Scoring when abandoning a contest turnpoint

[[email protected]]

Hey all. I somehow got the idea that there was strategy involved to maximize score on contest flights where one decides not to continue to a turnpoint. But I don't see anything in the rules other than incomplete tasks essentially being scored as a landout.

Am I missing something?

Good to make it home regardless!

[Tim Taylor]

US rules for a standard racing task gives points for maximum distance towards the next turnpoint. The scoring program determines how far you made it towards the turnpoint to calculate your total distance for the task. Going home or flying in an other direction gives you no additional distance.

Many of us would disagree with your final statement. True competitors are going to fly for maximum points that can be achieved safely.

[Ron Gleason]

On Monday, 3 August 2020 15:38:45 UTC-6, wrote:
> Hey all. I somehow got the idea that there was strategy involved to maximize score on contest flights where one decides not to continue to a turnpoint. But I don't see anything in the rules other than incomplete tasks essentially being scored as a landout.
>
> Am I missing something?
>
> Good to make it home regardless!

For US rules there are two things you can/should consider

First

10.4.3.3 If the closest fix is outside the turnpoint radius, a miss distance shall be calculated: it is the distance from the closest fix
to the turnpoint, minus the turnpoint radius. If the miss distance is not greater than 1 mile, turnpoint control is valid but a penalty
applies (¶ 12.1.3.1) ; if greater than 1 mile, there is no valid control.

12.1.3.1 Missed turnpoint (¶ 10.4.3.3): penalty = 100 * (miss distance)

Second

10.9.3 Airfield landing bonus
10.9.3.1 A pilot with an incomplete task who lands at a designated airfield can receive a score bonus for such a landing.
10.9.3.2 The landing must take place at a field designated by the CD as eligible for such a bonus. Eligible fields shall be
designated prior to the start of the competition. Unless otherwise announced, all airfields depicted on a current Sectional chart
shall be considered eligible. The home airfield is always eligible.

[[email protected]]

My point with the last statement is that landing away in collapsing conditions, even with an airfield bonus, is not likely to garner more points than deliberately "reetering" and making it home. I suppose on a given task it might but I don't imagine I'd be trying to split such hairs in flight.

[Andy Blackburn[_3_]]

On Monday, August 3, 2020 at 2:38:45 PM UTC-7, wrote:
> Hey all. I somehow got the idea that there was strategy involved to maximize score on contest flights where one decides not to continue to a turnpoint. But I don't see anything in the rules other than incomplete tasks essentially being scored as a landout.
>
> Am I missing something?
>
> Good to make it home regardless!

The one case where your strategy might be the case is on a "Long MAT" task, where the next turnpoint is in a sinkhole and going home undertime gets you speed points instead of pressing on to the turn point and landing out. Under an Assigned Task or Turn Area Task heading home before the next turn will cost you whatever distance points you might've scored by pressing on. Of course, depending on the landout, getting home might leave you in a better physical state to score points on subsequent contest days. Most racing pilots try to score as many points as they can on the current day - short of risking the glider to do so. Having seen some pilots on the grid who got home from a retrieve at 5 am, it's not clear to me that a few extra points are worth it - assuming you have a choice to get home at a relatively modest cost in points. It's certainly a big advantage of having a motor.

Andy Blackburn
9B

[[email protected]]

Sometimes you can find a mid ground between going for it and landing out versus turning tail and heading for home.

With another airport reachable, you can keep trying until you can't, then land and get an aero retrieve. Sometimes you climb out at the airport and you get back on course. Sometimes you land, talk to the nice folks at the field and get home in time for happy hour. Either way all is safe and ready to fly another day.

Probably not points optimal if everybody lands out, but I'm not that hard core and it sets up for the next day nicely.

[Ron Gleason]

On Monday, 3 August 2020 23:10:34 UTC-6, Andy Blackburn wrote:
> On Monday, August 3, 2020 at 2:38:45 PM UTC-7, wrote:
> > Hey all. I somehow got the idea that there was strategy involved to maximize score on contest flights where one decides not to continue to a turnpoint. But I don't see anything in the rules other than incomplete tasks essentially being scored as a landout.
> >
> > Am I missing something?
> >
> > Good to make it home regardless!
>
> The one case where your strategy might be the case is on a "Long MAT" task, where the next turnpoint is in a sinkhole and going home undertime gets you speed points instead of pressing on to the turn point and landing out. Under an Assigned Task or Turn Area Task heading home before the next turn will cost you whatever distance points you might've scored by pressing on. Of course, depending on the landout, getting home might leave you in a better physical state to score points on subsequent contest days. Most racing pilots try to score as many points as they can on the current day - short of risking the glider to do so. Having seen some pilots on the grid who got home from a retrieve at 5 am, it's not clear to me that a few extra points are worth it - assuming you have a choice to get home at a relatively modest cost in points. It's certainly a big advantage of having a motor.
>
> Andy Blackburn
> 9B

In 2010 or 2011 at the Logan UT events a pilot decided to get maximum distance instead of landing at a designated airport and get the 25 point airport bonus. This decision cost him approximately 12-15 points for the day, small percentage for the day and the contest, but it was enough to cost him a one place in the yearly rankly and he missed a position on the world team which he was coveting.

[Andy Blackburn[_3_]]

On Tuesday, August 4, 2020 at 6:43:29 AM UTC-7, Ron Gleason wrote:
> On Monday, 3 August 2020 23:10:34 UTC-6, Andy Blackburn wrote:
> > On Monday, August 3, 2020 at 2:38:45 PM UTC-7, wrote:
> > > Hey all. I somehow got the idea that there was strategy involved to maximize score on contest flights where one decides not to continue to a turnpoint. But I don't see anything in the rules other than incomplete tasks essentially being scored as a landout.
> > >
> > > Am I missing something?
> > >
> > > Good to make it home regardless!
> >
> > The one case where your strategy might be the case is on a "Long MAT" task, where the next turnpoint is in a sinkhole and going home undertime gets you speed points instead of pressing on to the turn point and landing out.. Under an Assigned Task or Turn Area Task heading home before the next turn will cost you whatever distance points you might've scored by pressing on.. Of course, depending on the landout, getting home might leave you in a better physical state to score points on subsequent contest days. Most racing pilots try to score as many points as they can on the current day - short of risking the glider to do so. Having seen some pilots on the grid who got home from a retrieve at 5 am, it's not clear to me that a few extra points are worth it - assuming you have a choice to get home at a relatively modest cost in points. It's certainly a big advantage of having a motor.
> >
> > Andy Blackburn
> > 9B
>
> In 2010 or 2011 at the Logan UT events a pilot decided to get maximum distance instead of landing at a designated airport and get the 25 point airport bonus. This decision cost him approximately 12-15 points for the day, small percentage for the day and the contest, but it was enough to cost him a one place in the yearly rankly and he missed a position on the world team which he was coveting.

Ron's correct. We set the airport landing bonus at 25 points for a reason. It's an incentive to fly airport to airport at the end of the day. In many situations you are unlikely to get more distance points by pressing on to lawn dart in a field vs landing at a nearby airport.

Andy Blackburn
9B

[Eric Greenwell[_4_]]

Ron Gleason wrote on 8/4/2020 6:43 AM:
> On Monday, 3 August 2020 23:10:34 UTC-6, Andy Blackburn wrote:
>> On Monday, August 3, 2020 at 2:38:45 PM UTC-7, wrote:
>>> Hey all. I somehow got the idea that there was strategy involved to maximize score on contest flights where one decides not to continue to a turnpoint. But I don't see anything in the rules other than incomplete tasks essentially being scored as a landout.
>>>
>>> Am I missing something?
>>>
>>> Good to make it home regardless!
>>
>> The one case where your strategy might be the case is on a "Long MAT" task, where the next turnpoint is in a sinkhole and going home undertime gets you speed points instead of pressing on to the turn point and landing out. Under an Assigned Task or Turn Area Task heading home before the next turn will cost you whatever distance points you might've scored by pressing on. Of course, depending on the landout, getting home might leave you in a better physical state to score points on subsequent contest days. Most racing pilots try to score as many points as they can on the current day - short of risking the glider to do so. Having seen some pilots on the grid who got home from a retrieve at 5 am, it's not clear to me that a few extra points are worth it - assuming you have a choice to get home at a relatively modest cost in points. It's certainly a big advantage of having a motor.
>>
>> Andy Blackburn
>> 9B
>
> In 2010 or 2011 at the Logan UT events a pilot decided to get maximum distance instead of landing at a designated airport and get the 25 point airport bonus. This decision cost him approximately 12-15 points for the day, small percentage for the day and the contest, but it was enough to cost him a one place in the yearly rankly and he missed a position on the world team which he was coveting.
>
What was his mistake? Miscalculating how much further he could glide, perhaps?

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications/download-the-guide-1