Forget Dying; Is Soaring Dead?

Only 21 planes on the grid at storied Uvalde, TX for the U.S. Std.
Class Nationals, even with three non-U.S. guests. This was apparently
Uvalde's smallest contest of any kind, including regionals, and smaller
even than most U.S. regionals.

A "get your entries in while they're still available!" posting today
from the folks at New Castle, VA...6+ weeks after the preferential
deadline for what has been an oversubscribed contest and "must attend"
social event for as long as I can remember.

The only U.S. contest I know of where seeding still matters (or
preferential deadline, for that matter) is the spring kickoff in Perry,
SC, where pilots crazed from a long winter of inactivity still flock in
droves, apparently not having gotten the word that soaring, or at least
competitive soaring--whose adherents have traditionally been more
willing to expend the vast sums needed for the latest equipment--is
dead. OK, maybe Mifflin, PA, but with this renowned venue being more
recently notorious for uncertain weather, it's not impossible to
foresee a dropoff there, too.

True, entry fees are up a bit. And so (not uncoincidentally) are
gasoline prices. And our core competitive pilot base continues to age,
notwithstanding wins this year by "junior" masters Liz Schwenkler and
Chris Saunders. But is that enough to explain these two startling
events?

What's going on?

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"

wrote:
Only 21 planes on the grid at storied Uvalde, TX for the U.S. Std.
Class Nationals, even with three non-U.S. guests. This was apparently
Uvalde's smallest contest of any kind, including regionals, and smaller
even than most U.S. regionals.

A "get your entries in while they're still available!" posting today
from the folks at New Castle, VA...6+ weeks after the preferential
deadline for what has been an oversubscribed contest and "must attend"
social event for as long as I can remember.

The only U.S. contest I know of where seeding still matters (or
preferential deadline, for that matter) is the spring kickoff in Perry,
SC, where pilots crazed from a long winter of inactivity still flock in
droves, apparently not having gotten the word that soaring, or at least
competitive soaring--whose adherents have traditionally been more
willing to expend the vast sums needed for the latest equipment--is
dead. OK, maybe Mifflin, PA, but with this renowned venue being more
recently notorious for uncertain weather, it's not impossible to
foresee a dropoff there, too.

True, entry fees are up a bit. And so (not uncoincidentally) are
gasoline prices. And our core competitive pilot base continues to age,
notwithstanding wins this year by "junior" masters Liz Schwenkler and
Chris Saunders. But is that enough to explain these two startling
events?

What's going on?

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"

Fair enough, but what would you sugest to help the current
trend/situation?

Orion Kingman
DV8

Sports Class National is very popular with an aging sailplane fleet
so...

Beginning with the Regionals - Drop the Sports Class and allow both a
FAI type Champ as well as a Handicapped Champ for each class flown.

National contest could be run the same way allowing both a FAI Champ
and a Handicapped Champ, this may boost attendence.

The Open Nationals had about 8 pilots this year.

Sports Class Nationals could be scored by class as well, evening out
the handicap a bit. There were about 54 pilots there this year.

Mike

Computerized scoring makes it pretty easy to do.
Orion Kingman wrote:
wrote:
Only 21 planes on the grid at storied Uvalde, TX for the U.S. Std.
Class Nationals, even with three non-U.S. guests. This was apparently
Uvalde's smallest contest of any kind, including regionals, and smaller
even than most U.S. regionals.

A "get your entries in while they're still available!" posting today
from the folks at New Castle, VA...6+ weeks after the preferential
deadline for what has been an oversubscribed contest and "must attend"
social event for as long as I can remember.

The only U.S. contest I know of where seeding still matters (or
preferential deadline, for that matter) is the spring kickoff in Perry,
SC, where pilots crazed from a long winter of inactivity still flock in
droves, apparently not having gotten the word that soaring, or at least
competitive soaring--whose adherents have traditionally been more
willing to expend the vast sums needed for the latest equipment--is
dead. OK, maybe Mifflin, PA, but with this renowned venue being more
recently notorious for uncertain weather, it's not impossible to
foresee a dropoff there, too.

True, entry fees are up a bit. And so (not uncoincidentally) are
gasoline prices. And our core competitive pilot base continues to age,
notwithstanding wins this year by "junior" masters Liz Schwenkler and
Chris Saunders. But is that enough to explain these two startling
events?

What's going on?

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"

Fair enough, but what would you sugest to help the current
trend/situation?

Orion Kingman
DV8

wrote in message
oups.com...
Only 21 planes on the grid at storied Uvalde, TX for the U.S. Std.
Class Nationals, even with three non-U.S. guests. This was apparently
Uvalde's smallest contest of any kind, including regionals, and smaller
even than most U.S. regionals.

A "get your entries in while they're still available!" posting today
from the folks at New Castle, VA...6+ weeks after the preferential
deadline for what has been an oversubscribed contest and "must attend"
social event for as long as I can remember.

The only U.S. contest I know of where seeding still matters (or
preferential deadline, for that matter) is the spring kickoff in Perry,
SC, where pilots crazed from a long winter of inactivity still flock in
droves, apparently not having gotten the word that soaring, or at least
competitive soaring--whose adherents have traditionally been more
willing to expend the vast sums needed for the latest equipment--is
dead. OK, maybe Mifflin, PA, but with this renowned venue being more
recently notorious for uncertain weather, it's not impossible to
foresee a dropoff there, too.

True, entry fees are up a bit. And so (not uncoincidentally) are
gasoline prices. And our core competitive pilot base continues to age,
notwithstanding wins this year by "junior" masters Liz Schwenkler and
Chris Saunders. But is that enough to explain these two startling
events?

What's going on?

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"


Competition from the OLC?

Bill D

I don't think the numbers bear any of this out -- though of course I'm
too lazy to go look them up right now to prove it.

My impression is that overall the number of pilots flying contests in
the US is stable or increasing. So is the number of classes and venues,
hence the occasional contest with small numbers. Yes, there were more
gliders at a nationals in the 1960s -- but there was only one
nationals; now we have 6! Why was Uvalde so empty? Perhaps because so
many standard class pilots had already flown sports at mifflin, 15
meter at Montague or 18 meter at Hobbs, or any number of high-class
regionals. The new classes give pilots more choices, which is a good
thing, at least for a pilot!

I see lots of new faces at each contest. The average age seems to be in
the low 50s exactly where it always has been. Competitive soaring is,
has been and probably always always will primarily draw middle aged men
with the money and time to pursue it. The "young blood" is in their
late 30s, which is fine, so long as they keep coming.

Contests with room means supply of contests is growing faster than
demand, not necessarily that demand is shrinking.

But of course all this is idle speculation. Chip; how about going
through the past contest results on the web and telling us how many
pilots actually did fly how many contests, both national and regional,
over the last five years?

John Cochrane BB

If the percentage of sailplane pilots who race drops
from 5% of the total group to 4%...does this indicate
the sport is dying? Perhaps.

Racing, particularly in the non-handicapped groups
has always appealed to an energitic minority. Having
pilots excited about what part of the sport interests
them is certainly a good thing, but does racing drive
the sport? For instance the Open Class...how does
that category fit into the sport as a whole?

At 19:24 26 August 2006, Bill Daniels wrote:

wrote in message
roups.com...
Only 21 planes on the grid at storied Uvalde, TX for
the U.S. Std.
Class Nationals, even with three non-U.S. guests.
This was apparently
Uvalde's smallest contest of any kind, including regionals,
and smaller
even than most U.S. regionals.

Must be a US thing
Lasham regionals in Uk 68 entries was on at the same
time as the open class nationals with 26 entrants (
mainly Nimbus3/4, ASH25 and ASW22)
The Standards 49
15m 36
18m 49 simultaniously with the club class 41
According to FAI stats UK has about 9000 glider pilots
and USA has far more. Is it travelling distance that
is the problem?
Nigel

wrote:
Only 21 planes on the grid at storied Uvalde, TX for the U.S. Std.
Class Nationals, even with three non-U.S. guests. This was apparently
Uvalde's smallest contest of any kind, including regionals, and smaller
even than most U.S. regionals.

A "get your entries in while they're still available!" posting today
from the folks at New Castle, VA...6+ weeks after the preferential
deadline for what has been an oversubscribed contest and "must attend"
social event for as long as I can remember.

The only U.S. contest I know of where seeding still matters (or
preferential deadline, for that matter) is the spring kickoff in Perry,
SC, where pilots crazed from a long winter of inactivity still flock in
droves, apparently not having gotten the word that soaring, or at least
competitive soaring--whose adherents have traditionally been more
willing to expend the vast sums needed for the latest equipment--is
dead. OK, maybe Mifflin, PA, but with this renowned venue being more
recently notorious for uncertain weather, it's not impossible to
foresee a dropoff there, too.

True, entry fees are up a bit. And so (not uncoincidentally) are
gasoline prices. And our core competitive pilot base continues to age,
notwithstanding wins this year by "junior" masters Liz Schwenkler and
Chris Saunders. But is that enough to explain these two startling
events?

What's going on?

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"

A few numbers to consider:

In 2003 there were 111 US Pilots registered for the OLC, 250 in 2005,
550 in 2005, and 660 this year.

On the 2003 Pilot ranking list there were 551 ranked pilots, 636 ranked
in 2004, 636 ranked in 2005, and 590 ranked in 2006. If a pilot
doesn't fly a contest for three years they are droped off of the list.

So the question presents its self: is soaring on the decline, or is it
competitive soaring? From the brief look that I took, its appears that
it is competitive soaring that is suffering. So how do we as a comunity
correct this trend? What is the UK comunity doing correctly to have
such high atendence numbers? Clearly the distance is a significant
issue; for a west-coaster to drive to Mifflin, or for a an east-coaster
to drive to Montague, can mean the difference in competing in the
contest.

This dialouge never has a magic cure, but it is good to keep it alive,
becuase it does keep us thinking about the future of our sport.

Orion Kingman
DV8

Orion Kingman wrote:
wrote:

Only 21 planes on the grid at storied Uvalde, TX for the U.S. Std.
Class Nationals, even with three non-U.S. guests. This was apparently
Uvalde's smallest contest of any kind, including regionals, and smaller
even than most U.S. regionals.

A "get your entries in while they're still available!" posting today
from the folks at New Castle, VA...6+ weeks after the preferential
deadline for what has been an oversubscribed contest and "must attend"
social event for as long as I can remember.

The only U.S. contest I know of where seeding still matters (or
preferential deadline, for that matter) is the spring kickoff in Perry,
SC, where pilots crazed from a long winter of inactivity still flock in
droves, apparently not having gotten the word that soaring, or at least
competitive soaring--whose adherents have traditionally been more
willing to expend the vast sums needed for the latest equipment--is
dead. OK, maybe Mifflin, PA, but with this renowned venue being more
recently notorious for uncertain weather, it's not impossible to
foresee a dropoff there, too.

True, entry fees are up a bit. And so (not uncoincidentally) are
gasoline prices. And our core competitive pilot base continues to age,
notwithstanding wins this year by "junior" masters Liz Schwenkler and
Chris Saunders. But is that enough to explain these two startling
events?

What's going on?

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"


A few numbers to consider:

In 2003 there were 111 US Pilots registered for the OLC, 250 in 2005,
550 in 2005, and 660 this year.

On the 2003 Pilot ranking list there were 551 ranked pilots, 636 ranked
in 2004, 636 ranked in 2005, and 590 ranked in 2006. If a pilot
doesn't fly a contest for three years they are droped off of the list.

So the question presents its self: is soaring on the decline, or is it
competitive soaring? From the brief look that I took, its appears that
it is competitive soaring that is suffering. So how do we as a comunity
correct this trend? What is the UK comunity doing correctly to have
such high atendence numbers? Clearly the distance is a significant
issue; for a west-coaster to drive to Mifflin, or for a an east-coaster
to drive to Montague, can mean the difference in competing in the
contest.

This dialouge never has a magic cure, but it is good to keep it alive,
becuase it does keep us thinking about the future of our sport.

Orion Kingman
DV8

I wonder if some who might otherwise attend a contest are getting their
jollies by posting their flights to the OLC??

Paul
ZZ

P. Corbett wrote:
Orion Kingman wrote:

I wonder if some who might otherwise attend a contest are getting their
jollies by posting their flights to the OLC??

For me - no. Contest flying (lets call it "racing") and the OLC are such
different experiences, one can not subsitute for the other. In the air,
racing with other gliders, especially on assigned tasks, is quite
different from flying by myself. There is also the ground side, with all
the competitors gathered in one place at the same time for the race,
flying the same tasks, so you have a shared experience that you don't
get in the OLC.

While the competition aspects of the OLC are interesting, it's not
exciting like a race, at least for me; interesting, but not exciting. I
really like to see what others are doing and how differet areas of the
country and the world work for soaring pilots, so I do follow the postings.

I don't seriously compete in the OLC, but I do post all my flights.
Serious competition would involve carefully planning a course for each
day to best fit the OLC task rules, along the lines of Badge and record
tasking. While I enjoy these kinds of flights, the experience is still
very different than a race, and I don't plan my flights to optimize my
OLC score.

So, perhaps someone that's never raced a sailplane might think the OLC
was a substitute for racing, but I don't, and I'm guessing most pilots
that have raced wouldn't, either.

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA

www.motorglider.org - Download "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane
Operation"