On Tuesday, August 13, 2013 12:37:37 PM UTC-7, wrote:
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.

Sure, if your finish point is on the edge of the airfield, which most aren't.

Not to nit pick, but there is the issue of landing on the runway. Many, if not most, US glider fields are single runways and the options off runway heading are "varied" to say the least. We need to consider the altitude margin to get lined up on a runway so that you don't end up in a low, skidding turn to final at the end of your glide from the finish to the airport.

In the case of JWGC this year it was a 3km finish ring at 50m for std and 75m for club, to the middle of the airfield (roughly 2.5km wide) which made for approximately 35:1 for std and 23:1 for club. Easily achievable even with no energy (ask me how I know). But it was stressed many times that it was set at a height which is meant to the absolute minimum you could conceivably require (MC0 and a headwind) and you should not plan to arrive at that height with no energy. As far as I know no gliders that were at or above the minimum height that subsequently failed to make the field.

I think that is incorrect. I have a picture of a US junior team member's glider in a cut hayfield from a week ago - he stated that he was at the requisite finish height (no penalty) but had no extra energy to make the airfield and landed 0.8 mi short. Also, it was posted by the US Team captain at the WWGC that there was one injured pilot and separately a wrecked glider because in a close contest the pilots apparently ignored the very safety advice you mention in order to gain a few points by pushing it down to the top of the cylinder. This is not surprising in a world where team captains order deliberate land outs for less than 10 points "just in case".

Back to my original question. What is the compelling reason to adopt IGC rules in the US? Which rules will represent the big improvement and why? Finish is only one out of many rules, but I've heard no affirmative arguments yet.

I'd love to hear some specifics.

9B