Careful.... you'll start another finish line/cylinder
debate ;-)

my 2c worth...

This may work at sites where there is a large flat
area round the runway(s), where it 'may' help (although
surely if a pilot has the energy to do a 180 to land
they have the energy to choose which side of the runway
to land), you are asking for trouble if the land either
side of the runway is unlandable. Finish lines have
a certain minimum size (varying by country I think...
1k in the UK but I'm not sure about elsewhere), so
it's probably worth having as much of the line avaliable
to land ahead as possible (the thought of 5 gliders
in a gaggle in a marginal final glide being forced
to funnel themselves through a smaller portion of the
avaliable landing area to avoid finish gate penalties
doesn't appeal).
I think the best way to use a finish line is to
make as much of it avaliable to land straight ahead
from as possible as the people that need most easy
options are those on marginal final glides. Those
that have the energy can choose their own landing area
more freely. This can be improved by briefing pilots
on a landing plan (e.g. slow finishers south of the
runway, fast finishers north and landing to the north
of the runway after a 180 degree turn at the end).

In the situation that the entire finish gate can
be accomodated without forcing people over unlandable
terrain with low energy, then yes, it could theoretically
help reduce conflicts as long as competitors are properly
briefed. However I am not aware of any site where
this would be possible without either shrinking the
finish gate or placing the bulk of it over unlandable
terrain. I think you'd lose a lot of safety for the
slow finishers, whilst gaining very little for the
fast finishers (I am aware of far more marginal final
glide accidents than spin ins after a botched beatup).

At 21:00 02 May 2005, Thomas Knauff wrote:
Accidents have ocurred when a pilot performs a high
speed, low level finish
along the centerline of the runway, or over the airport,
then fails to
control the aircraft properly and crashes. In some
cases, these displays
have influenced other pilots who do not have the experience
or skills to
perform a similar maneuver safely.

To discourage unsafe finishes, would moving the finish
line to the side of
the runway so the finish occurs essentially on the
downwind leg, so a pilot
would then only need to make essentially a 180 degree
turn onto final
approach help?

A contest site could have finish lines to accommodate
tasks finishing from
any direction - only one would be specified according
to the wind direction
of the day.

In some cases, there may be reasons not to do this
of course.

Comments?

--
Thomas Knauff
Knauff & Grove Soaring Supplies
www.eglider.org