50th Consecutive National Championships - Is this a record?

The South African Nationals started yesterday in Welkom - about 260km
South West of Johannesburg. What makes this years championships
amazing is the participation of Bobby Clifford who is taking part in
his 50th consecutive South African Championships. Is there a pilot
anywhere else in the world who can claim too have flown in 50 of his
countries national championships?

Clinton Birch

LAK 12

On Dec 29, 4:38*am, Clint wrote:
The South African Nationals started yesterday in Welkom - about 260km
South West of Johannesburg. What makes this years championships
amazing is the participation of Bobby Clifford who is taking part in
his 50th consecutive South African Championships. Is there a pilot
anywhere else in the world who can claim too have flown in 50 of his
countries national championships?

Clinton Birch

LAK 12

and coincidentally, his competition number is 75, which also happens
to be his age - so who else out there is flying his/her competition
number?

I've flown 63 US national contests as well as 91 regionals and 13 WGC's, but
that is over 39 years. I'll be hard pressed to chalk up 50 continuous years
of nationals flying, which would be at age 81.

Say hello to Bobby (and Carol) from the motley crew (Charlie, Iris, John,
Karl) that had a wonderful drive around SA in 1991.

Karl Striedieck


"Clint" wrote in message
...
The South African Nationals started yesterday in Welkom - about 260km
South West of Johannesburg. What makes this years championships
amazing is the participation of Bobby Clifford who is taking part in
his 50th consecutive South African Championships. Is there a pilot
anywhere else in the world who can claim too have flown in 50 of his
countries national championships?

Clinton Birch

LAK 12

On Dec 29, 5:15*pm, "Karl Striedieck" wrote:
I've flown 63 US national contests as well as 91 regionals and 13 WGC's, but
that is over 39 years. I'll be hard pressed to chalk up 50 continuous years
of nationals flying, which would be at age 81.


Karl's a bit of a late bloomer it appears - but there's no one I'd
rather share a thermal with at 81.

Make your reservations now to be a contest passenger in Karl's Duo
Discus 3X.

;-)

wrote:
On Dec 29, 5:15 pm, "Karl Striedieck" wrote:
I've flown 63 US national contests as well as 91 regionals and 13 WGC's, but
that is over 39 years. I'll be hard pressed to chalk up 50 continuous years
of nationals flying, which would be at age 81.


Karl's a bit of a late bloomer it appears - but there's no one I'd
rather share a thermal with at 81.

Make your reservations now to be a contest passenger in Karl's Duo
Discus 3X.

;-)
That would be the DuoDiscus xlwyrT - they don't add models or change
names at schempp these days, just add letters. (we are already on xlT -
third wing, second set of winglets, second fuselage - damn nice
aeroplane...) One assumes they will have to resort to a new model number
or name when they can no longer fit the letters on the nose. ;-)

Congratulations Bobby . As they say behind every successful glider
pilot there is a successful manager . Keep up the good work Carol .
I did fly several contests with Bobby in the early 70's and despite a
total of 62 contests now flown I can only count 28 as " Nationals
" ( South Africa , England , Rhodesia ,USA ) and probably would not
have looked the numbers up without this r.a.s. posting as a prompt .

Some may remember Bobby and Karl competing for the honor of the
World's longest o/r flights in the late 1960's and into the 70's.
Bobby flew a 785 km o/r in a Libelle using thermals only in 1969. Not
bad for 40 years ago eh !

Robn Clarke (ZA).

On Dec 30, 7:54*pm, " wrote:
Congratulations Bobby . As they say behind every successful glider
pilot there is a successful manager . Keep up the good work Carol .
I did fly several contests with Bobby in the early 70's and despite a
total of 62 contests now flown I can only count 28 as " Nationals
" ( South Africa , England , Rhodesia ,USA ) and probably would not
have looked the numbers up without this r.a.s. posting as a prompt .

Some may remember Bobby and Karl competing for the honor of the
World's longest o/r flights in the late 1960's and into the 70's.
Bobby flew a 785 km o/r in a Libelle using thermals only in 1969. Not
bad for 40 years ago eh !

Robn Clarke (ZA).

50 years of flying all the Nationals has to be a World Record -
Congratulations

This post brought memories of my brother Ned and my trip to the 1958
Nationals at Bishop. Things have really changed in 50 years. On the
second day of the contest I earned my Silver "C" with a 5.5 hour
flight in our TG-2 to Benton Station. The tows would take us 300 to
400 feet over eastern slopes of the White mountains. It is still a
thrill to remember climbing by the BIG ROCKS on the mountain slope at
over a 1000 feet per minute. Really a thrill for a 18 year old flat
lander with 31 hours in his log book.

I wish I had not missed flying in a National contest every one of the
last 50 years.

Bill Snead
6W

Congrats to Bill Snead for attending many contests over the past fifty
years, and finally winning a National Championship this past summer --
the World Class Nationals at Midlothian, Texas!

We missed you at Marfa this season -- come fly with us in 2009 (and
bring Nancy!)

Burt

I was prompted by Karl's statistics to check the number of Nationals that I
have flown over the past 40 years. I have had the good fortune to fly in
65 and I hope to fly in a few more. Also I have competed in 11 world
championships.

Ray Gimmey



"Clint" wrote in message
...
The South African Nationals started yesterday in Welkom - about 260km
South West of Johannesburg. What makes this years championships
amazing is the participation of Bobby Clifford who is taking part in
his 50th consecutive South African Championships. Is there a pilot
anywhere else in the world who can claim too have flown in 50 of his
countries national championships?

Clinton Birch

LAK 12

On Dec 28 2008, 9:38�pm, Clint wrote:
The South African Nationals started yesterday in Welkom - about 260km
South West of Johannesburg. What makes this years championships
amazing is the participation of Bobby Clifford who is taking part in
his 50th consecutive South African Championships. Is there a pilot
anywhere else in the world who can claim too have flown in 50 of his
countries national championships?

Clinton Birch

LAK 12

Club class veteran pilot, Bobby Clifford (flying in his 50th
Nationals) managed to win the day with a speed of 90 kph. Well done
that man!!