The Northern Regional Gliding Championships will return to Taupō from tomorrow.
Thirty gliders will gather at Centennial Park for the annual contest, which finishes on January 28.
Top glider pilots will compete in daily competitions by flying a “task” course, which can range from 100 kilometres to more than 300km, set every morning according to the weather and conditions.
There is a range of contests, which include races and assigned area tasks, where pilots aim to cover the most distance in a set time.
As the craft have no engines, they descend as soon as they get into the air, but can still reach speeds of up to 200km/h, or 300km/h for larger, newer ones. They can remain in the air for more than five hours in the right conditions.
