WBC 2011 – New Standards for Westside Soaring

Fred Hermanspann

This year’s Willy Burhen Cup is shaping up as a milestone for Westside XC soaring.  Despite some long periods of disappointing weather there were a few good soaring days and a number of our more ambitious pilots made some remarkable flights that topped last year’s outstanding performances.  While other areas in the Northwest were still struggling to get a start at this year’s XC season, Noel Wade and then Ron Clark made the first 500+ km flights from Arlington.  In several cases AWO pilots made the best daily OLC flights in the USA; how often have AWO flights been at the top?  A number of pilots improved their personal best performances and will undoubtedly move up in the rankings.  And Arlington is leading Region 8 in OLC points by quite a margin at this time (though that will change later).

So while the AWO season is far from being over, here is the current status of the WBC 2011 (as of May 20, 2011).  Let’s hope for some more great flights to add to this list!

Ranking                Pilot                      Points                   Date of Flight

1                              Ron Clark             566.2                     5-17

2                              Noel Wade         533.7                     4-20

3                              Dan Housler       457.5                     4-18

4                              Brad Hill               384.0                     4-23      

5                              Dan Teifke          322.5                     4-20

6                              F. Hermanspann219.6                    5-17

7                              Chris Young        200.6                     3-24

8                              H.  Sendelbach  175.4                     4-12

9                              Heinz Gehlhaar 162.0                     3-24

10                           Marty Gibbins   134.6                     4-18

11                           Keith Purvues   128.8                     3-24