Barnaby Lecture

I had the honor of giving the Ralph S. Barnaby lecture at the fall
Board of Directors' meeting. The title is "The evolution of US contest
soaring," which I sort of talked about but couldn't resist adding an
editorial here and there. If you're really, really bored at the
office, you might enjoy the talk:

http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john...s/barnaby.html

John Cochrane

Thanks, John.

I'm still reading, but in the recap of contest history I notice you've
omitted one major change in soaring contests over the last 25 years:
Crew. Modern life, work, and family dynamics mean that crew are far
less common than they used to be (or at least that's what all the
veterans keep telling young whelps like myself). I don't think we
should ignore the fact that this change has also had an impact on how
contests are run and tasks are called.

Lots of other thoughts and comments, but I don't want this thread to
become an orgy of suggested contest changes or "problems" from every
contest pilot - so I'll post comments elsewhere and at a later
time. ;-)

Take care,

--Noel

On Oct 5, 8:05*pm, "noel.wade" wrote:
Thanks, John.

I'm still reading, but in the recap of contest history I notice you've
omitted one major change in soaring contests over the last 25 years:
Crew. *Modern life, work, and family dynamics mean that crew are far
less common than they used to be (or at least that's what all the
veterans keep telling young whelps like myself). *I don't think we
should ignore the fact that this change has also had an impact on how
contests are run and tasks are called.

Lots of other thoughts and comments, but I don't want this thread to
become an orgy of suggested contest changes or "problems" from every
contest pilot - so I'll post comments elsewhere and at a later
time. ;-)

Take care,

--Noel

Keep going. Wives working and half of pilots having no crew is in
there. It is a really important change.
John

John -

very interesting read. I wish I would've been there in person. One
cool thing about the Soaring archive is the reports from the National
"Contests" in the late 30s which was really a Badge and Record camp.
Perhaps whats old is new again. I know I'd like to start doing some
contest flying, hopefully next season.

On Oct 5, 7:23*pm, John Cochrane
wrote:
I had the honor of giving the Ralph S. Barnaby lecture at the fall
Board of Directors' meeting. The title is "The evolution of US contest
soaring," which I sort of talked about but couldn't resist adding an
editorial here and there. If you're really, really bored at the
office, you might enjoy the talk:

http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john...Papers/barnaby...

John Cochrane

Well done!
John Godfrey (QT)
US Rules Committee

Beautifully thought out and stated. Up to the standards of any flying
community.

mj

Surely one of the changes that has affected comp flying, well at Regionals
level at least, is the use of turbos?


At 15:00 06 October 2010, Mark Jardini wrote:
Beautifully thought out and stated. Up to the standards of any flying
community.

mj

On Oct 6, 8:53*am, Bill Bullimore
wrote:
Surely one of the changes that has affected comp flying, well at Regionals
level at least, is the use of turbos?

I see you are in UK, and that's probably true in UK and Europe but
not so much in US. I have never seen a turbo in US and don't know if
there are any. There is an increasing number of self launchers but
they are still very much a minority compared with pure gliders.

Turbos just don't have much attraction in US because a self launcher
can be flown on a glider pilot rating also because turbos don't have
the performance needed for high density altitudes.

Andy

On 10/6/2010 10:06 AM, Andy wrote:
On Oct 6, 8:53 am, Bill
wrote:
Surely one of the changes that has affected comp flying, well at Regionals
level at least, is the use of turbos?

I see you are in UK, and that's probably true in UK and Europe but
not so much in US. I have never seen a turbo in US and don't know if
there are any.

Tim Welles placed second at the 2010 Sports National in a Ventus 2cxT (T
for turbo). It is possible that he had removed the engine for the contest.


There is an increasing number of self launchers but
they are still very much a minority compared with pure gliders.

Turbos just don't have much attraction in US because a self launcher
can be flown on a glider pilot rating also because turbos don't have
the performance needed for high density altitudes.

Andy

John,

Very good job! Thoughtful and well written...

There were many good points that you made, but I was intrigued by your
claim that the US encouraged safer behavior than the Europeans via
deliberate rules changes. From your examples your contention sounds
plausible, but I expect our European friends will have a different
point of view.

I also really agree with this statement: "The natural progression of
our sport should be from license, to thermaling, to cross country, and
then to contests – without losing 95% at each step of the way." The
question is: how do we convince them?

Most new glider pilots I meet think that XC pilots are crazy to leave
the "safety" of the airport, and yet they're comfortable with the fact
that most of the public thinks glider pilots are crazy to leave the
ground. My club is trying to change their minds by letting them
experience XC in a Duo Discus, partnered with an experienced XC pilot.
It remains to be seen how many new XC pilots we'll create this way.
Perhaps the comfort factor will work against us - they won't be
experiencing the thrill (The adrenalin surge? The intense pride?) that
comes from knowing it was entirely due to their own ability that they
found and used the last two thermals needed to land back home instead
of in a farmer's field.

-John


On Oct 5, 7:23 pm, John Cochrane
wrote:
I had the honor of giving the Ralph S. Barnaby lecture at the fall
Board of Directors' meeting. The title is "The evolution of US contest
soaring," which I sort of talked about but couldn't resist adding an
editorial here and there. If you're really, really bored at the
office, you might enjoy the talk:

http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john...Papers/barnaby...

John Cochrane