“The aeroplane is a dream.”

For me, it all started in August 2009. At the German Championships in Mengen, the news spread that the Binder company was going to develop a single-seater based on the EB28 edition wing, the EB29.

Having had plenty of opportunity to see the excellent performance of the EB28 edition up close in Mengen, this naturally made me sit up and take notice. The replacement of the long, naturally bulky two-seater fuselage with a slim, low-drag single-seater fuselage led me to expect superior performance compared to traditional open class aircraft.

I am visiting Ostheim for the first time at the end of October.

The weather is bad, flying is impossible, but I can look at the aircraft assembled in the hangar. Sharp, very slim wing, slight sweepback in the outer wing with beautiful winglets, spacious cockpit. The aeroplane looks great, the first EB29 is anything but a prototype, everything seems to be in the right place and very well finished.

Walter would like to present the EB29 well at the 2010 World Championships in Hungary, I am looking for a competitive glider for these very World Championships with the clear aim of winning the third title in a row…

Mitte März dann der erste Start in Ostheim.

With the water tanks still empty, I get my first idea of how the EB29 flies. The flight characteristics are unproblematic and harmonious. The aeroplane is very stable in the air, with a comparatively stiff wing that makes it easy to feel the thermals.

The manoeuvrability is amazing considering the large wingspan. A week and a half later I’m back in Germany and we – Walter, Petra, Uli Schwenk and I – are on our way south to Varese, Italy, with two gliders.

I will have ample opportunity,

to fly in the EB29 and Walter and Uli will be there with the EB28 edition. For four days, we will fly together all over the Southern Alps as far as the south of France and the Mediterranean. These are flights that the three of us will never forget. If you are used to the previous open class aeroplanes, the changeover to the EB29 is easy.

After a week of flying, I feel safe, even close to the mountain – I’m familiarised. In the lower speed range, the two gliders seem to be on a par, but as expected, the EB29 has the advantage in the higher speed range.

Walter smiles contentedly. Me too…

Mid-May is the last opportunity for a week of training before the World Championships. Unfortunately, the Hahnweide competition is rained out. The three flying days are better than nothing to get back in the air.

Then the time has come. On 17 July, I land in Frankfurt at 6 a.m. from Shanghai, my current place of residence. I took advantage of the good weather the next day for a final training flight with the EB29 from my home base in Altenbachtal. In view of the narrow airfield, I had taken off with only 820 kg, which in retrospect turned out to be completely unnecessary.

The engine has endless power and I go over the trees at the end of the runway at high altitude. After a good nine hours and 1000 OLC kilometres, I’m back in the air after a two-month break.

The aeroplane is a dream.

The World Championship itself is characterised by uncharacteristically wet weather for the time. Wet ground and warm, humid, thermally tired air masses produce low base altitudes, sometimes thunderstorms and early thermalling. My strategy from the first day of the competition is not to take any risks in the weak and sometimes opaque weather conditions and to concentrate on not losing too much. The risk of losing a lot on such days is much higher than the chance of gaining significantly on the competition. The idea is to get through the bad days well and then attack later when the weather gets better and clearer and make up lost ground.

The superior performance of the EB29 makes it easy for me. Especially in narrow beards, the wing with high aspect ratio works excellently, the aeroplane is stable in the air at 850 kg with a 45 degree bank angle at approx. 100 km/h. The climb performance in these narrow beards is correspondingly superior. Unfortunately, we can hardly use the other end of the speed range in this World Championship, but the superiority at speeds of 180 km/h and higher is obvious.

With the right amount of luck, the calculation works out.

One by one, favourites with poor results on the day say goodbye to the lead. I myself am surprised to take the overall lead on the fifth day – without having had the opportunity to attack more aggressively in clearer weather. The third day is decisive, as only seven participants can complete the task. On days 6 and 7, the weather is a bit clearer and faster. I can extend my lead further. The last day of flying came, which I was able to crown with a victory on the day, using the safety of team flying with my German team-mates for the first time, with a low base (800 metres) in places.

The joy is indescribable!

I’m glad that I managed to do it again. I am even happier that the Binder family’s calculation worked out, that I was able to demonstrate the superiority of the EB29. For me, this is the real achievement, the achievement of the Binder company. The journey of the last few decades of this small company from engine system specialist to manufacturer of probably the best glider in the world at the moment is quite extraordinary.

I can only congratulate those responsible at Binder wholeheartedly on their determination, tenacity and unconditional will. Success is for you! I am glad that I was able to be part of the ‘Binder WM’ organisation.

Thank you very much!