wrote:
First, when do you pull in a cylinder finish?

How about when it's clear? There's no hurry, unlike being 50 feet off
the ground.

When the
gps goes beep? How do I know mine will go beep in sequence with yours?
What if I delay my pull?

I'm guessing you'd continue in the direction you are headed. Since you
are 500' in the air, this shouldn't cause any heartburn.

What risk am I taking? What are the speed
differentials among the gliders in the gaggle? With a finish line, high
and low energy aircraft separate naturally.

You'll have to explain how this happens. I've seen high and low speed
gliders close together at finish lines, and if the high speed glider is
lower than the others, watch out! He's eager to climb up to pattern
height and isn't going to coast along for another 1000' or so.

Will the pilot above and
behind me pushing to redline notice I'm in front flying at best L/D in
an attempt to avoid missing the bottom of the cyliner?

He's safe - he'll separate from you when he pulls up, and you aren't
going to pull up. That's a good situation. It seems unlikely he won't
see you ahead of him as he approaches. I've seen the same situation
finish gates, anyway.

And where is the
cylinder? Why, it's right there on my instrument panel! Next to the
altimeter, my other sore distraction.

I think if you can keep track of the other gliders zooming into a finish
line from various altitudes and angles, you'd be able to manage a finish
cylinder. At least, as you approach the cylinder, the gliders that will
enter the cylinder near you are all going the same direction you are,
which is often not true at a finish line.

When was the last time we wanted to ban gaggles for safety reasons?

I think most of us have wanted to elimanate *large* gaggles, but no one
has figured out a good way to do it.

My theory is that ignorance shows more profoundly low and fast than
high and slow.

If by ignorance, you mean "poor judgement", I agree with you, and I
think this is the theory behind the finish cylinders, isn't it?



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Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA