Cross-Country/Racing Experience

Sugarbush Soaring announces a cross-country/racing school to be held the week preceding and during the Region 1 competition at Sugarbush, Vermont.

Warren Sugarbush Airport, Warren, Vermont 05674
June 15 - June 26, 2004

What we’re offering: A cross-country/racing school run by experts to be held in the week preceding and during the Region 1 competition at Sugarbush.

What you’ll achieve: Improved cross-country and competition skills through an intensive five day pre-contest course, skills you can continue to hone through participation in the contest which follows, but with continuing learning, feedback and guidance.

Dates: Arrive evening of Tuesday June 15 for a kick-off dinner, class/flying/debriefing from Wednesday June 16 through Saturday June 19th, participation in Regional competition from Sunday June 20th through Saturday June 26th.

Target Groups: Pilots with limited cross-country or racing experience who would like to improve their skills under expert guidance in a less pressured environment than a full racing competition.

Minimum Qualifications: Silver C badge, 250 hours, capable of 200km+ cross-country flights in reasonable weather. Preferred: Persons able to bring their own or a club glider. For those without gliders, we may be able to arrange a limited number of rentals.

Number of Participants: 20 maximum.

Cost: $250 in addition to applicable towing, tiedown and glider rental fees, to defray the cost of materials and hosting our visiting instructor. Entry fee for Region 1 competition is not included.

Instructors:

• Doug Jacobs, 1985 World Champion, seven time US National Champion.
• Gerrard “G” Dale, Booker Glider Club CFI, Instructor for Gavin Will’s Mountain Experience at Omarama, NZ, and former UK National Team Coach.

Methodology: We’ll lecture, fly, and debrief every day we can. Each day will start with a comprehensive weather briefing, a lecture/learning experience covering an important aspect of cross-country and racing skills, we’ll set a cross-country course, and do a final briefing on the grid. After that we’ll combine fox and hounds course flying – instructor following and being followed by you in single place ships – and two seater experience for direct one-on-one course flying (we’ll have two ASK-21's to play with!). We’ll record our flights on GPS for download after flying and debrief on how it went, using the popular See You software for maximum instructional value. Maybe even grab a beer together at the end of the day!

The Setting: Beautiful Sugarbush Airport, located in Warren, Vermont, a fabulous vacation environment centered in the Green Mountains. The site has everything for a great soaring experience – ridges, mountains, beautiful Vermont countryside - and all the attractions of a major ski center (restaurants, lodging, shopping) without the wintertime crowds. Even Ben & Jerry’s! So your spouse or significant other will have a great time too. Go to madrivervalley.com for more info on the area.

Sugarbush Soaring Association: Has operated the Sugarbush site for decades, and hosted successful Regional and National competitions. The club members are experienced, friendly and anxious to make your stay in the Mad River Valley a great one.
Check out their site at: http://www.sugarbushsoaring.org/

Where to Stay: Go to madrivervalley.com/lodging/index.htm for a broad choice of nearby motels and condo rentals. For personal service, call 800 451-4574.

Materials: You’ll need New York and Montreal sectionals. Pre-reading recommendations are Helmut Reichmann’s Cross-Country Soaring and George Moffatt’s Winning on the Wind – both are available from the SSA or private soaring suppliers such as Wings and Wheels or Knauff and Grove. You should also be familiar with the SSA Guide to Competition and the Regional Sports Class Rules, both available at www.ssa.org/contests/ContestRules.asp

Juniors: We want to promote junior participation in soaring, and will offer several scholarships – i.e. no fee – for participation by pilots 25 and under.

Applications: If you are interested, kindly fill out the contest registration form available on the SSA web site at www.ssa.org, and pay the normal deposit fee for the contest. (You'll get the most value from the Experience by flying for the full period of the cross-country portion and the Regionals racing portion; applications will be prioritized accordingly.) In addition, print out a copy of the form, and add a quick synopsis of your soaring experience – hours flown, types flown, where you normally fly, etc., to help us get to know you better. Let us also know what you most hope to achieve during the experience in terms of improving your flying. We’ll use this information to tailor the course toward your requirements. Send both to:

Doug Jacobs
Sugarbush Cross-Country/Racing Experience
67 Orchard Avenue
Providence, RI 02906

We’ll let you know as soon as possible the status of your application, in any case no later than April 30, at which time a non-refundable $100 deposit will be required. We’re anticipating a brisk response to this opportunity; don’t delay getting your application to us.

Questions? Email or telephone Doug Jacobs at soarer@cox.net or 401 274-0713