Should SSA Regional contests allow water in FAI class...15, 18, 20,Open class?

On Dec 15, 1:39*pm, John Cochrane
wrote:
2) *We combined the standard, and FAI classes into one class and there
is no provision for taking this into consideration when choosing a
weight. *You cannot have a separate weight for each sub-class and in
this case the standard or 15 meter ships would have a big advantage.

Actually the RC is one step ahead of the game this time. From the
rules appendix,

"In a mixed class (e.g. 15/18) regional, the CD may set different
weights for gliders
from each class, to establish a roughly equivalent wing loading."

That said, the partial ballast rule is really intended to address
unusual conditions such as a very soft field that makes full ballast
takeoffs unsafe. (Cesar Creek 2010). *It's intentionally rough-and-
ready for this reason. The RC did not put in a wing loading limit,
which might be fairer, because telling everyone and the scales team at
9 am to figure out their weight at 8.25 lbs/ft^2 and grid at noon
would be a disaster. It's better in the majority of cases to decide
water or no water and keep it simple.

John Cochrane

John, thanks for pointing this out as I nor the CD was aware of the
provision buried in the appendix! Will it be moved to the main part
of the rulebook for 2012?

The pilots involved were concerned with the effect of the rule not the
intent so the provision in the appendix is quite important

For those interested the section from the 2011 Regional FA class rule
book states

A6.8.4 This rule allows some ballast when takeoff or other important
safety or operational considerations make the use of full ballast
inadvisable. It allows some equalization of takeoff weights, for
example to partially address the wing loading advantage of motorized
sailplanes. The maximum takeoff weight can be set to any value that
the CD determines provides a balance between fairness, safety, and the
operational consideration motivating a limited ballast day. In a mixed
class (e.g. 15/18) regional, the CD may set different weights for
gliders
from each class, to establish a roughly equivalent wing loading

Ron Gleason