Landing is usually only done after sun set, especially when a stronger westerly wind is blowing and landing direction 27 applies. Landing into the sun is not advisable. It's a good reason to make the most of the day with the 15 minutes until dusk ends. It's not difficult. Hitting a 2-meter thermal 45 minutes before sunset, in which you can circle up to the base in 3000 meters above ground is not so rare. But then you have the luxury problem of getting back down quickly enough before night comes.
And when the majority of the gliders come in after sunset, the Bitterwasser pan plays its great advantage. At a width of almost two kilometers, it picks up the landing gliders. There is no need for stress in the cockpit.
In early September, the containers holding the gliders for the 2026/27 season were loaded in Waghäusel. Transported by trailer, truck, and cargo ship, the gliders are now on their long journey to Namibia, to the Bitterwasser Flying Lodge.
The Bitterwasser Flying Lodge was the main sponsor of the Junior World Gliding Championships, where from August 2 to 17, 2026, around 80 pilots from 22 nations competed for the titles in the Standard and Club classes. The grand prize for the JWGC winners was a one-week stay at the lodge, including travel and an airplane.