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Old October 27th 16, 09:19 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Branko Stojkovic
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Default US Competition Pilot Poll and Election

I must admit that I'm having a lot of fun watching the discussion on this thread and I'd like to make a few additional points.

Neither the US nor the FAI rules mandate the proportion in which the AT and TAT (and MAT in US) tasks should be called during a contest. This is left to the the discretion of the CD. Therefore, Sean if you were a CD at US nationals, you would probably call 70% AT and 30% TAT tasks, which you could do under the current US rules. Conversely, another CD could call 100% TAT tasks with huge zones under the FAI rules.

Safety and gaggles are a totally separate issues. John has flown in the worlds and has seen how scary the gaggles can be. I have flown in three different worlds since 2008 and I know what John is talking about. Sean, with all due respect, you haven't yet had that experience, although you will soon have a chance to see it firsthand in Benalla, where 80% of the days should be blue.

The worst experience for me was in 2013 in Argentina with blue days and thermals topping out at 3000' AGL, not to mention the 30 knot wind. The gaggles were scary, especially in the CLub class where young European hot-shot pilots flew very aggressively. On the competition day 3 I lost my nerve before the start gate. While thermalling in a big gaggle, another pilot entered the thermal at high speed, flew about 10' below me and then pulled up right in front of me. I peeled off and decided to fly the rest of that task alone, so I started 15 minutes after everyone else had started. BTW, this was the 3rd or 4th close encounter I had in as many days. Needless to say, flying alone on a blue day cost me a lot because I didn't manage to finish the task. From talking to other pilots during this contest, I gathered that at least 80% of them didn't feel comfortable with the safety situation. One even gave up and went home in protest.

Now, some of the young guys seem to prefer this kind of close contact racing. They are usually less experienced, less risk averse and more eager to prove themselves. Enter the Sailplane Grand Prix, a godsend for guys who like it hot.

So, I don't really think that the current situation is so bad. Maybe what we need is more SGP events in North America for those who want to truly race and Sean has done a great job being the driving force behind this.

As for the classical style gliding contests, I am personally quite happy with how things are. Regarding the rules, I don't really think that US needs to maintain a separate set because the current FAI rules are flexible enough, other than allowing the MAT tasks (the benefits of which are debatable). If SSA focused instead on improving the FAI rules, it could make things better for everyone!

It is a bit ironic that the current IGC president is from the US (Eric Mozer). Maybe he should weigh in on this discussion.


Branko Stojkovic
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