Gary Osoba<<wosoba>>
writes:

WRE 2013- Who's Flying What?

When the World Championships were held at Big Spring, TX, USA in 2007, Attila
Bertok proved to be the very best Flex Wing pilot in crankin' Texas conditions.
He'll be picking up the latest Moyes racer from Kraig Coomber and traveling
directly to the WRE. Word is he'll also be carrying a second hotly tuned racer
for Glen Volk, former US National Champion. Glen flew very impressively at last
year's WRE and is an outstanding distance pilot. Will he or Attila be the first
to shatter the 500 mile barrier? Another Moyes pilot, current US National
Champion Robin Hamilton plans to join the effort during key days. Robin's
healing up from a recent shoulder surgery and it's not known yet whether he'll
be flying in his Moyes or will bring his Swift.

Former World Record holders for Distance to Goal out of Zapata, Pete Lehmann and
Mike Barber, both fly Wills Wing Talons. Of course, Dustin Martin raised the bar
last year when he flew the new World Record distance of 475 miles in his T2C.
Pete will be swinging for the fence after graciously coaching Jonny Durand on
FAI record filings last year, helping him to submit the paperwork detailing the
eclipse of his own long-standing record. Mike is trying to make this year's WRE
but has had a tight schedule since recently returning from the UK. Up and coming
comp pilot Mike Bilyk (11th at the recent Flytec Americus meet) will also be on
a T2C for his first WRE. Engineer and pilot OK Price is another Wills pilot,
coming fresh off flying trips to the Owens and southern Utah. He'll be "flying
for personal bests", but who knows? Records are made to broken and with WRE
conditions, anything is possible.

We're especially happy to see current World Record holder BJ Herring, US AIR
importer, returning to the WRE to fly In the Rigid Class. He'll be joined by his
mentor and current US National Champion, Jim Yokom. We understand that BJ and
Jim will be flying the hottest Atos's, in BJ's case the high performance big one
that's fast and flat- whether solo or tandem.

A couple of the pilots have asked what I'll be flying this year? I'm on the road
and will pick up a fascinating new electrically powered sailplane- the Silent 2
Electro- tomorrow. Then trailer it to the WRE for a Friday arrival.

This auxiliary powered sailplane is the first of it's kind and the first in the
US. After electric launch, the motor is switched off and flight as a pure glider
begins, Specially approved loggers monitor any further motor use to preclude
record filings. Of course in the case of poor pilot judgment and task
abandonment, the convenience of a flip switch and the resultant "save" or cruise
back home is a real luxury.

What makes the Electro unique is the integral folding prop, which is designed
for max simplicity and reliability. It's cleverly engineered so as to contribute
negligible drag to the high performing Silent 2 platform.

The original Silent 2 WR was built specially to meet the mass criteria and set
World Records in the FAI DU light sailplane category. The prototype was debuted
at a prior WRE, after Alisport engineers worked diligently to meet mass
requirements including my flying weight- even employing special titanium
fittings to trim the final few pounds. It was a great privilege to conduct the
flight test program on this glider, then coach US importer Leo Benneti-Lhongini
to his first World Records- flown in the prototype from the WRE. This platform
has flown very impressively, as noted from the manufacturer's website:

We have an opening for one more pilot at this year's WRE. We keep it small and
focused so that participants can max out their effort. Contact me if you'd like
to come fly personal best distances, rub shoulders with some of the top pilots
in the world, or attempt your own World Record: <wosoba>. There's still time.