Analyzing US Competition Flights

Eric -

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! I *LIKE* that I am not limited
to a 1 mi AT circle. I don't like the idea that some guy can (semi-
randomly) go into that turnpoint and catch the only thermal of the day
that drifts through that small volume if airspace. With a bigger
cylinder, the law of averages gives me better odds of finding a
thermal that's as good as a thermal some other contestant may find in
the same area.

Of course, I've never experienced the "good old days" of racing with
picking my own start times. I've also never had a race without a
1000' finish height, or an open/pure-distance day with overnight
retrieves, or no radios or cell-phones when I land out. ;-P

Maybe I'm just a snot-nosed punk who missed the glory days of
sailplane racing (I _am_ jealous of those pics from the 70's showing
the huge grids), but I find the current system is still compelling and
VERY different from casual/OLC flying. I still have a course, I still
have time limits, and I am still trying to outsmart the weather, the
sun, and my fellow pilots.

--Noel


On Mar 14, 8:13*pm, Eric Greenwell wrote:

As we shifted to PST and later "open" tasks, it became harder to compare
the technical, weather, and strategic skills, and I gradually lost
interest as flying a contest increasingly became the same as
"opportunistic" (aka "recreational") soaring. Why go to the cost and
effort of a contest, when the flying was the same as what I did all the
time anyway?

On 3/15/2012 2:38 PM, noel.wade wrote:
Eric -

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! I*LIKE* that I am not limited
to a 1 mi AT circle. I don't like the idea that some guy can (semi-
randomly) go into that turnpoint and catch the only thermal of the day
that drifts through that small volume if airspace. With a bigger
cylinder, the law of averages gives me better odds of finding a
thermal that's as good as a thermal some other contestant may find in
the same area.

Of course, I've never experienced the "good old days" of racing with
picking my own start times. I've also never had a race without a
1000' finish height, or an open/pure-distance day with overnight
retrieves, or no radios or cell-phones when I land out.;-P

Maybe I'm just a snot-nosed punk who missed the glory days of
sailplane racing (I_am_ jealous of those pics from the 70's showing
the huge grids), but I find the current system is still compelling and
VERY different from casual/OLC flying. I still have a course, I still
have time limits, and I am still trying to outsmart the weather, the
sun, and my fellow pilots.

Rules attract a constituency that likes them, so you've self-selected
yourself into the current situation, as I have self-selected myself out
of it!

But to the turnpoint size ... We were not limited to a 1 mile circle,
instead, we had to fly _over_ the turnpoint (usually a specific end of a
runway) and take a picture of the photo target (usually the other end of
the runway) with a camera that was mounted on the canopy rail.

The problem that eventually led to changes wasn't the luck of finding a
better situated thermal a mile or two away, but the possibility a
thunderstorm or cirrus would shut off the thermals for miles in all
directions near the turnpoint. When this happened, there would a lot of
landouts, as most (or no) pilots could get past that turnpoint.

The thermal "luck" you mention really wasn't much of a problem, and the
longer tasks we flew (compared to the last decade or more) averaged out
a lot of the luck inherent in a contest, and made sure the best rose to
the top of the list.

So, yes: different rules, different people, different times.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)

On Thursday, March 15, 2012 4:38:04 PM UTC-5, noel.wade wrote:
Eric -

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! I *LIKE* that I am not limited
to a 1 mi AT circle. I don't like the idea that some guy can (semi-
randomly) go into that turnpoint and catch the only thermal of the day
that drifts through that small volume if airspace. With a bigger
cylinder, the law of averages gives me better odds of finding a
thermal that's as good as a thermal some other contestant may find in
the same area.

Interesting. I see the same situation in EXACTLY the opposite way: With large area tasks, a guy can semi-randomly catch the only thermal of the day and coast to an easy win; with small turnpoints (and a 1 mile circle is pretty small at 90 knots!) everyone has to solve pretty much the same problems. I don't want the law of averages involved, I want pilot skills involved. Area tasks were developed (and rightly so) to allow tasks in iffy weather - not as a replacement for assigned tasks on good, predictable days. I think many CDs use area tasks because they are a lot easier to call (BTDT). They are a lot better than the detestable one-turnpoint 3 hour MAT! And they are useful when racing handicapped classes. Called intelligently (which is not a 2.5 hour task with two 30mile radius turnpoints 60 miles apart!) they are a lot of fun.

Of course, I've never experienced the "good old days" of racing with
picking my own start times. I've also never had a race without a
1000' finish height, or an open/pure-distance day with overnight
retrieves, or no radios or cell-phones when I land out. ;-P

Ahh, the good old days of formation 50' line finishes over the hangars - at redline, dumping your ballast on the barbecue, pulling up into the line of gliders on downwind (at 500' or so...) to take your turn to land. Now that was FUN! When you got out of your ship you were pumped!

(please, no safety retorts, you guys have won that fight...)

Cheers,

Kirk
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