Roger Bard has a letter to the editor in this month's SOARING mag. His point is "Why even bother" to fly the OLC contest and he lists four reasons why..

Answering his "reasons why not" is the following: 1&2. A Nimbus 4 is not required since results are handicapped. Ron Schwartz flew his 1-26 to 11th in the world, and he did it from that soaring mecca known as New Jersey. Fifth place was a Ventus 2 (Uwe) and ninth place an ASW27 (Ramy.) 3. Yes, the winner flew above 18,000" legally for some flights. Most of the other winners are not instrument rated pilots and stayed below 18K. 4. One does have to be at the right place at the right time to win anything. That is true of soaring and many other sports. Wally Scott kept his ASW12 assembled in an Odessa hangar and picked his days. Hardly something to be upset about, but rather admired.

A better use for OLC is to learn and compare your flight with club members and pilots flying in similar conditions. Much can be learned from studying traces and Wx, take off times, average climb rates, course deviations, and final glides. Anyone that posts six flights is a winner.

Richard Walters