Thread: Dolphin flying
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Old February 14th 16, 02:03 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
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Default Dolphin flying

On Saturday, February 13, 2016 at 10:54:32 PM UTC-5, MNLou wrote:
Hank, Charlie, and Dave -

I should have made myself more clear -

For you "contest monsters" who focus on, fly, and win at the National level, of course you are always racing - even when you are practicing. That's what it takes to get fast. If you fly OLC, you max it out.

My contrast to a contest pilot was a pilot who flies XC but isn't trying to max out speed - just get around the course. Think a 200km triangle on a mid-summer day. Doesn't care too much about speed or how may OLC he/she gets. Just wants to have fun, go someplace, and get home.

I believe that pilot would fly more conservatively to maximize altitude and minimize the risk of landing out. A faster speed that eats up more altitude gains them nothing and potentially costs them big time.

Lou


I doubt that I fly much faster than you do between thermals when flying cross country. What I probably do more, and possibly better, is make modest changes in speed in response to or anticipation of air mass movement, and likely a lot more deviation to optomise my path so as to spend as little time in bad air as I can.
I don't land out all that often. The last off field landing I made from my home field was probably 20 years ago. My landings in fields in contests average about 1 every two or three years and I fly about 40 tasks a year.
The impression that contest pilots go fast by taking big risks is wrong in my experience. The percentages are in keeping risk as low as possible. That doesn't mean we're floating at cloud base, but we are being pretty careful..
UH