Competition Ground Crew

The last time I flew in competition was about 20 years ago in Europe.
I have never flown in competition in the US, but I am certainly going
to change that this year.

How often do you go to competition without a ground crew and if you do
how do you deal with this situation? Are contest organizers of any
help considering their workload?

Any advice will be very appreciated.

Andrzej

Andrzej,

Others will give you much better advice than mine, but about half of
the contests I attend are without a crew. However, those contests are
also attended by fellow members of my local club, and they help me
when I don't have a crew.

You may find yourself in a pinch of you attend a contest without
making any preparations at all. The organizers, I'm sure, will do
their best to help you, but they have no obligation to come get you if
you land out. You must be prepared for Charlie Lite's friendly jabs
about the "Clueless crewless".

Don't let the lack of a crew stop you though. Contact the organizers
and let them know your situation. They would much rather have you
there without a crew than not at all!

~ted/2NO
Clueless Crewless since June 2007
Contest organizer 2006, 200?

Most contests, including nationals, have about half the pilots without
crew. Basically, there are pilots whose spouses come, and there are
pilots whose spouses don't come. A few pilots bring along clubmembers
or new pilots as crew but it's getting pretty rare.

It's best to go to a contest with a few buddies, and agree to crew for
each other. In addition, the crewless pilots usually get together and
agree to form a bigger group to look out for each other when the buddy
system breaks down. If you're crewless, make sure you attend this
meeting. (Make sure this meeting happens!) Then, after each flight,
make a habit of asking the retrieve office who needs help, and never
leave the airport until everyone is accounted for. Put some favors in
the favor bank! If you go get someone, you just found your crew for
the rest of the contest.

If you're crewless, you need to put a little more effort into making
it to an airport, and get an airtow retrieve. This is especially
important if the weather is getting bad or the day is about to die.
An occasional "bad luck" landout in good conditions isn't a big deal,
because most of your buddies will make it home and be happy to come
get you.

The problem happens when there is a mass landout and all your buddies
have landed out too! Now if a lot of you didn't get to an airport,
it's going to be a long night. If you're crewless, you must be
prepared to get retrieved, and then go right back out and get someone
else!

John (perpetually crewless) Cochrane

AK wrote:
How often do you go to competition without a ground crew and if you do
how do you deal with this situation? Are contest organizers of any
help considering their workload?

I flew in six Region 11 and 12 contests, 15m or 18m class, all without a
crew, and made it home on all except one task. I always arranged ahead
of time to share crewing duties with another crew-free pilot at the contest.

I'd say roughly half the pilots at the contests I flew in had no formal
crew. It definitely helps to fly in contests close to home, as local
knowledge is often key to getting home on soft days. I was always
prepared to backtrack towards the nearest airport where I could get an
aero retrieve.

It is obviously best to fly conservatively, but that doesn't necessarily
mean you'll be at the back of the pack, I finished 1st once and 2nd
three times. Don't let the lack of a crew stop you...

Marc

On Jan 6, 11:49 pm, Marc Ramsey wrote:
AK wrote:
How often do you go to competition without a ground crew and if you do
how do you deal with this situation? Are contest organizers of any
help considering their workload?

I flew in six Region 11 and 12 contests, 15m or 18m class, all without a
crew, and made it home on all except one task. I always arranged ahead
of time to share crewing duties with another crew-free pilot at the contest.

I'd say roughly half the pilots at the contests I flew in had no formal
crew. It definitely helps to fly in contests close to home, as local
knowledge is often key to getting home on soft days. I was always
prepared to backtrack towards the nearest airport where I could get an
aero retrieve.

It is obviously best to fly conservatively, but that doesn't necessarily
mean you'll be at the back of the pack, I finished 1st once and 2nd
three times. Don't let the lack of a crew stop you...

Marc

Heck, that even happens around the home field! This past summer I
flew my diamond
goal flight (woohoo!) along with 2 buddies (both with lots more cross
country time than me),
but my radio fritzed out early in the flight.

When I got back to the field after 4.5 hours I could see the other two
trailers getting
packed up to go and thought, "Gee, I fly slow!" Actually, I was the
only one that made it back!

As John Cochrane says, being crewless involves taking responsibility
for yourself by thinking ahead. Don't just show up and land out and
expect the organizers to find someone to come get you. Talk to them
ahead of time to see what their attitude is (they may even be able to
match you up with a local who WANTS the experience of crewing). Make
certain you and the other crewless pilots meet before the first
contest day and exchange names, cell phone numbers, etc. Volunteer to
retrieve other pilots. If the day is obviously washing out for
everyone, don't drive out into the far corners of the contest envelope
and land miles from the closest road (in general, don't do that even
on the good days). If you know from experience that you're likely to
land out more often than not, consider taking a buddy with you or
otherwise making more formal arrangements. After a while, drawing lots
every night to determine who goes to fetch you this time gets old.

Finally, a good general rule is to leave your retrieve vehicle and
trailer hooked up and ready to drive away, including keys in the
ignition, the fuel tank full, and a note with any special instructions
on the driver's seat. That avoids problems and speeds your retrieve.

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"
USA

On Jan 6, 9:54 pm, AK wrote:
The last time I flew in competition was about 20 years ago in Europe.
I have never flown in competition in the US, but I am certainly going
to change that this year.

How often do you go to competition without a ground crew and if you do
how do you deal with this situation? Are contest organizers of any
help considering their workload?

Any advice will be very appreciated.

Andrzej

Andrzej - To make it really sporting, borrow a glider with no
trailer and go to the contest with no car. Walk to and from
the airport. Thumb a tow to the grid, land near and taxi back
to your glider parking space. Of course, it costs some beers
for the tows to the grid ! I guess I'm getting old, haven't done
that for a few years (and no, the glider didn't have a motor)...
Have fun !
Best Regards, Dave