I have a turn and bank indicator installed in my glider. I would like
to fly in a competition this year and I read somewhere that this kind
of instrument is not allowed to be used during a competition flight.

The question is; do I have to remove the instrument all together or
can the competition director seal the switch in off position or cover
the instrument and seal it? I don't like to remove the instrument
since it can be a safety device while wave flying in anything less
then perfect weather.

Please note I am not asking if I should ever use this device that is
not the question. The question is simply interpretation of competition
rules and what does happen is a situation like this?


In the US, the rule is pretty clear

6.6.1 Each sailplane is prohibited from carrying any instrument
which:
* Permits flight without reference to the ground.

As I read it, "carry" means "carry", so you will need a waiver of the
rule if you don't want to physically pull it out. Contact the CD of
the contest you want to fly in. I suspect even "seal" will not be
enough -- you should not be able to turn it on after an attempt at
cloud flying by compass and GPS fails.

John Cochrane