Saturday, May 5th
    I have been trying to get used to a fact that for a long twelve years on my way to flying to Stranik I had to stop at some booth in Jablunkov and if a uniformed officer said so, I had to show him the content of my luggage. Today is the first day, when I don't have to show anything else than passport or my ID card. They say I am supposed to be Euro-European and should be proud of it. Apparently in some time I could pass totally freely. Well I don't know, but I sort of don't feel any pride. "Yea everything had been here already and will be again." (J.Nohavica)

    Unlike last year's race there was much more training in the pubs than over Stranik in the yesterday's training, as it was very windy and moreover wind had been blowing from unfavourable eastern directions (though in communism all of the eastern winds were very welcome). Today's situation looks much better, there is an almost accurate south east blowing in the morning and the sky is blue with some occasional glooms. The morning's registration of the 105 pilots booked in an advance finishes at number 65; it seems that the rest of them had better stay at home due to not very optimistic weather forecast.



    On the first race's briefing there is at 12:30 announced a 32 km long discipline with three turning points and with a goal on a usual landing behind Čadca. While is the wind getting stronger and the sky began to darken, Palo Vavro is opening the launching window at 12:50 and within five minutes is Juraj Kleja, Pavel Iker a Mirek "Radar" Sněhula starting.

    Catching on is totally free in this wind, but under the continuous cloudy sky it is not possible to climb up a reasonable height for the track's departure. Part of the competitive field is joining the first three pilots and the rest is waiting resignedly for the miraculous improvement of the conditions - what unfortunately, doesn't happen. Whilst there is a first storm's lighting being heard shortly before 2 pm, Juraj Kleja and Michal Orolin are looking at the recently adjusted area of the future giant Hyundai factory building down under the Straník.

    At the 14:20 is south east wind getting disturbingly stronger and turning to the west and the launching window is temporarily closed. Pilots are finishing turning behind Straník at the altitude of 1500 m in the roar of next thunder, and at conservative estimate they had better start coming back to Straník. However, in the strong wind are two of them ending up in a valley under the Straník and that is crucial signal for the hesitating rest to pack up the canopies and move to the hangar to enjoy "Rudi's meaty goulash."

    At 15:00 is Palo Vavro closing launching window and today's task is finished. And since it's starting to rain on Straník as well, the rest of the competitors willingly choose goulash over the free flying.



    The meteorologists predict very similar character of the weather for tomorrow as well, so there will be probably need to start chopping the potatoes for tomorrow's goulash right in the dawn.