On Monday, April 29, 2013 2:02:50 PM UTC-7, Eric Greenwell wrote:
On 4/29/2013 12:28 PM, Steve Leonard wrote:

On Monday, April 29, 2013 9:30:09 AM UTC-5, Waveguru wrote:

I would like to see how many points the motorglider guys would end

up scoring if their motor was rendered unavailable after launch.

Blah blah blah. It's definitely not a level playing field. Boggs



You are right, Gary. The playing field isn't level. And my flights

in mid-west thermals can't compete on a level playing field with Ely

thermals, Minden Wave Days, Parowan thermal days, or east coast ridge

days, either



It's true that having an easy retrieve, whether it's by an eager crew

person or a motor, will make a pilot bolder. But the performance of the

glider will also change how you fly. For example, would a pilot's flying

change if he was plucked from a Blanik and dropped into an ASG 29? Or

from Nimbus 4 into a 1-26? Oh, you betcha!



And how about launch methods? Would what the pilot could achieve change

if he had aero-tows available instead of a 1000' car launch? Suppose the

pilot is retired and can fly any day, lives 2 miles from the airport

instead 150 miles, and so on?



Equipment does make a difference, as do life circumstances and location.

Even though it's the OLC is a handicapped contest, there is no way for

the handicap system to provide a level playing field for all variations

in circumstances.



So, for people that think the retrieve problem is holding them back, get

a glider with a motor. No cash? Follow Henry Combs example, and burnish

your personality to a warm glow that convinces people to crew for you

every weekend, week after week, year after year, which is what allowed

Henry to amass 200+ 500K straight out distance flights!



--

Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to

email me)



I predict this thread will set a record number of posts and views. I’ll confess upfront that I consider the term “motor-glider” an oxymoron, so you know my bias. That said, I believe there are several competitive advantages to having a motor for big OLC flights in the Great Basin. First, pilots often arrive back at base an hour or more before sunset, close their triangle, then try and decide how hard to push in the remaining lift. If you miscalculate, there is a world of difference between flipping a switch and motoring home and a ground retrieve way out in the desert even if you are lucky enough to have that magical “eager crew”. Second, and perhaps even worse, the best days often come back-to-back so an all-night retrieve can mean that the pure glider will miss some of the best conditions and the fat score that comes with it. I can personally attest to the extreme disappointment that come with that.

Clearly OLC cannot completely level the playing field in all respects ( geography, the life circumstances of the pilot, launch methods, etc.) But they could very easily handicap the motorglider vs. the pure glider for the distance portion of the OLC (not league, speed, etc.). The only real issue is by how much.

As long as we’re opening a can of worms, here’s another—glider flights utilizing class A airspace vs. glider flights below 18K.

Michael