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Tony Condon at the 39th FAI World Gliding Championships

Reported by Leah Condon, with updates from Tony — June 2025

Every so often a club member takes soaring to the highest level, and the summer of 2025 was one of those times for KSA. Tony Condon flew his Standard Cirrus N10LA “Kate” to Tábor, Czech Republic to represent the United States in the Club Class at the 39th FAI World Gliding Championships, flying with his teammate Sylvia Grandstaff.

Tony flew out of Chicago O’Hare on May 24th and arrived in Denmark, where he was met by friend and Danish team pilot Michael Mix. His contest ID was S5. Unofficial practice began May 31st, with the official practice period running June 4–6, and the competition officially beginning June 7th.

Leah kept the KSA and WSA cloudbase email list updated throughout the trip. Here is the story of Tony’s WGC adventure, largely in their own words.

Arriving in Tábor

After three days of travel, Tony, his crew, his glider, and teammate Sylvia all arrived safely at the WGC site. Leah’s note to the club was brief but carried a note of relief: “Club Class is ready to go!”

Opening Ceremonies

The Opening Ceremonies were held on Saturday, June 7th. Leah shared photos of Team USA on the grid.

“Here are a few photos of Team USA shared by KSA/WSA’s Tony Condon. Day #1 is supposed to be tomorrow (Sunday 6/8) however the weather forecast looks soggy.”
— Leah Condon

She provided links to the official website and to SoaringSpot for tasks and results, and noted that Tony was flying glider S5 with Sylvia Grandstaff flying AF. Fake WGC accounts were apparently circulating online; Leah passed along the official social media links from the WGC website.

First Practice Flight

Tony’s first flight report from Tábor:

“Today I got airborne here in Tábor, Czech Republic. Took off last but made up for it by landing last too. It was nice to see the area and the flight was interesting. Rain to the south and rain to the north. Good clouds near each rain line and blue between. So I got to see a few different soaring days today. Topped out around 8000 feet, ran an outflow shelf at the end as a rain shower passed the field. Saw a nice rainbow and landed before the next shower.”
— Tony Condon, via Leah’s cloudbase update

He added: “Had a good flight! The terrain looked very familiar thanks to all the Condor flying Kirk, Rob, Brett, Sylvia and I did over the Winter.”

Official Practice Day

From the first official practice day, June 5th:

“Practiced pre-start churn and start procedure. Found a couple of so-so climbs. Then found nothing before we found a nice enough runway. Now to practice retrieving. Plan was to put gliders in trailers tonight anyway…”
— Tony Condon

Competition Day 1

Day 1 didn’t unfold as hoped. Tony’s brief note to the club said it all:

“Well that didn’t go as planned! All I can say right now is there were several others. Tomorrow is another day…”
— Tony Condon, June 9, 2025

Competition days followed throughout June. On June 17th, Tony and Sylvia flew a 421.85 km racing task in the Club Class. The whole KSA and WSA community followed along on GlideAndSeek, watching S5 work across the Czech Republic countryside.

The KSA Community Shows Up

One of the most gratifying parts of Tony’s WGC campaign was the club rallying behind him. Members followed live tracking, shared task links, and kept each other updated on the cloudbase list all summer long. When it was over, club member Dave McConeghey summed up the feeling:

“Thanks to Tony and Sylvia Grandstaff for representing us at the 39th FAI World Gliding Championships.”
— Dave McConeghey
Official results: SoaringSpot — 39th FAI WGC, Tábor 2025

Tony Condon
Standard Cirrus N10LA “Kate” — Contest ID S5