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 crewing for their friend, Sylvia Grandstaff, at the FAI Women’s World Gliding Championships in the Czech Republic, navigating the complexities of competitive soaring for the first time.
The team faced initial glider maintenance challenges and a week of frustratingly bad weather, which caused most race days to be canceled or resulted in difficult flying conditions and Sylvia landing out twice.
Despite the weather-related setbacks and Sylvia's early struggles, the author and his wife found the crewing experience enjoyable and educational, fostering strong teamwork.
After a slow start due to persistent low-pressure systems, the weather forecast improved significantly for the final four days of the championship, promising more consistent racing.

See a mistake? Contact us.

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).