Flying High: Zbraslavice Gliding Diary, Part 1

Learning the ropes at the women's world championships in Czech Republic is quite the experience.

Sam Weigel

Wednesday, December 10, 2025 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Sylvia Grandstaff prepares to launch in a Rolladen-Schneider LS4. [Credit: Sam Weigel]

Key Takeaways:

The author and his wife are novice crew members supporting Sylvia Grandstaff at the FAI Women’s World Gliding Championships in Zbraslavice, Czech Republic, learning the intricacies of competitive soaring.
The team faced initial challenges optimizing Sylvia's glider performance before the championship was significantly disrupted by prolonged bad weather, leading to numerous canceled flying days.
During the few race days that occurred, Sylvia experienced a "land out" on the first task due to weak thermals but achieved a mid-pack finish in a subsequent challenging race.
Despite the frustrating weather delays, the author finds the crewing experience rewarding, noting the team is working well together and anticipating better flying conditions for the remaining days.

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It’s a beautiful afternoon in late July, and the smell of freshly cut grass wafts across the airfield. White puffy clouds scud across the sky, sending shadows racing across rolling fields of corn and wheat. Hawks thermal far above, and a faint whoosh and flash of white wings signals that their human counterparts have taken notice.

A Rotax engine roars, and a smart little LSA accelerates down the grass strip, sleek glider in tow. Another tow plane lands in the opposite direction and comes to a stop near a gaggle of high-performance sailplanes at the runway’s end. This little slice of aviation heaven is Zbraslavice, Czech Republic, and this is the first practice day of the 13th FAI Women’s World Gliding Championships (WWGC).