Quarzazate: Records and Long Distance Flights and…an EXCLUSIVE Interview with Tijl!

Quarzazate remains successful for the well known Belgium Schmelzer family. I like the way they ALL 4 love soaring, are so very active involved and such good PR for our great soaring sport!!!!  This is the last part of their Moroccan adventure! Enjoy!

I asked Tijl, whenever he had time, to write me about how the infrastructure was over there and the start possibilities, as I had no idea what was going on there except for some news last year about 1,000 km flights in open class gliders, in a [soaring] place I never heard of before.

Here are the exclusive answers and more:

Hi Ritz; it’s all a bit more adventurous here as in Namibia, South Africa or Australia. In this whole period we are here with only two gliders. Most of the time it was also only the four of us. All pretty easy going.

The airfield is equipped as an International Airport and every night at 0.30 AM a Boeing 737 from Royal Air Maroc arrives from Marrakesh. The plane departs again at 6 AM and further on not a lot of action, except for a business jet now and then and  holiday people passing by  flying a light aircraft.

All equipment is for a nice modern but small international  airfield, meaning you need permission to enter via controls also for glider pilots which is a bit weird, but they are very friendly!!!

You can only start there with a self launcher. I don’t think you can find anywhere else in Morocco another active soaring club.

Weatherwise it is the best thermal activity area ’til now discovered. The main reason it is even better then Namibia is the convergence line that regular covers the ATLAS and that results in very high speed. Another reason is that the basic height is higher then anywhere else up to 6,000 m MSL, and that contributes to higher speed due to thinner air.

We are a bit unlucky with the weather—huge thunderstorm activity—but it remains an unforgettable experience.”

Luckily the weather improved again and I say THANK YOU to Tijl for more inside news about Quarzazate. So when the weather improved there was more action…

 

“A great convergence line along the highest ridges,
made it quite easy to travel at high speeds”  by Bert jr.

 On July 3 a short but fast 100 km setting a new Belgium and African record of 175 km./h. by Bert sr. and Bert jr.
Bert jr. called it the most exhausting flight in his life, but dad was still ready to optimize to a 1000 km day … so they added one, through showers, after their  speed record:
“Before the 1,000 km free distance, we flew a new African continental and Belgian speed record on the 100 km FAI triangle at 173,97kph. Morocco is great.”


Bert Jr and Sr

1,211 km ! on the 4th of July!
Today Tijl and I [Bert jr.] declared a 1,161km task, which we had to abandon after a struggle to find good climbs along the Sahara desert.

Instead we modified our task, and tried and succeeded in completing a 1,211 km free 3TP distance task and achieved a new African Continental and Belgian record (still to be approved of course).
Thanks to the 300 km convergence over the Anti Atlas. 

Needless to say, WE LIKE MAROC !

http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?dsId=2533193

On the 5th of July, dad Bert Sr. flew a nice 950 and looking at the OLC a German pilot joined in flying 1,127 km in the ASW 22 on his second flight in Quarzazate.


Bert Sr

The 6th of July was their LAST day;
—“Today was the last flight of our expedition.
We tried to break the Belgian speed record on the 300 km O/R.
The second attempt on the task was successful: 173 kph
A good end to two fantastic weeks.—“

And also on this last day they flew a 1,000K after the record as dad wanted to “optimax ” the day again. A  big thank you to the Schmelzers for sharing their experience in words and pictures with all of us.


Hilde, “the engine behind the family”, Tijl and Bert Sr. after the last flight

and for the FABULOUS PICTURES by  Bert jr.!!!!!!!!!

https://picasaweb.google.com/101367179377196465151/06072012173KphAt300KmOutReturnBelgianRecord#5762221173299131090for https://picasaweb.google.com/101367179377196465151/03072012174KphAt100KmFAITriangleContinentalRecord
https://picasaweb.google.com/101367179377196465151/040720121211kmFreeDistanceContinentalRecord

More happened last week, so started the Pre-WWGC yesterday in Issoudun as well as the French 18 m class Nationals. Both with several well known invited guests. You can read more on www.soaring.eu today and next Wednesday and in my blog here next Sunday.

On the 28th, I will arrive in Uvalde. Slowly the “circus ” starts also for us still here in Europe. Mails go up and down and nostalgic thoughts about 1991 are shared and passed to the younger ones.
If the organizers would ask before briefing, “put your hands up when you were here in 1991,” I guess quite a few hands will raise.

The Soaring Café will be covering as much as possible about this 32nd WGC and I am proud to be part of that team. So you don’t have to miss anything at home. A tracking system [ by the organization] will show you were the pilots are, I’ll describe on the ground what’s going on, Bill will cover the flying part, as much as he can after his flight, but first priority for him is of couse FLYING in 18 m class . You will be introduced to pilots, crew members and team captains from ALL over the world. Rand will be joining in from August 10 onwards conducting interviews, post photos and videos and evangelize the Soaring Café. If you have blogs from your own team please add them to the Soaring Café by sending them to bill@soaringcafe.com, so it will be ONE BIG INTERNATIONAL happening.

I know the Olympics are at the same time, but there is room for both!!!!

From now on I “work” to the WGC, with stories and the latest news, so keep reading. From the 28th onwards we ALL “dive” in a new adventure called WGC 2012 Uvalde. In real or virtual…it won’t matter, we will be part of new soaring history!

Cheers…Ritz