Today is the final day of competition at the 40th FAI World Gliding Championships, being held at Częstochowa-Rudniki in Poland. With this being Task 10 for all three classes, the day carries particular weight for pilots whose overall standings could shift before the last scores are locked in.
Open Class
The Open Class has been set a 3-hour assigned area task with a maximum possible distance of 610.93 km, with an optimised distance of around 443.82 km. Gliders will depart via a start line north of the airfield (15 km radius) and head east toward Ujazd, where the large 27 km radius cylinder offers considerable tactical flexibility. From there the task turns south-west to Pińczów (22 km cylinder), then south to Letowice (20 km cylinder), before a long leg north to Olesno with its generous 30 km cylinder. The final leg brings pilots back west to the home airfield at Rudniki, with a 5 km finish cylinder. The depth of the cylinders on this task means that distance flown will vary considerably depending on conditions and pilot strategy, and with the championship on the line, decisions about how far to push into each area will be anything but straightforward.
18 Metre Class
The 18 Metre Class has a 3-hour 30-minute task, the longest duration of the three classes today with a maximum of 600.35 km and an optimised distance of approximately 433.99 km. The routing is broadly similar to the Open Class — east to Ujazd (25 km cylinder), south-west to Pińczów (22 km), south to Letowice (20 km), then north to Góry Mokre (30 km cylinder) — though the start line at Kobylczyce uses a 15 km radius line and the final leg home to Rudniki runs slightly more westerly than Open.
20 Metre Multi-Seat Class
The two-seater class is also set a 3-hour task, with a maximum of 570.49 km, and an optimised distance of around 423.15 km. The routing heads east to Mostki (20 km cylinder), then south-west to Pińczów (20 km), south to Letowice (20 km), north to Krasocin (28 km cylinder), and finally back west to Rudniki (5 km finish cylinder). The start line for this class is the closest to the airfield of the three, using a 10 km radius line just 5 km to the north. With cylinder radii generally tighter than in the Open Class, the multi-seat task offers somewhat less tactical latitude, though the Krasocin cylinder at 28 km still gives meaningful room to work.
