Preparation for Contest Flying How To Get Started

Preparation for Contest Flying How To Get Started and How To Have Fun Doing It

Why Fly in Contests? n n n n The best thing soaring has to offer Fly away from the home airport, go to pre-determined waypoints and make it back home Find new lift every couple of miles Make decisions nearly every minute Changes of altitude, attitude throughout flight Feel good about yourself Best way to improve your skills Best way to build and sustain interest in soaring Herb

Where to go for a Soaring Contest? n Local Club Contests Northern Illinois Soaring Contest Regional Contests National Contests n Defined Classes or Sports Class n n n Mike

NISC: Great way to start n n n n Fly any type of glider - owned, borrowed or rented All-year contest Gliders are handicapped Pilots are handicapped Anyone can score well Camera or basic GPS recorder You pick the task We will help you -- fly with you -- just ask Mike

More on Contests n n n Speed-race around assigned or pilot-selected turn-points The fastest pilot wins the day, 1000 points Races are for up to 10 days Highest scoring pilot wins contest GPS-driven flight recorders document flight, course, speed Fastest East-Coast races in Appalachian Mountains Herb

What does Contest Flying Teach Us? n n n n Infinite number of ways to the goal, the most clever pilot gets there first You better enjoy making decisions The weather can change without notice There will most likely be an upwind leg! (sometimes they all are!) Being relaxed, having fun is always better than the opposite Watching the competitors before, during and after the race will help you tomorrow Crew: bring your own or arrange with other pilots to crew for you Herb

More On Contest Flying n n n Someone’s going to win, many others won’t It’s up to you where you end up Seven P’s apply: n n n n Proper Preflight Planning Prevents P… Poor Performance Overcoming fear of failure Herb

Overcoming fears and concerns n Safety concerns: Practice, study, get instruction n Landing-out concerns: n Practice at home field, mark off landing area n Cost concerns: n Set your budget, ask your glider club for help n Misconceptions: n Only for experienced, affluent, accomplished glider owners n Ego concerns: n I have to win or be humiliated n Mike

What Does It Take To Fly In A Contest? n n n n Be comfortable flying around other gliders and do it SAFELY. Be able to thermal effectively Be able to spot-land consistently Minimum hours? 100 -200 enough? Silver-C badge, plenty of training around home field Minimum equipment requirements Ask your instructor, other cross-country pilots if they think you’re ready Mike

How To Get Started n n n n n Fly as often as you can Ask for help Follow the better pilots, see how they do it Learn from others, observe, follow another pilot that agrees to keep an eye on you Experience how fast others fly x-country Read up on accounts of good pilots Practice local triangles Practice local speed tasks Practice final glides Practice precision landings -- every one Mike

Don’t Do This! n n n n Have unrealistic expectations Buy a glider that’s more advanced than you are Fly all by yourself every time you leave the airport Set your goals really high (300 km immediately after CBadge) Be content with crummy instrumentation Let the others worry about the weather Fly with water for the first time in your first contest Not enough drinking water, no relief system Herb

Differences Between Casual and Contest Flying n n n I believe there shouldn’t be any Fly as fast as you can every time you leave the airport Participate in club contests (NISC), set a goal every time you go on course Flying with (against) others is more fun than going on your own To judge your performance, you have to measure yourself against others Here’s an example of what we are after: Herb

Herb

Equipment, Instrumentation n n n n Buy, rent, borrow an easy-to-fly glider with a good safety record, it can be old! Work on your instruments (varios) until they function perfectly (Reichmann books), compensation for TE! Know how to rig safely, checklist your glider and yourself. No big deal if you do this every weekend! Good radio, GPS recorder a must, at discretion of CD can be non-IGC approved type (for Regionals), camera will do for NISC! Highly preferred: Moving map soaring software (Win. Pilot, See. You, CEGlide) be familiar with most relevant functions of these Practice final glide function, change polar until you are comfortable Final Glide around turnpoints should be covered by software Prep your glider, if it doesn’t help it’s performance, it will sure make you feel better prepared, it enhances safety Herb

Contest Rules n n n Read the rules: http: //sailplane-racing. org/rules. htm NISC rules: http: //aerotow. evl. uic. edu/nisc/rules. html Have another pilot explain to you the daily task, ask about strategy for the day (request assigned ‘buddy’) Understand Rule 10. 8. 5. 6 and the two minute rule -- It's a trap, even for experienced pilots! Be very clear about the basics: n n n n Start cylinder, dimensions and altitude (normally 5 mi/5, 000’AGL) When is the task “open”? Minimum time for MAT and TAT, don’t come home early Finish cylinder/line and finish altitude (1 mile, 500’AGL) Turnpoint radius (normally 1 mile), can be different for each turnpoint on TAT’s Finish direction Radio frequency, contests normally on 123. 3, crew calls 123. 5 Monitor radio for roll calls, announce finish 4 min out, say FROM direction Mike

Pilot’s Meeting n n Safety, airport layout and rules, weather, discussion of previous day’s results, task sheet distribution, updates on soaring and racing facts of interest and much more… Bring marked up map, understand controlled airspace, take notes Sometimes uncomfortable for the newbie when too many high ranking pilots present Each Morning at around 10 AM Mike

Oh Boy, We’re Going to Race! n n n n Pre-Contest Jitters are normal! Many pilots don’t enjoy the first contest days, you’re not alone! Concentrate on your routine, be prepared, give yourself extra time to get ready If things don’t go as planned, try and stay calm, ask for help, re-group Checklists and plans help many to stay on top of events Starting in a smaller contest in Sports Class might help getting used to the atmosphere Flying in a landscape similar to your usual environment reduces stress, no mountain contests for Newbie Prairie Dogs! Mike

From Practice to Race Days n n n n n Bring time to fly a practice day, get to know new area Know how to program your PDA or moving map, how to make changes in flight Have map backup, second battery Fly the practice task as you would a real one Know your competitors, spot and identify gliders in your class and top pilots in other classes Keep eyes outside cockpit, there’s much more traffic than around the home patch! Circle left in start cylinder, in vicinity of turnpoints Before start, don’t fly aggressively, pace yourself Have task sheet, landing cards in cockpit Herb

Going on Course n n n n When conditions are right and the task is about to open, hang out in sector of start cylinder that’s toward first turn Mind your altitude on a good day, avoid penalties Have a plan regarding your latest start time, don’t wait ‘til 3 PM! Try to let a group of pilots go on course, follow them Call in your start time within 15 min of leaving the cylinder (or whatever CD requests) It’s a good idea to be near the max altitude allowed for the day when going on course Pick a time to leave when there are cloud line-ups in direction of the first turn Herb

What to do on Blue Days n n n Why different? What to do? Alone or with gaggle? Gaggle flying Markers: gliders, birds, smoke, haze domes, ground features Lift streets Mike

On Course n n n n n Amazingly, gliders on course spread out rather rapidly Concentrate on your own flying, even when you decided to follow someone else Always look for circling gliders on course ahead, use them as ‘stepping stones’ (same with soaring birds) Hardest thing for beginner: don’t stop in weak thermals, leave a good thermal as the lift drops to 75% of max value (going to cloud-base is normally a waste of time) Keep in mind that circling doesn’t get you anywhere, running does! Inter-thermal speed for 40: 1 glider w/o water: 70 -85 knots, avoid harsh pull-ups, push-overs Alter your course for lift indicators (clouds or ground features) Mc. Cready around 2 unless the weather is really good Mike: different opinion on Mc. Cready, “Cochrane Theory” Herb

Speed To Fly n n n Finishing is Rule #1 Classic Mc. Cready theory: Strength of next thermal Cochrane theory: Probability analysis and risks vs. rewards n n n Adjust MC to lower numbers as you sink lower Pick up weaker thermals the lower you are Leave weak thermals as you get higher, look for better lift Keep MC settings substantially lower than strongest lift encountered If area ahead looks bleak, plan ahead and get higher where you can Mike

Mc. Cready Settings à la Cochrane

The Modified Assigned Task (MAT) n n n What is it? How different from an assigned task? Why was MAT invented How to best use minimum time How do you maximize speed An example from the 2004 Sports Class Nationals in Ionia, MI Mike

Example for MAT Task, SH Ionia, MI July 18, 2004 Mike

Mike

Making a Turnpoint, at Some Small Airport… n n n Decisions: just ‘nick’ the circle or go to the middle or what? ? ? Always let the clouds be your guide into turnpoints, on blue days fly direct Use towns, large factories, quarries as potential heat sources TAT tasks are tricky, if clouds are present and if they work, go far into the turnpoint, especially upwind Watch for other gliders going into or coming out of the turn, they can give hints which is fastest way to go Call your crew, tell her you’re OK, she’ll appreciate! Herb

Final Glide n n n Start shifting mentally to ‘final glide mode’ as early as possible This is perhaps the most important part of the flight and will make a huge difference where you come in Important to know where you are vs. required altitude far out from goal Watch cloud picture as you go into final TP to decide which way to run home Try a 1 Mc. Cready setting to decide when to go on final glide On some days it makes sense to start below glide path if cloud picture indicates you can work your way up to glide path while mostly sinking! Herb

Final Glide n n n n When on glide path, turn up Mc. Cready setting until you maintain glide path, fly as fast (slow) as you are directed Connect with lift sources, cloud picture on course, pull up in lift Overly aggressive flying puts you in a field! Not finishing is very harshly punished by our scoring system! Set your arrival altitude to 700 -800’ above home field elevation, go much later to 500’. Allow for another margin if you are not sure of your final glide/wind calculations Be prepared to see the goal airport at a very shallow angle, it looks as if you won’t make it Herb

Final Glide Example, June 3, 2004 Freeport Region 7 Contest, J 7 Herb

Safety on Final Glide n n n Soaring accidents on final glide Waiting too long to thermal Relying on Zero Mc. Cready to ‘make it’ Off-landing without preparation, from low altitude Analyze fields near the airport Mike

Final Glide n n n Watch for other gliders, suddenly they are all over the place Call in around 4 miles out, watch out and identify other callers, be aware you all converge at the same point! Now most are flying at the highest speed of the day, midair danger very high! Reduce speed after entering finish cylinder, relax, drop the gear Keep watching for traffic while entering downwind, the flight isn’t over! A perfect flight deserves a perfect landing Herb

Post Flight Activities n n n n Clear runway as soon as possible, others are behind you Take glider to trailer or tie-down, don’t chat, don’t linger along runway With glider on the fuse dolly, allow yourself to take a break. You have 1 hour to turn in your flight record to the scorer’s office Fill out landing card very carefully, penalties are looming! Walk or bike to the scorer’s office, it further relaxes the stress you still feel Smile and be proud of your flight! Tendency is for handwringing: “I bet you Delta Bravo beat my … again”! Now may be the time celebrate your flight, don’t overdo it! Hang around the more seasoned pilots, hear them lying about their flights, ask them why they flew differently than you. Mike

Literature References: On gaggles in contest flying: http: //www. fai. org/gliding/documents/teamandgaggles. pdf Also discusses start timing strategy. On soaring strategy circa 1972 -- much of which is still relevant -- see Dick Johnson's Soaring Symposium presentation: http: //www. betsybyars. com/guy/soaring_symposia/72 -dj. html Also, a useful compendium of the best thinking on contest strategy circa 1969 -72 (Johnson, AJ Smith, Moffat, Shreder), which has lots of useful common sense points that are still valid: http: //www. betsybyars. com/guy/soaring_symposia/ It also shows that some of John Cochrane's conclusions were practiced by Johnson and others even in the era of pure Mac. Ready strategy: ". . . as I see it, in flying a Mc. Cready curve, is that you don't get a very good picture of the penalties for flying at other speeds. All it does is give you a number. I would be delighted if all my competition only knew that one number and flew it until they either won or hit the ground. I think my odds are better by flying a little slower and staying up longer and getting there. Most of the time I would finish with a better score. " Here is a German publication on optimizing final glide that points out the advantage of gaining more altitude than needed for a low Mac. Ready final glide when the strength of the lift warrants it: http: //streckenflug. segelflugring. de/endengl. htm The SRA guide to modern soaring contests -- provides basics of contest organization, contest etiquette, http: //www. asa-soaring. org/documents/sra%20 guide%202002. pdf The Chicago Glider Club website has several useful articles on cross-country weather and soaring techniques: http: //aerotow. evl. uic. edu/cgc/ Kai Gertsen has a good two part article on flying cross country and competition flying: http: //www. flsc. org/XCountry/Cross-Country. A 0202. pdf for part one, , and http: //www. flsc. org/XCountry/Cross-Country. B 0202. pdf for part II. Part II contains an excellent discussion of off field landings, including some of the less obvious points such as how to deal with slopes and how low is too low to try to thermal out.