![]() However, the sport of gliding only emerged after the First World War, as a result of the Treaty of Versailles, which imposed severe restrictions on the manufacture and use of single-seat powered aircraft in Germany's Weimar Republic. The development of heavier-than-air flight in the half century between Sir George Cayley's coachman in 1853 and the Wright brothers in 1903 mainly involved gliders (see History of aviation). Although in most countries the standards of safety of the pilots and the aircraft are the responsibility of governmental bodies, the clubs and sometimes national gliding associations often have delegated authority. These are usually provided by gliding clubs who also train new pilots and maintain high safety standards. These and other launch methods require assistance and facilities such as airfields, tugs, and winches. Powered-aircraft and winches are the two most common means of launching gliders. Consequently, they may need to land elsewhere, perhaps in a field, but motorglider pilots can avoid this by starting an engine. If the weather deteriorates pilots are sometimes unable to complete a cross-country flight. Techniques to maximize a glider's speed around the day's task in a competition have been developed, including the optimum speed to fly, navigation using GPS and the carrying of water ballast. Local and national competitions are organized in many countries, and there are biennial World Gliding Championships. These gliding competitions test pilots' abilities to make best use of local weather conditions as well as their flying skills. Some competitive pilots fly in races around pre-defined courses. When conditions are favourable, experienced pilots can now fly hundreds of kilometres before returning to their home airfields occasionally flights of more than 1,000 kilometres (621 mi) are achieved. Long distances are now flown using any of the main sources of rising air: ridge lift, thermals and lee waves. Improvements in aerodynamics and in the understanding of weather phenomena have allowed greater distances at higher average speeds. Initially the objective was to increase the duration of flights but soon pilots attempted cross-country flights away from the place of launch. The word soaring is also used for the sport. Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. A Ventus-2 glider landing while jettisoning water that has been carried as ballast
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