This thread was a lot more fun than that boring crap such as FLARM config files or ADS-B! To elaborate on one poster's comment, it really was like schoolboys calling each other names and older kids or teachers trying to maintain order. Life can be boring. This was entertaining.

I have no idea what number of gliders is safe/unsafe at a given site. I flew a Nationals (Bryan, OH 1976) where we launched 52 from a single hardsurface runway into skies where cloudbase seldom exceeded 4,000 AGL. Relights and finishes were frequent, closely spaced, and involved landings where there were at times four pilots landing in trail and four more in the pattern behind them. The radio-equipped ground controller knew his stuff and the pilots paid CLOSE attention and were responsible. The only incident that I recall was when an early LS-1F had the gear fold up on landing in the grass alongside the runway, which made that alternative even less attractive as the contest went on.

A few years later we had 58 pilots at Adrian, MI in a somewhat larger but still constrained venue. There was a midair at that contest but not because of the congestion. It's going to sound a bit mean but hopefully enough time has passed that I can be excused for saying it involved two guys who surprised no one when they collided (no injuries). There was another glider at that same contest who, fortunately, was brightly colored and so could be easily distinguised and avoided by leaving whatever thermal he entered.

My point is that the number of contestants isn't nearly so important to safety as the way they fly. There are always a few guys who scare everyone else. In an Eastern contest with low bases and weak lift, you're often forced into close proximity with them, hopefully not excessively close. I don't care whether it's 10 gliders or 80, if these guys enter, the risk goes up for everyone.

Experience is important, of course, but attitude counts much more. Often these pilots collect a number of complaints in the safety box and are cautioned by the organizers. Some take it well; others are defensive. More often than not, it seems they don't really see their behavior the way everyone else does and therefore feel no need to change. Yes, there's a parallel with this thread.

With good organization and high-caliber pilots, I'm more concerned about not getting hit by one of the aerial Rambos who's on the short list of see-and-avoid offenders kept by me and nearly everyone else. A nice FLARM refinement would be to use a different algorithm to warn other pilots whenever one of them is nearby.

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"
U.S.A.