At 02:42 24 August 2004, Mark James Boyd wrote:

If the finish point was the landing, when did she first
enter the
'observation zone' of the finish point? Use the first
GPS data point
in the observation zone as the 'finish,' not the point
of landing.

A Finish Point OTHER than landing would have to have
been declared before flight, as would a Start Point
other than tow release. This would be unusual for a
duration flight without a concurrent cross country
claim.

When using declared Start and/or Finish Points, it's
usually advantageous for distance and duration purposes
to determine Start Altitude from the lowest data point
in the Start OZ and Finish Altitude based on the highest
data point in the Finish OZ for the 'Loss of Height'
calculations. For Speed tasks, best speed is achieved
using a Start/Finish line, defaulting to a Start/Finish
OZ only if necessary for Loss of Height purposes.

And finally, the Sporting Code provides for Loss of
Height to be measured either of two ways: Start Altitude
less Finish Altitude (per 1.2.8) OR Release Altitude
less Finish Site elevation (per 1.4.7).

Judy