The 2016 flying season has already started and for me the very first event of the year was the glider aerobatic contest ´O pohár starosty města Kolína´ (The Kolín Mayor´s Cup). The contest took place at the Kolín airfield during the last weekend of April.
It was the 3rd edition of the Cup (and 4th contest, as the very first edition was also a Czech Republic Championship), which is also opening the glider aerobatic season in Czech Republic. The contest was organized for three aerobatic categories – Basic Glider, Sportsman Glider and Intermediate Glider. The Basic category is open for the beginners and recreational aerobatic pilots. It´s possible to fly the programme with the more experienced safety pilot or instructor on board.
The weather on Saturday morning was almost perfect, after a long time of gloomy weather the sky was blue with almost no clouds. After a short briefing all the participants (3 – BAG, 3 – SPG and 4 – ING category) were ready to fly their flight programme (Known 1 and Known 2 aerobatic programme defined by Czech Aeroclub for 2016).
There were three types of gliders available during the Cup – Schleicher ASK 21, Grob G102 Astir and SZD-48 Jantar Standard 2. Aerobatics box was located directly over the airfield.
Thanks to the nice weather it was the pleasure to spend the day at the airfield and watch the gliders flying the aerobatics over a blue sky. The airfield in Kolín is located above the city and Elbe valley, and this allows the great view of the countryside. The historical monuments around the airfield – cathedral in Kolín or Pašinka medieval fortress – are making the very interesting background there. It´s a pity that due to harsh light conditions there was no possibility to take more photos with this background.
The Kolin Mayor´s Cup 2016 results:
- Basic: 1. Václav Sehnal / 2. Vojtěch Sehnal / 3. Michal Richter
- Sportsman: Vojtěch Sehnal / 2. Ondřej Krejčí / 3. Michal Richter
- Intermediate: Tomáš Bartoň / 2. Relé Šuman / 3. Jiří Krtička
