SYLVIA W. HIERS/T&D Pilot Harvey Howell of Dover, Mass. stands by his sailplane at Perry International Airport in Aiken County, just across the line from Springfield. A long line of planes and trailers can be seen in the background as the week-long Region 5N Sailplane Contest of the Soaring Society of America got under way. The competition runs through Saturday, April 23.

Competition this week features 75 sailplanes

By SYLVIA W. HIERS, T&D Springfield Correspondent

PERRY — Lance Armstrong and the Tour de Georgia are cycling in Augusta and more than 70 triathlon men and women recently raced in Springfield.

Question: What amazing sporting event is next in the area?

Answer: The Region 5N Sailplane Soaring Contest of the Soaring Society of America, featuring more than 75 sailplanes, their pilots and crews, is convened at Perry International Airport in Aiken County this week, just across the line from Springfield.

Competitors streamed in all day Saturday, April 16, and lodged in more than 45 recreational vehicles and an occasional tent at the beautiful site, a huge grass runway bordered by woodlands.

On Sunday, they practiced, welcoming people who came to observe, marvel and ask questions. From Monday, April 18, through Saturday, April 23, they compete in what has been for the last three years the largest glider competition in the United States.

The Soaring Society developed in 1932 to foster all phases of soaring, national and international. It currently has more than 16,000 members.

Participating are teams from the United States — Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida, Texas and other states.

In addition, five crews from Canada, two from England and one from Belgium are taking part.

According to the Society's Web site at ssa.org, "To Fly, To Soar, Is To Be Free." Soaring is the art of sustained flight without a motor. Man's dream to soar like an eagle can be accomplished in modern gliders or sailplanes. One of the safest, most economical, challenging and rewarding forms of flight, soaring offers the chance to remain aloft for many hours and travel hundreds of miles without creating a sound.

The local event started in 1999 when Allison Tyler invited a few friends over for a little get-together. It has grown bigger every year, influenced by the hospitality and organizational skills of hosts Tyler and his associates, Rich Chesser and Russell Muschick of the Perry Soaring Association, and the beauty of the venue, Perry International Airport.

Daily launch is between noon and 1 p.m. Gliders come in between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. There is no competition on cloudy days. Planes may travel from 250 to 300 miles each day. Locally, they fly as far away as Allendale or Saluda, for example.

Planes may land at a variety of airports or in an open space. If the plane lands away from the Perry Airport, the "fetch" crew travels to the site, towing the long, narrow trailer which houses the plane, with wings detached and placed alongside the fuselage. Once the plane is packaged in its trailer, pilot, crew and plane return to the Perry Airport. During the week, people of neighboring towns get used to seeing the unique trailers shaped like large mummy cases being towed back to Perry.

Sailplanes in Perry are launched either by aerotow, being pulled aloft by a rope secured by a special hook to a towplane, or by a newer method, a fold-away engine that can be used for launch and then folded back into the glider. Once launch is completed, the actual soaring flight begins.

Here, pilots look for thermals as the source of energy to stay aloft. Thermals are columns of warm, rising air. Once in a thermal, the sailplane circles tightly to stay in the lift until high enough to strike out in search of the next thermal. It is an amazing sight to see more than a dozen graceful white sailplanes circling and rising in the same thermal column, from several thousand feet up until they rise so high that they disappear from sight.

The public is welcome to observe any part of this week's Soaring Contest.

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