It’s a bird, it’s a plane... It’s the 2007 World Hang Gliding Championships, bringing the top hang gliding pilots from all corners of the planet to Big Spring Aug. 7-19.

According to reports posted on ozreport.com, one of the sport’s leading Web sites, pilots representing countries including the Czech Republic, Spain, Venezuela, France, Ecuador, Sweden, Germany and the United States — just to name a few — are expected to join the action at the Big Spring Airport and McMahon-Wrinkle Airpark.

“The world championship has only been held in the U.S. once in the last 30 years, so it’s a real honor to have it coming to Big Spring,” said David Glover, one of the organizers and coordinators of the championship effort. “We’re expecting more than 150 pilots to come from all over the world to compete.”

Glover said Big Spring boasts some of the best hang gliding conditions anywhere, one of the many reasons pilots from all over the world will be making the trip.

“The consistency of the conditions here means we can fly everyday,” said Glover. “We’re not winded or weathered out. The sun hits the ground and the ground heats up, so thermal layers of air go up. The base of the clouds are really high, which means we can fly up really high into the air and the thermals are strong, so you don’t have to fly around too much before you hit a thermal that pushes you up.

“Our desire is to see how long we can stay up and then fly around a course as quickly as we can. It just has the right combination of meteorology and geography to allow us to fly for a long time and fly fast. The men and women who come here just love the flying. It’s excellent.”

Competitors can expect plenty to do throughout the world-class contest, with the first team leader briefing slated for Aug. 7 at 8 p.m. at the Big Spring Airport. Each day of the championships is set to begin with task committee meetings at 9 a.m. on and after Aug. 9.

Team leader briefings are expected to follow each day at 10 a.m., followed by weather briefings at 11 a.m. Launches are expected to begin at noon, depending on weather conditions.

Glover said the pilots returning to Big Spring from the past national championships are looking forward to the world competition — not just for the hospitality, but for the premier flying conditions.

“It’s an interesting crossroad between community and the flying conditions that keep bringing the pilots back to Big Spring,” said Glover. “The community support has been so good and the pilots feel so welcome that they really enjoy the time they spend on the ground.

“Also, the conditions are so special here that people can fly really high up in the air and there are really strong thermals. So they really enjoyed the time they spent in the air as well.”

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