P R E V I O U S N E W S
24 Ene 2003
Task 5
The day started looking quite ugly: overcast sky with high altocumulus and lower stratus layers. Takeoff in Galvan was clear and a small blue hole in the middle of the valley.
After an hour of waiting, conditions started changing rapidly with the first nicely shaped cumulus clouds forming in the mountains. Cloudbase started rising slowly and a short task was set for the last competition day: Elapsed time, 20 km along the mountains and a long 18 km leg crossing the valley for a total distance of 38 km.
After the window opening, pilots climbed fast and left for the first transition over Majagual river, disappearing in the distance only minutes later. Conditions evolved rapidly and the mountains in Sierra de Neyba started working great. However, the valley remained blue, with a moderate breeze blowing west.
The leading gaggle got staked after the first turn point, waiting for conditions to develop in the valley. The waiting lasted long enough to get the first pilots in the gaggle desperate, so they finally started gliding out into the blue hole.
Full concentration was required to take advantage of the mild conditions in the valley. They worked every single patch of light lift and progressed in the glide along the main road.
In the end, no one managed to make goal and a few pilots landed only 4 km short in the desert. German female pilot Karen Hermann flew the farthest winning the task in her UP Trango XS, followed by Brazilian Rodrigo Monteiro (Boomerang III) and the British pilot Peter Taylor (Gradient Aspen).
23 Ene 2003
Task 4
A very high humidity and the consequent congestion in the mountains were the highlights of the weather for today. A 62 km elapsed time task was set with turn points both in the valley and in the mountains.
Pilots were soon leaving the takeoff area and going for the first transition across Majagual river. Several gaggles moved towards the first turn point over the lower ridges next to the valley, but quite a few had to land before and after reaching the turn point.
The way back to the second turn point was the most difficult part as a thick layer of stratocumulus and altostratus started shutting down the thermal activity in the valley, while the mountains where heavily congested. Only 6 pilots managed to reach the second turn point under an overdeveloped cloud that provided lift in excess. They finally set in an epic glide below the thick cloud towards goal, but none of them succeeded, landing over ten km short.
The Colombian champion Jorge David Cifuentes (Boomerang III) won the task followed closely by Swiss Andres Feuz, French pilot Pascal Bernhard, Swiss Florian Wicki, Czeck Petra Krausova and Swiss Andreas Birenstihl.
22 Ene 2003
Due to heavy rains during the night, the day has been called off.
21 Ene 2003
Task 3
Instability in the valley and congestion in the mountains west from takeoff encouraged the committee to set a task along the plains. A race to goal with two turn points and a total of 53 km was set, but had to be changed to an elapsed time race due to poor launch conditions: the congestion cooled the takeoff area and thermal cycles where sporadic, with light tail winds for moments.
Pilots headed straight for the flats and started climbing under different puffs that finally evolved into healthy cumulus clouds. A smoke in the valley started marking a west breeze that would have made things really hard considering the main course was set in that direction. Fortunately, that didn’t last long and a few gaggles started pushing towards the first turn point, near Neyba.
Patience wasn’t optional and many top pilots failed to get to the second turn point, hitting the dirt in blue holes. However, good conditions lasted long and the area flown worked nicely.
Eighteen pilots in goal and Elisabeth Rauchenberger 100 m short was the result of what was regarded by the majority of pilots as the nicest task up to the moment.
Colombian Sub-champion Daniel Vallejo (Windtech Sylex Proto) won the task completing the course in 1h 55m 50s, followed 17 seconds later by Andreas Birenstihl, Sweden Peter Sjostedt, Denis Cortella, Florian Wicki, Jorge Cifuentes, Michael Witschi, Brett Zaenglein, Sylvain Mison, Fulvio Martinelli, Manfred Engelhardt, Patrick Joliet, Bob Rinker, Karen Hermann, James Orava, Mikael Jaras, Amir Izadi and Mike Sadan.
This third task left the Swiss Andreas Birenstihl (2091) and Michael Witschi (1980) leading the competition, followed closely by Colombian champion Jorge Cifuentes (1884).
20 Ene 2003
Task 2
The day started looking great and everyone was enthusiastic about setting a nice task along the Sierra de Neyba. The valley appeared to be very stable but cloudbase was over 2000 m high in the mountains, with a light SE wind blowing straight into takeoff.
An elapsed time race was set in a three-turn points course with a total distance of 60.4 km, with goal in Postrer Río. The window opened and everyone was in the air in less than half an hour.
There was a big filter right at the beginning due to the stable air in the lower layers. Pilots loosing height right in front of takeoff had a hard time staying in the air, but the more fortunate managed slow climbs and set off for the first turn point east from takeoff immediately.
The quest for the second turn point was reported to be the hardest as the area had no landing opportunities for the ones arriving low, in a small ridge away from the main range. Two gaggles and a bunch of isolated gliders where seen progressing slowly and made their way back into the big mountains to start crawling towards the third turn point.
The Colombian champion Jorge David Cifuentes left the leading gaggle and started making a difference in the final leg. He moved fast and was over 15 minutes ahead of the rest when he was spot by the Goal crew, at glide ratio from the finish line. However, he was seen turning 90 degrees heading for the valley only to land 2 km short! He then explained he was confused by a shinning water canal that he though was the goal-line…
Swiss Andre Feuz (UP Targa) won the task, with 15 pilots flying over 40 km and a total of 6 at goal: Feuz, Andreas Birenstihl (Switzerland – Advance Omega 6 Proto), Michael Witschi (Switzerland – Advance Omega 6 Proto), Pascal Bernhard (Gradient Aspen Race), Rodrigo Monteiro (Brazil – Gin Boomerang III) and Nick Roberts (UK – Advance Omega 5).
19 Ene 2003
Task 1
The Pre-World Cup Valle de Neyba, Dominican Republic 2004 started today after two training days in Galván.
Despite the little collaboration from the weather, a valid task was achieved. After a nice parawaiting session, a 39.4 km elapsed time race was set over the flats, from La Hoz takeoff (1.650 m AGL), as a result from the relatively low cloudbase in the Sierra de Bahoruco.
Expectations weren’t set too high as the waiting had extended way past noon in the east-facing launch, because of a few cumulus clouds parked right in front of takeoff with the base only 50 m below launch level.
The window opened shortly before 2 PM and pilots rushed in a long glide to the first and only turn point. Conditions were weak, with a strong valley breeze in the surface. The leading gaggle climbed back to over 1.500 m after the initial glide, in weak but wide lift areas. The downwind leg towards Lago Enriquillo was dominated by sporadic thermals, slow climbs and fast transitions.
The 20-year-old Swiss Florian Wicki (UP Targa) was the only one in goal after 1h 33m 35s, winning the task, followed by the American pilot Brett Zaenglein (Gin Boomerang II), the Colombian 2004 national champion Jorge David Cifuentes (Gin Boomerang III), Denis Cortella from France (Gradient Avax RSE) and Swiss Andreas Birenstihl (Advance Omega 6).
Complete results will be available soon!
27 Dec 2003
A top-level Pre-World Cup meet...
The Pre-World Cup Dominican Republic 2004 promises to be a top-level meet, considering the credentials of the pilots registered so far...
There are 15 World Cup pilots confirmed and many more positioned in the top 30 of very demanding circuits like the German, Swiss, Italian, French, Austrian and Swedish.
We will also have both female World Cup 1st and 2nd, Petra Krausova and Elisabeth Rauchenberger, rising the meet to an interesting challenge with women well positioned to fight for the first places overall.
Stay tuned for the latest news and online results!
14 Nov 2003
Some good news for people willing to take part in the meet to fly or even hang around, but not compete...
Accompanying People and Independent Pilots:
The Organization has done a hard job to set up a good quality all-inclusive package for the 60 competitors participating in the meet. However, it's really difficult to provide the same service, for the same price, to an indefinite number of accompanying people (flyers or non-flyers) and pilots interested in coming to fly and using the competition's infrastructure.
The price of the package for accompanying people, both flyers and non-flyers, and independent pilots, is 350 Euros (or US$ 395). The package includes almost everything the pilots' package includes:
- Airport transfer on the fixed dates.
- Whatever discount we can get in the plane tickets.
- 9 nights accommodation (double rooms).
- Transport to and from flying sites.
- Same parties.
- Same food (breakfast, lunch bags, dinner).
The one thing the package does not include is the retrieve from the day's task. Accompanying people and Independent Pilots will have the same ride to and from takeoffs, but will not be guaranteed a retrieve along the day's task course. They will be let into the retrieve vehicles, but will not be waited for and their names will not appear in the retrieve check lists. If they attend the day's briefing, they will be informed of the retrieve procedure for the day, so that they can be in the correct place at the precise moment in the case they actually want the retrieve.
The registration of accompanying people and independent pilots must be made by the interested person through the online form in the Registration page, stating in the Comments box your intentions (if you are a PG pilot (non-competitor) or just want to come and hang around, take pictures or report the competition to sports media).
Post-Competition Tour:
Caribbean Free Flying offers a tour around the best flying sites in DR in the days after the meet. Competitors and non-competitors willing to stay longer in our flying paradise can opt to book the tour with us. This event is separate from the Pre-World Cup Organization and is offered by one of the organizers' logistics company (www.CaribbeanFreeFlying.com).
The tour consists of a five-days itinerant adventure trip, departing from the Comp's Head Quarters on Monday 26th. We will visit three to five different flying sites from Monday 26th to Friday 30th, and drop you of on the airport (AILA - SDQ) on Saturday 31st. The cost of the tour is 295 Euros (or US$ 330), for flyers and non-flyers, competitors and non-competitors.
The package includes:
- 5 nights double rooms accommodation.
- Transport from Hotels to flying sites and back to the hotels.
- Retrieve from official Landing Zones.
- General transport needs (road trips, restaurants, beach, party).
- Logistics management and support in case of incidents/accidents.
- Guiding, briefings, maps, weather reports...
Reservations need to be made soon as the size of the group is quite limited. You will be given information on how to make a 50 % downpayment to book your place in the tour upon request.
8 Oct 2003
Selection process
The Pre-World Cup Dominican Republic Jan 2004 selection process has begun.
The Organization together with the PWCA representatives have established a number of 60 competitors as the maximum for this meet. The call has been a complete success and there have been many applications, making a selection necessary.
To ensure a high-level competition, participants will be selected based mainly in their competition experience and previous results.
A few wildcards will be included in the selection as well.
The Organization will receive Registration Forms until December 15th, 2003. However, applicants that have submitted their Registration Forms until now will have an Entry Confirmation from the Organizing body during October 2003.
