On 4 Sep 2003 06:36:29 -0700, (Kirk Stant)
wrote:

I experienced an interesting (and a bit unsettling) aspect of a TAT
this past Sunday during a local Arizona Soaring Association race.
Task was a TAT with large (25 mile) turn areas; day had lots of Cu's,
and there were lots of options as to where to go (in fact 1st and 2nd
place took completely different routes). But the side effect was to
have gliders running fast under cloudstreets in opposite directions in
the same area at the same time. In my case, the other glider (with
obviously much better lookout discipline!) saw me as we passed, less
than a quarter mile apart, head on, same altitude. I was either in
the cockpit or watching another glider (in another direction) and
failed to see him. The logger traces are fascinating - we couldn't
have flown a better headon intercept if we had tried!

Using the SeeYou 3d view, you can see how each glider was on a
collision course with the other - no relative movement.

If you want to see the effect, the traces are available on the ASA
website - look for Sunday's contest flights for GY and 66.

If the task had been a speed task, this problem would not have
existed, since we would have known where to expect to see the other
gliders.

Something to think about...

Kirk Stant
LS6-b "66"

Now didn't I mention this possibility some time ago here?

Mike Borgelt