On Sunday, January 26, 2014 10:54:51 PM UTC-7, wrote:
On Sunday, January 26, 2014 6:06:55 PM UTC-8, Tom Kelley #711 wrote:



It may surprize you, that some of our top pilots do the same scouting when they go to a US National. Some even arrive early and drive around the task area looking over the fields.



#711.



Guess why I've been spending time around Montague Tom.



This is a very good idea, not just for final glide. I've scouted unmarked runways, roads, better fields in a number of task areas in the spots where airfields are spotty and terrain is - um - unpleasant. The best ones go into my personal waypoint database in case they are needed.

Yes, its true. One of our very best US Team pilots who has almost as many National titles as KS, always arrives several days early at a Nationals. They take one full day just driving around, remarking maps and looking over off airport landing sites. Going so far even to check to see how much it might have rained in one area versus another.
I know others who use IGC files from those who do well at a contest site, looking at their traces where they stopped and thermaled at and marking those spots on a map to see if theirs any correlation(if thats the right word) going on.
Watching uTube videos and not being their, then trying to past judgement, is rather extremely difficult to do. Those pilots who make it to the WJGC's are good and they do task extremely hard. I believe at the last WJSC that Boyd Willat flew in, he did finish the task, but landed off airport. Down in Argentina, the same was happening. One day that Kawa won, he simply out drifted everyone to make the greatest distance. Its the contest site that allows this. Some of our sites just don't offer this. Thats where good judgement and wise decisions are needed.
Maybe best to say its been a good discussion. Several years ago we had clouds, then silly Walmart cell phones, now this. Next year might be more chemicals and better toilet paper in the potties are needed.....hell if I know..

#711.