Despite a rather poor forecast at the morning briefing, the day turned out to be a real spectacle.
The teams led by Armin Behrendt and Thomas Wolf, Holger Back and Ilka Elster-Back, and Daniel and Reinhard Schramme only returned to Bitterwasser shortly after sunset.
Despite the rather late start around 11 a.m., a lot of kilometers were covered.
All three teams reported a surprisingly good flying day. After initially weak thermals and constant sinking, updrafts and clouds appeared as if at the push of a button.
Holger Back and Ilka Eslter-Back covered the longest distance with 1123 kilometers and made it to just before the South African border.
Armin Behrendt and Thomas Wolf won the day in Africa with a distance of 1118 kilometers.
Daniel and Reinhard Schramme also flew a long way with a distance of 1048 km.
The pilots reported an average speed of almost 200 km/h for up to 2 hours.
In the evening, a convergence appeared directly above the airfield, allowing the pilots to enjoy a beautiful sunset.
All in all, a really successful day of flying!
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.
Largely unnoticed by the public, the 5th Red Bull Global Aerial Performance Camp 2026 took place in Bitterwasser, Namibia, from April 21, 2026, to April 30, 2026.
A few videos and pictures on this page offer a glimpse of the athletes and their performances.