The OSTIV Congress takes place every two years at the site of a world gliding championship. It offers scientists, specialists, and interested glider pilots the opportunity to exchange ideas on all topics related to the technology, safety, meteorology, training and operations of soaring and related sports. The congress is one of the means OSTIV employs to encourage and internationally coordinate the science and technology of soaring and the development and use of the sailplane in pure and applied research. As soaring poses major challenges in terms of technology, science and operational standards, but is also a recreational sport, OSTIV Congresses are characterized equally by their high standards and informal atmosphere.
The XXXVII Congress will be held 18 to 22 May 2026 at the site of the 40th FAI World Gliding Championships in Czestochowa, Poland. The congress is planned as a hybrid meeting, during which the presentations will be streamed online. However, to facilitate informal discussion, presenters are expected to attend in person. Part of the contribution to the Congress is the publication of an extended abstract of the proceedings See ostiv.org/congress/congress-events/congress-details/xxxvi-congress.html
The next relevant date for anyone interested in contributing is 5 December, when short abstracts (maximum length 2 pages) must be submitted. More details can be found in the Call for Abstracts on the OSTIV webpage.
Opportunity for presentation and discussion of papers is given in the following categories:
Meteorological Sessions
- Weather forecasting for soaring flight (gliding and paragliding)
- Deriving useful information for gliding from routine weather information
- Boundary layers above complex terrain
- Large Eddy Simulation (LES) of thermals, mesoscale, or microscale structures
- The present and future role of artificial intelligence
- Airborne data acquisition
- Linking meteorology with Sailplane Design, Aerodynamics and Safety
Sessions on sailplane design and development
Sessions will cover all aspects of the design, development and operation of sailplanes. Topics may include
-l Airworthiness, structural concepts, new materials, fatigue, crash-worthiness and manufacturing processes
- Aerodynamics and flight mechanics
- Trajectory optimization
- Stability and control
- Airframe vibration and flutter
- Propulsion systems
- Design integration and optimization
- New developments in flight testing
- Airworthiness requirements
- Cockpit instruments, including navigation instruments
- Autonomous soaring
training and safety sessions
Training and Safety sessions will be held on subjects covering disciplines such as
- Flight training, theory and analysis of techniques and results, psychology, objectives, training facilities and material
- Human and medical factors in aircraft design and operation
- Piloting techniques
- Flight operation in controlled airspace
- Safety devices
- Advanced Risk Management or Safety Management Systems (SMS) focused on soaring operations
joint sessions
Joint Sessions cover topics of general interest in the field of gliding such as
lSoaring history
- General philosophy of competition classes
- Documentation of badge and record flights
- Common interests with other air sports like hang-gliding, paragliding, microlights and ultralights
-l Human-powered flight; solar-powered flight.
Deadlines for Abstracts and Final Congress Contribution
The deadline for the Abstracts - max. two A4 pages including figures - is 6 Dec 2025. Letters of acceptance together with instructions for paper preparation will be mailed by 20 Dec 2025. Final four-page summaries of your contribution to be included in the conference booklet are requested by 31 March 2026. The four-page summaries of all presentations will be published as part of the Conference Proceedings. The Proceedings will be referenceable by its ISBN. Please use the form below to send a copy of your Abstract to the OSTIV Secretariat,
Congress Presentations
Congress presenters are expected to attend in person. Oral presentations will be limited to 30 minutes. There is no registration fee.
OSTIV encourages submission of full papers to the international journal Technical Soaring (ISSN 0744-8996) after the Congress.
ostiv.org
