The IGC honored the anniversary of “100Years of Soaring at the Wasserkuppe” by awarding the 2011 Grand Prix Finale to this site. Qualification rounds for the final will be held in St. Auban/France, Ghimbar-Brasnov/Rumania, La Cerdaya/Spain, Nummela/Finsland and Calcinate del Pesce/Italy.
The Society for the Advancement of Soaring at the Wasserkuppe is planning an extensive and exiting fringe program. Twenty-five vintage sailplanes will give a glimpse into the sailplane history and advancement and will revive memories of the past of this historic mountain soaring site. This mountain, NE of Frankfurt is considered the cradle of soaring.
Wasserkuppe from a distance.
In 1911 a group of young students from Darmstadt made the first hops in self built flying contraptions and achieved distances of 250 m . (2 ½ football fields). A year later they reached 800m and set a world record. Today, one hundred years later, this record stands at 3008 km.
The jubilee will demonstrate the advancement in motor-less flight. These days sailplanes are high performance thorough bred machines, designed for maximum performance. Materials and technology developed for sailplanes also find application in the commercial sector.
A postal stamp honoring the 100th anniversary was issued on January 17 and 18, 2011 in Berlin.
Located in the metropolitan area of Frankfurt, Wuerzburg and Fulda, the Wasserkuppe is a spectator magnet. Nature lovers will find extensive hiking trails. Lovers of cultural events will find these in the surrounding cities. The soaring museum located at the Wasserkuppe leads the visitor through the exciting history of soaring and its people with the most extensive collection of sailplanes and artifacts.
Again the dates for the Grand Prix Finale are from Saturday July 23-Saturday July 30, 2011
More details here at: http://sailplane-grandprix-2011.aero/
