Junior World Soaring - Rieti, Italy 2007: Competition Day 7

The 5th FAI Junior World Soaring Championships will start in Rieti, Italy, July 28 and run through August 11. Mike Westbrook will be flying a Discus 2b and Kathy Fosha an LS-8. Team Captain Richard Maleady will be doing double duty as crewman with a car and the last member of the team is Giorgio Marchisio who will be helping out while the team is in Italy. The team goes to Italy July 18th and will have the gliders in Rieti starting the 20th.

Once the team has arrived in Rieti and settled in, Richard will be providing regular reports via this blog. Visit for up to the minute news of our SSA Junior World Team performance.

08 August 2007

Competition Day 7

It's 7:15 here in Rieti. Mike and Kathy are back and tied down. This seems to have been one of the best contest days to date. The task was a 403 km speed task. Both pilots appeared to have had a lot of fun, and are currently over at the swimming pool. We're headed to L'Aquila for dinner a bit later, and it should be a large crowd.

Today was pretty ordinary from a ground perspective. Pilots briefing, launch, lunch, siesta and chores. Somehow I missed the siesta though. Went for gas, money, duct tape (Kathy will have to explain that one), soap, newspaper featuring Kathy on the front page and contest T-shirts. T-shirts--20 Euro, Polos--30 Euro. ?????? Oh well.

Kathy and Mike took some good photos of their flight today. Obviously they seem a little more relaxed!!

And by the way, in case you're wondering, that stylus mounted in Kathy's glare shield is the new FAA approved version of Flarm. It took a great deal of work to get the approval, but unfortunately, still doesn't work quite the way it was intended!!

Richard Maleady

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Meet the Junior World Team

Mike Westbrook
Mike (21) took off solo for the first time on his fourteenth birthday. He had his first contest experience at 15 while flying a 1-26 in a local contest and has since flown in two 1-26 Championships, three regional and four national contests. During these experiences he won the junior trophy for the 1-26 Championships once and the World Class Nationals twice. In 2005 Mike participated in the Junior Worlds in England, winning a day along the way. During 2006 he placed third overall at the World Class Nationals in Marfa and participated in a training week at Rieti to prepare for the worlds in 2007. Mike is a Commercial glider pilot with his CFI-G. He holds a Gold badge with two Diamonds, Century I, II, and III awards, a handful of state records, and is a recipient of the Kolstad Scholarship. He has 1,100 hours of flight time, with 700 being in gliders. Mike is currently a senior at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a full time flight instructor with Floatplanes and Amphibs in Sebring, FL. Mike is excited to be headed to Italy and looks forward to a team success.

Kathy Fosha
Talented 24 year old commercial pilot Kathy Fosha has flown over 300 hours in gliders since her solo at age 19 in Minden, Nevada flying a Grob 103. Kathy has competed successfully in two National championships and holds numerous records including the Colorado 15m Feminine Altitude Gain and Free Distance. Kathy is Co-Holder (with Mike Westbrook) of New Mexico Multi-place Free Distance, Free Out and Return Distance and Out and Return Distance, Absolute Altitude, and Altitude Gain. Holder of New Mexico 15m Feminine Absolute Altitude. In addition Kathy has earned many awards including the Gogos and Kolstad honors and is a graduate of three time world champion George Lee's elite cross country and racing school. A recent transplant to Southern California from Fort Collins Colorado, Kathy now works with advanced aerodynamic design and analysis at Northrop Grumman Corporation in El Segundo Calif. "I love competition flying because it truly is a test of pilot skill. While differences in aircraft performance can cause a difference in the standings, a very good pilot can overcome these differences. Taking advantage of the energy inherent in the sky to fly great distances is an awesome thing", says Kathy. She is looking forward to flying and competing with a large group of Junior pilots at the WGC in Rieti and hopes to fly Standard Class.

Richard Maleady - Team Captain
Richard (59) began soaring a bit later in life - in 1989 - but has accumulated 1380 hours in gliders. He soloed in a 2-33 at Bermuda High Soaring in Chester, SC. He is a soon to be retired General Contractor in North and South Carolina and has operated his own business in Charlotte, NC for the past 14 years. Currently he flies his DG808S out of Bermuda High Soaring (now outside Lancaster, SC) where he served as club president for two years. He is also a member of the Carolina Soaring Association as well as the New Castle, VA Soaring Club. Richard began competing about six years ago and has competed in numerous regionals as well as 7 National Contests. He is excited about his upcoming involvement with the Junior Team in Rieti, Italy, and the opportunities to contribute to the team's success.