Photo: Lothar Schwark
Chris Jörges from Rhönflug Gersfeld / GFS Wasserkuppe used the excellent good gliding weather of the last week of May for two 1000 km flights. A great wish came true for him. Chris flew into the club of 1000-kilometer pilots, of which there are not many in Germany. Flight one on May 27 covered a flight distance of 1044 kilometers. On May 29, the 34-year-old industrial master flew 1023 kilometers in pure gliding. A thousand in Germany is still a very good achievement, outside of the thermal and wave flying paradises in the southern hemisphere of the world.
Well developed northeast exposure used
Fresh cold air flowed between a high above Scandinavia and a low pressure area in the east. This ensured long-lasting thermals (updrafts). Good flight planning and a lot of experience were required to make the 1000. With around ten hours of flight time in the narrow cockpit, a lot of stamina and concentration are required. “When you get out of the cockpit after about ten hours of flight time, you think you have lost your own wings,” says Chris Jörges humorously. To regain altitude, you have to circle steeply in narrow upwinds, which give the glider the energy to fly ahead.
Photo: Chris Jörges
–
For example, Chris Jörges used 50 updrafts on his first thousand, which averaged an increase of 1.94 meters / second. The Wasserkuppe pilot converted this to an average of 104.36 km / h. “The sun is our engine,” said the ASH-26E pilot. The aircraft has a wingspan of 18 meters, has an auxiliary engine and is therefore self-launching. The sleek sky racer was manufactured by the Alexander Schleicher glider in Poppenhausen. On both 1000er flights, Chris Jörges only used the auxiliary engine to take off. The flights were recorded in detail by a logger. This enables the pilot to prove that he has observed all sporting rules and requirements in airspace.
Difficult thermals in the Thuringian Forest
The first flight was exciting. After departure from the Wasserkuppe we headed for the Thuringian Forest. Getting there deeply was the motto to use every upwind to connect to the east side of the Thuringian Forest. The conditions gradually improved. From the Bavarian Forest it went well past the large Arber. Shortly before the Austrian border, only nine kilometers away, the ASH-26E pilot turned over the Sonnen airfield. The Czech border was just 14 kilometers away. With the wind in the back, Chris Jörges aimed at Regensburg and the Danube Valley. “I flew deep down here once, but then found a whirlwind,” said the pilot, who lives in Oberhausen. When the weather was good, we went back to the Wasserkuppe via Aalen. This closed a 895-kilometer triangle. The thermals were still good and so Chris extended his flight to the Hasbergen to turn around.
Flight two led him following the Thuringian Forest via Bayreuth to Weiden. From there, the western course was taken. The Rhine crossed and turned at Zweibrücken shortly before the French border. “These were unique impressions,” said the Wasserkuppe pilot.
At the age of 14, Chris Jörges started his flight training on the Wasserkuppe at the flying school. He certainly inherited the pilot’s blood from his father Harald Jörges. He is an enthusiastic glider pilot and headmaster of the flying school.
–
-
Gersfeld
-
Airports
-
Flight planning
-
Planes
-
Flights
-
airspace
-
Glider pilot
-
Forest and forest areas
-
Wasserkuppe
-
wind
–
–
–
