On Sat, 16 May 2020 09:09:22 -0700 (PDT), Charles Ethridge
wrote:

I understand...BUT...the leading pilots in Condor simulator racing are all, as best I can tell, holding onto their water as long as possible, i.e. they aren't leaning toward the conservative side. This is probably because it is virtual racing, and no one is going to break a real glider (or their real bodies) if they make a water mistake. If I dump water and they don't, they invariably beat me in the cruise segments and especially in final glide.

That's why I was looking for rules of thumb and formulas when racing, as opposed to cross-country.

Ben


Condor is great, but its thermal model isn't correct at low altitudes
(thermals don't get a lot weaker or tighter close to the ground),
therefore there's hardly any penalty if you get very low.

I once got a 6 kts thermal after (!) an outlanding when I bounced back
into the air... and completed my 150 miles task.


Cheers
Andreas