Bitterwasser Lodge & Flying Centre | November 23 Recap
A promising start to the season
The first month of the season has come to an end, and Bitterwasser looks back on a successful November. Already 61 flights with a distance of over 1000 kilometres have been flown!
Not only did the thermals improve from week to week, but the accommodation also filled up! The scoring list grew every day and the flights became longer.
03 November turned out to be the first huge day. Despite a rather weak forecast, some flyers took off early into the blue sky. Three teams managed to cross the 1000 mark on this day, Armin Behrendt and Thomas Wolf took the day's best flight from Africa with a distance of 1118 kilometres. The longest distance was covered by Holger Back and Ilka Elster-Back with 1123 kilometers. The team made it to just before the South African border:
Also, Reinhard and Daniel Schramme covered a long distance with 1048 kilometres. All teams achieved an average of almost 200 km/h over up to two hours in convergence directly over Bitterwasser, at noon.
And November 27 was also a stunning day of flying. As many as 11 gliders made it over the 1000 kilometre mark. Some flew east to just before the Botswana border. Others headed west, where quite good thermals formed at midday. This day was particularly special for Wilfried Grosskinsky, who has been flying from Bitterwasser for a number of years and has already given many youngsters a superb stay as part of the Bitterwasser Cup. Wilfried flew his 1000 km number 300 on this day, together with Junior Gerrit Neugebauer - congratulations!
The good thermals gradually became apparent in the morning in Bitterwasser. Early take-offs and late landings are now the order of the day.
The best day of the month was November 30. A total of 14 gliders from Bitterwasser flew a distance of more than 1000 kilometres. Right at the front: Guy Bechthold and Tobias Welsch with 1371 kilometers. Closely followed by the young talent Eric Schneider with 1304 km.
Johann Luyckx planting his 1000k palm
Also, the palm avenue has grown again. Last season, Johann Luyckx flew 1250 kilometers with the Ventus 2 cxm for the first time on 11 January 2023. As it was shortly before Johann headed home, the palm tree was actually planted this season. The forecast on 11.01.23 was predicted so well by Dirk Skura that Johann Luyckx decided to postpone his flight home after all. This decision was more than worth it! After a very windy start, good thermals developed very quickly. He covered 331 km at 158 km/h, had consistently high glide ratios and landed after 1260 kilometers just before sunset. Looking back, Luyckx says:
„In Bitterwasser you can realize your soaring dreams!“
