Henrik Theiss, was a bit late due to the pandemic, but on his first day in Bitterwasser he got to know Namibia with all its weather phenomena that the country has to offer – on the positive side the powerful, high-reaching thermals and the elongated updraft lines and on the other side the extensive fall areas on the edge of thunderstorms and dust rollers whipped up in strong winds. On this exciting flight, Henrik sat together with Wilfried Großkinsky in the cockpit of an EB28 edition.
Later, Henrik, flying alone with the Ventus 3M, was able to look forward to his first 1000 k in Namibia. It wasn't the very first, however. At home in Grabenstetten he has already managed two with the OLC-Discus, one of them in the small version with a wingspan of 15 meters.
But it doesn't always have to be a 1000 k flight. Christmas presents could also look different. Henrik Theiss: " A 720 k FAI triangle on Christmas Eve, I will probably not see that again anytime soon."
Early October is the ideal time to prepare the runways for flight operations. You can land at the Bitterwasser Flying Lodge in every which direction—depending on how you look at it, on 8 runways (plus one emergency runway), each in two directions. Jeremias carefully levels the landing area over the course of several weeks.
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.