Andy soars into Championships (From Gazette Series)

Andy soars into Championships

TWO pilots from the Bristol and Gloucestershire Gliding Club, based at Nympsfield, are hoping to add to their already impressive list of successes at the European Gliding Championships which begin this weekend.

First into action will be 25 year old Leigh Wells, from Cheltenham, who is competing in the 15m Class event which is being held over the forests and lakes of southern Finland. The 15m event begins this Saturday and will last for the next two weeks.

Club mate and current World Champion, Andy Davis, from Uley, is competing in the Standard Class event which begins one week later in the mountains of Slovakia. Both pilots are expected to do well in the competition which will see them racing each day around courses that typically will range from 200km to 600km in length, with speeds of up to 300kmph being reached.

Despite being the youngest member of the British team, Leigh has already built up a wealth of competition experience.

He is the current UK champion in the 15m Class for flapped gliders and has been the Rolex Western Regional champions for each of the last three years. In 2003, his last year as a junior, he finished fifth in the World Junior Championships. Reigning world champions, Andy Davis, is one of the most experienced competitors in world gliding.

He first represented the UK at the 1981 World Championships and has been selected for every world championship since.

After a second place in 1989, he won his first world title in the Standard Class in 1993. Ten years later he regained this title after a thrilling contest with two French pilots, Laurent Aboulin, the defending champion, and Olivier Darroze. His world championship form has been amazingly consistent, having finished outside the top six on only a couple of occasions.

Andy was awarded an MBE for services to gliding in the Birthday Honours list earlier this month.

Gliding runs in Andy's family. He started flying at Bath and Wiltshire Gliding Club, where his father Bill was chief flying instructor. Andy made his first solo flight shortly after his 16th birthday and won the first of his national titles in 1978 when aged just 21.

Whilst continuing to compete at the highest level, Andy is also a current British team coach and is leading the team responsible for hosting the World Junior Gliding Championships being held later this year in the UK.

He was one of the founders of the British Team coaching operation that has helped British pilots secure many international medals in recent years, including seven world championship gold medals in the previous four years.

Andy's day job also involves flying - he is a captain for British Airways.

Andy lives in Uley with his wife Pami and 14-year-old son Matthew. He is a member of Bristol and Gloucestershire Gliding Club at Nympsfield, where he owns a share in both a single seat Discus 2a, which he will be flying at the European Championships, and a two-seater Duo Discus sailplane.

Andy particularly enjoys flying over mountainous areas, with his special favourite being the Alps Maritime in Southern France. The Alps also feature in Andy's other main hobby - skiing.