Sport Class - Yes

Click here to register and see more info. There will be a Sport Class! Tell your friends. There may be a handicap for different performance sport class king-posted gliders.

Pay for the Meet

Scroll down and bit and look in the right hand column for the credit card icon, paypal icon or how to pay by check. Thanks.

Enteries to date: 73 - 56 Flex 17 Rigids - 96% paid.

Atilano Barber Bereczki Bloom Bowen Brown Bunner Burick Cameron Carter Chamblee Chaney Chipman Cutter Dabbur Dawe Degtoff Dinauer Durand Endter Evans Franquiz Funk Gleason Goodman Gotes Gregory Guerra Haywood Hazlett Hesch Hildebrand Hindemith Howard Kendall Knapp Lamb Lanning Lopez Mallett Martin McErlane Nash O'Brien Permenter Posch Presley Proctor Rayburn Rizo Rotor Russek Schmitz Segura Segura Sewell Simmons Smith Soderquist Stebbins Stoker Straub Stump Tjaden Tjaden Toutenhoofd Vassort Volk Williams Williams Yocom Zabo Zimmerman

Big Spring - Wins

The 2007 World Hang Gliding Championship will be held in Big Spring, Texas!

What do the pilots want?

Listen to the pilots: Oleg Boundarchuk, Kraig Coomber, Brett Hazlett, Robin Hamilton, Corrinna Schwiegershausen, Lukas Bader, Alex Plonar, Brian Porter and more... Click Jan. archive to see more written comments by pilots.

Betinho Schmitz - Brazil

I would like to congratulate on your job bringing the world's to Texas. I had the chance to fly in Slovakia in 1998 and in Texas 2001 and i can tell you that Texas is way better.

All the Brazilian hang gliding communitiy is happy about the competition in Big Springs and we are already organising a big group of brasilians to go there.

Oleg - World Champion - Ukraine

It looks to me that Texas is more preferable place to have a Worlds there because of more reliable whether conditions. Everyone I speak to says Texas has every day flying under the clouds, and also it's got a good facilities.

In Slovakia it is pretty good flying when whether is good, but from my experience (I've been there several times), there is very good chance to have some rainy or windy days, so all together there may be half of the comp days with poor conditions or even not flyable at all.

Christian Ciech - World Champion - Italy

I want to have the Worlds in Texas in 2007. The really good reason because I like Texas most is because I never been there, and Worlds are a good opportunity to have a look to another country.

Attila Bertok - Hungary

Whenever people asking me which place would be the best for a competition my answer is “the one which has the best weather”. If you are a real pilot who likes to fly this has to be the selection criteria #1. Personally I’d like David Glover to win the bid to get the WC to Texas. I also know Slovakia quite well, people there are my friends, but when it comes to weather consistency the place doesn’t have that. The infrastructure is super and the hospitality of the people on that part of the world is great, but for a world competition site I have to say Texas has to be better. The statistics of the place speaks for itself.

I am also the big fan of fully aero-towing meets because this kind of competition gives us the biggest chance for proper and well deserved public exposure and all the attached benefits.

Also, on a fully aero-towing meet the social aspect of the flying is great, because everybody starts the day together, including all the support people. If we can make it back home that’s even better. The overall dependency from the weather, like wind direction issues, are a lot less than on a mountain competition.

I really hope that this time David Glover gets the right to organize this meet, it would be well deserved after many years of trying.

Brett Hazlett - Pre-Worlds Champion - Canada

The facilities available to us at the airport are excellent. Preparing for each flight, staying hydrated, and cool, is easy. This makes for more pleasant, and safer flying.

In Big Spring, there is a level of community support that I have not seen elsewhere. The entire community wants us to be there, and they hope that we come back! They have shown a willingness to cooperate with us to solve any difficulty that might arise. Even at the individual level, the friendly folks of Big Spring, are a pleasure to talk to.

Even more impressive is the strong and consistent conditions, with low turbulence. This is something that high level competitors will appreciate. With 35 competition tasks flown, out of 35 days of competition, Big Spring has a consistency record that is unheard of!

Big Spring is an oasis for elite competition.

Corinna Schwiegershausen - World Champion

I would like to see the next Hanggliding World Championships in Big Spring, Texas, USA - that place promises a great chance to many valid tasks flown, as the weather is extremely reliable. The organizers already have successfully proven to be capable of running a world size meet. I would like to see a comp that is fun for the pilots, providing many valid tasks and good organization.

Kraig Coomber - Australia

I have been hang gliding competitively since 1993. I have competed in many countries including Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Austria, Slovakia, Columbia, Argentina, Malaysia, Brazil and the United States. Of all my travels, the one venue that stands out in my mind as being ideal for competition hang gliding would be Big Spring, Texas. It offers great facilities, epic flying conditions, a crew friendly road system, safe landing terrain, friendly people and the potential for world class tasks day after day. I believe it would be an excellent location for a World Championship and will more than satisfy all competitors. Big Spring and David Glover have my support.

Robin Hamilton - UK

Big Spring has offered the best and most consistent flat land flying conditions of any of the World's competition venues bar none. It is simply a great place to fly, has good road infrastructure and enjoys a significant, enthusiastic set of volunteers to help make the Meet a success in any way they can.

Brian Porter - World Champion

Big Spring - Texas has got to be one the best places for to hold a World Championships. My Flying experiences in Big Spring Texas have always been quite good. The terrain and climate lend themselves to high attitude and long distance flying. The Town of Big Spring and it local population are friendly and more interested in Hanggliding,than is usually found in other parts of the world.

Claire Vassort - France/USA

I am in full support of a World Meet in Big Spring. The place offers excellent, consistent flying, very nice airport facilities for aerotowing and incredible enthusiasm from the town. It would be a shame not to take advantage of them all. I have flown in the Big Spring competition for the past three years. Not only did we fly every single scheduled day of the meet, but the tasks were varied, safe and challenging. The organization was flawless. I would strongly recommend that the CIVL delegates vote for Big Spring!

Jonny Durand Jr - Australia

Well after some discussions with the Australian team are in favour of having the next world championships in Texas Big Springs for 2007. We feel that this would be a better place to decide the next world champion, due to it"s great flying and weather conditions.

Oliver Barthelmes - Germany

What a Worlds locaton should have: Site : weather consistancy ( no strong winds or long rain periods ) landing possibilies ( saftey) enough space to set up and launch organisation : people should run a competition with passion and not just to make money !!! that is the receipe for all things working out the right way."

Kevin Carter - Top USA Pilot

Big Spring - it's the place for the World’s for a number of reasons. 1) It has the best flying conditions for a competition anywhere in the world. 2) It has excellent retrieve 3) It is based in a town big enough to be viable, but small enough to care. Big Springs is the small town with the Big Heart. 4) No other location can claim the same kind of consistency found in Big Spring. 5) Friendly people are found everywhere in this region of Texas. 6) Facilities are the best anywhere at the Big Spring Airport. Internet access, AC, plenty of space, and hanger usage for gear. It doesn't get any
better than that.

Vim Toutenhoofd - Netherlands

I have been a competitor in two national hang gliding competitions in which David Glover was the Organizer. One of those was at Big Spring. I very much admire David's style and other qualities of leadership which he displayed in these two events.

I have never in my life (I'm 70 years old) experienced as much support for my hang gliding hobby from members of a local community as I did in Big Spring, and rarely in my life experienced as fantastic soaring conditions, as I did in the Big Spring area.

Holder of sailplane three-diamond badge. Flew three times for the Netherlands in sailplane Worlds. 1974 recipient of (OSTIV) Plaque/Klemperer Award

Alejandro Olazabal - Mexico

Me and other Mexican pilots think that Big Spring has the perfect conditions for a world meet. There is suficient lodging, hotel, restaurants, the roads are exellent, the people of this town make a big difference, they are the most grateful people we have met. Happy to see a bunch of pilots running around like crazys all over their town. The airport is wonderful with vey little transit, big enough to be considered a safe place to have as many pilots as you wish. There is an excellent hospital just few minutes away from the airport. It would be a great place to have the World meet in 2007. I really support David Glover to have this meet in 2007. It would be a successful event in all its composition.

Fausto Arcos - Ecuador

I think it is a great idea to carry on the next Worlds in Big Spring. David Glover has proven how to run a succesfull and high quality meeting many times in the past. The US has my support and from all Ecuadorian pilots.

Ron Richardson - UK

I would like to support Big Spring for the World Championship especially if David Glover is running it as meet director.

Raul Guerra - Ecuador

I am a pilot from Ecudaor and we want the USA for the next World Championship in 2007.

Mike Glennon - Columbia

First of all I want to be honest and say that of all the competitions I have participated in over the last 21 years, the ones I have enjoyed the most have been the ones that David Glover has acted as director of competition.

I think that holding the Worlds at Big Springs would be the best thing that could happen to our sport in a long time , for quite a few reasons, first of all because the conditions there are superb, the town would bend over backwards to make it very pleasant for the pilots and you as director would make it succesfull I am sure.

Rohan Holtkamp - Australia

The Aussie team consensus is for Big Springs. Stable days in Europe with the smog are not our idea of racing. We want to fly back to the hangar as much as possible, and fly in pumping conditions with high cloud bases like in Oz.

Carlos Rizo - Columbia

The Slovakians in their opening statement and I quote: "Many European pilots will find it more convenient to fly the Worlds in Europe." This is a rather exclusive way of seeing hang gliding competitions. In essense, my attitude towards the excellent organization skills of David Glover remain unchanged. David has my full support and vote of confidence for the US bid to hold the Worlds in Big Springs Texas.

Neville Almond - UK

I have heard many pilot reports of Big Spring to know it should certainly be a main contender for a worlds event. Likewise, you & the USA guys show absolute professionalism in competiton organisation & safety, and I'm sure the two would be a winning combination.

On the other side of the coin, whilst the European mountains is a lovely place to be (and, 'sometimes', fly), I have been long convinced the Alps unpredictable wind and weather makes it an unsuitable choice for major
events

Gary Wirdnam - UK

Any comp run by David Glover gets my vote. never mind the flying, at least we know we'd have some fun.!

Paris Williams - USA

There are just too many reasons why Big Springs would be a great site to hold the World Championships:

We haven't lost a single day of flying due to weather in years, retrieve couldn't be easier with landing fields everywhere and good roads networking the area, the consistency of good racing conditions is the best I've ever seen, the size of the airport is ridiculously large, making it possible to set up several different launch lines and get pilots into the air faster than any other setup I can imagine. There are several international airports nearby, the town has lots of good accomodations and restaurants, and perhaps most important of all, I've never felt so welcome at a flying site anywhere - the people of Big Spring couldn't be friendlier!

Jim Yocom - USA

The flying in Big Spring is fantastic! Not only is the air big and friendly, but extremely consistent. I have flown every single day of every meet I have attended in Big Spring! This year's US Nationals had very mellow conditions, yet we still had tasks of 100-200km every day! The town of Big Spring offers good accomodations, restaurants and lots of friendly people. I cannot imagine a better place to hold a World Class Hang Gliding Meet!

Nelson Franquiz - Puerto Rico

Dear Delegates of CIVL,

I would like to share with you my experience and memories on Big Spring, Texas. First let me tell you that David Glover is an excellent organizer with all the characteristics that make a hang gliding meet, fun, challenging, safe and interesting. Is not a surprise that such a succesful pilot and organizer will consider Big Spring to host the world championship there, after we all enjoyed the magnificent air and consistent good weather condition that this place offer. All this is backed up by a five star ground facilities and great town & country people happy to have pilots around. I personally will be back this year for the Big Spring open and if you ask me where I want to have the Worlds, I will say that, I want the 2007 Worlds in Texas.