The 2012 SSA convention begins this week in Reno, Nevada, and your Soaring Café staff will be there to cover this soaring extravaganza from the official opening on Thursday, February 2nd through the SSA Awards Banquet on Saturday, February 4th.

The SSA convention, a biennial event, is probably the largest gathering of soaring enthusiasts in the world aside from the World Gliding Championships. The list of speakers includes luminaries from all over the world and the exhibit hall will be filled with the latest avionics, accessories, and the newest sailplanes on the market. Loek Boermanns (“Mr. OSTIV”) and his collaborators have arranged a fascinating array of presentations on leading edge technologies and projects that extend the state-of-the-art in aerodynamics, propulsion, and flight regimes.

The Café will feature daily highlights from the convention, including blogs, online presentations, photos, videos, and interviews with speakers and exhibitors. Be sure to join us for what promises to be one of the premier soaring events of 2012!

The speaker program is online here at the SSA website.