I totally agree that this rule is very sensible and should apply.

Besides, after two aircraft colide with enough force to tear a wing
tip off you
can bet your life that the FAA will ground both gliders until detailed
examination
is perfromed to prove that either is considered airworthy.

So.....your going to miss the rest of the contest in any case, so why
further risk your life
and more importantly those of others with a potentially damaged glider
that could loose control
at the worst possible time, like when your at the top of a gaggle in a
thermal.

I understand that the pilot in the Ventus probably felt his glider
suffered no signifigant damage, but would you not
want to take responsibility and at the very least escort the damaged
plane home so that you could radio for help if his
glider went down somewhere.

Even if a radio communication between the two pilots revealed that the
clipped wing glider thought he was OK to make it home, I think
escorting him to a safe landing would have been the most admiral thing
the other pilot could do and would gain him much more respect
and notatiaty than winning a contest day that nobody in the rest of
the world gives a crap about.

Sorry for sounding so harsh but winning a contest day is not even
close to winning the respect of your peers.

I guess under this kind of stress it is difficult to make the best
decissions.

Its always easier to see it clearly sitting on the ground typing at a
keyboard, but following your gut in this case might have been better
than striving to win.

Soap box dismounted!

Ray




On Jun 17, 4:36*am, stephanevdv wrote:
This is the rule as laid out by IGC in Annex A (international
competition rules) to the Sporting Code, Gliding section:

4.1.4 A competitor involved in a collision in the air shall not
continue the flight but land as soon as practicable. Both pilots will
be scored as having landed at the position at which the collision
occurred.

Seems a sensible rule to me...