilots will participate in practice days on Saturday and Sunday, with the competition to run from Monday to Sunday, January 28. Each day brings a different race around a closed course of about 200 kilometres.

Races usually take about two hours depending on weather conditions. Each race starts with the race director opening a five-kilometre long start line.

“The start line provides an exciting spectacle with all the competitors streaming through the start together,” Mr Niewand said. “Once across the start line the pilots choose their own route, seeking out the best energy to each of the mandatory points they must pass.

“The successful passage of these points is verified by information from flight recorders carried in each glider. Having passed each point, they must cross the finish line to record their speed.”

Mr Niewand said the race winner was the pilot who selected the best route and made most efficient use of the available energy in the sky to finish first across the line.

“This requires excellent piloting skills to identify and use the thermal currents that will give them altitude that is then converted into speed,” he said. “Winning the race requires a pilot to formulate a strategy that suits his or her competitive style – some like to race ahead while others might wish to fly more conservatively and wait for the leaders to make a mistake.”

On each race day, the top 10 pilots are awarded points according to their position. The pilot who collects the most points by the end of the contest is the winner.

Mr Niewand said real-time internet coverage of daily competitions would allow people worldwide to log in to view progress.

Following the Horsham leg, grand prix will head overseas.

The world final will be in Cerdanya, Spain, in June 2019.

Following the grand prix, Horsham Flying Club will turn its attention to a Victorian Soaring Association Horsham Coaching Week from January 29 to February 2, followed by Horsham Week Gliding Competition from February 3 to 10. the