THE Horsham Flying Club will host the Australian leg of the 2017 International Sailplane Grand Prix at the Horsham Aerodrome from December 14 to December 20.
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Pilots for the competition have been announced, with a large number of Australians taking part in the event.
There are 12 pilots from Australia taking part, with two New Zealand, two America and one German participant. One pilot familiar to the Wimmera region is David Wilson.
Wilson will be among those competing for a spot in the grand prix final.
Horsham Flying Club president Arnold Niewand said this was the first time something an event of this calibre had flown into the city.
“There will be local pilots from Victoria and interstate pilots. This event is quite prestigious,” he said.
There are nine legs of the grand prix across the world at destinations including Slovakia, Italy, Poland, the USA, South Africa, Spain and France.
The final will be staged in Chile from January 1 to January 18 in 2018.
“The first and second placed flyers will qualify for the final,” Mr Niewand said.
“Horsham applied for the grant and Gliding Federation of Australia gave their approval for us to host it.
“It comes down to us having the facilities to host the event and to be able to carry out the transmission of the glider race.”
Mr Niewand said the event was as prestigious as it comes to gliding worldwide.
“This will put us as a gliding club on the map as well as Horsham and the Wimmera,” he said.
“We will be flying over the Wimmera, we will see the paddocks, the tractors, the trucks on the road – there will also be all sorts of activities to showcase the Wimmera area.
“It’s an exciting time to be running an event like this.”
There will be a race every day the event runs, with competition spread out over the while week.
The races will start at roughly midday and run for two hours.
“It is designed for the public to see the start and the finish of the gliders coming in,” Mr Niewand said.
“We are looking for people to help with the competition.
“We are not a big enough club to do it all on our own.”
Mr Niewand said gliding was a sport people could take part in from the age of 15 and continue to enjoy up to the age of 75.
People that would like to offer their services to the club can call Arnold Niewand on 0429 857 275 or email nieco@aanet.com.au
