On Friday, January 24, 2014 8:01:17 AM UTC-5, wrote:
If a 700ft finish is too low for a 18 meter national contest, then it is probably too low for a Regional. Yes, I understand the caveat of diving off a ridge and would not have a problem with that. Last year at Perry and at Cordele, I was racing my Silent-IN, the 12 meter, 31/1 L/D. We had 700 foot finishes at both sites. I understand this is comfortable for a modern 15 or 18 meter ship and leaves plenty of margin. This does not leave much if any margin for me, and found that I needed to take extra height to be safe. I am racing too, and this leaves us essentially racing to a different finish points. You are racing to a finish height that gives you an adequate safety margin and I am racing to the same point, but having to take more altitude for the same safety factor. I understand UH's comment about immediately joining the pattern in an orderly fashion, but I think this could also be done with a 1000 foot finish and some more spoilers added. This also gives a little more room is someone has a problem on landing and obstructs the runway. Kevin 192

I Fly an ASK-21 that has similar performance in a couple contests each year.. If the finish position and the pattern are such that I think we will need a bit more margin, I add it in the last couple miles and get on with it. That is part of what handicapped racing is about.
Most finishes set at 700 feet result in a bit more altitude available because few fly the finish perfectlyand most have some excess energy.
In any case, if pilots at a race have a concern about the finish height, the CD has the option to adjust it. That said, at a big contest like Perry, adjusting the finish and complicating the pattern for 65 gliders to accomodate 1 or 2 makes not too much sense.
UH