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Old January 29th 15, 01:34 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Don Johnstone[_4_]
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Posts: 398
Default USA Proposed Rule Change on Start Time Reporting

It is called adapting to changed circumstances.
In the days of yore, before loggers, the time of smokey barographs and
photos a man sat on the start line recording people crossing it. The radio
call gave him a heads up so he did not miss your start. The max start
height was 3000ft because that was the maximum height he could read the
identification letter/numbers on the bottom of the wing. We have moved on,
the start line is no longer a physical feature on the ground but a lat/long
on the globe. The logger records the crossing of the line and the exact
start time, the need to call an (inaccurate) start time no longer exists so
we do not need the man on the ground recording the (inaccurate) time
anymore. The called start time is of no use, it is not used in the
calculation of the task speeds, the logger time is used for that, it is
redundant, like the max start height, and has been for many years.
Give the people who control your comps a break, and spare a thought for the
competition organisers, their life is made simpler by doing away with
redundant tasks. As a bonus it does away with a lot of radio chatter which
can be quite distracting and I would have thought of doing away with
another opportunity to fall foul of, or have to enforce, an unnecessary
rule would be greeted as a good thing. Winners don't whine :-)