by Michael Deleo (YYZ) –
Format: Blu-ray (HD 1920 x 1080) or DVD (720 x 480), Available in NTSC or PAL formats
Duration: 24 minutes + other short films total 70 minutes, Filmed: January, 2010
Availability: Cumulus Soaring
Sailplane Grand Prix in the Andes documents the 3rd FAI World Sailplane Grand Prix Final held in 2010 at the Club de Planeadores, Santiago Chile. Unlike several of the more well known, feature-length soaring films like The Sun Ship Game, The Boy Who Flew With Condors or Champions of the Wave, Sailplane Grand Prix is presented in six separate segments, each about 30 minutes in length. Refreshingly, one of the segments “Aquarium” features spectacular air-to-air video footage, sans narration, paired with a soundtrack of ambient “chill-out” music.
The historic and beautiful capital city of Santiago — nestled in the main chain of the Andes mountains on the east and the Chilean Coastal Range on the west — makes for an uncharacteristic backdrop for a soaring event. The juxtaposition of the skyscrapers of the city and the glacial mountain peaks makes for a visually interesting canvas for the mini-films. The countryside making up the race course looks like a geographic melding of the Sierra Nevada and The Alps, both rich with soaring history and magnificent scenery. The occasional glimpse of the huge Andean Condor is one of the quiet reminders of why soaring is such an incredible sport.
The format for the competition pits the 16 best pilots the soaring world has to offer in a head-to-head, regatta-style start, all flying 15-meter class sailplanes. Unlike earlier gliding competitions where the pilot chose the best time to fly the course, the grand-prix start places all of the pilots in the same conditions at the same time, making for an exciting ariel chess match where pilots race against the pack not the clock. Seeing a dozen sailplanes together in-frame, truly sets Sailplane Grand Prix apart from other soaring films. Much of the air-to-air footage was captured with on-board video cameras.
Sailplane Grand Prix in the Andes – Blu-ray & DVD promo
| Sailplane Grand Prix in the Andes – Blu-ray & DVD promo from sailplanegrandprix on Vimeo. |
The first two segments of the Blu-ray disk (also available on DVD) are nearly identical with only very minor changes; almost as if they were different editing cuts of the same half-hour-long documentary. This disk is probably best viewed a segment at a time on separate nights rather than end-to-end. Either of the first two parts is a perfect introduction to soaring for guests and family members who are new to soaring. The narration in all of the segments is very well written and articulated with a mild “environment friendly” and “Earth aware” vibe.
For the hard-core soaring enthusiast, the aerial coverage is absolutely spectacular. Though some of the film was clearly shot on practice days — evidenced by open spoilers keeping the gliders in-frame — the subtle nuances of competitive sailplane racing are captured in high-definition: water-filled wings bending in thermals, smooth and gentle control correction in response to buoyant air, high-speed ridge top runs porpoising through lift and sink, tactical awareness of when to leave a thermal, just to name a few. A short segment with three-time World Champion Sebastian Kawa is rich with such detail.
The computer-generated graphics added visualization aids for the non-soaring savvy viewer and were tasteful without being “techie” for technology sake. The animations really gave you an idea of how close the racing was. For example on the first day, the difference between first and fifth place was less than 10 minutes… over a 320 kilometer (approximately 200 mile) course! The data captured from the gliders in real-time was also used to enable online viewers to follow the championship. Much of the captured data, photographs and contest results is available online (http://www.grandprixchile.org/2010/index.php).
For the scale sailplane aficionado, all of the modern-day 15-meter class gliders were well represented with the Diana Sailplanes Diana 2 taking first place, the Schempp-Hirth Ventus 2 taking second and third, and the remainder of the field composed of Alexander Schleicher ASG-29s or one of the top-three rides. All sported advertising of some sort adding some interesting color to the typically all-white ships.
Sailplane Grand Prix is a great collection of soaring video shorts. While the disk is advertised as “24 minutes plus other short films”, those looking for a feature-length movie about soaring might be better served by Champions of the Wave or one of the older soaring “classics”. Sailplane Grand Prix is full of breathtaking soaring cinematography and the professionalism of production, editing, sound and animation are first grade.
