Up in the sky! Annual sailplane, glider racing competition underway in Cordele
The sailplane competition will run at Crisp County Airport through Tuesday, June 13th.
CORDELE, Ga. – A major competition has returned to Crisp County this weekend, as many sailplane pilots are getting ready to take to the skies…
And, these sailplanes aren’t your ordinary aircrafts…
As contest director, Rich Owen tells us what makes a sail plane.
I asked…”What exactly is a sailplane?”
“A sailplane is an aircraft that has no motor. We don’t have a motor that you can start and compete with, but I’d say about 15 percent of the aircraft have motors so that if you land in a farmer’s field, or you’re not able to continue flying, it comes out of the back of the aircraft on a pylon…” said Owen.
We caught up with Dick Butler and his plane, the Concordia…
One of the largest sail planes in the world to go airborne.
“It’s just a delight to get here, and it’s usually over four or five years that the open class gets out here. So I’ve been looking forward to it a year, and the weather’s been good. I’ve got nothing but positive comments,” said Dick Butler, Concordia pilot.
And, as we patrolled the runway at crisp county airport, we met with sail plane pilots, young and old about the passion they have for these aircrafts.
“It’s actually quite a privilege to come back year after year, there’s quite the gathering of people and we move around the country, and at several of the national contests, you see the same people, the same friends, and to come back to the same place, it’s very rewarding. Cordele has a lot of special spots in people’s hearts as far as competitive gliding,” said Jae Walker, Sailplane pilot.
“I’ve always loved coming here. Only downside is the gnats. But I’ve got pretty used to dealing with them. But, I kind of consider this my local contest, cause I live just about two hours north of here,” said Martin Hollatz, Chief tow pilot.
As the more than 60 pilots get set for take off, their passion for sail planes during the county’s Watermelon Festival is unmatched.
The sailplane competition will run at Crisp County Airport through Tuesday, June 13th.
For more information on the event visit flycordele.com or Soaring Society of America’s website at https://www.ssa.org/racing-sailplanes/
Brian Roche reporting.
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