Gliding

I learned to fly gliders at the age of 14 and have accumulated over 750 totally engine-less flight hours since! Gliding is my way of getting away from work and school, and I generally fly around 150 hours per year. I hold a handful of awards and state records, and I compete in glider races at the national level.

Awards:

2021 – 1st Place: US Standard Class National Championship (all ages)
2021 – 1st Place: US Junior National Championship (pilots under 25 years of age)
2020 – 1st Place: US Junior National Championship (pilots under 25 years of age)
2020 – 18th Place: OLC Speed Champion (worldwide, all ages)
2019 – 1st Place: US Junior National Championship (pilots under 25 years of age)
2019 – 6th place: US Open Class National Championshp (all ages)
2019 – Recipient of the R. Mozier Award & Scholarship
2017 – Pacific Soaring Council Sawyer Award
2017 – Pacific Soaring Council Longest Silver Badge Flight

Records:

As of October 5, 2020, I am the official holder of 9 CA state distance records.
These include:

Open Class Singleplace Free Distance
Open Class Singleplace Free 3-Turnpoint Distance
Open Class Singleplace Distance Up to 3 Turnpoints
15 Meter Class Free Distance
15 Meter Class Free 3-Turnpoint Distance
15 Meter Class Distance Up to 3 Turnpoints
Standard Class Free Distance
Standard Class Free 3-Turnpoint Distance
Standard Class Distance Up to 3 Turnpoints

Open Class National Championships, July 2019

Newspaper Snippet Me In the Local Newspaper During the 2019 Open Class Nationals in Hobbs, NM

I made an appearance in the local newspaper during the open class national championships in Hobbs, NM in 2019. I flew a borrowed ASW-22 BL (26.5m wingspan) glider, and came in 6th overall, with 92% of the winner’s score. Hobbs was my first national championship and I was very happy with the 6th place as such!

Fun fact: the ASW-22 BL boasts a 62:1 glide ratio and has some of the world’s most flexible wings. Deflections under load at the tip often exceed 8 ft from the unloaded position! It’s also the only glider in the world that’s a dually!

My First 1000km Flight

1000k Flight Track Log From My First 1000km Flight: Link

On July 12, 2020, I flew my first 1000km flight in the 18m LS-10 ST! I took off from Nephi, UT and headed south. I turned north at Panguitch, UT (just west of Bryce Canyon Natl. Park) and followed the Wasatch Mountains north to Scofield Reservoir, where I turned south-west. I followed the Sevier lake basin almost to Nevada, where I turned around to head back to Nephi. My total flight path distance was 1032 km and I flew an average speed of 129 km/h.