The gliders we now fly are highly sophisticated and are able to travel huge distances and speeds in excess of 250kph using only Earth's natural energies. These energies are generated by the sun, wind, and topography.  As a glider is always sinking towards the Earth, we as pilots seek out areas where the airmass is moving upwards, this enables us to gain our energy through height which we can then convert into distance towards our goal.

You’d be amazed at how far we can fly by using Mother Nature in a single flight, 3008km is the farthest anyone has ever flown using mountain waves, but typically distances of 500-1000km are flown on a good soaring day.  We use the areas of ‘lift’ like stepping stones to climb, then glide.  Like an airborne game of chess, the better the pilot and their strategy for the day, the faster the pilot will cover the most distance.  What happens when you put multiple gliders in the air at the same time? A competitive nature develops, pushing overall achieved speeds and tactics to the limit – this is where it gets exciting!

Racing Format

The pilots will meet in the morning, typically around 9-10 am, to have a briefing from the competition organisers on the expected weather for the day, followed by the course to be flown and any daily operational requirements.  The task type can be one of two types:

Racing Task

This I would say is the most common type.  Typically we will race from A to B to C then back to A, called ‘turn points’.  The pilot must go through the start line which is typically 10km in length, then round each of these turn points in order before tracking for the finish line.  Amazingly, these tasks can be anywhere from 150-600km!

Assigned Area Task (AAT)

An AAT is similar to the above task, however, the turn points will have large sectors to fly within, over a predetermined time. Giving the pilot an opportunity to pick where they think the best conditions are to achieve the best average speed.

Once the tasks have been briefed, we then take to the sky.  When all competitors are airborne, the organisation opens the start line by radio. The competitors are then free to choose when to start, and they must consider the weather and tactics to achieve the best overall speed.

Win the Day

The winner is the pilot who completes the set task with the fastest average speed.  What this means is that it’s not the first pilot to cross the line, as they may not necessarily be the fastest.  When it comes to an AAT, pilots are set a minimum time that we must fly for, so we need to fly as far as possible in this set time in order to increase our average speed.

Each race is a test of the pilot's physical and mental stamina, their planning skills, and tactical ability. During the flight, there will be many critical decision points giving any pilot the opportunity to gain an advantage, or of course, fall behind if they do not.  Every day is a learning experience!

Winning a Competition

Each day that we fly, the winner will take home 1000 points, and everyone else will essentially be awarded a percentage of the winner's speed.  So 2nd place could get 999 points, or they could get 850 points, for example, it’s not a set scale like F1 racing.  As you could imagine then, the pilot with the most amount of points at the end of the competition will be crowned the champion.

As Ingo Renner (arguably the best racing glider pilot of all time) once said, “We are all given 7000 (x days by 1000) points at the start of a contest, spend them wisely!”

 Adam Woolley was born into the gliding world, being the 3rd generation in his family. Going solo at 15, his thirst for efficiency in soaring flight & quest for a world championship title to his name has never wavered. One big passion is sharing his experiences & joy with other glider pilots all around the world. Adam is an airline pilot in Japan on the B767 & spends his off time chasing summer around the globe. He has now won 7 national Championships & represented Australia at 5 WGC's & 1 EGC.