Website & Diary of the

Euro 2000 Gliding Expedition

• Thurs 20th July
• Fri 21st July
• Sat 22nd July
• Sun 23rd July
• Mon 24th July
• Tues 25th July
• Wed 26th July
• Thurs 27th July
• Fri 28th July
• Sat 29th July
• Sun 30th July
• Mon 31st July
• Tues 1st Aug
• Wed 2nd Aug
• Thurs 3rd Aug
• Fri 4th Aug
• Sat 5th Aug
• Sun 6th Aug

A group of glider pilots from the London Gliding Club led by Robin May and Ed Downham took a Duo Discus and ASH-25 No.13 on a two-part expedition to Southern Europe.

The first week was based at Ontur in Southern Spain with the European Soaring Club. For the second part we were joined by our tug (YM) and three more team members. The group then spent the next 9 days crossing Spain and France, the route was optimized to make the best of the available weather and create the most memorable soaring opportunities for everyone. The trip finished on the 6th August with a final landing in Arras in North East France. See map.

The team consisted of nine members with two gliders, two trailers, two tow vehicles and a tug.

The diary entries for each day describe the weather and achievements and are accompanied by at least two pictures of the day. Further pictures of interest can be found in the Gallery.

Over the 16 days the two gliders flew for 128 hours, giving an average of 8 hours per day. The Stats page details each individuals flying and shows the ASH completing 69 hours and 3960 kms, the Duo completing 59 hours and 3465 kms. The other statistic we were keen to maximise for the benefit of the group was seat hours and kilometres which came out at a fairly amazing 318:35 hours and 15,010 kilometres giving an average of over 35 hours and 1667 kilometres each! Also 20 different airfields were visited in the course of the trip.

Over the next few weeks we plan to add maps, traces, enhanced write-ups of the more interesting flights along with more stunning pictures. Just keep an eye on the headline for the additions.