For instance, do people prefer the FAI 4km/300 foot finish cylinder over the US 1-2 mile 500-1000 foot finish cylinder? If so, what is it that people find preferable about finishing at 300 feet 2.4 miles from the home airport? Just to do the math for you, that's a 44:1 glide from the finish to zero feet at the airport.

9B


Which resulted in many landouts in fields past the finish and short of the airport, the IGC's new safety initiative.

The speed/distance points formula is responsible for a lot of the silly stuff in the IGC rules. (If all finish, it's 1000 points for speed and 300 points for distance. When there are lots of landouts it becomes 1000 points for distance and none for speed.) If you are the only finisher and everyone else lands 1 km short, you get about 1 point for your efforts as it is a 1000 points for distance day. If you land 1 km short and everyone finishes, you get 300 points.

In the US team's analysis, this makes it imperative to play start roulette, and sit with the gaggle, even if by waiting around it becomes clear everyone will land out.

I think the formula was designed thinking only about measurement, and not thinking about incentives. If pilots ignored tactical incentives, it would indeed provide a fine measurement of performance.

John Cochrane