JWGC USA update

On Monday, December 14, 2015 at 5:38:45 AM UTC-6, wrote:
Yep. I let out a scream of "NOOOOOO!!!!" on the last day when Boyd's tracker said he had landed out.

We certainly came close! We had some bad luck and plummeted from 6000ft AGL to 850ft without hitting any reasonable nibble. The sink was atrocious and the only reprieve was a weak little thermal over the field we were planning on landing in. All three of us, plus a straggler were parked in this little thermal, digging out. It was certainly a slow climb, but we got away and made it back home. Prior to plummeting out of the sky, we were really cooking along. If we had managed to keep the pace we were going and come back at minimum time, Boyd would have gotten third place. It was a good tactical gamble, but it did not work out.

Climbing out of that field was certainly exciting. It was the most fun low save I ever had, being in the company of three other gliders.

Best Regards,
Daniel

I noticed a lot of time on that last day with ground speeds showing 140 KPH or so, and vertical speeds of 4 to 5 M/sec down. For most everyone. And for rather extended periods of time. Glad you guys kept it together. I am sure you have heard this before, but I have been told when running crosswind, and in strong sink, immediate turn upwind.

Haven't been there or done that but it is interesting to me how at the world level, you live or die by the gaggle (or leaving it) and in the US, we hate the idea of the gaggle and the group flying and call people "leeches" for doing so. To me, this seems a far greater difference than our scoring system differences, or assigned versus AAT ratio on number of tasks, direct versus finish line or cylinder.

Thanks for the insights so far!

Steve Leonard

From Daniel::

"This biggest implication of the US vs. FAI rules has little to do with the mechanics of starting, finishing or the like....The biggest difference is the gaggle dynamic that exists and gets reinforced due to the point structure in place in FAI rules. "

I have heard this message consistently from US team members, and it is the number one lesson I came back with from a WGC. In our team efforts, this ought to be cut out and framed somewhere. How do we get better at that highly tactical game, and how do we collect and pass on the knowledge that each team gains.

John Cochrane BB

We could stop wasting lots of time and effort and argument developing and maintaining our own unique US sailplane competition rules (which isolate us from the rest of the world at all levels) and adopt IGC rules. :-)

Or perhaps we make slight modifications to IGC rules rather than developing our own rules. There is no way to be successful at both things.

At an absolute minimum. All US nationals MUST BE IGC RULES. Are we a serious soaring country or a soaring vacation country?

Everyone means well...but the writing is clearly written on the wall...

Sean

On Monday, December 14, 2015 at 1:32:44 PM UTC-6, Sean Fidler wrote:
We could stop wasting lots of time and effort and argument developing and maintaining our own unique US sailplane competition rules (which isolate us from the rest of the world at all levels) and adopt IGC rules. :-)

Or perhaps we make slight modifications to IGC rules rather than developing our own rules. There is no way to be successful at both things.

At an absolute minimum. All US nationals MUST BE IGC RULES. Are we a serious soaring country or a soaring vacation country?

Everyone means well...but the writing is clearly written on the wall...

Sean

Did you notice the size of the turn areas on the AAT tasks at the Junior Worlds, Sean? Just curious. Sometimes 10 KM, but often 30 and as much as 40 KM RADIUS! Gasp! Soaring Vacation, indeed!

Steve Leonard

To Sean's point, what is the #1 objective of our U.S. National contests? If it's to help insure an American winning the World Championships, I might agree we should adopt IGC rules. If it's more complicated than that, then following everyone else may not make sense.

Similarly, is it easier for a pilot who's very good at making his/her own decisions to be good at IGC gaggle flying, or is the reverse true? Some of our most respected and internationally successful pilots have been renowned for their lead-from-the-front, individualistic style he e.g., A.J. Smith, George Moffat, and Doug Jacobs, with 4 world championships among them (without intending to slight anyone else).

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"
U.S.A.

On Monday, 14 December 2015 14:55:28 UTC-7, wrote:
To Sean's point, what is the #1 objective of our U.S. National contests? If it's to help insure an American winning the World Championships, I might agree we should adopt IGC rules. If it's more complicated than that, then following everyone else may not make sense.

Similarly, is it easier for a pilot who's very good at making his/her own decisions to be good at IGC gaggle flying, or is the reverse true? Some of our most respected and internationally successful pilots have been renowned for their lead-from-the-front, individualistic style he e.g., A.J. Smith, George Moffat, and Doug Jacobs, with 4 world championships among them (without intending to slight anyone else).

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"
U.S.A.

From the SSA web site - United States Soaring Team pilots are chosen by the Soaring Society of America (SSA) based on recent performance in National and World-level competition. After each of the US Nationals, competitors' scores are compared to the winner's score. The winner of each Nationals receives a score of 100, and the other contestants are ranked relative to the winner's score. The pilot's current year and the best of the two previous years' performance are considered when selecting U.S. Soaring Team members with the current year being weighted more heavily.

U.S. Soaring Team rankings can be very close with only a fraction of a point separating competitors. When U.S. pilots do well in world level contests they earn bonus points that count toward their selection to future US Soaring Teams. The number of team members who represent the United States at a World Soaring Championships is ultimately determined by the World Championship contest organizers and the SSA.

From 2015 National FAI-Class Competition Rulebook -
1.0 GENERAL
1.1 The purpose of a National FAI Class Soaring Championship is to determine a National FAI Class Champion and to measure the performance of all entrants. Performance in Nationals will be used to provide a basis for pilots to qualify for entry into future soaring Championships and to select pilots for the U.S. Team in International Competition