Competing and Survival

I've been flying contests since 1968. My impression is that, to paraphrase an alleged exchange between F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway: "The top pilots are different than you and me. They have more skills."

The differences I see in "aggressiveness" are typically due to better pilots being able to occasionally fly faster, lower, closer to the mountain, farther into unlandable areas, etc.--when it makes sense--because they have the skills to do so and still be safe. Sure, there are a few good pilots who either push too far or get too complacent or misjudge and then break a glider or hurt themselves. But I seldom see the top pilots being reckless--defined relative to their capabilities--just to win a contest. It happens (one pilot in particular comes to mind and he survived, fortunately). But the idea that you have to risk your life or your glider to win contests is a myth, IMO.

The same cannot be said of pilots further down in the ranks. I do see less experienced and/or less skilled pilots doing things at contests that they probably wouldn't do at their home airports or on pleasure flights. It's easy to get caught up in "I'm flying in a contest--I don't have to follow all the rules" or "everyone else is doing it" or, perhaps worst of all, "I'm not really comfortable but these guys must know what they're doing". Dave Nadler's excellent, often-cited article details multiple examples of this and of the sometimes catastrophic consequences.

For 12 years I flew contests with my father, we almost always huddled before takeoff and gave each other a little pep talk. That was punctuated with my reciting to him out loud the three priorities of competitive soaring:

1. First comes personal safety.
2. Second priority is the glider.
3. Third priority is contest points.

Those priorities align very well with Clemons' article and have served me pretty well over the years.

Chip Bearden
JB