Go-Go Bill Kicks Butt!

Friday, July 30, 2010

On Thursday (Day 1 of the 18 meter competition), Bill showed his stuff by placing 7th in a field consisting of the world's 51 best 18 meter pilots! With a speed of 99.9 km/hr (62 mph), Bill ripped around the 337 km course and left several former world champs in the dust. Needless to say, the mood among Team WE was (and is) ebullient! Today's forecast looks good, so we're chomping at the bit for Bill to continue his propensity for inspired and consistently brilliant flying. Attie and Uys Jonker, the two founders of Jonker Sailplanes, were also in the top ten. In fact, of the six JS-1s in the contest, four ended up in the top ten. Russ Cheatam of the UK flew his JS-1b to 11th place. Not bad for a brand new entry in the 18 meter. Clearly, the JS-1 has proved its mettle on the world stage. On a more somber note, Lars Zehinder of Australia suffered a major accident in his borrowed ASW-27 when he finished very low over Highway 55 bordering the Szeged airfield. His wing hit a passing truck and the driver was critically injured. Fortunately for Lars, his glider bounced into the field and he was unhurt despite major damage to the glider. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the truck driver and his family. John Cochrane and Al Tyler, our 15 meter compatriots, landed out near the town of Melycut. The fields were good and our pilots landed their gliders skillfully and safely with no damage. Bill's 18 meter teammate, Tom Kelley, also landed out in his ASG-29 202 km into the race. Scores are posted on the WGC website. Go to http://www.ssa.org and click the appropriate link on the home page. Rand Baldwin "NN"