The CMVVM

The first CMVVM will take place in 1966, with 13 competitors among whom:

• Abeille, Cartry, Delylle, Weiss representing France
• Waldenberger and Peter representing Germany
• Dymock representing the United Kingdom
• Stouffs and Doutreloux representing Belgium
• Wodl representing Austria

Wodl will turn up to be up to be the first winner.

Filleux, a glider pilot working in the meteorological station of Saint Auban was in charge of the weather forecast.

In those times, the only European contest took place yearly in Angers: the “8 days of Angers”.

The first record booklet of these championships dates back to 1975. The front page had been drawn by Louis Abeille , the jackdaw ( little crow ) becoming its logo until 1989. Marie-Alice Bonnefon used to be its printer and publisher.

All competitors were given the Club’s pennant made by the capable hands of Maguy, Jeannette, Andrée and Rosette. In the nineties, the number of competitors topped 110,launched by a fleet of 14 towplanes. These numbers have dramatically decreased ever since, due to more and more numerous contests in Europe and the evolution of the pilots’ views on their sport.

In 2006, for the World Championships, B. Cornu produced a CD instead of the old booklet.

The intrinsic qualities of the CD will make of it an international reference to relate a contest.

In the seventies, the weather forecast was done thanks to local plane soundings, and a Meteo France temporary station was implanted in Vinon for external information.

Nowadays, thanks to our “Carpenter of the Clouds” and Internet, forecasting the weather has become far more accurate!

Formerly,contest flights were controlled by:

• “theodolite” device for the departure time
• several photographs at each turn point.
• stewards on the ground checking arrival time
• check of the barogram recorded in flight.

Films were proceeded are checked at night on the field by a team of volunteers.

Now, flight recorders and geographic software make it much faster!

In the Seventies, calculations were “hand-made” then with a “Texas” pocket calculator.

Now, the computer will do it for you in an instant.

In the nineties, this competition has developed to such an extent that no other soaring club in the whole region wished to take over from the AAVA.

Vinon has welcome:

• National Championships in 1979, in spite of a strong reluctancy of the pilots flying in the flat areas. Fortunately enough, cloud ceilings have allowed to fly above the Alps as though you were in the Loire Valley. Nationals took also place in Vinon in 2001, 2005 and 2009.
• Europan Championships in 1984 and 2013.
• IGC World Championships in 2006, with a “Pré-Monndial” in 2005.

2015 saw the 47th issue of the C.M.V.V.M.