To all members of the
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
Paris, October 17th, 1996
Subject : Official invitation to the 25th World Gliding Championships
Dear Sirs,
For the third time in his history, after Saint-Yan in 1956 and Châteauroux in 1978, the French Gliding Community will be honoured to organize the 25th World Gliding Championships.
The Fédération Française de Vol à Voile (F.F.V.V.) has the great pleasure to invite all F.A.I. members to participate in the 25th World Gliding Championships which will take place in CHÂTEAU-ARNOUX / SAINT-AUBAN, France, from 29 June to 13 July 1997. The practice period will be from 22 to 28 June.
The Southeast of France is famous for its excellent flying conditions and has a long standing tradition in gliding. Furthermore Saint-Auban is known worldwide for its National Centres for teaching mountain gliding and instructing intructors. This priviledged site should allow us to organize very successful Championships.
In addition to the excitement of the competition, we hope that everyone who comes to the event will have the opportunity to enjoy every aspect of the "Alps of Haute-Provence" which are also well-known for the beauty of their scenery, their traditions and way of life.
Be sure we will do our best to make your stay here as pleasant as possible.
Welcome in Saint-Auban.
Yours faithfully,
Raymond Gros
President of the FFVV
The major gliding event of 1997 will be in full swing some eight months from now. Pilots and organizers had the opportunity to try themselves out last summer at the Lavender Glide. This competition had a World Championship size since 101 entries from 24 countries were registered. Despite unusual weather, a total of eleven competition days were achieved. One only has to compare the amount of flying with that of other competitions around Europe during the same period to measure the true worth of the French Alps for gliding. The Lavender Glide has been very instructive for us. We are working very hard in order to improve on some weaknesses we discovered in our organization and to achieve a successful and safe competition.
The competition site is Saint-Auban airfield (LFMX) 44 03,60 N and 005 59, 48 E. The airfield is located in the southern French Alps, 140 km North of Marseille (on the Mediterranean coast) and 746 km South East from Paris. The airfield is a grass covered 1200 x 400 meters area. The airfield is the base of the SEFA which is the National Centre of the French Transport Ministry and of the CFHN which is the French Gliding Federation's (FFVV) permanent Training Centre.
To comply with the request of a majority of team captains during the Lavender Glide, the dates of the World Gliding Championships have been postponed by one week. The time schedule is as follows : Preliminary entries due 31 December 1996 Final entries due 28 February 1997 Deadline for class change 29 April 1997 Registration 19 June to 27 June 1997 Configuration change closes 28 June 1997 (10.00 a.m.) Official training 22 June to 28 June 1997 First Team Captains briefing 28 June 1997 (6.00 p.m.) Opening Ceremony 29 June 1997 (10.30 a.m.) Contest flying 30 June to 12 July 1997 Closing Ceremony and Prizegiving 13 July 1997 (11.00 a.m.) The airfield will not be closed at anytime before the contest.
The event is organized by the Fédération Francaise de Vol à Voile (FFVV). All correspondence is to be addressed to the Organization Committee : WGC 97 Aerodrome - BP 26 04600 SAINT-AUBAN FRANCE Tel : (33) 4 92 64 30 11 Fax : (33) 4 92 64 30 18 E-mail : WGC.97@wanadoo.fr
Championship Director Jacky Clairbaux Deputy Championship Director Roland Stuck Chairman of the Organisation Committee Roland Stuck The International Jury : President to be named by IGC Members to be named by IGC Stewards Tapio Savolainen (Finland) Alf Ingesson Thor (Sweden) Hannes Linke (USA) Operations Director Michel Mioche Operations Assistant Director Pierre Lemaire Marshalling Officer Roger Eyrier Safety, SAR Daniel Serres Meteorology Geneviève Noël Towing Director Luc Poty Task Setters Pierre Lemaire Alain Poulet Technical Verifications Jean-Michel Roy Jean-Denis Viriot Scoring Director Marie-Françoise Gavaret Computer Manager Yan Fitterer Ground Manager Jean-Paul Lauga Security Manager Alain Eyrier Administration Director Alain Eyrier Deputy Administration Director Yves Pollet Finance Director Evelyne Ricou-Leclerc Secretary Marie Bonnefon Corinne Lefèvre .
The competition classes are Standard Class, 15-m Class and Open Class. Each NAC may enter up to six pilots plus two reserve pilots but not more than two plus one reserve pilot in any class. In addition the current World Champions are allowed to participate in their class. The number of allowable entries shall not exceed 120 total or 50 in any class. After the closing date for entry applications the participating countries with reserve pilots may be entered any class where vacancies exist, provided entry fees for the officially entered pilots have been received, on a first- come-first served basis.
The entry fee is 3800 FF and it covers all operational costs during the Championships except aerotows.The fee is more expensive than our offer in Marbella but it is still half the amount of the World Gliding Championships entry fees in New-Zealand, Sweden or U.S.A.. Nevertheless, as promised at the IGC meeting 20 entries from overseas countries (continents outside Europe) will be free. These exemptions will be granted to each overseas team in proportion to the total number of their competitors having sent a preliminary registration. The organizer's bank is : CREDIT DU NORD (Aix Sextius) Account name : FFVV - MONDIAL 97 Bank code : 30076 Agency code : 02232 Account number : 214840002000 Key: 88 Aerotow fees will be 200 FF / tow to 700 m AGL
Return of the enclosed Preliminary Entry Form is requested no later than 31 December 1996. After receiving them we will have a better point of view on whether reserve pilots should be accepted or not. Final entry forms will be mailed in December. They should be returned before 28 February 1997 with the Entry Fee. Additionally , please send us two photographs of each pilot and Team Captain. We also request that all correspondence be handled by the National Aero Club and/or one assigned individual with whom we can communicate about all matters.
The Rules and Local Regulations for the WGC 97 will be similar to those used for the European Gliding Championships in Räyskälä (Finland). They have been submitted to the Rule Committee of the IGC for approval. They will be mailed along with the next bulletin in December.
The flights will be primarily controlled by a GNSS flight recorder carried on board of each glider. The GNSS record will be the only documentation used for flight verification as long as the recorder works. Time recording cameras or a second flight recorder may be used as backups but the films will be developed or the data from the back-up logger will be analysed only if the GNSS trace of the primary recorder is not complete. All GNSS units approved by the IGC before the deadline for final entries (28 February 1997) will be accepted.
A limited number of competitive gliders is available for the Championships. Contact our Administration Director Alain Eyrier for details as soon as possible. His Fax number is : (33) 4 92 64 30 18
The area of Saint-Auban offers a wide variety of different accommodation choices. The accommodation facilities of the airfield's National Centres will be reserved to the organization team. Nevertheless it will be possible to rent one bedroom only per country. Accommodations on the camping site will also be possible. Enclosed is a list of alternate choices. Select the one you prefer and contact the given address. The prices given are those of 1996.The organization will try its best to help Eastern teams to find free accommodation among the local community. If you have any question please feel free to contact us.
We suggest the following firm as official shipping and forwarding agent in France :
DELTA SHIPPING OVERSEAS - "D.S.O." 31, quai Rambaud F 69002 LYON (France) Phone : + 33 4 78 42 15 90 - Fax : + 33 4 78 42 60 85
The person to contact is Mr . T. KOECHLIN Freight costs : Delta Shipping Overseas is able to obtain special rates from most of the regular shipping companies for ocean freight, as well as special conditions for trucking from port of entry to Saint-Auban. Please contact D.S.O. for quotations and information. Port of discharge : If possible, we recommend you to send your containers to Marseille or Fos which are located about 150 Km from Saint-Auban. If this service is not offered by the shipping company, alternative ports of discharge may be Le Havre or Antwerp but you should keep in mind that the distances to Saint-Auban are much greater (983 and 1 147 km respectively).and that your costs and transit time will accordingly increase. Oncarriage from these ports can be arranged by Delta Shipping Overseas. They are able to solve all customs, storage, container packing and unpacking problems. Customs : You may use carnet ATA or your proforma invoices for export/import customs clearance operations. Both are easily used in France. Keep in mind that you must declare your imports located inside the container carrying the gliders (even as personal effects). When you leave France to go back home you need to follow special instructions to save V.A.T. on your purchases (20.60% of the value, generally). Delta Shipping Overseas will be happy to supply this information.
Third party insurance to the value of 5 000 000 FF for a single seater and 10 000 000 FF for a two seater is required for each sailplane. Personal medical insurance is required for all team members. Documentary proof of insurance shall be made available to the organizers in English or in French. You will have the possibility to subscribe a third party insurance for your sailplane at the registration desk. We will keep you informed about the details in later bulletins.
Glider pilot licenses of your own country will be recognized in France. No additional document is required. Naturally a valid Sporting License is needed. As usual an Airworthiness Certificate or a Permit to Fly will be necessary for your glider.
Website kindly hosted by Philippe
de Péchy ;
Visit his "Vol
à Voile" (Soaring) server : infos, ad's, glider pictures,
GPS turnpoints coordinates, competitions results and an unofficial ranking
of all glider pilots in the world.
Other sites of soaring interest :
|
|
Web page by Denis
Flament (from Nogaro
aeroclub) consulted updated : 6-feb-97 |