Contest participation

On Saturday, January 30, 2016 at 2:48:15 AM UTC-7, Jim White wrote:
At 02:09 30 January 2016, Christopher Giacomo wrote:
On Friday, January 29, 2016 at 9:06:21 PM UTC-5, Christopher Giacomo
wrote:
As i was looking through the pilot rankings on the SSA website tonight,
i
counted just under 500 pilots with any registration in a contest in the
last 3 years. Wiki claims that the SSA has over 10,000 members
(understand
not all of them fly

But that still means that less than 5% of active members are even showing
up to a contest? seems strange that such a large proportion of
conversation
and emphasis on RAS is focused on such a small segment of the sport.

Gliding competition is a bit like sex. Until you have done it a couple of
times it can seem a bit intimidating. The difference is you never get too
old to compete with dignity.

You have to be less elitist and simplify the rules if you want people to
try it.

I learned about contest flying and running contests from the old S3C (Southern California Competition Club). Many of the old time greats participated and were eager to share their expertise in these two day contests during the "off season", back in the day.

gary kemp "NK"

I've been flying gliders since 1965 and contests since 1968. I've had almost every advantage: a great early club (Caesar Creek) with wonderful facilities; a father who was my instructor and coach; and early access to a 1-26, Libelle 201, and LS-3 before I had to start going it alone. I love competitive soaring and some of the highest moments of my life have been experienced in it.

That said, I've three times been out of active flying temporarily and had to come back after a few years away. It's been tough, frankly. Technologies, tactics, and rules change. The glider needs licensing. Batteries are dead and trailer tires need replacing. The chute needs repacking. In one case, I hadn't bothered to renew the registration on my tow vehicle. It's been a little imposing and there are a lot of other things going on in life on any given day to soak up the time and interest.

What's made it possible for me is the help of a few friends at critical moments. In a couple of cases I reached out asking for help. In another case, they apparently conspired to "encourage" me back into it. Thanks once again, UH and P3, for making a big difference in my life. I'm indebted to you both, as are myriad other pilots.

So on that basis, while I agree there are a number of "on ramp" mechanisms to make your first contest easier, I would suggest reaching out to someone for help. It could be a pilot at your club with some contest experience. Or just speaking up at a club meeting and seeing who approaches you afterward to chat. That might turn into a specific action plan for you. Or an invitation to crew or work on a contest. Or a suggestion to get some more cross country time (although my first local contest was also my first cross country).

I'm not saying this is the old days when some pilots wanted evidence that a newbie had paid his dues, so to speak. But for sure we can't provide motivation when none is pre-existing. Show some reasonable level of interest and plenty of people will be more than happy to help. Signing up for your first contest might be too intimidating. If so, talk to some folks who have done it and, ideally, know something about your experience and abilities. Solicit their help. I suspect you'll be surprised at their level of support. Just don't ask them to carry you every step of the way.

Chip Bearden

One thing I have not seen posted yet. It used to be required to have evidence of a silver distance xc flight and five hour endurance or a voucher from another contest pilot of the same. I think the five hour is the most important in all of that. Being able to think clearly and have good judgment after a stressful 3-4-5 hour flight canout be emphasized enough. So if your thinking about contest get a few consecutive 5 hour flights in then go have some fun.

one of the great things about Air Sailing camps is that they are all set up for earning badge 'legs': they have loggers to loan, observers, forms at the ready, and analysis software, and as such many of the participants earned Silver achievements. --bob

On Tuesday, February 2, 2016 at 10:00:16 PM UTC-5, wrote:
One thing I have not seen posted yet. It used to be required to have evidence of a silver distance xc flight and five hour endurance or a voucher from another contest pilot of the same. I think the five hour is the most important in all of that. Being able to think clearly and have good judgment after a stressful 3-4-5 hour flight canout be emphasized enough. So if your thinking about contest get a few consecutive 5 hour flights in then go have some fun.

On Tuesday, February 2, 2016 at 10:00:16 PM UTC-5, wrote:
One thing I have not seen posted yet. It used to be required to have evidence of a silver distance xc flight and five hour endurance or a voucher from another contest pilot of the same. I think the five hour is the most important in all of that. Being able to think clearly and have good judgment after a stressful 3-4-5 hour flight canout be emphasized enough. So if your thinking about contest get a few consecutive 5 hour flights in then go have some fun.

The requirement now is Silver Distance or a documented 100 km OLC flight. This is a pretty low barrier. It is obviously advisable to have more cross country experience and longer flights to make the contest experience better.
That said, I don't think the 5 hr leg means much in this context.
One reason the entry bar is so low is that we have a pretty high level of support and oversight for new pilots.
UH

Along these lines.. what's the cost for something that will work as a logger? I've seen some interesting hacks with a Nook, and I have a couple old ones lying about. I'm just wanting to spend the money once for something that will log my flights, and be useful in the cockpit. I realize that there's a BIG range when talking technology. I just want something that will work for badges and beginner contest.

Thanks

Hi All, I participated in my first contest last May, 2015 (Region 7). I went in with no xc experience, landouts or a Silver Badge. I was lucky in that the CD new me and allowed me to participate. I brought my newly purchased LAK17a that I only had a dozen flights in. That winter before the contest, I studied xc flying in every book I could find and studied the SSA rules. I went with the expectation that I would learn as much as I could. I didn't care about what place I came in as long as I flew safe and very conservative.

It was THE BEST experience I ever had. It was a small contest (11 participants) so I think that helped. EVERYONE there was very helpful and I learned so much. The CD would give me guidance and helped me in whatever I needed. Every flight I made got better and I gained more confidence in myself. I even had my first landout (at a grass stip) and retrieval.

Did I make mistakes, of course I did but, you learn from your mistakes. From all the excellent advice listed here in these posts, my suggestion for someone thinking about his/her first contest is to spend time planning your trip. Be very conservative in your flying (added safety altitude) etc and make it a learning experience. Don't even think about what place you come in and have fun.
Don
F2

Loggers

It depends what you want to do with the log.

For OLC and some low key events all you need is a smart phone (it actually does not need cell service) with XCSOAR, or TopHat loaded - they all produce a good IGC file and cost nothing. IGCDROID will send the log to your email, but you need service.

For contests and badges......... you need to look at each event and know how strict the requirement. the Nano is probably the most used and cheapest logger for badges and contests.

if you fly with other pilots, there are almost always loggers around to barrow.


WH1

On 2/3/2016 8:05 AM, Don Grillo wrote:
Hi All, I participated in my first contest last May, 2015 (Region 7).
Snip

...in and have fun. Don F2

Great - dare I say inspiring? - feedback and advice! And - thanks to Don (whom
I neither know nor have met) taking the time to write up for "Soaring" mag
(May 2015) the l - o - n - g (torturous?) path leading to his becoming a
soaring pilot - alert readers already know more about his minimal indeed,
pre-contest soaring experience (silver spoon not included). Thanks, Don!

Bob W.

Here (in the Netherlands) from late april to late august there's at least one and often 2 weekend-contests at clubs within an hour or two driving. Finding 3-4 weekends a year works for most folks.

Better yet, most regional competitions used to be tied up in a bigger scheme, where if you participated in a minimum of 3 comps, there was a shared "total" scoring.

Works great if done locally, works for club ships and people with a busy job+family obligations. It also allows people without any competition experience to fly one at their trusted home field, try the waters an hours driving away and gain competition experience.