Some other reasons for dropping start time reporting

As Tom pointed out, pilots in IGC contests do not have the convenience of hearing when other pilots start. As Tom and I and many other US team pilots have found out, having to keep track of competitors visually is a major difference to sitting around and waiting for radio calls. The pre-start game of lions and hyenas is a key part of WGC AT tactics (Prepare for mass postings by Sean). We're terrible at it.

The RC hears regularly that we should make US contests more like IGC contests. Often we say no, because doing so compromises something else about US contests. This one seems free. If you want to follow the gaggle, you'll have to look out the window just like at the worlds. Coincidentally, it makes following the gaggle just a wee bit harder.

As Tim might know, a considerable amount of effort this year went in to resolving a protest over start time reporting. Some motivation for removing the rule is that hearing protests over start time reporting seems a rather large waste of effort.

More generally, we (or at least I) am on a big simplification kick. You might say that it's only a few lines of rules, but simplification means taking every single line and seeing if it's worthwhile. Simplifying US rules is going to be like simplifying the US tax code. We all think the rules are horrible, but propose one specific rule like this one, and out come the howls on RAS.

Another principle sneaking in to the rules. If we don't want to hear proteststs about it, or enable a protest, then it shouldn't be a rule. This year there was a big "shall" vs. "should" revision in the rules (thanks John Good).

A slightly less delicate view of history. In the good old days, you knew when to start when you heard "KS, IP" or "DJ IP" on the radio. You had to watch out for them returning to try again, but otherwise life was easy. At least when you heard the chorus of lemmings you knew the gaggle was off. When we introduced the GPS start, a big howl of protest amounted, essentially, to "but now I won't know when to start." The real reason start time reporting went in was to accommodate such pilots. RC does try to make pilots happy.. All this business about keeping crews interested and organizers informed mattered a wee little bit, but not a whole lot. Individual crews could always hear from their pilot on 123.5.

Well, times have changed, and as Sean keeps reminding us, US contests are down the toilet of almost all MAT and TAT where following KS and DJ isn't so important. Plus, we've all got flarm radar now (whoops, I let the cat out of the bag, here comes UH!). And the crews (both of them, bless their hearts) have the ever better tracking screen.

Furthermore, it seems strange to have rules banning radio communication for strategic reasons (at nationals), but allowing, nay mandating, one of the most important ones. We all know that a call "BB, start 12:02" issued at "12:02:01" means "I'm going now if anyone wants to go together" -- and specifically teammates and buddies. Why mandate this and ban "I've got 6 knots over the pinenuts?"

Have I beat this to death? I hope so. Start silently, simplify rules.

John Cochrane