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8th European Gliding Championships

Bulletin Number 5

Helsinki 18.4.1996

The final countdown has started

On writing this we have exactly six weeks for the beginning of the practice period of the 8th European Gliding Championships. The winter in Finland has been longer than usual. You could ski in Helsinki area till the beginning of April, which is very rare. However, the huge snowbanks are disappearing quickly and the real gliding season will start any day.

Free Cambridge loggers limited to 50 units

The demand of free Cambridge GNSS Flight Recorders surprised the manufacturer. Dave Ellis of Cambridge told that he is able to deliver only 50 units for the EGC96. Our need is larger. Therefore we had to change our policy and rules. Instead of accepting only IGC approved FRs, we have decided to accept three non-approved FRs, which are under evaluation by IGC. These units are Peschges VP8, Filser and Flugtechnik.

Please, find enclosed a revised questionnaire concerning the need and usage of different FRs (not in this HTML version). We ask everybody to send the questionnaire by fax back to us once again and as soon as possible.

After receiving them back we are able to find out the distribution of the loggers. Peschges has offered their VP8 for rental. The price will be 350 DEM + German VAT/3 weeks. If the need of Cambridge is still higher than 50, we will share the surplus evenly between the participating countries.

We need a new Jury Member

Alf Ingesson-Thoor was promoted in Swedish Airforce. Because of his new position he is forced to attend an important course, which overlaps totally EGC96. Since this fact came out, Tor Johannessen asked us to make Hannes Linke the Jury President. We are working hard with Tor and Alf to find a new Jury Member. By the time of this writing we are still missing him/her, but we will find an able-body person for the job.

Janet Janowitsch will be the editor of the Daily Bulletin

In the Bulletin Number 4 I wrote that we have a good hope the get a well-known international person as an editor of our Daily Bulletin. This dream became true. Janet Janowitsch of Austria/Australia will join the organizing team. In addition to being an international level competition pilot Janet is currently also the editor of the European Gliding News. The name of our Bulletin comes from 1976 World Gliding Championships. It will be called Groundloop. Our plan is to send at least a summary of Groundloop to Internet so that it can be accessed from the results table. As you remember, the URL:s of EGC96 -pages are:

http://www.pitek.fi/rayskala/purje96.html

and

http://soaring.aerobaticsweb.org/SOARING/EUROP_96/europ_96.html

There will be 12 towplanes in our fleet

We are very happy to tell you that there will 12 powerful towplanes in our fleet during the contest. In addition to Finnish Pawnees and Agwagons we will have three Wilgas from Estonia and two from Lithuania. Also the Volvo-engined Swedish Pawnee may show up.

Remember the flags!

A local hardware shop arranged us brand new flagpoles almost free of charge. However, we do not have the flags of all different countries. Please, bring one flag for the permanent flying and one or more for the prize giving ceremony with you. The height of the poles is 7-8 meters. Do not forget to bring your National Anthem in a C-cassette, too.

Money matters

The competition office will accept Visa, Eurocard and Mastercard credit cards in addition to cash in Finnish currency. The local restaurant Lift&Sink will accept only cash. Our souvenir shop will receive all currencies and all major credit cards.

The Team captains mobile phones sponsored by Mäkitorppa, Radiolinja and Nokia will include phone calls up to FIM 300 (< FIM 0,99/min to other EGC96 GSMs). Calls in excess to this must be paid by the teams. The phones are only for loan. They are for sale after the competition. Please, tell us if you are interested in buying one (Nokia 2110). With the special EGC96 cover they will be collector's items in the future.

The Nokia dealer, Mäkitorppa will rent GSM mobile phones, if the teams need more than the free one. The price will be FIM 600 for the competition period + the phone calls. Give us a note of your needs. The camping fee in the airfield will be FIM 35/caravan/night. The price includes electricity, sauna, showers etc.

A unique trophy by a famous Finnish sculptor

Janne Horma Memorial Trophy is a new unique trophy for the European Soaring Cup. The best Team can keep this beautiful bird until the next Europeans. The Trophy has been created by the famous Finnish sculptor Kain Tapper. He has donated the Trophy for this purpose to commemorate his - and our - friend Juhani Horma, the creator of Räyskälä, who lost his life in a tragic accident last Christmas.

Missing contest numbers

Enclosed entry list is not complete. We are still missing the details of some gliders. The official Competition Program will be an annex of our National Aviation Magazine, Ilmailu. We would prefer to have all the details in the program as accurate as possible.

Kai Mönkkönen has a list of gliders for rent. There are competitive gliders available for standard and 15-meter class, but unfortunately not for the open class. The models include Discus, SZD-55, LS-7 and LS-6. Contact Kai Mönkkönen for details.

Phone numbers and frequencies

Among the several annexes of this Bulletin you will find a list of team frequencies and telephone numbers. Till about mid-May the numbers of the Finnish Aeronautical Association are the best contacts. After that the Räyskälä numbers become valid. The mobile phone numbers of the organization are valid already now.

Pay attention that all the phone and fax numbers of Finnish Aeronautical Association have been changed since the previous Bulletins (the correct information is available from WWW also).

The annexes include a revised list of turn points, too. There are some minor changes comparing to the earlier lists.

Contact us any time with your questions!

We look forward seeing you all in Räyskälä soon. Don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. The best contact during the next two weeks is Kai Mönkkönen. I will have a special flight around the World and will be back in Finland only at May 5th.

Welcome to Finland!

Tapio Savolainen
Competition Director

Phone Numbers and Frequencies

Finnish Aeronautical Association +358 0 3509 340
-fax +358 0 3509 3440
Kai Mönkkönen +358 0 3509 3434
-GSM +358 50 554 9988
Tapio Savolainen +358 0 698 0245
-fax +358 0 698 1255
-GSM +358 500 433 059
-email savolainen@tapio.pp.fi
Competition Office (EFRY) +358 14 448 808*
-fax +358 14 448 770*
Press Office (EFRY) +358 14 448 703*
-fax +358 14 448 704*

*number available from May 25

Team Frequencies and GSM Numbers

Country Frequency GSM
Austria 121.175 +358 50 525 9609
Belgium 136.775 +358 50 525 9629
Czech Republic 128.550 +358 50 525 9610
Denmark 128.875 +358 50 525 9611
Finland 128.925 +358 50 525 9612
France 128.975 +358 50 525 9613
Germany 130.075 +358 50 525 9614
Hungary 133.225 +358 50 525 9615
Ireland 133.775 +358 50 525 9616
Israel 134.975 +358 50 525 9617
Italy 135.275 +358 50 525 9618
Japan 135.475 +358 50 525 9619
Lithuania 135.550 +358 50 525 9620
Netherlands 135.775 +358 50 525 9621
Norway 136.175 +358 50 525 9622
Poland 136.225 +358 50 525 9623
Russia 136.425 +358 50 525 9624
Sweden 136.475 +358 50 525 9625
Switzerland 136.525 +358 50 525 9626
Ukraine 136.575 +358 50 525 9627
United Kingdom 136.725 +358 50 525 9628

Bulletin 5 for the 8th European Gliding Championships on guenther-eichhorn.com

© Günther Eichhorn
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