Chabre 2009

Italy takes the Gold

2009-07-04T12:34:00.004+02:00

Podium finish ... L-R: Jonny Durand, Alex Ploner and Thomas Weissenberger

Champagne moment ... World Champion Alex Ploner with the Gold Medal winning team Italy at the awards ceremony in Laragne this morning

More pictures of the opening ceremony in this Flickr set

World Championship Winners!

2009-07-03T22:35:00.002+02:00

Gold: Alex Ploner (Italy), Icaro2000 Z9

Silver: Jonny Durand (Australia), Moyes Litespeed RS 3.5

Bronze: Thomas Weissenberger (Austria), Moyes Litespeed RS 4

And in the Team competition

Gold: Italy

Silver: Austria

Bronze: France

Congratulations to all, and congratulations to the new World Champion, Alex Ploner. We've had a BLAST! Full results on www.chabre2009.com

Friday 3 July: Task 8: 154km

2009-07-03T09:28:00.069+02:00

10.30pm: Results coming very soon... waiting for one last guy to download then it's all official...

8.30pm: Alex Ploner has just been into the download room, above. He got to goal in 4hrs 1min.

See more goal pics in this Flickr set

Manfred congratulates Alex Ploner...

Manfred explains what happened to him...
But who cares? Manfred's been World Champion three times already, and now he gets the girl!

7pm: The drama doesn't stop here. Just when we thought it was all over Manfred Ruhmer appeared to congratulate the new World Champion (yet to be confirmed etc etc) and the other medallists. (Who will be third? It's in a GPS on its way to download somewhere...). Amazing scenes of great sportsmanship. I have a tear in my eye. When the Tour de France starts next week and the tales of drug taking, cheating and rivalry start to pour out, remember this as a true competition, where the best pilots have fought the best fight, and then they've sat down together afterwards to laugh about it as the sun goes down on a great day. Thank you for taking part and for watching. Results out later tonight. Come back for the aftershow party about 11pm French time... à toute à l'heure!

Ladies and gentlemen ... Alex Ploner has landed! Probably our new World Champion, but it will be close. Congratulations on a great competition. Results out later tonight...

Alex Ploner ... flies Icaro

6.30pm: Alex Ploner is coming over the line.

6.25pm: Attila Bertok in. Antoine Boissellier next.

Jonny Durand is told he's getting more than a medal tonight...

Jonny coming over the line

Zac Majors, Team USA!

6.15pm: Jonny Durand second. 'Nice day out,' he said. He took the first start gate. 'Pretty much everyone did.' Described the day as smooth and nice. Confusion over Manfred cleared up: he has definitely checked in, and it was probably Christian Ciech that Nene Rotor was flying with. He has the same colours. About half a dozen in, including two from the US team: Zac Majors and Dustin Martin.

Nene Rotor ... good name

6.10pm: First across the line is number 95. Brazil's Nene Rotor. He said he was flying the whole course with Manfred Ruhmer and only outclimbed him on the last turnpoint. Which is baffling because Manfred checked in.. or so we were told. What's going on? Is Manfred still in the air? Can he still win?

Into the wind ... windsock outside the beer tent just minutes ago

5.50pm: Seems like a false alarm. Apparently they are still 35 km away. One rigid wing pilot appeared on the horizon but landed a mile short, caught out by the headwind. Tough day out there.

5.35pm: The Italian team leader is on the line talking to the Italian pilots over the radio, briefing on wind strength and direction. Final glide is close...

5.15pm: Radio reports that pilots are on their way from Sisteron - less than 30 km away. Plus, Alex Ploner is 33 tomorrow ... and he is still in the air. Christian Ciech is also reported to be still in the air.

Can you see any gliders? The sky now in the direction pilots will be arriving from

Alex Ploner, Italy

5pm: Alex Ploner: 32 yo, factory pilot for Icaro, excellent hang glider and rigid pilot and no stranger to the podium in both disciplines. He won the World Championships in Class 5 (rigids) hang gliding last year. He was fifth in the 16th Hang Gliding World Championships in Texas.

In this comp he was second in task 1, sixth in task two, 10th in task three, 12th in task five, and ninth in task seven. This performance has put him in second place overall. If he doesn’t deck it today, he could take the title. But today has been a day of the unexpected: the Austrian Gerolf is down too.

4.50pm: So if not Manfred, who? "Alessandro Ploner has got to be the favourite," says meet director Heather Mull, "But it's wide open."

4.50pm: More pictures from launch today are in this Flickr set

4.40pm: Jamie Wanders tweets: 'It also appears that Christian Voiblet [Switzerland] has landed here at the goal field...couldn't have flown the course yet.' Looks like the day, which started out difficult, with tricky launch and difficult conditions, could be shaping up to be a disaster for some of the big names.

Eyes wide shut ... Manfred Ruhmer on launch this lunchtime

4.20pm: Manfred Ruhmer has landed. He has checked in with the competition HQ. Confirmed. Quite a crowd down here at the landing field. The weather is good still, with no sign of any overdevelopment on course.

4.15pm: Unconfirmed news is comp leader Manfred Ruhmer (AUT) landed short of the first turnpoint. If correct the race has been blown wide open.

3.45pm: Very little news from the course line. Most seemed to have taken the first start gate. Heading down to the goal field to wait.

2.40pm: All but two pilots have launched and are on course. It's been a difficult start to the last task here in Laragne, but with a 154km task ahead of them pilots will have to put that behind them and concentrate on the task in hand. Three hours from now pilots should be making goal.

2pm: Just heard from one of the wind dummies (non-competing pilots who take off before the competition to show pilots what the wind/conditions are like). He's just landed and rang in to HQ to tell us it was tricky up there today. 'Hard to stay up.'

1.40pm: Txt from the hill: 'NW winds on top slowing launches down in lane two.'

1.30pm: Close observers will see that the final leg of the race will, if the forecast is correct, be into wind. The north west wind is forecast to increase in strength later in the day. Should make for some interesting final glides into goal.

Final glide explainer: Final glide is the last glide of the day - it is where pilots glide into goal, often from many kilometres away, not stopping to use another thermal or gain more height. The final glide calculation that a pilot makes - how high they have to be before setting out on final glide - can win or lose them the race. Get it right and the pilot will glide into goal and across the goal line with space to land easily and safely. Get it wrong and pilots will land short, or worse, stretch it out until they crash down within metres of the line. Final glide calculations are done with a flight instrument, coupled with the pilot's knowledge and experience. But calculations can be undone by unexpected conditions on route - for example stronger wind lower down that slows pilots down and degrades the glide. If the forecast is correct we can expect to see some of that today.

1.15pm: Competition race leader Manfred Ruhmer (AUT) is 'pushing' to launch now. Conditions are trickyish, with pilots launching from both sides. The switchy winds are making it hard for pilots to launch, so while pilots are waiting for the wind to come up the hill and make it easier to launch Manfred is effectively telling them to get on with it when the wind comes on or get out of the way ... he wants to go now. Pilots are taking the hint and going when it's good. About 30 are already in the air - no one wants a repeat of Task 5 when conditions were difficult on launch and some got left behind.

1pm: Pilots are launching now

View Task 8 in a larger map

12.30pm: A 154km task has been set, with three turnpoints and goal at Laragne camping. Launch window opens at 1pm, with start gates at 2.30pm, 2.50pm, 3.10pm and 3.30pm. This is a big task today - from here to Batie Neuve, then back to south of here, then home.

12 noon: Tensions reported to be running high as pilots have to re-load gliders and head to the south launch. Parking needs strictly controlled here on the single track road and things have been fraught. Pilots are however now in situ and rigging their gliders.

11.45am: They have switched launches. They have gone up to the top launch, where they should be able to take off from the south. The wind has gone south now, but will probably be switchy. The two launches are about a mile apart, so things may well be a bit tricky up there just now.

11am: Everyone is now on the hill, but the wind has gone very light - 3kmh from the north. Could make for a tricky start.

9.30am: Weather forecast

Summary: Hot and sunny, with moderate north west wind, and low risk of thunderstorms in the afternoon.

Winds
5,500m: NW 25knots, 50kmh.

1,500m at 2pm:
Aspres: 15 knots, NNW
Laragne: 15 knots, NW
5pm: Increasing winds through the day, slightly lighter to the south.

3,000m: Lighter winds, NW, 10 knots, 20 kmh.

Sounding: dry convective layer to 3,000 m at 2pm. Very convective by 5pm. Drier and warmer air above, with low risk of thunderstorms.

2-5/8 cumulus cover

Significant weather: NW wind at 15 knots, stronger after 5pm. 0C at 4,300m. Max temp: 33C.

Tomorrow: Hot, sunny, risk of thunderstorms in the afternoon.

Conclusion: We are going up to the lower north take off on Chabre

Wives and girlfriends

2009-07-02T22:33:00.003+02:00

Victoria Beckham and Man United ... you can keep them. From launch on Aspres, July 2 2009. More WAG pictures here...

Thursday 2 July: Task 7: 113km: Stopped

2009-07-02T09:21:00.020+02:00

All the photos from take off and goal are in this Flickr set

Jonny Durand wins the day

10pm: Jonny Durand (AUS) won the day. One point ahead of Antoine Boisselier (FRA). Jon took 2hr 5min 4 seconds, while Antoine took 2hrs 10 mins 20 seconds. No lead out points for Jonny as he took the second start gate and raced through the rest of the field. Pic shows him crossing the line at Ribiers, with the last turnpoint, the ruin at Mison, in the background. Congratulations Jonny! Read about it and watch the video on his blog when it goes online here.

The win pushes Durand into third place overall, with Italy's Alex Ploner in second and Manfred Ruhmer (AUT) in first. Ruhmer leads by more than 200 points, and Ploner also has more than 200 points between him and Durand. With one task to go on Friday the gold and silver medals seem assured, but Durand's position isn't so comfortable. Given the forecast - good - there is still a lot to play for tomorrow.

Antoine Boisselier (FRA), first in goal but one point behind

Encroaching storm from the east as a pilot arrives in goal

In the fields

5pm: All go here as first at least 30 pilots made goal. Notable exception was Christian Ciech (ITA), who wasn't there. Attila Bertok didn't get there either - in fact he didn't even make the first turnpoint. He took the last start gate, skipped three thermals and says he knew he was pushing his luck. 'The worst hang gliding task of my life,' he said.

The first two pilots arrived in goal in a nose to nose race finish at just before 4pm. Antoine Boisselier is rumoured to have taken the second start - unconfirmed - which would make his a very fast time. Lots landed short as a stiff and strengthening cross/head wind set up. A couple in the fields. Manfred Ruhmer was in the first dozen or so.

Once the first 10 or so were in though it was clear things were developing rapidly to the east, and the storm to the west that had been there all day was finally making itself felt. The task was stopped at 4.31pm. The task will be scored back by 15 minutes (this is the interval between the start times). That means not all who think they will score goal points will actually do so. Again, an interesting night of results ahead.

4.31pm The Task has been stopped, due to thunder storms on the course line.

4.22pm: About 25 pilots in goal now and they are still arriving.

4.10pm: Pilots are arriving in goal thick and fast. Already in are Antoine Boisselier, first to cross the line, then Gerolf Heinrichs from Austria. Also in are Curt Warren from USA and Jonny Durand, Australia.

3.30pm: The day looks great out there. The big clouds are to the west and the course is clear.

Flying in front of Aspres

14.45: Still looking good. No dangerous-looking over-development so far.

View Task 7 in a larger map

13.40: A 113km task is set to Ribiers landing field taking in turnpoints B35 just north of Sisteron, B52 at Malaup at the end of Aujours ridge, then B43 Longue Dent near Chabestan, south to B36 at Sigoyer near Vaumeilh then hopping over the Durance to the fort at Mison with a final glide from the north into the Ribiers landing field.

Starts: 1.45pm, 2pm and 2.15pm
Landby time 6pm

The field launched swiftly, and they are all in the air. With the first start gate in just a few minutes, they will be streaming south...

The key today is to miss the storms - we hear the clouds are already building on Beaumont.

9.30am: Weather forecast for today

Winds
1500m
2pm Aspres: West, 10-20kmh
2pm Laragne: W 10-20 kmh
5pm: WNW 10-20 kmh

3000m
NW 10-20kmh, increasing from 5-10kmh earlier

Laragne sounding
2pm: Bit of an inversion at 2,500m
5pm: Inversion broken, strong climbs

Summary: West or north west winds, getting stronger by the afternoon/evening, storms from 4pm. Sunny until 2pm or 3pm. After 4pm risk of isolated storms.

Tomorrow: Still hot and sunny, very weak risk of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Increasing NW flow up high. ‘Probably’ a good day for flying.

Conclusion: We are going up Aspres

Photos from Wed 1 July

2009-07-02T08:50:00.002+02:00

Photos from launch on Wednesday

World Championships photo competition

2009-07-01T14:47:00.005+02:00

More photos from yesterday and Monday taken by Getty Images sports photographer Michael Steele

Cross Country magazine is running a photo competition during the World Championships. To enter, simply send your three best photos (high resolution, jpgs, non-Photoshopped or manipulated) from the competition to: assistanteditor@xcmag.com

Include your name, address, email and short caption. Prizes include a basket of XC Mag goodies, plus publication in the magazine.

Photos must be un-published and taken during this comp. Deadline for entries is July 15 2009. Photos that do not win but are used in the magazine anyway will be paid at the magazine's normal rate. The editor's decision is final, etc etc...

Not in the rules, but a heavy hint from the magazine's editor, Bob Drury: 'In-flight photos preferred...'!

Spaghetti night at Chateauneuf de Chabre

2009-07-01T14:36:00.003+02:00

Tuesday night saw the competition field head to Chateauneuf de Chabre for spaghetti and dancing. It was another funny evening - one of many. Photos of the night are all here

To download a high resolution version (for free) that is suitable for printing:

1 Click on the photo you want
2 Click the icon 'All sizes' at the top
3 Click 'Original'
4 Click 'Download the original size'
5 Print it from your home printer or email/take it to a photo shop

Wednesday 1 July: Task 6: 89.4km: Cancelled

2009-07-01T09:22:00.025+02:00

2.30pm: Pilots all over the sky above Laragne. All landing at the camping field for an early bath. It's all over until tomorrow.

2pm: Task cancelled. Big storm development over the mountains to the north (Pic de Bure) mean the task has been cancelled. Many pilots in the air will probably head home to the landing field in Laragne. What a massive shame.

1.30pm: OK, sounds like it's a big rush to get in the air. No wonder after yesterday's slow launch. Get up while the going is good. Aspres is also a much easier/friendlier place to launch from than Chabre. So all good in that regard. Although the clouds are said to be getting bigger already behind Aspres.

The task as detailed below is confirmed.

The launch window is open from 12.50pm to 2.30pm.

Start gates are at 2.15pm, 2.30pm and 2.45pm. Anyone taking odds on who will hang around to take the second start gate today?

The deadline for the task is 5.30pm. Quite early, presumably in an effort to beat the storms that are forecast for later on. The goal is a 300m cylinder - no physical line to cross today.

1pm: Launch is open and pilots are now taking off. Conditions are good and unlike yesterday gliders are getting off easily.

Tweet from the hill: 'Super quick launches in perfect conditions ... Very crowded over launch.'

View Task 6 in a larger map

12noon: A new provisional task, above, has been announced. 89.4 km via three turnpoints. Taking off at Aspres and landing back there too.

11.30am: A provisional 114 km task has been called

10.15am: Michael Steele, a sports photographer for photo agency Getty Images was on launch for the past two days. His photos are here. Jose Herrarte is the pilot against the clouds, but who is the pilot on the Combat? Post a name if you know. Getty Images sends pictures to media organisations around the world, so the pictures end up online (for example here, as a photo of the day) and in newspapers around the world.

9.30am: Weather forecast summary: Hot and sunny with thunderstorms. We still have the NW flow.

2pm winds at 1500m: 15 knots (30 kmh) NW
Aspres: WSW 5-10knots
Chabre: slack wind, virtually none
Valley breezes SSE up to 2,000m around Laragne. With storms from 4pm.
5pm: winds disturbed by cunims. Possible storms.

Max temp: 33C
Cloudbase at 2,400m – 2,600m

Chuckle went round the hall as a slide went up showing convective clouds at 5pm – basically everywhere, with lightning strikes all around.

Pretty much the same as yesterday: good, then storms later.

Tomorrow: Hot and sunny with less risk of thunderstorms.

Conclusion: We are going to Aspres. Pilots will wait at the main launch until it is decided what the wind is doing.

9.15am: Nice day outside today. But heavy weather remains from yesterday's task, which scored 1,000 points despite being stopped. Provisional results were posted last night, (on chabre2009.com) with official results expected later today.

Tattoos on launch: 2

2009-06-30T18:47:00.002+02:00

The second in an occasional series of bird tattoos spotted on launch. More pictures from today's launch here

Phil Lardner

2009-06-30T18:06:00.010+02:00

Phil Lardner has taken the World Championships by storm, scurrilously blogging his way to newfound fame in the hang gliding community and – according to his own well-founded reports – beating the Oz Report, the best known English-language hang gliding blog, at its own game. But who is he?

According to his profile he is 41, single, lives in Bray, Co Wicklow, Ireland and likes beekeeping, astronomy and hang gliding. His hang gliding CV shows he has held a number of responsible posts over the years, including being the Irish Hang and Paragliding Association’s training and flight safety officer, their webmaster and their sites officer. The IHPA is a sponsor of Team Ireland at this World Championships and links to Lardner's blog from its website with the instruction, 'Failure is not an option - national pride is at stake.'

Lardner is also the FAI alternate delegate for Ireland. However, not much else is known about the mystery Irishman. Professionally, the Irishman has revealed he is a systems analyst who for the past two years has worked on maintaining his family’s Edwardian estate in Ireland.

Passionate about astronomy he used to build telescopes, before the overcast Irish skies dampened his enthusiasm. He took up hang gliding in 2000.

Lardner in dancing mood

Lardner in mystery clinch

Lardner in Team Leader mode

Lardner in a chicken hat

Lardner in shorts

Tuesday 30 June: Task 5: 130km: Stopped

2009-06-30T09:39:00.030+02:00

5pm: Tom Payne watching from Geneva posted a good question:

'How does the scoring work when a task with multiple start gates is stopped with no pilots in goal? If you score it up to the point that it was stopped then pilots who chose a later start gate will have had less time on the course.'

The answer according to the scorers is that the task will be scored on distance only, and to 20 minutes before the task was stopped: so as far as the pilot got at 3.24pm. And yes, that means people who took a later start gate will end up scoring less. The pilots knew it was likely to storm early. They knew the task might be stopped because of storms on course. Savvy ones got up quick and set off on the first start gate. Those playing for tactics by waiting in the air to race through the pack after taking a second start gate will probably have lost out this time.

Comp leader Christian Ciech is in the campsite bar having a bit of a sit-down and an orange juice. He looks pretty knackered to be honest. How was it Christian? 'A little bit windy, around the first turnpoint.' Nothing more. Everyone will just have to wait and see.

4.15pm: Some 20+ pilots have now landed in the goal field after flying straight here once the task was stopped. More coming in. Manfred Ruhmer landed around the number 25 mark, well after Christian Ciech, Attila Bertok and Jonny Durand. What does this mean? Who knows. It could mean he was way back in the field when the task was stopped, or it could mean he went for a bit of a fly after the task was stopped, or he took a later start gate to try and race through the pack ... Results should make interesting reading tonight.

3.45pm: Task stopped at 3.44pm. Rain was reported - via radio - on course by at least one pilot, Gordon Rigg of GB. Big overdevelopment - storm clouds - pretty much everywhere now. Smells like rain here at the goal field. Non-competing pilots who have landed here in the last half an hour are now quickly packing up. No competition pilots in goal.

Explainer: The task today was stopped because storms started to develop near to where the competition pilots were flying. Storms are dangerous to all pilots. Read here what happens when glider pilots get too close to thunder clouds.

3.30pm: The sky looks like this just south of Laragne camping and landing field. Big clouds all around now.

3pm: Launch pictures in this Flickr set

3pm: Bill Moyes, above, of Moyes Gliders is here with his team of Moyes pilots. 'Could do with a bit more flying, but pretty happy with the gliders.'

2.15pm: Took a while but all the pilots are off now. Some biggish-looking cloud development around, but nothing too serious yet. Pilots are out on course now, with the first expected to arrive in goal around 4pm.

Jonny Durand (AUS) launches from the North side of Chabre

1pm: Dust devils on launch, pilots are now taking off from both north and south launches, Manfred Ruhmer (AUT) and Jon Durand (AUS) just went off the north side.

12:35pm: First pilots have launched and are getting high, winds are very light and switchy so launching is a little slow, the sky is looking great with lots of cumulus clouds.

11:40am: A 130km task is called exit circle 20km around B36 then 114 (Villeperdrix), B29,then north to B56(Valdrome), east to B44 and then goal at camping. Launch opens at 12:20, with 4 starts 13:50 14:10 14:30 and 14:50

10.30am: Wind is south east on Chabre just now, which is good. Hopefully a decent breeze will set up and pilots will get off easily today. Twitter posts from launch are here

9.50am: In the meantime, the competition has been on French TV, above. Watch it here. Fantastic in-air footage

9.45am: Yesterday saw us sitting on a west launch in a north wind – not good. The reason this happened, we are told, is because of a strong inversion at 2,300m that kept the north wind trapped below it and blowing past us. The expected local westerly flow never really happened. Chabre was flyable, but tricky to launch – meet director tells us only one in five gliders got off there as well. Tricky everywhere, is the message.

Today’s forecast has been done for both launch sites, and is also tricky (NW flow is the hardest one to fly here):

Winds at 1500m
Aspres at 2pm: NW 8knots, 15 kmh
Chabre at 2pm: WNW 4 knots, 8kmh
Aspres at 5pm: NNW 27kmh
Chabre at 5pm: WNW 23kmh

3000m winds: N, 3kmh – very light

By 6pm: southerly winds at 6pm, coming from storms to the south east.

Local breezes will dominate. Less likelihood of thunderstorms today

Inversion at 2,300m. This trapped northerly flow beneath the inversions yesterday.

Drier, more stable air than yesterday.

Summary for Laragne
12noon: SW at 10 knots, 1-2/8 cu, base at 2,400
3pm: WNW wind, cb at 2,700m,
5pm: Could be big cloud devpt, possible rain showers

High risk of thunderstorms in mountains to the east and north east. Showers over Pic de Bure.

Conclusion: we are going to the top south launch at Chabre with an early briefing of 11.30am.

Video: Task 3 winner Christian Ciech

2009-06-30T08:56:00.003+02:00

Christian Ciech on winning Task 3 and who he think might win the World Championships...

Video: Meet Team Guatemala

2009-06-29T17:53:00.002+02:00

Team Guatemala on flying at home, and the comp.

Monday 29 June: Task 4 cancelled

2009-06-29T08:46:00.022+02:00

More photos from launch in this Flickr set

Playing the waiting game on Aspres

16.00: The task has been cancelled - the wind was just not coming round to the west as hoped. Pilots won't even be able to fly home.

15.40: After some time of unlaunchable air, pilots are taking off again. Conditions are slowly improving. About 12 pilots in the air (Manfred is still up at base, waiting). A couple of unlucky ones have landed. The cumulus development is not looking too threatening at the moment.

Manfred Ruhmer takes one of the only launch slots of the day

15.00: Manfred Ruhmer launched first and has skied out. Jonny Durand is working his way up. Another 6 or so are struggling. The wind is still mostly 90degrees off the hill. There's a big cumulus building to the east.

The start gates are now 15.45, 16.00, 16.15 and 16.30. Launch window closes 16.15 with a maximum extension allowable of 1.5h.

14.45: Now pilots are taking off. Some think this is a risky move, but maybe it will pay off.

13.50: Launch is closed again. They are rethinking the timings. It's still blowing from the north on the westerly launch, but it looks like the thermals are beginning to bring a breeze up the front south facing launch. A difficult day already.

13.30: The task has been announced. A 114km tour from Aspres (D05), travelling first north west to Luc-en-Diois (B810) then due south to B41 col de Perty, just off the end of the Chabre ridge, then east over the Buech valley to the hilltop village of Ventavon (B30), south again to Bevons La Fontaine, east of Sisteron, overlooking the Jabron valley, and then to the official landing field at Ribiers (A11). The launch is now open, with starts at 15.15 and 15.35.

Noon: The pilots are on the summit of Aspres, the wind is northerly, so the waiting game has started. The organisers are convinced it will turn to the west, but not sure exactly when. Same thing happened last year in the pre-worlds, it was a good call. The wind finally turned and a good task was set, albeit late.

9.50am: Jeff O'Brien has had his appeal and he has been reinstated. He scores to the point of his infringement. It was his lucky day.

9.40am: The forecast is confused today by models, overridden by the forecaster – basically the computer is modelling thunderstorms and overriding the general pattern. (As an aside, the way the forecast is done is the France Meteo forecaster creates a specialised forecast for the comp, which is then emailed over as a powerpoint demo, and he gives an analysis of it over the phone through David Owen, the comp organiser. This means the comp gets the benefit of forecasting local knowledge and ‘feeling’ as well as the modelled forecasts.) So the general pattern is north west flow, with north west winds on take off, and the risk of isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon that will create local winds.

The sounding we took today indicates a cloudbase of 2100m to 2200m early on today, rising to 2,400m at 2pm.

Fine until noon, some cirrus from west, big clouds over east mountains. Showers in first part of the afternoon, storms later. Laragne should stay clear until 4pm.

0C at 4,100m.

Tomorrow: Hot and sunny, with less storm development. NW flow.

Conclusion: Undecided. Decision is between lower north take off at Chabre, or Aspres west. And the winner is... the west launch of Aspres.

9am: The day looks good out there from the ground. More north in the wind yesterday, but so far the weather looks fine for hang gliding today. Weather report online as usual around 9.45am.

8.45am: So, 44 at goal yesterday. Christian Ciech won the day by a point ahead of Christian Voiblet. Zac Majors (USA) came in third. That means Christian Ciech is now leading the competition. Congratulations Christian on a great flight yesterday.

A huge upset though for Task 1 winner Jeff O'Brien (USA). He scored zero (0 points) after being penalised for flying in a no-fly zone. The area, which was close to the course line, is a parachute dropzone. Several pilots clipped it, and landed, as the rules dictate. But O'Brien's tracklog shows he spent some time inside it - as a result he scored nothing for the day. A huge disappointment for the American. He has appealed the decision, citing rain, the whole valley lifting (making it hard to land - he was spiralling but going up), and a parachute plane as the reason that he thought it best to stay in the air and get out of there rather than land in the dropzone. We'll have to wait and see... but fingers crossed he gets a fair hearing. He blogs here.

Video: How not to land a hang glider part 2

2009-06-28T20:26:00.004+02:00

A second video of the looping glider pilot who threw his reserve yesterday.

First video here

Sunday 28 June: Task 3: 166km

2009-06-28T09:01:00.028+02:00

Some more launch photos are in this Flickr set

8.15pm: Zac Majors (USA), above, in download. He crossed the line third. How was it Zac? 'Awesome out there.' Team mate and Task 1 winner Jeff O'Brien wasn't so lucky today - he didn't make goal. How was it? 'Rough.'

7.45pm: Ciech, above, in to download. He completed the course in 3hr 9min 55 seconds.

Bruce Kavanagh (GB) in to download: 'Incredible day. The second turnpoint was just out of this world.' Everyone liked Pic du Bure today.

Christian Ciech being interviewed in the landing field after his spectacular landing

Manfred Ruhmer in HQ tonight

7.15pm: Switzerland's Christian Voiblet just in downloading his instruments. 'Great task' he says. 'Strong climbs, always safe - the Laragne we like.' Favourite part of the flight? 'The other side of Pic du Bure - the cloud was on the mountain ... we could dolphin fly along the mountain beneath the cloud ... out to the turnpoint and back.'

6.45pm: Christian Ciech (ITA) was first across the line at about 5.30pm. Amazing final glide: landing field spectators thought he was surely in the fields, but his final glide, a metre above the ground, seemed to go on for 300 m or so.

Christian Voiblet (SUI) was second across the line, Zac Majors (USA) third, Manfred Ruhmer (AUT) fourth.

Ruhmer is in download HQ just now. How was it Manfred? 'Beautiful!' He liked the high mountains the best, he say - Pic du Bure and the surrounds.

Three French pilots were in early too: Mario Alonzi, Gianpietro Zin and Antoine Boisselier. Good day for the French.

Estimated 35 in goal so far.

Sorry for lack of updates during the day - Sunday: the blogger went flying.

View Task 3 in a larger map

12.15: The task is big enough, pictured above, but not as big as it could have been. Once on launch, it was clear that cloudbase was not high enough early enough to go for the 200km+. Instead we have a none-too-shabby 166km task, launching from Chabre south, flying west to col de la Trappe (B51) near Sederon, then way north to Oubiou (B94), tracking south east to Mont Colombis (B80), returning to Laragne Camping (A10). Launch opens right now. First start gate 14.00. More news as we get it.

10am: Word is the task will be big

9.45am: Everyone has headed up the hill. Jamie will be tweeting reports from the hill here. Updates will be posted on this page as the task is set etc.

9.30am: Forecast summary: Sunny and nice. Good for hang gliding.

Winds at 1500m at 2pm: SW at 10kmh
5pm: increasing slightly and going westerly
3000m at 2pm: 10kmh WNW
3000m at 5pm: Bit more west, at 10kmh

Sounding reports up to 3,000m is very convective: good thermal climbs. Above the inversion is dry.

Sunny, 0-2/8 cumulus. Few patches of thin cirrus. Low risk of isolated showers over north and east high mnts. Valley breezes dominate with poss NW wind strengthening by end of afternoon.

Max temp today 32C. Cloudbase at 2,600 – 2,800m at take off. Rising to 3,000 – 3200m.

Overview for tomorrow: Sunny, moderate NW winds.

Thank you for you attention – have a good flight! Meteo France.

Conclusion: We are heading up to Chabre, and will take off from the top south take off.

Everyone is leaving the hall very fast … looks like it could be a good day.

9.15am: Yesterday was blown out for comp hang gliding, but there was a display of aerobatics by several pilots above the landing field at Laragne. Part of a local 'Fete de l'air' taking place here this weekend. One pilot got it wrong and threw his reserve - video above. He landed ok and was fine. It's the seventh time he's come down under reserve apparently.

9am: Looks like a nice day outside. Light north west at the moment.

Last night was the pizza and paella night for the pilots. We all went to Ribiers, a village nearby and ate pizza and paella at tables set up for us outside in the town square. Of note was Davis Straub of Oz Report fame, who took a direct line, off course, and swooped into the paella pan ahead of the main pack of 100+ pilots, getting back to his seat and goal well before most people had crossed the start gate. Team USA was circling just outside the start cyclinder and managed a quick getaway on the pizza, while Team GB was noticable by their abscence until they made a fast dash-and-grab for the paella. No shows included Team Japan and Austria. One part of Team Australia turned up three hours late demanding food, clearly still on Pacific time. No chance, mate. All up another good night.

Video: Manfred Ruhmer on winning Task 2

2009-06-28T08:58:00.004+02:00

Manfred Ruhmer talks about his win on Task 2 and why he's come back to competition hang gliding

Video: Meet Team Japan

2009-06-27T18:06:00.001+02:00

Video: Here's........ Jonny

2009-06-27T13:27:00.003+02:00

Australian team pilot Jonny Durand makes videos every day:

Saturday 27 June: Too windy: no fly

2009-06-27T09:01:00.010+02:00

1pm: Sorry for lack of morning updates. Too windy today - so we didn't even go up the hill and the day was cancelled at 10.30am.

9.30am: Extended forecast care of Meteo France, which is producing dedicated forecasts every day for this competition, is sunny, with a risk of storms over mountains to the east

Winds
5,500m at 2pm: NW 18 knots – 35 kmh
1,500 m at 2pm: 10-15 knots, 30 kmh. However, the forecaster suggests winds will be stronger.
Surface at 2pm: Moderate NW

Wind strengthening through the afternoon.

Moist air at high level, with cirrus developing. Temp: 0C at 3,700m. 29C max at Laragne

Summary: Sunny, 3 – 4/8 cu over Laragne. Thunderstorm risk over the mountains, maybe around Laragne too by the afternoon. Base at 2,500m to 3,000m. Increasing wind throughout the day. In short, a windy day, maybe too windy.

Tomorrow’s forecast: Sunny, light winds with good conditions for hang gliding. ‘Quite a nice forecast’ according to organisation.

Conclusion: We are going to watch the wind on Chabre, where it is too windy to fly just now according to the weather station on top. Rebrief at 10.30am. If we do fly, it will be from the lower north take off on Chabre.

9.15am: Summary forecast is for big cloud development over the mountains, with wind at launch on the limit for take off.

9am: The sky at Laragne camping at 8.15am.

Friday Night Thriller: Fête de la Saint-Jean

2009-06-27T08:41:00.006+02:00

A bonfire night opposite the campsite brought pilots and locals out en masse to enjoy Laragne hospitality and beer. The party was a local event – the Fête de la Saint-Jean is an annual bonfire night.

Highlights included Team Japan showing in a kimono. He then danced with Team Russia and Team France in a spectacular show of international unity. When he and Team Russia leapt through the pallet fire, we knew a new threshold in international democracy had been breached – sport can do that.

Meanwhile, Team USA pledged to fly with only one glove for the rest of the comp – or was it only one task? – in honour of countryman Michael Jackson, 50, who sadly passed yesterday.

Team Russia breached French barriers to commandeer a fire hose, which she sprayed liberally on the crowd, causing mayhem and excitement in equal part.

And the mayor of Laragne, a local and national political name, made headlines by dancing with all the pretty girls, both local and international. Worlds staffer Dutch blonde Cornelia remarked that she had to be careful, as she knew she could cause heart attacks among a certain male age group. Wow. To have the power.

A highlight came as the DJ played homage to Jackson with a full, 12-minute version of Thriller. US Team pilot Zac Majors impressed with his impression of a Thriller Zombie, as he did with his moves all night.

All up a good night. Thanks to Laragne for hosting it – and hopefully that beer drinking and hangover will be the sacrifice the weather gods need for today.

More photos from the night, including incriminating ones, here

Pilot photos

2009-06-26T14:35:00.007+02:00

All the pilot photos are in this Flickr set

To download the original high resolution image, in the Flickr set:
- Click on the photo you want
- Click the icon ‘All Sizes’ at the top of the photo
- On ‘Available Sizes’ click ‘Original’
- This will give you a photo that you can download and print off at 30cm x 20cm

4.30pm: It's raining at the moment. Most pilots are either here:
The hardest working pizza guy in France

or here:
Casino supermarket: The pilots' favourite ... open Saturdays, and Sunday mornings. Please remember to take your own bag.

Friday 26 June: cancelled

2009-06-26T08:52:00.012+02:00

1.40pm: The task was abandoned but most pilots who had rigged chose to launch and fly down. Some had a lot of fun buzzing the launch. It's raining now over Laragne. Tomorrow is another day...

12.40pm: The task committee worked hard and fast to plan a route that would avoid the storms, but to no avail. The skies above Chabre clouded fast, and the cumulus are towering on nearby ranges. The day is abandoned.

10am: The field has gone up the hill. Looks like they will set an earlyish (and short?) task to try to avoid the forecast thunderstorms. Check back 12noon French time for an update on the route they will take. Updates from the hill on Twitter from Jamie

9.45am: Forecast summary: ‘More clouds than we have had. High risk of thunderstorms, and NW wind – but not too bad.’

5,000m: Light W to NW winds at 14 knots
1500m: WNW at 14 knots 28km.
Surface: Light W to NW winds

Winds increasing during the day. Moving more NW. By 5pm 30 kmh NW winds in Laragne region. At 3,000m the winds forecast to increase to 30 kmh and W. So, strengthening NW wind during the day.

Forecast sounding for 2pm: high altitude humidity indicating patches of cirrus. 3,000m cumulus. Lots of moisture in the air – storms likely. Temp: 29C high forecast.

Significant weather: rain showers, cunims and thunderstorms by the afternoon in N and W of Laragne. Hopefully these shouldn’t get to us. Must be ready for forecast changes by midday – the day could be tricky weatherwise, basically.

Cloud cover: 4 – 6/8 cloud cover, with cunims above the mountains.

Tomorrow: Cooler, light NW, some cumin to the E.

Conclusion: We are going up Chabre, to the lower north take off. Weather briefing at the top again at noon. Aiming for early take off to beat the thunderstorms.

Team Colombia reach the Mediterranean

9.30am: Team Colombia is blogging here in Spanish, with pics.

Chabre, the main take off hill, at 8am this morning

8.45am: Sixty pilots made goal yesterday. Manfred Ruhmer first, Christian Ciech, then Attila Bertok. Manfred got to goal so far ahead of the pack that the points are spread wide - Manfred gets 999, and third place Attila gets 764. That performance puts Manfred in the lead overall.

The forecast yesterday was right, in that we had storms in the mountains later in the night, although no rain fell on Laragne. Today has some storms forecast for later too - the main forecast with come through in about an hour.

Thursday 25 June: Task 2: 125 km

2009-06-25T09:00:00.035+02:00

Manfred's winning smile

He was this high when he got to the line

6.30pm: There must be 30 here now. I heard someone ask for a vegemite roll, so some of the Australians have got in too. Results online at www.chabre2009.com later tonight. Check back tomorrow for some more of the same, as long as weather plays ball.

6.15pm: For the Brits watching, Carl Wallbank, Gordon Rigg and Bruce Kavanagh are here. For Japan, Norihisa Wada is here too.

6pm: We now have 10 pilots across the line. It's been so quiet I've had loads of time to research Manfred. Here's a summary:

Why is it important that Ruhmer has crossed the line first? Well, he has been World Champion before – in fact he’s won the title several times: in 1999, 2001 and 2003. As well as World Champ, he has been European Champion four times too.

Born in 1965 he started to fly age 15 and began competing in 1989. He came 44th in the World Champs in Fiesch that year before starting his rise and rise on the international comp circuit. He spent 15 years at it before retiring from the competitive hang gliding scene in 2004 at the top of his game, after dominating the sport for the best part of a decade.

He left to concentrate on flying his Swift and to spend more time with his young family. He went on to dominate the Swift comp scene as he had the hang gliding scene, and also wowed crowds with his looping and acrobatics at free-flight festivals like St Hilaire, France.

He then surprised the hang gliding world by coming back to competition earlier this year. He won the first comp he entered, in Italy, and was widely tipped to walk his way through this comp, scooping the title for himself and helping his team on the way to Gold too. So it was a shock yesterday when he didn’t even place in the Top 10.

Born in 1965 Manfred grew up with one sister and two brothers on a farm in the rolling hills of upper Austria, close to the Czech border.

He is known to dislike the attention that his performance brings. But he has told Dennis Pagen, in that author’s ‘Secrets of Champions’ series published in Cross Country magazine that he is a ‘very patient’ pilot who is ‘willing to spend an hour or more if necessary getting high before the start cylinder’.

He also adds much of his flying is done by feel: ‘Much of my thought process when making these decisions and especially when leaving a thermal and choosing a good path is not done consciously.

‘I think my flying is 60 to 70% intuitive. Even when thermalling I’m sort of on automatic pilot; my body does the right things to stay in the best lift while my attention can be devoted to watching for traffic and looking for signs of better lift or the best routes.’

He is extremely well regarded in the sport. A pilot’s pilot, and a deserving winner. Congratulations Manfred.

5.45pm: Two more across. Attila Bertok (current World Champ) then number 33, Dan Vyhnalik.

5.30pm: Tum te tum ... twiddling thumbs here in the campsite. It's quiet here, not like yesterday's fiesta atmosphere. No one else has crossed the line yet. It feels like we've been waiting hours.

5.15pm: Pilot 16, Manfred Ruhmer is first across the line. By a mile. Christian Ciech was second across the line.

4pm: A nice photo from launch today on Aspres, above. Beautiful site. A few more take off pictures in this Flickr set.

3.30pm: The sky outside the Laragne HQ looks like this, above. You can't see them, but there are pilots up there.

Launch pic from Jamie Wanders who is tweeting on launch

2.30pm: Update from the hill, via one of the organisation officials. Almost everyone has launched and is in the air. The gaggles are not going up fast, although they are getting height eventually. Hard work basically. The day looks good, with good clouds, but it's been a slow start. The first start gate has just opened. Going by yesterday's speeds, expect first goal arrivals around 6pm French time.

2pm: Jamie tweets: 'A bit crowded over launch, so they're holding for 2 minutes every 10 minutes or so. All the Brits in the air.'

1.15pm: Jamie tweets: 'Launch open in 15 minutes. More clouds than yesterday, chance of storms later in the afternoon. Wind dummies reporting nice strong climbs.'

1pm: 125 km task announced. Out and return from Aspres heading in a straight line first south, then back to landing at Laragne campsite. Take off opens at 1.15pm, closes at 3.15pm. Start gates at 2.30pm, 2.45pm, 3pm. Land by time of 7.30pm.

Task is from Aspres to turnpoint B25, then to Estoublon, which is turnpoint B92, then back to camping at Laragne. Straightline racing!

I'll try this Google Maps feature ... the route should be marked (updated, 1.45pm). Now, if only the pilots had tracking systems, we could follow this live...

View Task 2 in a larger map

Racing lesson number 1: Non-pilots might wonder about the difference between a take off time and a start gate. The take off time is when pilots are allowed to take off. Generally they will take off early and get established in the air - taking their time to relax, make harness adjustments, get in the groove and most importantly, get high and into position (they have a start 'line' to cross in the air, shown on their GPS). They are then ready to start racing, which they can do any time after 2.30pm today, when the first start gate opens. But tactics now come into play. To get the fastest time pilots need to cross the start 'line' the second their GPS-clock ticks over. Some pilots will also wait around until the second or third start gate because they want to use the early-birds as markers, so they can swoop through the course line and overtake pilots in front. Or they may simply wait for the next start gate because they think conditions will get better as the day goes on. Either way, the eventual time a pilot gets is from his start gate (2.30pm, 2.45pm or 3pm today) to the second he crosses the goal line. Hope that makes sense. If not, feel free to post a comment/question.

9.45am: Flip Koetsier just stood up and revealed there has been a ‘minor inaccuracy’ in the scoring. A new list will be published in the afternoon. He said pilots who missed the line yesterday should not get too excited - they probably will still have missed the line.

9.40am: The forecast briefing has just finished. Another good day forecast. Isolated thunderstorm risk later in the afternoon. Light westerly airflow: 10-15 knots at 5,500 m.

Temperature colder than yesterday because airmass is less stable. Lower pressure than yesterday. Light low level winds. Cus and cu-nims in afternoon.

1500 m: 2pm: west at 10 knots, 20 kmh.
1500 m at 5pm: 15 knots from the west. Late afternoon westerly winds will be stronger today than yesterday.
3,000m: similar to 1,500m.

Before noon might have 20 knots at 3,000m, but should weaken to 10-15 knots in the afternoon with a slight north in it. Strengthening lower level north north west wind today – will be important today. Weak inversion at 3,000 m. Wind consistent in direction at all levels today.

Hot and sunny, some cumulus over mountains, west north west wind increasing after noon, earlier westerly wind on take off than normal, some showers on mountains after 3pm/4pm.

So, the main story seems to be the westerly wind, which may kick in earlier than usual on Chabre take off, and will strengthen throughout the day. Cumulus cover will be greater than yesterday, with some chance of thunderstorms later in the day.

Overview for tomorrow: light winds, north west upper winds, possible cu-nim development in the afternoon.

Given the westerly winds, we are going to go to Aspres. This is further away from Laragne than Chabre - about an hour. The good thing is the parking is easier and the take off area is enormous.

9am: So everyone is tired this morning, but the campsite looks like this. Yes, that's right, it's the same photo as yesterday. So we may have more of the same today, although the wind seems to have a bit more west in it. The results were posted late last night and are online at www.chabre2009.com. Those poor scorers exist only on stress, beer and pizza - the last pilot only got back from retrieve just before midnight. There were two tree landings - both ok - and one hard landing where the pilot got checked out and is also 100% fine.

Jeff O Brien won the day - well done Jeff. Upsets included Blay Olmos (Spain) landing metres short, and Australian Curt Warren and Brit Carl Wallbank doing the same - by one lousy metre. Filippo Oppici (ITA) and Koji Daimon (JPN) also landed pretty much in the field but didn’t cross the line. Commiserations to all – after such great flying it must feel like murder to drop short. 51 made goal.

Meanwhile, Manfred Ruhmer crossed the line earlier than posted yesterday - he came in alongside team mate Gerolf Heinrichs to take spots 14 and 16.

Same deal as yesterday on the blog - we will post as the news comes in.

Wednesday 24 June: Task 1: 162Km

2009-06-24T07:21:00.042+02:00

Jeff was interviewed for this blog when he was at the pre-Worlds last year. See it here

Jeff's blog, pictures and video of the day are all here

Jeff lands on Flickr

Jeff makes Google News:

This is his video of the day:

Jeff O'Brien crosses the line first

See all today's launch photos in this Flickr set

Added Thursday noon: If you haven't read Jamie Wanders report from goal yesterday read it here. She just gets it:

"When I realized it was OB, all I could think was how ecstatic and proud Rob would be if he could have been here to see that. I was with him at goal in Texas two years ago when Kevin Carter came in first the first day of the worlds. Turns out Kevin had taken the earliest start, so he didn't win the day, but Rob was beside himself. He was always such a proud Wills Wing father"

6.45pm: There is quite a breeze blowing through the campsite, and it's caught quite a few pilots out - several, including some names, have landed painfully close but not made it across the line as they struggle into wind for the last km or so. A few faces-of-agony are walking around the landing field just now, including Blay Olmos (Spain) and Brit team captain Carl Wallbank. They may have made it on the GPS. The results will make interesting reading. Jamie Wanders is tweeting the goal line on her site here. Her latest post says '30 across the goal line: No sign of Manfred yet'. It's all down to the scorers now...

6pm: Jeff O Brien (USA) crossed the line first about 10 minutes ago. He took the second start gate at 2.30pm. Looks like he has probably won the day. He crossed on his own, several minutes in front of the second and third pilots across: Alessandro Ploner and Christian Voiblet. Fantastic flying Jeff!

5.30pm: So far only a dozen pilots have reported back to HQ that they have landed enroute - looks like there could be lots in goal.

4pm: So the pilots are on task now. Down at the goal field (the Laragne campsite) there is already a party atmosphere - the music is on and the beers are out. One of the wind dummies who just landed after a two hour flight reported climbs of 5m/s and climbing out to 3,000m above launch. Expect more - and bigger - numbers as the day goes on. We'll head down to the goal field and try to catch the first ones coming across. Three start gates today though: 2.15pm, 2.30pm and 2.45pm, so whoever is first across the line won't necessarily be the winner of the day. We'll have to wait until much later - maybe 11pm tonight - to find that out.

A quick word about launch: the first half got off well and quickly, then the wind started to switch about a little, hindering some of the later pilots, so there were some late launches. Other than that most pilots took off and went straight up.

1.15pm: In just half an hour since the launch opened, about half of the field have taken off and skied out. No-one is hanging about today!

12.45pm: They are ready for the off. The task is set - a not-so-trivial 162km circuit. The first start gate opens at 14.15 and they will be heading North to Bonnet Rouge (B47), then East to Batie Neuve (B84), South over the edge of lake Serre-Poncon to St Pons/Seyne (103), then South West to B77, just north of Digne, and finally the long return to Camping Montéglin at Laragne. Estimated arrival is around 18.30. More news as we get it.

10am: Heading up the hill. Check back around lunchtime (FRA) for an update. Hope to have task etc online then.

9.40am: Briefing has just finished. Forecast supplied by Meteo France reads: ‘At last a good day. No problem with the wind but fairly stable. Blue thermals in the Laragne area.’

Main points:

Weak north westerly airflow.

Winds at 1500 m for 2pm: SW at 5 knots – 10 kmh.

At 3,000 m at 2 pm: NE at 10 knots – 20 kmh.

At 3,000 m at 5 pm: NE at 5 knots – 10 kmh

Wind will switch to NE at around 2,000 m. Below that it will be SW.

Forecast sounding for later in the day (5pm) is for no inversions up to 3,000 m. Weak inversion at 3,000 m.

So, hot, sunny and blue – very few cumulus. No risk of thunderstorms. Stable air.

Tomorrow's forecast: hot and sunny, light winds, possible storms over the high mountains in afternoon. Light winds and valley breezes, light NW upper winds.

Summary by David Owen: ‘Pretty much a classic Laragne day.’

Conclusion: 'We are going up Chabre. To set up on the upper south launch.'

9.15am: Lots of milling about going on at HQ. There is a whisper of maybe going up Aspres, maybe Chabre ... News on the noticeboard is the protest from the Hungarian Team has been denied.

7.35am: The view from the campsite this morning.

7.30am: Brian the Scorer is working on getting the temperature trace up and running again this morning. Small problem with the software/hardware (which looks about 25 years old) feeling cranky, but it should be sorted out soon enough. Scene on the campsite is quite slow - just a few people getting up so far. Give it an hour and we will all be in the HQ rattling around trying to predict the weather.

Tattoos on launch

2009-06-24T07:17:00.005+02:00

So far there are two contenders for the best bird tattoo of the competition. More as they are spotted.

Sprog settings

2009-06-23T18:05:00.004+02:00

The results of the sprog measurements are on the results page of chabre2009.com

Video: Sailplane action

2009-06-23T15:32:00.012+02:00

So today was too windy for hang gliding, but some people were having fun. A dozen or so sailplanes came past to soar the north face of Chabre, and one or two made a low pass of the wind-waiting competition crowd - a lot of fun to watch. They make a big noise when they're that close. Klaus Ohlmann: you were so close we saw your grin!

Tuesday 23 June: cancelled

2009-06-23T07:37:00.015+02:00

All the pictures from launch today are in this Flickr set

3.30pm: Too windy. Day officially cancelled.

3.15pm: Just come back down from the hill, where it is now gusting 60 kmh, average 47 kmh. The day has not yet been canned, but it looks like they might have to de-rig and come down, unless something dramatic happens soon.

10.45am: The most recent reading, taken at 10.40am, from the weather station on top of the take off hill shows the wind is 27 kmh average, 37 kmh max, 15 kmh min.

Forecast says wind will drop for the next two hours, then pick up later.

Under the rules the maximum wind speed for take off is 37 kmh.

The organisers have decided, ‘There is a possibility of flying today’. So, pilots are heading up the hill, they will set up, and then a task may be set, if the weather and wind plays ball.

9.40 am: Using the temperature trace France Meteo is making a dedicated forecast for the comp each day. It’s just been delivered to the pilots.

For today, there’s a strong north wind decreasing at altitude. Up to 2,000 m, possibly as strong as 20-30 knots (1 knot = 1.85 km, so 40-60 kmh). At 3,000 m it will be 10 knot, about 20 kmh.

The wind might drop off in the middle of the day, but will pick up later again.

No storms, 1/8 cumulus cover.

So, windy again. As a result a rebrief has been scheduled for 10.45 am.

For tomorrow they reckon it will be a good day for hang gliding, with 10 kmh south wind on take off.

8.40am: The results are in. This is a photo of the temp trace, taken from the computer screen. Click to see it bigger.

7.30am: The organisation has the use of an ultralight (motorised hang glider) each day to make a temperature trace. He is a pilot from St Hilaire, France, and went up this morning, taking off from the Laragne campsite just after 7am. He makes his way to 2,500m. He is still in the air but initial readings show a fairly strong inversion. Brian and Mark, the comp scorers, are mulling over all the computer equipment just now and will publish their findings in a respected academic journal near you later this morning.

Video: Windy evening in Laragne

2009-06-22T22:09:00.006+02:00

10pm: This is what the mistral looks like when it's blowing through the campsite at Laragne.

Video: Dennis Pagen measures sprogs

2009-06-22T12:00:00.004+02:00

Dennis Pagen is a legend in flying circles. He’s written a dozen books and some 400 articles on free flight, and is as interested now in the sport and its various disciplines as he ever has been (he started flying in 1973). This short clip shows him measuring sprogs, which is what he has been doing all morning here in Laragne.

Sprogs are important to the safety of hang gliders – they help control a glider’s stability. The reason they are measuring them all here at the World Championships is to make sure they are all set to within safe limits.

Pilots interested in sprogs can read more here, on the British Hang Gliding Competitions site:

“There are concerns that many pilots are competing with sprogs set too low, improving their glide performance but compromising the glider's pitch stability. As a result there isn't a level playing field: pilots that are prepared to accept a lower safety margin gain a competitive advantage”

Monday 22 June: too windy

2009-06-22T10:02:00.004+02:00

12.15pm: Word from the top of the hill is it's "really windy". That's technical talk for you. We are avoiding making forecasts on this blog: yesterday I heard it was mistral till Thursday then rain; today I hear we might fly tomorrow but wednesday is lining up to be fantastic. That's why this blog will be a forecast free zone. If it's flyable, we'll be flying.

10am: Forecast for today is for sun and strong north wind. So far, it is correct. Too windy to fly this morning. Updates throughout the day when things happen.

Video and photos: Opening ceremony

2009-06-21T20:25:00.004+02:00

Some photos from the parade today. Everyone's smiling!

Music and drums by Batuc Calu

All the snaps from the opening ceremony are in this Flickr set.

Video: Opening ceremony: Team Colombia meets Team Japan

2009-06-21T20:20:00.002+02:00

The opening ceremony has been ongoing since 5.30pm - about three hours. It's windy but sunny here in Laragne, and I think everyone is just happy to be here.

Klaus Ohlmann talk

2009-06-21T16:04:00.005+02:00

Klaus Ohlmann has just finished giving a talk on the meteorology and aerology of the area. Klaus holds over a dozen world records in gliding and runs a gliding centre nearby. Last year your blogger was lucky enough to fly with him – he flies a double-seater Stemme – and wrote it up for the Financial Times.

The World Championships scorer Mark Graham has also flown with him.

If you want to fly with him, get in touch via his gliding centre, Quo Vadis.

School Art Competition

2009-06-21T15:23:00.004+02:00

The local village schools have run a region-wide art competition with the theme of hang gliding. The results are hanging in the competition HQ. These are the winners. Well done to all who entered and congratulations to the winners!

Hang Gliding Art Exhibition

2009-06-21T15:16:00.002+02:00

The town hall in Laragne is hosting a hang gliding art exhibition. These are some that caught the eye.

'La Petite Mistral'

2009-06-21T10:52:00.003+02:00

So after eight days of good flying in Laragne - "the best week of the year" according to one of the organisers – we now have mistral. That means it's too windy to fly today. Tomorrow is the first task day, so we will wait and see.

Later on today there is a meteorology talk by multiple world record holder glider pilot Klaus Ohlmann, who lives and flies locally. Then at 5.30pm there is the official opening ceremony.

Wikipedia has a good page on the mistral:

The mistral in France is a cool or cold, often violent, and usually dry wind, blowing throughout the year but is most frequent in winter and spring. It blows from the northwest or north of Europe through the valley of the Rhône River to the Mediterranean

Organisers say what is blowing now is a 'petite mistral'. That is, it blows at 40 kmh, not 90 kmh.

It's not only a wind - it helps shape life in Provence. According to Wikipedia:

"The mistral plays an important part in the life and culture of Provence, The mas (farmhouse) traditionally faces south, with its back to the mistral. The bell towers of villages in Provence are often open iron frameworks, which allow the wind to pass through. The traditional Provençal Christmas crib often has a figure of a shepherd holding his hat, with his cloak blowing in the mistral."

Registration panorama

2009-06-20T13:16:00.004+02:00

Ali Gali the safety director took this 360 degree photo of registration in Laragne today. Click to enlarge.

Meteo France

2009-06-20T13:06:00.002+02:00

Meteo France has written about the Worlds on their website

'Outstanding conditions'

2009-06-19T14:39:00.001+02:00

Oz Report reports from the campsite today:

"We've had outstanding conditions and Steve Blenkinsop has flown every day for a week here."

Fingers crossed the weather stays good

'Team Langer' on the blog roll

2009-06-19T09:26:00.005+02:00

The Irish Team have a new, uncensored, blog. They reported recently on their team selection process:

"The other three pilots basically turned out to be pretty cr*p and we weren't going to waste any more money on them after they eliminated themselves from the competition in a variety of spectacular accidents, including one involving divorce papers!"

Read it here

And see what 'langer' means here :)

Laragne's place in the world

2009-06-17T22:26:00.004+02:00

Word from the organisers:

"Weather pretty good at the moment. Pilots are arriving thick and fast. Manfred Ruhmer has now registered online. Japanese team arrived today - for one is his first time outside Japan!"

Welcome, Team Japan.

Oz Report's in town too

2009-06-16T23:51:00.003+02:00

The Oz Report, a well known English language hang gliding website and blog is also in Laragne. He went flying today:

"I headed out toward Apres, 25 km to the north with Warren in tow. The idea was to do an out and return, but I didn't really have much for retrieval, as Belinda was relaxing. It was a glide over to Beaumont where I found some ratty lift that I stayed in a bit too long. Warren kept going but I wasn't that excited about going to Apres, so headed back flying around the valleys and find just as strong lift, but not nearly as ratty. I'll have to remember that."

The Oz Report is also the place to go if you want to find out about the great sprog debate, and CIVL's new rules on them. It's like, really technical...

Jamie Wanders has arrived...

2009-06-16T23:41:00.004+02:00

US blogger and hang glider pilot Jamie Shelden is in Laragne and has enjoyed a couple of practice days:

"Yesterday they were saying that the weather was to turn bad for a few days. Luckily 'they' were wrong. The boys went up for another practice flight and had a great day. Carl was up in wave a lot of the time and was much happier than yesterday. The clouds came in this afternoon and shaded us nicely. I don't know if they will stick around and spoil the day tomorrow.

"I spent the afternoon at the camping landing field meeting up with everyone arriving. This is my favorite part of the comp. Monica and Scott are here, Curt and Louise, Katharina, Davis and Belinda, Luiz from Colombia and Julia and the Russian team. It's so fun to see everyone again."

She is blogging here (photo lifted from her site - thanks)

Chabre's new ramp

2009-06-16T17:37:00.004+02:00

Chabre, the main take off to be used in the World Championships, has a new ramp. Read all about it and see more pics here.

Manfred Ruhmer confirmed ... Rigg back in

2009-06-16T17:30:00.013+02:00

Gordon Rigg on launch at the Pre-World Championships in 2008

Update on the Manfred Ruhmer rumour from April is that he is indeed flying for the Austrian team.

And British pilot Gordon Rigg has confirmed he is back in Team GB after a selection drama earlier in the year. A team pilot resigned for 'personal reasons' allowing a slot to open up which Rigg slipped right into. That must have been an interesting conversation.

That also puts a fun spin on things for the Team competition: Current World Champions Team GB with the whole selection stress only just behind them (will they be able to overcome it?), Austria with its big boys in big boots (will Ruhmer really walk it?), and France (second last World Championships in Texas) who have the home turf advantage. All of them will be battling it out for the top podium spot. None of them will be happy with silver.

New Zealand’s concrete boots

2009-06-16T17:21:00.004+02:00

Supplied by Team Ireland: “Photographic evidence that team New Zealand has been using the recent great flying weather to its full potential. The pic shows half the team mixing concrete for a local craft brewery, the long task lasted all day and there were rumours of blisters but no one made goal."

In fact Team New Zealand have been busy building because their gliders had not turned up – not one was put on the plane to France.

“One can only hope natural talent will surpass lack of practice,” reports our Irish informant, adding, “One will have to hope a lot.” Ouch! Handbags have been drawn...

Video: Welcome to Laragne

2009-06-06T17:53:00.003+02:00

The official promotional video for the 2009 Hang Gliding World Championships

Video: Aspres sur Buëch

2009-06-06T17:45:00.003+02:00

Take off from Aspres sur Buëch, Laragne, one of the alternative sites that may be used in the World Championships. Ridge soaring and thermalling. 10 Oct 2008, courtesy of hggreg.

Ruhmer rumours...

2009-04-17T19:56:00.002+02:00

The (unconfirmed) rumour is that three time Class 1 World Champion and four time Class 2 (Swift Light) World Champion Manfred Ruhmer will be flying for Austria. He left hang gliding competition flying five years ago, but has started dabbling again - he just won Bassano in Italy.

Wil he or won´t he be in Laragne? And if he is, will it make Austria unbeatable?

Comp poster and press pack unveiled

2009-04-11T16:23:00.002+02:00

And it is beginning!

The new poster for the Worlds 2009 has been unveiled, along with a smart new seven page press pack.

The press pack is in French, so here is a rundown in English of what it says:

The biggest hang gliding competition in the world is coming to France from 20 June to 4 July 2009.

130 pilots representing 34 countries over 12 days of flying

The French team is the fourth in the world, and has the world number one, Mario Alonzi, on the team, and they know the site well

Laragne is an exceptional HG site in the southern Haute Alpes

It’s been used for comps before: The Europeans in 1994, GB champs in 2002, 2003 and 2008, Pays Bas in 1998 and 2008 (what is Pays Bas? Is it Holland?), and French champs in 2000, 2003 and 2006.

It’s a good XC site. The French triangle record was set from here in 2007 by Gil Souviron – he flew a 275 km triangle via Mont Ventoux, Dormillouse and Grenoble before returning to Larange. Bon Vol, Gil.

It’s going to be a hot comp: French star Mario Alonzi will be there – he was fourth at the World Championships in Texas 2007. Current World Champ Attila Bertok will be defending his title, while all eyes will also be on youngster Blay Olmos, the 20-year-old Spanish superstar. But watch out too for Scott Barrett from Oz, who won the pre-World Championships here last year.

In the teams, all eyes will be on France battling it out against the current World Champs the Brits. Scorchio!

On the what-to-look-forward to pages, it tells us there will be:

20 June: Registration

21 June: Official opening ceremony with ‘musical animations’ in the streets

26 June: The Fete de Monteglin, and feu de la St Jean … from memory this is a big fire in the square, with beer

27 June: Pizza and Paella night in nearby village of Ribiers … not to be missed, as the paella is good and pizza excellent

27 – 28 June: The Fete de l’air and Fete du Sport .., a weekend of great fun stuff to do for kids, including acrobungee (?? sounds exciting), model aeroplane comp, and lots of things flying in the air

30 June: Evening cinema … 4000 years of aviation history

30 June: Spaghetti Party in Chateauneuf de Chabre … a new one for me … sure to be a hit

2 July: Cultural evening from 9pm

3 July: Musical evening from 9pm

4 July: Closing ceremony.

There will also be exhibitions:

15 June – 6 July: Hang gliding cartoons, in the Tourism Office

15 June – 27 July: ‘Imaginary flying machines’ (perhaps by children? I’m not sure)

And during the comp an exhibition of the history of hang gliding. Reminisce and laugh about how they used to billow …

Alongside all this there will be some people flying hang gliders and a competition. Hope to see you there. If not see you there, then make sure you check the blog regularly – we will be all singing all dancing with updates half a dozen times a day.

Roll on June. Vive La France!

Brit upset - Gordon Rigg not selected

2009-02-16T01:30:00.001+01:00

Oh my gosh ... Rich Lovelace reports:

Noticeably absent from the team is Gordon Rigg (8 times UK Champion) and Dave Matthew’s who had had an outstanding results year in comparison to 2 other pilots (see results below).

The panel have stated how very close and difficult this team selection was, but it is most unfortunate that they have selected a team which so severely undermines the importance of the UK Nationals and has caused so much unrest and demotivation among the pilots – me included. “What do you have to do to get selected?”

Video: The Pre-Worlds

2008-12-02T20:55:00.001+01:00

Cool!

Video: Chabre 2009

2008-12-02T20:51:00.001+01:00

Competition winner: Scott Barrett

2008-07-04T23:32:00.010+02:00

All the pictures from the Awards night: are in this Flickr set

Gold! Scott Barrett picks up the first place trophy

Scott Barrett: winner of the Laragne pre-World Hang Gliding Championships 2008

Scott Barrett on launch today.

Scott Barrett talks about his glider, an Airborne C4. This was recorded yesterday.

Closely followed by...

Second place was Balazs Ujhelyi from Hungary flying a Moyes Litespeed

Third was Dan Vyhnalik, Czech Republic, on an Aeros Combat

First woman was Daphne Schelkers from the Netherlands on an Icaro Laminar 12

And the Good Sportsmanship award - voted for fellow pilots - was won by Hans Kiefinger, Germany. Congratulations to all.

Team results: GB, France, Hungary

2008-07-04T22:56:00.003+02:00

Team results are:
1: GB
2: France
3: Hungary

Carl Wallbank, captain of the British team, collecting the team prize.

The British team, with Gordon Rigg holding the basket of local goodies, collect their applause.

Task 7 winner: Attila Bertok

2008-07-04T22:54:00.003+02:00

Smokin! Attila Bertok won the day in a fast time of 2hr 21mins.

The Oz Report on Task 7 at the pre Worlds:
" The lead gaggle was slow, very slow. Scott would later mention how even with Andreas and Mario Alonzi, they just weren't taking any chances and he had resolved to stay with the gaggle. Balazs (who was in second place) had caught up with them starting at the second start time.We started turning on the north side of a valley on the lee side of a small ridge (the wind was 5 mph out of the northwest) here the lead gaggle had just been wasting their time. The lift was poor yet again... "

Task 7: 107km to Puismoisson

2008-07-04T08:29:00.020+02:00

Airborne: Scott Barrett takes briefing notes at launch this morning.

Photos from launch: are in this Flickr set

8.30am: It's a beautiful day here in Laragne, and looks like it should be a good flying day. Scott Barrett might be in first place with a 200 point lead, but there's still everything to race for. Join us on this last day in France as we head into the home straight of the pre-World Hang Gliding Championships 2008! Someone give me a sports mic...

9.15am: Rebrief at 9.45am to decide which hill to go up. The wind is from the north, which means using the lower-north take off on Chabre, or going up Aspre and waiting until the afternoon for the southerly/westerly to kick in. Lots of "I don't know" going on in the HQ briefing rooms jut now.

9.50am: We are off up Chabre. To the lower north take off. Reports later and through the day, technology permitting.

3.30pm: A 107km task to goal at Puismoisson, south of Sisteron, is in progress. The first start gate opened at 2.30pm, with later gates at 2.50pm and 3.10pm. Launch was fairly hectic off the lower north, although a good wind ensured gliders could launch quickly. Conditions on the north side were weak, with slow climbs to around 1800m. Base is forecast to rise to 2,600m by 3pm, and in the south - the direction pilots are heading - that looks like the case. It's blue pretty much everywhere else. Launching earlier was better - later pilots found it hard to scratch up, and some bombed out while the earlier gaggles drifted lowish along the hill.

6.30pm: Initial reports from the goal field said 39 in goal. Secondary reports said 50. Lots sounds like a good bet. Initial reports/unfounded rumours also suggested current world champion Attila Bertok might have won the day - he left on the second start gate, and landed at goal with the leaders.

8.45pm: Pilots are arriving back at the HQ, which is decked out for the prize giving ceremony, with a band, buffet and local officials. Scott Barrett got to goal ... he just walked in to download his GPS. Now we have to wait and see if he's done enough to hold onto his lead.

9pm: GB team chat. They reckon they did OK. Carl Wallbank, British team captain, was first across the line. Pic of the download line at HQ right now:

9.30pm: 32 goal pilots have downloaded their tracklogs. So we are still waiting for a few. The band has started. We have just had 30 minutes of speeches. Pic is of Ali Gali (left, with glasses), the safety director, who acted as interpreter for the head of the FFVL and Laragne's mayor, also pictured. It's an oddish scene. The band is playing soft shuffle jazz, while sunburned pilots stride up the steps of the salle de fetes with their GPSs, oblivious to the local political importance such an event holds. Vive la France, vive Laragne! We will have a winner soon.

9.45pm: I just had a talk with M Chaves, from Italy. He sort of blew it today, his instruments died, he got nervous, and he felt he was flying blind - he got first turnpoint and that was it. But he was happy. He said the flying was great, that it had been a dream for 20 years to fly at this level, that he flew a task during the week and ranked in the top 40. It's a reminder that it's not all about winning - it's the taking part that counts as well...

10.15pm: We are waiting for 15 pilots. "They are on the bus. They're probably going to be at least half an hour," said the scorer about 60 seconds ago.

Pics are of the room as it is, with drinks and canapes, and a hang gliding simulator, which the kids are loving.

Video: Meet Dave Matthews

2008-07-03T20:29:00.002+02:00

British Champion Dave Matthews (GB) talks about winning Gold in Texas, the longest-ever flight to goal in Britain, and why he likes to fly. Camera shake, Tyler Rigg (4).

Photo: View of launch from the air

2008-07-03T17:40:00.005+02:00

Bruno Jeannin took this great photo of Chabre launch on Sunday June 29. If you were there, can you spot your glider? Thanks Bruno.

You can see the original and another at this Flickr set. You can also download the original high resolution image from there.

Photos: launch

2008-07-03T12:13:00.003+02:00

Local photographer Nathalie Fevez was on launch Monday June 30 and took these photos, now in this Flickr set.

Video: Scott Barrett, task 6 winner

2008-07-03T10:32:00.004+02:00

Scott Barrett won task 6, and now leads the competition by some 200 points. He talks about yesterday’s flight:

0-60 seconds: “I won yesterday. I have to maintain my points lead. And yes, I can win this competition. Task 3: there were reports of a 90-glider gaggle at the first start gate. Thankfully I wasn’t in it.

1-2 mins: “I took the second start with 30 other pilots. We zig-zagged through the valley. It’s important to take good climbs on the headwind legs, take turnpoints quite low going headwind, and high going tailwind. These things make a difference.

2-3 mins: “Caught up first gaggle. Racing tactics are decided on the day. Depends on the day, and how long the task is. Best points are when you can leave the latest and arrive over goal just in front of the other guys.

3-4.5 mins: “You want to be in goal first. On Australia: I live in Newcastle. We do a lot of dune soaring. We race topless gliders up and down the coast on lower hills than here. We race in conditions like this in Bright. Flying here in Laragne is quite a lot like flying at home.”

See Scott's Task 1 winner's interview here

Thursday July 6 - it's raining

2008-07-03T08:21:00.004+02:00

Rain stops play: Chabre this morning

8.15am: The weather's bad. Flying anytime today looks doubtful - although never say never. Scott Barrett must be chuckling under his duvet - he is leading the competition by nearly 200 points.

5pm: It's been the same all day. Some people went rafting, others looked round the local farmers' market, others read and slept. Tonight there's a free-flight film night.

Task 6: photos, blog reports

2008-07-02T23:54:00.004+02:00

Photos of launch on Task 6 are in this Flickr set

Oz report
"Why do I start off with Scott Barrett winning the day? Because it is news! It is news because it is against type, against expectations. It shakes up our view of the world. It isn't supposed to be happening, but it is. This is a guy who has never flown here and he's flying on a glider from the smaller and less celebrated of the two Australian hang gliding companies..."

Hang6
"At less than 300ft. with just less than a kilometer to goal, I start looking at any little open area for landing options. There are very poor options..."

Video: Meet Davis Straub

2008-07-02T22:30:00.004+02:00

Davis Straub is a US team member and author of the Oz Report, the international hang gliding website and forum. Here he describes his flight on Task 1, landing in a creek bed ... scary ... and what the Oz Report is all about. Filmed July 1, Laragne camping.

Video: Meet Andreas Olsson

2008-07-02T22:17:00.003+02:00

Andreas Olsson is on the Swedish team and won Task 2. Here he explains how he did it, and why the flying's much better here than at home. Filmed today, Wednesday July 2.

Task 6: 26 in goal

2008-07-02T09:32:00.009+02:00

Up early: launch opened at 12.30pm, and most were in the air within 40 minutes. Luis Achille (Argentina) gets ready to fly.

9.30am: Most of the pilots have already gone up Chabre. Event director David Owen says the day could be better than yesterday, with less chance of overdevelopment. We'll report it as it happens. Fingers crossed.

8pm: An 80.5km task was set today. 26 pilots made goal. The route was from Chabre, to turnpoint 18 at Savournon, on to turnpoint 26 at Antenne de Roche, then turnpoint 29 to Crigne, next turnpoint 24 at Le Vireuil, before goal at Ribiers.

Launching was slow at first, with paragliders showing the inversion height by soaring along the ridge and not getting up. Slowly it broke and by 12.40pm hang gliders had started to make a move. First start gate was 1.40pm, and first pilots made goal about 4.30pm. Scott Barrett (Australia) took the second start gate at 2pm, and made goal third. Results aren’t officially out yet, but it looks like he won the day. Laragne didin’t escape the overdevelopment altogether today – the stormclouds broke about 6.45pm.

10.15pm: Official results are out, but Task 6 doesn't seem to be posted on the website. Something to do with a network cable being cut and the scorer throwing his hands up in despair, apparently. His soldering iron will be out tomorrow (that's not a joke). Anyway, Scott Barrett won the day, and the overall results are:

1. Scott Barrett, Australia, 2717 points
2. Balazs Ujhelyi, Hungary, 2539 points
3. Dan Vyhnalik, Czech, 2513 points

Scott has quite a lead.

Pizza and paella - stolen by Irishman

2008-07-02T09:24:00.005+02:00

It was the pizza and paella party last night, with tables and servers lined up in the square at Ribiers, a small village 12km from Laragne. The storms had passed, and the night was clear. It was also stolen by the Irish pilot Fran Denny, who took the stage, and the guitar, from the rather dirgy local band and played a superb set of Irish folk songs. Well done Fran. You were brilliant.

More pictures in this Flickr set.

Task 5: blog reports

2008-07-02T09:18:00.002+02:00

The OZ report
"The rain was marching toward us from the west. As we headed out into the valley the shade came over the cauldron. Now it was looking bleak. Ali Gali, safety director, was on the radio talking with Scott, who was now at the second turnpoint. Scott was explaining to him how everything was fine where he was. A minute later Ali Gali was back on the radio and the task was stopped (the day cancelled effectively) and we were told not to go back to the campground LZ as there was a chance of a gust front there..."

Jamie Wanders
"As I was blogging inside listening to the approaching thunder and lightning, the task was being stopped and everyone was spiraling down to land as quickly as possible. Everyone here at goal managed to get on the ground before the rain and now they are huddled under their gliders sitting it out..."

Video: Meet Jeff O'Brien

2008-07-02T08:13:00.003+02:00

Jeff O'Brien flies for the US team. Interview recorded Tuesday morning, July 1.

Dutch bloggers

2008-07-02T08:10:00.000+02:00

Hello to the Dutch team, who are blogging at: www.zeilvliegen.nl

Task 5: task stopped

2008-07-01T08:45:00.006+02:00

Tue July 1, 8.45am: Looks like it will be Chabre again, but with better launch conditions.

Wed July 2, 8am: Yesterday was stopped after 30 minutes due to overdevelopment. Launch conditions were better as forecast, which meant all pilots were in the air waiting for at least 45 minutes while they could have been racing. That's free flight for you... Apologies for lack of blogging yesterday. I was with Klaus Ohlmann, one of the world's best sailplane pilots, on a five hour, 170kmph, journey through the Western Alps. You can do the same with him via his club, which is 20 minutes from Laragne: www.quovadis-aero.com.

Here's Klaus flying his twin (side-by-side) seater in the Ecrins yesterday:

Task 4: blog reports

2008-07-01T08:34:00.004+02:00

Hang 6: "Things were getting tense. The pilots behind me weren't grumbling as they could see it was blowing tail pretty well. Suddenly the streamers behind me went dead, and the ones in front were trickling in. You're supposed to ask the launch director for permission to launch, but I was so focused, I just picked up my glider..."

Oz Report: "The conditions were quite poor. Robin Hamilton came to launch and now as the pusher he had to launch or get a zero for the day. He had a little better than nil wind and ran hard down the carpet onto the scree. Soon boulders were flying every where as Robin, who had been running hard all the way, almost plowed straight into the hill..."

Jamie Wanders: And this report-from-the-hill from Jamie Shelden's blog. She is blogging from an iPhone on the hill. Where's my iPhone? I want one!

Video: Meet Bruce Kavanagh

2008-07-01T08:28:00.002+02:00

Great Britain won gold at the 2007 hang gliding world championships, and as such are the team to beat here and next year at the world championships. They are currently in first place. Bruce Kavanagh is a longtime team member. He was kind enough to indulge us when we ambushed the team at their dinner table late last night.

Task 4 - task stopped

2008-06-30T09:13:00.012+02:00

Weather watching: Russia's Julia Kucherenko waiting for launch on Chabre yesterday ... more of the same today.

9.15am Monday June 30: The field is heading to Chabre. A light southerly is forecast. There is some high cloud to the west. Other than that it's a clear start to the day. Heather Mull comp director just walked past looking chipper ... a good sign? We'll wait and see.

2.30pm: Task has been stopped. Basically cancelled, as the first start gate opened at 1.40pm and the task was stopped at 1.48pm due to overdevelopment. The task that was set was 105km with a goal at Ribiers.

About two-thirds of the field had launched, and many were at base or on course towards the start when the task was stopped.

3.30pm: Heather Mull, Competition Director, on why the task was stopped:

Video: Meet Raymond Caux (French)

2008-06-30T09:09:00.002+02:00

Raymond Caux is manager of the French hang gliding team. French language.

Video: Flip Koetsier on sprogs

2008-06-30T08:20:00.004+02:00

Flip Koetsier, president of CIVL, talks about his ongoing research into sprog settings. He is measuring sprog settings on hang gliders at competitions in Europe this summer. "It's a safety issue," he says. "Everyone is very enthusiastic about it so far." Introduction to sprogs here and Denis Pagen talking about sprogs here. Apologies for wind noise half way through.

Video: Meet Flip Koetsier, president of CIVL (Dutch)

2008-06-30T08:12:00.003+02:00

Flip Koetsier, president of CIVL, introduces himself. Dutch language. Translations posted in the comments box gratefully received.

Video: Meet Laurent Thevenot (French)

2008-06-30T08:07:00.003+02:00

Laurent Thevenot, member of the French national hang gliding team, introduces himself, his glider and explains how hang gliding works. This video is in French. Translations in the comments box gratefully received.

Photos: all the pilots

2008-06-29T14:51:00.002+02:00

All the official pilot-and-glider photos are here, in this Flickr set.

Sunday June 29 - task cancelled

2008-06-29T09:42:00.011+02:00

9.45am: We are going up Chabre. Forecast is south westerly light, cloudbase 2700m. Should be a good day.

1.45pm: A 70.2km task from Chabre has been set. The route is from Chabre north to turnpoint 51 (Banne), then out east to turnpoint 29 at Pic de Crigne, then back to the goalfield at Laragne. First start gate opens at 2pm, then 2.20pm, 2.40pm and 3pm. Launch opened at 12.30pm and pilots are in the air now.

The task is task B of two options today. Task A was a 100km circuit. The shorter task was chosen because of possible overdevelopment (storm clouds building quickly - not good for flying). This picture taken from Laragne at 1.30pm shows the current state of the quickly-building clouds.

2.11pm: Task has been canceled. Overdevelopment on course.

On launch at Chabre today:

Photos from Sunday's launch are in this Flickr set.

Task 2: results, reports, pictures

2008-06-29T08:37:00.010+02:00

Task 2 winner: Andreas Olsson, Sweden

A full list of results is on Chabre2009.com.

Task 2 photos: are on Flickr

Results from task two are:

1. Andreas Olsson, Sweden, 1hr 26 mins
2. Attila Bertok, Hungary, 1 hr 20 mins
3. Robin Hamilton, GB, 1 hr 27 mins.

28 pilots made goal in time. Lots more - at least 20 - came in soon after the task was stopped.

Observers might ask why Attila is second instead of first – after all, he got the fastest time round the course. The difference is in the leader points – Andreas got 63, Attila only 27. It’s a crucial difference – as explained by Brian Harris in his interview yesterday.

Oz Report Task 2: "The lift was scary and broken at the bottom, so it took a while for me to get into the core and I got just below the two Jeff's ... A good while after I landed Heather came up and said that the task had been stopped at 6:42 PM. And that the stop time was 6:27 PM. I came across goal at 6:26:02." Oz Report also says: "I figured at least fifty to sixty pilots would be protesting," because the task was stopped. This will make it interesting for the organisers today.

Hang6:

"We get to the first turnpoint, and again the tactical nature of Laragne demands that we go off courseline to stay above the mountains. I've been flying with many other pilots up to this point, and now I'm on my own. I wonder if I've made a poor decision..."

Video: Meet Brian Harris

2008-06-28T12:18:00.002+02:00

Brian Harris is the competition scorer.

Video: Meet the Russians

2008-06-28T10:57:00.004+02:00

Здравствуйте! (Hello!) There are 11 Russian pilots in the competition. It's great to have such a strong contingent here at Laragne. Many drove here - a fairly epic journey. Any Russian speakers who can translate, please do - leave it in the comment box. But I think it goes like this: "Hello, we're from Russia. We drove here. We like flying here. Goal today and hello to our friends in Russia!"

Task 2: Saturday June 28 - Aspres

2008-06-28T09:59:00.019+02:00

10am local time: Pilots have headed to Aspres again after a day of no flying yesterday. The wind is moderate north west now, and is forecast to go west later. Organisers expect to use the west launch at Aspres. Updates on the day will be reported as they come in on this post.

12noon: Wind on the south launch is north and on the west launch it's east, according to official telephone reports back from the hill. This means it is not flyable at the moment. "Pilots are in for a wait," said this blog's insider. Watch this space.

1pm: Still waiting

2.45pm: A 72.7km task has been set. The task is from Aspres to turnpoint 11 (St Genis), to turnpoint 35 (Gache), to turnpoint 31 (near Tallard airfield), then back to goal at Laragne camping. The window opens at 3pm, closes at 5pm. Start times are 4.15pm, 4.30pm, 4.45pm and 5pm. Turn direction is right. Paraglider wind-dummies have not yet launched. Wind on launch is said to be inconsistent - switching direction and occasionally over the back. There are three launch lanes. More as we get it.

3pm: All times have been put back an extra 15 minutes. Window now opens at 3.15pm, closes at 5.15pm. Starts are at 4.30pm, 4.45pm, 5pm and 5.15pm. Move made due to variable conditions on launch.

5pm: The whole field is now in the air. At 4.30pm there were only four gliders left at launch. Hence the delay in blogging - all our marshalls/reporters were busy launching gliders. The window opened at 3.30pm, and all times were put back accordingly. The first start time was at 4.45pm. The last will be 5.30pm. There are a couple of big clouds outside, so this might affect how things go. It should be a quick blast for lots of these good pilots.

The route:

5.30pm: 45 minutes in and the first phone-ins are coming into HQ. For those who don't follow hang gliding competitions, pilots have to phone in to HQ very soon after they land. This is for safety reasons - so HQ knows where pilots are - and it helps with organising retrieves. Any pilot phoning in this early into a task will be annoyed at themselves - they've bombed basically, landed early and not managed to get round much of the course. This doesn't mean conditions are bad though, at the first start time there were reportedly an estimated 80% of pilots at 2,500m waiting for the off. This blogger is off to the goal field to try and catch the ones who make it.

6.20pm: Superb! The first pilots started coming in 10 minutes ago. A lead gaggle of five topguns roared in overhead whistling like freighttrains. They are arriving thick and fast now, just as the first rumbles of thunder drift across the landing field from a raincloud to the south. Looks like it will be a close thing - this blogger isn't going to call it, we'll have to wait for the results later tonight.

6.42pm: Task stopped at 6.42pm. I just heard the meet director say over the radio. Presumably because of rain/storms.

6.50pm: This guy was first over the line. He was high. Results out later tonight on www.chabre2009.com.

7pm: Session closed. Off to see check-in at HQ, via Le Bar. More from Laragne, France, tomorrow.

7.50pm update: Unofficially the goal line crew say Pilot 51 was first over the line - Robin Hamilton of the UK. Some 60 to 70 pilots made goal in time. GPSs are still to be downloaded, and all results are to be confirmed.

Friday night party...

2008-06-28T00:06:00.006+02:00

It's midnight and it's ongoing. Under the stars, opposite the campsite. Music has gone from YMCA to Europop to dance. The fire in the square is the only one I've ever been to with a firefighter in attendance - when the flames got too high he stepped in. Pic two is of meet director Heather Mull and Dutch team members.

Later: View the photos from this night on Flickr

Video: Task 1 take off

2008-06-27T21:24:00.002+02:00

It's just a flavour ... with apologies to Chabre2009.com's Classic Opera CD.

Video: what pilots do... when it's windy

2008-06-27T19:55:00.004+02:00

With thanks to Queen.

Yvon: sports massage

2008-06-27T14:14:00.002+02:00

Plug-time: Pilots in Laragne this week who need a sports massage look out for Yvon, who has her table with her at the campsite. A 30-minute massage costs 20 euros, a 60-minute massage 40 euros.

Video: Meet Pedro Montes

2008-06-27T12:41:00.003+02:00

Hola Mexico. This is pilot 72, Pedro Montes. Here’s a rough translation of what he says in his 90 seconds of blog fame.

“I’m Pedro Montes, from Colima, Mexico. Today’s windy, but yesterday was great. Wow, what a pretty place to fly! Excellent. I think one of my best flights ever. Lakes, incredible views, mountains – precioso! I did 76km. Tomorrow, I make goal! Hello to everyone in Mexico – come fly in Laragne, France!”

Day 2 - too windy

2008-06-27T12:15:00.004+02:00

OK, so maybe 'big day' was optimistic. The wind was strong north and getting stronger at the lower north launch. When the fence got blown over and marshalls had to hold it up against the wind, it was time to leave. A party of pilots and marshalls repaired the launch, forming a chain gang to ferry gravel to the lower end of the ramp. Good on you guys!

Day two

2008-06-27T10:11:00.004+02:00

Never a dull moment at the pre-worlds. The competition HQ has generously been given use of the salle de fetes, or town hall, for the duration. It’s been decorated with flags and posters and looks great. Yet someone doesn’t think so. Some poor (drunken?) soul vandalised the flags last night, taking out half a dozen. The mayor arrived this morning to inspect the damage looking fairly furious. And the tourist office immediately set out to repair the damage and get new flags. It is very untypical of the welcome we receive in Laragne. Fortunately most people didn’t notice – we are too absorbed with briefing and getting up the hill. The field is heading to Chabre this morning, with the possibility of using the lower north take off.

Yesterday supplied some fairly good stories, of which only rumours have reached this office. Two landed “in water” – rivers rather than lakes. And both pilots were mainly concerned with their tracklogs and keeping the GPS dry. Another landed “in a gorge” which sounds exciting. Several had tricky retrieves, arriving back at HQ at 2am. The scorer went home at 1am, so they had a long wait. We are off up the hill for another big day.

Task 1: pilot blog reports and photos

2008-06-27T09:24:00.004+02:00

Oz Report. Task 1: “It was a fourteen mile glide to try to get higher into the mountains. The safe landing areas had long gone and now it came down to getting over this mountain. But just as I got to the side of it, the shadow from the large high cloud shaded the mountain side and everything around it. I found lift on the north side but the air was tossing my glider around and I was just barely holding on at this point…” A great report.

Hang6.blogspot.com. Task 1: "I cruised around for over an hour playing, and things started to get serious near the first start time. It seemed as though everyone was keen to take the first start, and there were 100 pilots driving around cloudbase. It was collision avoidance for sure. When the time ticked over, we indeed were on our way. The first two thermals were death defying..." Great report and great pictures from the flight. The picture here is from Hang6's post - it shows pilots on glide to the Dormillouse. Brilliant.

See the photos from Task 1 launch on Flickr

Task 1: results

2008-06-27T09:09:00.000+02:00

Official results for task one are on the Chabre2009.com website. Seven made goal. Top three were:
Scott Barrett, Australia, 3hrs 28mins
Gary Wirdman, GB, 3hrs, 49mins
Klaus Peter Wilming, Germany, 3hrs 53mins

Video: Meet Scott Barrett - Task 1

2008-06-26T22:03:00.003+02:00

Scott Barrett (Australia) crossed the line first today. He flies an Airborne C4. Official results aren’t out yet, but we jumped the gun and asked him about his flight anyway. It’s a long video – seven minutes. If you don’t have time to sit through the whole thing here are the highlights. Despite his shy demeanour he’s a racer – as soon as the camera was switched off he said he was looking forward to his winner’s interview tomorrow. Australia – he’s done you proud.

Highlights:

0-60 seconds: “First time in Europe and having a blast. Had a good day charging through the mountains. Relaxed at start. There were a lot of guys racing before the race had started.”

1-2 mins: “Most took the first gate. I watched, waited. Started on second clock. 20 minutes behind most. Able to jump three thermals to the second turnpoint.”

2-3 mins: “Turnpoint 3. A good racing ridge. Pushed along in strong lift. Made one big climb at the end.

3-4 mins: “Got low at second turnpoint. Just under the lead gaggle. Flew with Gordon Rigg (GB) on an odd line. Shade cut down lead gaggle progress.”

4-5 mins: “Shade turned whole field over. We came over the top of a lot of guys on the first clock. Some guys at the top raced to the deck.”

5-6 mins: “We made a move. Went for the sun, not turnpoint. Then raced, overtaking a lot of guys ahead. Final glide. No one prepared to follow me on a 15:1 glide. I led out alone.”

6-7 mins: Valley works in the afternoon. I got in at least 20 minutes before others. GPS showed I didn’t make goal. Second tracklog said I did. Phew.”

Task 1 - pilots in goal...

2008-06-26T18:17:00.004+02:00

Pilots above launch today. Photograph: J Pagram

The first pilots from today's 132km task landed at goal at 6.12pm. Scott Barrett (Australia) and Gary Wirdnam (GB) were in first. More will follow before the land-by time of 7.30pm. These results are not 1,2,3 positions - those will be decided much later tonight after all pilots' GPS tracklogs have been downloaded. So far 38 of the 120 pilots have reported in as having landed out. The race is on...

Video: Meet David Owen

2008-06-26T18:05:00.003+02:00

Video: Meet Heather Mull

2008-06-26T17:08:00.002+02:00