US team silence

At 06:31 22 July 2018, Charlie Quebec wrote:
Us team finished 23rd out of 24. I would be keeping quiet too.
Not a big fan of Sean Fidler, but he certainly had a point that not
using FAI rules for US comps ensures bad results.


Well, there is probably much to be said about that. I advocated for
using FAI rules in the USA back in the 1980's and '90's but was
rebuked (probably before Sean was born). The answer was that
we were down to only one insurance company that would cover
gliders due to the high breakage rates, and that they were
threatening to drop all glider coverage too, unless we did something
to minimize the damage rate in contests. So, there was this threat
of nobody being able to get insurance coverage to fly gliders
anywhere in the USA. (or so it was portrayed) The USA rules have
thus been revised to promote "lone eagle" flying, and to disperse
gaggles to a certain extent. That is what a lot of (if not most) glider
racers in the USA want and have voted for. They don't like gaggles,
(maybe over simplified) so the USA has wound up with a different
method to judge glider racing ability compared to what the rest of
the world uses. To be fair though, some of the USA ideas/changes
have been incorporated into the FAI rules, such as being able to use
a Turn Area Task on a day where thunderstorms are forecast in order
to minimize land-outs, etc...

The problem is that at a WGC, (at least in the short winged classes)
it's all about being able to fly well in gaggles and traffic. To do well
there, you not only have to be comfortable in the monster gaggle
environment, you have to be able to steer and lead it.... (This is
coming from yours truly who finished 2nd in the STDs at Benalla
in 1987 - only 37 points out of 1st place in a 12,000 point contest.
Personally, I give great credit to my former military formation
flying which has given me the ability to be more comfortable than
most while having good situational awareness when flying in
close proximity to other aircraft.)

So, CQ, in a nutshell you are correct. The USA rules and racing
experiences just don't adequately prepare USA team members
for the harsh realities of what it really takes to do well at a WGC.
If you have troubles with gaggle flying, you are not going to do
well at a WGC, especially when you are routinely presented with
gaggles of 40+ gliders all racing against each other.

(Flame suit on, but it's only my personal observation from having
"been there, done that, got the T shirt". If you have not been
there in person yourself, don't be so quick to pass judgement from
your armchair / PC.)

RO