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Old March 8th 13, 04:33 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
kirk.stant
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Default 2013 USA Competition Rules Published

On Thursday, March 7, 2013 3:29:09 PM UTC-7, John Godfrey (QT) wrote:
Um,

If a line is in use, you get speed points for a rolling finish (10.9.4).

"Rolling finish" has no meaning wrt a cylinder finish, the finish occurs at the cylinder boundary.

QT - RC Chair


My mistake, I thought rolling finishes had been eliminated from both. Need to read the rules closer, obviously.

Which brings up an interesting point (and then I'll stop whining about finishes, I promise!) - if the whole point of the cylinder finish is to ensure a pilot has enough energy to fly a safe pattern, why not just make that a requirement? You finish when you cross the line, at least 50', but with enough energy to fly a safe pattern (whatever that is defined as). No rolling finish for speed, it's a landout. So finish at 700' and 60 knots, or 50' and 150 knots, energy is energy. Fly a dangerous pattern, and the CD gives you a 1000 pt penalty - you get that for an airspace infringement, so why not. Now my final glide and finish is easy - make it over the airfield with enough energy to fly a pattern and land safely. Same result as the circle finish, but less math or clockwatching, and if you overcook your final glide (and your crew is watching) and the pattern is clear, you can still do a nice flyby for the fun of it.

Kirk
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