SKY SAILING HOSTS FIRST SOARING CONTEST
Warner Springs Site of Region 12 Championships
By Jim Evans

In less than an hour three tow planes launched the twenty contest participants. Photos by Darrel Kinney

About 20 contestants took to the skies to participate in the Region 12 South Soaring Championships at Warner Springs Airport in August.

The event, hosted by Sky Sailing Inc. of Warner Springs, was sanctioned by the Soaring Society of America and featured competition in four classes; Sports, Combined 15-Meter, Standard and Open.

The word "soaring" is used interchangeably with "gliding."

A sailplane race typically lasts five to 10 days, with competition each day the weather is suitable.

A race begins from the home airport, proceeds around turn points, and back to the home field.

In poor weather conditions, the course might be as short as 50 miles; in excellent weather it could be 300 miles or more (the longest task in any U.S. competition to date has been 626 miles - 17 pilots completed it).

The pilot who flies the fastest is the winner and typically receives 1,000 points; others receive fewer points based on the speed or distance they achieve. The contest winner is the pilot with the greatest point total at the end of the competition.

Bill and Karen Willat, owners and operators of Sky Sailing, "were fantastic hosts and ran a very well-organized and efficient meet," says Bill Liscomb, who competed in the Sports Class.

A pioneer of hang gliding before he retired from the sport a decade ago, Liscomb purchased his first sailplane in 1999 and has been a regular at Warner Springs ever since.

"This was the first sailplane competition I have ever entered," he says, "and it was nice to have the home-field advantage when trying something new."

Karen Willat says: "We have a unique technical site for cross country soaring. And we generally have good weather all year 'round."

Bret Willat, who served as official scorer for the event, adds: "We have the best soaring conditions in the world here at Warner Springs. And it was exciting to host our first contest."

Still, even the best weather conditions can sometimes go awry.

"Conditions for the contest ranged from marginal to super," Liscomb says.

A highlights of the contest, according to Bret Willat, occurred on the fourth day of the competition when Open class winner Orion Kingman, soared for 348 miles at an average speed of 99.7 miles per hour.

"It was really amazing to see him average almost 100 miles per hour in a sailplane," says Willat. "Most of the other contestants averaged only about 80 miles per hour."

"Unfortunately, soaring is not a great spectator sport except for takeoffs and landings," he says.

For more information on sky sailing, call 760-782-0404 or visit www.skysailing.com.