32nd FAI WGC - Uvalde, Texas, USA
July 28, 2012 to Aug 19, 2012
Open / 18-Meter / 15-Meter Classes<

Dick  Butler: Open Class
Residing in Tullahoma, Tennessee, Dick Butler is a five times Open Class National Champion and five times US Team member beginning with Räyskälä, Finland in 1976. Presently retired from a career in aeronautical engineering, Dick is currently working to complete the Concordia sailplane project (http://soaringcafe.com/2011/01/design-of-a-competition-sailplane/). Some will also remember Dick's very successfully modified Glasflügel 604 in which he flew to several national championships in the 1970s. While a rated power pilot, it is soaring that appeals to Dick's competitive nature. "The competitive side and being able to blend this with my lifelong love affair with aviation and aerodynamics makes soaring a special part of my life" he says.

Ron Tabery: Open Class
Ron Tabery’s first glider ride at age eight was with Neil Armstrong, but he had to wait until age 14 to solo in a SGS 1-26. His principle instructor was his father, George Tabery, who is remembered for having demonstrated the concept of water ballast in 1947. Ron entered competition soaring in 1979 winning 8 consecutive contest days flying an ASW-12 in a regional championship—a feat he has not since repeated. His more than 5,000 soaring hours include competition and record flying. Tabery is seven-time U.S. National Champion, nine-time winner of the Larissa Stroukoff Memorial award, and has won the Hatcher ‘Top Gun’ Trophy three times. 

Internationally, Ron has competed in six World Championships and a Hitachi Master’s. His performance at the world level includes two 5th place finishes — in St. Auban, France and Leszno, Poland — and five top-10 placements. As a life-long advocate for competition soaring, Ron introduced and developed several contest sites including Uvalde, Brady, and most recently Fredericksburg, where he served as competition director. Tabery is a life member of the SSA, a 28-year member of Fault Line Flyers in Austin, participates in the OLC, holds most of the Texas Open Class speed and distance records and also serves as a member of the U.S. Team Committee. Based in Austin and Dallas, Ron is Vice-president of Palo Petroleum and enjoys soaring whenever Central and South Texas weather permits.  

 

Bill Elliott: 18-Meter Class
Bill (WE) is a 52 year old pilot and rocket scientist (really!) who hails from Huntsville, Alabama.  Bill parlayed degrees in finance and engineering into a 25-year career in the defense industry.  As vice-president of a small company, he leads a team of scientists and engineers that helped the U.S. Army manage and test high power laser systems for missile defense.  Bill is now a Vice President for another missile defense company, PeopleTec, where he is growing a diverse group of engineers providing missile defense simulation, missile lethality modeling, and helicopter maintenance support.

While in college, Bill earned an airplane rating, but by 1989, he was looking for a new challenge, and the lure of motorless flight induced him to join the Huntsville Soaring Club, where he soloed in a Blanik L-13.  He began soaring cross country in the club 1-26, then bought a Duster and, a few years later, an HP-18, with which he won the Region 5 South Sports Class Championship in 1995.  After this win, Bill took a 5 year hiatus from soaring to spend time with his kids.  By 2001, he had moved up to a DG-300, followed by an ASW-27 in 2002.  With the acquisition of the ASW-27, Bill’s competition soaring career moved into high gear.  The past several years has seen Bill regularly as the Region 5 North and South 15 meter champion.  His 4th place finish at the 2007 15 meter nationals earned him a slot as reserve pilot for the 2008 U.S. Team.  After a win in the 18 meter Nationals in 2008 followed by a 3rd place finish in 2009, Bill is now headed for Hungary to fly 18 meter in the WGC.

Bill has served in various roles on the Huntsville Soaring Club Board of Directors and was recently appointed Alabama SSA Governor after a five-year stint as SSA State Recordkeeper.  He was a founding member of the Georgia-Tennessee-Alabama (GTA) race series, and has begun development of a Wiki-based Web site, www.GliderPilot.org, that he hopes will become a one-stop shop of soaring information serving the global soaring community.  Bill holds many Alabama, Tennessee, and New Mexico State soaring records and recently awarded a U.S. national multiplace record in a Blanik with Rand Baldwin!

When asked what fuels his passion for competition soaring, Bill replied, “I love the challenge that racing offers; focus, preparation, practice, and competition all come together to enhance your soaring skills like no other kind of flying can.  It is amazing to race on days when, not long ago, I would not have even assembled the glider.  Every time I soar, I return to the ground both amazed and in awe of what it is we soaring pilots do."

Gary Ittner: 18-Meter Class
Gary Ittner, age 55, is an engineer and part owner of a small company that specializes in welding services for the aerospace industry. He resides in Los Angeles and splits his glider flying among several Southern California gliderports, including Cal City, Hemet, Inyokern, Tehachapi, and Warner Springs.

Gary's passion for soaring began in 1975 and was initially satisfied by flying radio controlled model gliders. His switch to full size gliders started with flying lessons in 1983, buying his first glider in 1984, flying his first Regional contest in 1985, followed by his first National contest in 1986. Eventually pulling himself up from the bottom half of the score sheet, he has won 8 Nationals and flown in 6 Worlds, with a best finish of 4th in 15-meter at Mafikeng, South Africa.

In his 6100 hours of glider flying, Gary has learned that glider racing is, by far, the most effective way to improve one's XC soaring skills. And he has found that improving his skills has always resulted in increased enjoyment of soaring.

Gary plans to fly an ASG 29 at Uvalde with Stan Foat as his veteran crew.

Dave Leonard: 15-Meter Class
Dave Leonard comes from a soaring family. His father and both brothers are active glider pilots. He got his first exposure to soaring from his father, riding in the back of the Wichita Soaring Association TG-3A. He was way too young to remember it or even see out. But it left a mark, and he soloed in that same TG-3A when he was 15 years old. He worked at several contests and dabbled in cross-country soaring while finishing school. Two weeks after completing graduate school, he bought his first glider. A year later, he flew his first Regional contest, and the following year, his first National contest. But real success in contests did not come right away. He finally started breaking out of the middle of the pack about the time he met his wife, Julie, 15 years ago. Since then he has won 5 Regionals and finished on the podium in 3 Nationals. He has racked up 4400 hrs in gliders, won the first US OLC in 2002, holds 6 Colorado distance and speed records and made the first 1000 km diplome flight in Colorado in 2001.

Professionally, Dave is an engineer for a large aerospace company specializing in spacecraft payload electronics. He resides in Parker, CO and calls the Black Forest Soaring Society his soaring home. Currently his club’s webmaster, he is also on its board of directors. He has served on the SSA Badge and Records Committee since 2006.

This will be Dave’s fifth contest at Uvalde and first time at a World Championships.

John Seaborn: 15-Meter Class
Since his solo at age 14 in 1974 flying a SGS 2-22, John has accumulated approximately 3,500 hours of glider time in over forty-five types of gliders. Winner of the PASCO Sawyer Award in 1976, John earned FAI Diamond Badge 377 in 1977 at age 18. An enthusiastic competitor, he has participated in Regionals and National competition winning 13 regionals since the mid 1970's and finishing in the top five in the nationals fifteen times on the way to winning the Joe Giltner Trophy for the fastest speed in a 15-meter nationals four times. Winner of the 1983 Canadian Nationals and placing second in the US 1984 15-Meter Nationals he was a member of the 1985 U.S. soaring team to Italy with winning teammate Doug Jacobs. John again crewed for Doug at the 1997 World Championships in France. In 2008 John won the US 15-meter nationals in Uvalde, TX and was selected to the 2011 US Soaring Team but could not participate. John has been President of the Central California Soaring Club and the Soaring Society of Boulder. He was a founding member of the revised U.S. Team Committee in 2000 and created U.S. team website for which he received an SSA Exceptional Achievement Award in 2000 and again in 2004. John has been an SSA Trustee and managed the successful 2002 Robertson Trust capital campaign. Currently flying a Ventus 2bx out of Boulder Colorado John holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Marketing Communications which he has put to work starting and managing several small technology companies over the years. John credits his instructor, Gary Kemp, with instilling the cross country and racing bug early on and his parents, Walt and Peg Seaborn, for their years of encouragement. His most important asset by far is Brenda his crew chief and wife of nearly twenty years.

Dennis Linnekin: Team Captain
Dennis became interested in soaring when he helped crew for Bob Klemmedson at the Standard Class Nationals at Minden in the early 1970's.  As a student in the Aeronautics Department at San Jose State University, Dennis was hired to tow gliders by Bud Murphy at Sky Sailing Gliderport in Fremont, California.  Soloed in gliders, but without a rating, Dennis left soaring until 1989 when he joined the Atlanta Soaring Club and is currently a member of Mid-Georgia Soaring Association and the Blue Ridge Soaring Society.  This will be Dennis’ second World Gliding Championship as U.S. Team Captain, having served in that capacity at the 2010 WGC in Szeged, Hungary. Dennis currently flies the Boeing 777 for Delta Air Lines.
 

Multi-Class Background

This event started it all. The first World Soaring Championships was held on Germany's Wasserkuppe in 1937 making this event the official grandfather of all World Soaring Championships. Up until 1950 all competitors flew in the open class regardless of glider type. In 1950 the two place class was added. In 1958 the two place class was replaced with the Standard class. In 1978 the 15-Meter class was added to this event creating what most pilots think of as the three traditional FAI classes. The 18-Meter Class was added in 2001. Recently new FAI classes have been added including Junior, World (PW-5), Women's and 18-Meter championships.

There are currently three classes making up the Multi-Class including the Open, 18-Meter and 15-Meter. The Open Class is the "unlimited" class, home to the world's highest- performing and most expensive gliders. There are no design restrictions placed on the open class so wingspans range up to 100 feet in length. In the 15-Meter Class the wingspans are limited to 15 meters (49.2 feet) with no other design restrictions. This is the class that, worldwide, includes the greatest number of gliders.  The 18-Meter Class grew out of interest in sailplanes that fit between the Open class and the 15-Meter class and could easily carry a motor and is the newest FAI class. The only important restriction is on span, which must not exceed 18 meters (59 ft). This class is the only one to admit motorized gliders; some models include an engine that can be extended to launch and retrieve the glider or stowed away for pure soaring flight.

See how the US Teams have done over the years or view the list of World Champions.