US Soaring Team Committee 2011

Created in 1995 and redefined in 2003, the US Team Committee has been tasked by the SSA Board of Directors to, “oversee the affairs of the Soaring Society of America with respect to its representation at Federation Aéronautique International (FAI) approved World Gliding Championships” In the last several years the committee has been making progress toward the goals of a more competitive, accountable, transparent and sustainable US Team program. For the Committee reports and financials click here.
 

Chairman: Bill Elliott (Appointed)

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."
 

Ken Sorenson (Appointed)

U.S. Contest Committee Chairman Ken Sorenson soloed at Segelflugschule Oerlinghausen in Germany in 1970 and received his glider license the next year at the Adrian Soaring Club in Michigan. He started flying competitions in 1975 and has since flown in many Regional and National contests. He was privileged to be a member of the 1993 U. S. Team that flew in Borlange, Sweden. Ken has been active in the Soaring Club of Houston where he has made his home in Texas since 1978. He has been on the SSA Rules Committee since its formation in 1992 and became the SSA Contest Committee Chairman in 2001. Ken has accumulated approximately 3700 hours in gliders and 1200 hours in power planes. A few years ago he was finally promoted to the position of crew chief and coach in order to share this great sport with his son Danny, who has also been consumed by the challenge and camaraderie of glider racing.
 

SSA Executive Director (ex officio)

Sarah Kelly Arnold - (Term Expires 2014)

Sarah Kelly Arnold was raised on a farm in British Columbia. When she was 13, Sarah learned to fly in a single seat Quicksilver ultralight. Instantly she was captivated with flying. Her heart found a home in the sky, where it lives to this day.

In November 2002 Sarah became enthralled with a gliderport in Tennessee named Chilhowee. She quickly became a tow pilot and soon began soaring for herself. A year and a half later, at the age of 24, Sarah found herself the youngest owner-operator of any commercial gliderport. Under her management Chilhowee Soaring Association, Inc. has grown and shared the joy of soaring with many satisfied customers and has become a vacation point of destination for glider pilots from around the country.

Mrs. Arnold has accumulated over 2200 hours of glider time and holds CFI, CFIG, A&P Mechanic with IA, and CFII Ground ratings. She runs Chilhowee with her husband and devoted crew, Jason Arnold.

Peter Deane (Elected - Term Expires 2013)

Peter Deane, has been flying sailplanes since 1986 and has approximately 1700 hours in gliders over 23 years. Learning to fly at Hummingbird Haven in California in a Blanik, he progressed on to the Ka-8 (1st cross country), Pilatus, HP-14 , ASW20 and now his Standard Class LS8-a. He has numerous Regional championship wins in regions 11 & 12, and holds 1000km diploma #265 as well as the National 750km O&R speed record of 95.4mph for all classes set in his LS8 in 2002. He has flown in 8 National championships including Standard, 15m, 18m and Sports class in his 15m LS8. Peter is based in the San Francisco Bay area and has been heavily involved in promoting cross country and fun weekend racing in Region 11, and has served on the PASCO (Pacific Soaring Council) board for over 15 yrs in a variety of roles including President. He was awarded the Les Arnold Award for service to Soaring in 2008. Peter is an Engineering Director and Technologist in the semiconductor industry.  
 

Richard Walters (Elected - Term Expires 2012)

Richard Walters has been soaring since 1972. He has logged over 3000 hours and has been racing US Nationals since 1985 with four wins in four different classes. Germany 2008 will be Rick's fourth World Championship. Rick's father, Fred, and uncle, Carl, were both glider pilots during the formative "Bishop Wave Project" and Southern California scene during the 1940's and 50's. A refugee from Silicon Valley in 1990, Rick gave up an engineering career and started a general contracting business in Minden, Nevada specializing in green building. Soaring related duties include a term on the SSA Rules Committee, Minden-Tahoe Airport Advisory, Airsailing Trustee, and Competition Director for a Nationals and several Regional contests.
 

The Soaring Society of America’s Board of Directors established the United States Soaring Team Committee during the 1995 SSA Convention held in Reno, Nevada. Largely through the work of Mark Huffstutler, the SSA Board approved the formation of a committee to “oversee the affairs of the Soaring Society of America with respect to its representation at Federation Aéronautique International (FAI) approved World Gliding Championships”.

As defined in 1995, the U.S. Soaring Team Committee was an operational body primarily focused on the effective conduct of the U.S. Team at specific World Championships. The makeup of the original committee was five members, a Chairperson and four Committee members each charged with a specific area of authority. The chairperson served from the time of their election until the last day of the then current World Championships. As more FAI classes and World Championship venues were added it became obvious that the original system established in 1995 could no longer meet the needs of U.S. Teams and the soaring community.

At the February 2002 Soaring Convention held in Ontario California, the SSA Board of Directors adopted a proposal creating the U.S. Team Policy Task Force. The goal of this task force was to accomplish a fundamental review of how U.S. soaring teams operate, solicit community input, investigate areas for improvement, develop solutions, author a report and provide implementation assistance. Task Force members included Jim Payne, Tim Welles, John Seaborn, Jim Short, Ken Sorenson and Doug Jacobs.

At the January 2003 Soaring Convention held in Dayton Ohio, the U.S. Team Task Force presented its findings to the SSA Board of Directors. The Task Force defined and examined 14 areas and made recommendations based on their findings. Central among these findings was the need to modernize the U.S. Team Committee organizational structure with a broader responsibility for overall team management, subject to SSA Board oversight. A critical element was the creation on both appointed and elected positions to provide consistent long-term management of the teams rather than the previous single event focused structure.

At the 2003 Dayton meeting the SSA Board voted unanimously to adopt the Task Force recommendations and charged the appointed members of the U.S. Team Committee to form the new organization. In early April 2003 the committee election was concluded and the new U.S. Team Committee was formed. Appointed members included Doug Jacobs, Ken Sorenson and Dennis Wright with Dianne Black Nixon, Tim Welles and John Seaborn the elected representatives. The first meeting of the new U.S. Team Committee was held in September 2003 just prior to the mid-year SSA board meeting in Dallas.
 

US Soaring Team Committee Structure

US Soaring Team Task Force