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SRA Poll



 
 
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  #11  
Old September 20th 08, 03:43 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
HL Falbaum
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 133
Default SRA Poll


"Sam Giltner" wrote in message
...
BB PLease forgive me but my most recent response to you did not mention
THE
TEAM, it did not mention doing away with the Sports Class. Please read my
response again to verify!
I really don't understand why you are so focused on THE TEAM and how the
Club Class will kill the Sports Class. Nowhere in any of my responses have
I mentioned THE TEAM or that we should do away with the Sports Class.
Last month I sent out to the rules committee and other interested pilots
my idea of how both the Sports Class and the Club Class have a place in
this country. If you didn't receive the E MAil I will be glan to send it
again. Just let me know.
But Please lets get off the idea that the reason I am supporting the Club
Class is NOT, I repeat, NOT to justify THE TEAM!
If you kindly give me your cell I would love to talk further. Sam


At 14:43 19 September 2008, BB wrote:
Sam:

If what you want truly is a new competition class, at all levels,
because you think there is a deep pool of pilots who will come out of
the woodwork to fly it, then it seems perfectly sensible to ask you
and club class advocates try a few and show us it's true. (Hidden
agenda: one of the big participationn problems is how few people are
willing to organize contests thes days!)

The RC has to worry about killing the sports class. If the sports
class dies, many pilots literally have nowhere to go. Where do you
race a Nimbus II or a sparrowhawk with no sports class? Since two
thirds of the pilots at Montague flew nonqulifying gliders, you can
understand that we all need to be sure there are 20 new pilots ready
to jump in to replace the 20 we kick out.

Perhaps what you really want is just to have US team selection come
from a club class only contest, and you're quite happy if there are
never club class regionals. Perhaps you even agree that nobody would
show up for a "club class only" contest unless team points were at
stake.

If so, that's a US team question, not a rules question. The RC worries
about how to run US contests, with a special eye to participation, and
with the interests of the average pilot and the organizers in mind.
The US team worries about team selection issues, and focuses on how to
get winners. OK, we talk to each other, but it really doens't make
sense to introduce a whole new class just to jigger around the team
selection rules that we don't write.

If this is really what you want, you could get that much more easily
by asking the US team to run a separate scoresheet for team selection
in club nationals. We don't have to go through the huge effort of
starting a new class -- and making sure it's supported through the
years, at all levels; and that pilots investment in equipment isn't
invalidated by precipitous changes in a few years, and that it doesn't
kill sports -- just to raise the nationals scores of the club team.

Note to all pilots: the most important questions on this poll are
likely to be the questions "would you fly in this class" and "would
less sports class hurt you". We want data rather than guessing about
whether there are people who want to do this.

Again, my opinions only, and keep yours opinions coming -- the RC
wants to hear from everyone on this issue.

John Cochrane
BB


Yes -two scoresheets and a AAT with big circles should make the idea viable.
Then the little guys can use the big boys as a yardstick to see how they
did. Good Idea!

I flew one contest in Sports Class recently, in a ASK21, and Sam flew his
ASW27 (painted to look like a LS-1f). A V2bx and an LS4 were neck and neck
with him for the most part. (Cordele Reg 5 So.2007) Sam did very well
against the newer ships.

I normally fly something with higher performance and had to constanly remind
myself ( forgot a few times and paid the price) of the difference. But I
think the tasking was compatible, given the large size of the circles. The
K21 and the V2bx were outside the club class limits, so we would have been
flying Sports anyway. The LS1f, LS4, and Libelle could have elected Sports
or Club. Only big difference I see is one more "HowIdunit" speech.

Hartley Falbaum
DG808c "KF"


  #12  
Old September 20th 08, 04:34 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
noel.wade
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 681
Default SRA Poll

OK, time for a total newbie (to competition) to chime in...

As a 30-year-old 110-hour glider pilot (having watched DVDs like "A
Fine Week of Soaring" and "Gladiators of the Sky", and seeing the
discussions of renowned champions online), race events are
intimidating! Its a supportive community and I am thrilled at the
seemingly fierce-but-still-friendly competition - however that doesn't
stop the event from being intimidating. There are all kinds of rules,
scoring issues, the potential for new and strange terrain or flying
challenges - oh, AND the fact that you're going to be compared to some
really good pilots!

If you want to lure new folks in like me (I was going to fly Region 8
this year but work prevented it), you need to provide an EASY avenue
to do it. The World Class has failed (speaking as someone who bought
a Russia AC-4), the Standard & 15-meter classes are seemingly chock-
full of fancy and expensive racers, and the 18m or Open class are just
unthinkable in terms of dollar amounts for most folks! Look at me - I
was making $30/hour when I bought my Russia, I don't have a mortgage
to pay (just rent on a small apartment), and I have no car payment...
I live on the expensive West Coast (Seattle area), but I make a higher-
than-average wage compared to the general populace and even then a
$20k glider-budget was just about all I could justify. Frankly I
think part of the reason the average glider-pilot-age is so high is
because it takes until retirement to be able to afford a $100k
"modern" glider!!! :-)

Looking at the numbers and the barriers to entry: if the SRA wants to
draw more people in, they need to concentrate on a non-intimidating
and easy-to-get-into class for new folks to try it out. It can be
competitive, it can have good pilots, and it can include fancy
aircraft (I don't think most newbies want to be coddled or need to be
guaranteed a trophy their first time out) - but it needs to be
straightforward and pilots need to be able to "run what they brung"
without worries over SSA vs IGC vs FAI technicalities / crap. They
need to be able to experience the competition without a major
commitment, and _then_ if they like it they will start spending lots
of time and money to get better gear and compete at higher levels -
but those choices and priorities won't come until AFTER they have
tried a basic event or two.

I strongly believe that the idea of classes which help grow sailplane
racing and promote the sport of gliding in general have NOTHING to do
with International competition or the selection of a US Team. Look at
auto-racing as a guide - I used to be heavily involved in that sport
and have crewed or driven in NASCAR, Autocrosses, SCCA Road-course
racing, Off-road Rally, Trans-Am events, and more... No matter what
the racing format, the people seriously vying for a "national team" or
international competition are always an EXTREMELY small sub-set of the
overall competitor population. And the reasons for that are obvious -
you not only have to have the talent and skill to be a top-tier
competitor, but you have to have the time, money, and equipment; and
these can be formidable obstacles to the average competitor! There is
no denying the special atmosphere and excitement of a National or
World championship; but while that might inspire some existing pilots
and competitors to "aim high", it won't do much for getting new folks
into competition.

Let's look at a more specific example: Autocrossing. This form of
auto-sport can be done by anyone with a street-legal car that has
seatbelts. It costs $20 - $30 for a day of competition at the basic
"club" or "local" level. The competition itself only involves 3 or 4
laps around a 1-minute course; but the barriers to entry are SO low
that events near major cities can draw 100 - 200 competitors per day,
and do so consistently over an 8 to 16-event season! The next level
of autocross competition in the USA is the "National Tour" events or
the "Pro Solo" events put on by the SCCA. These follow a similar
format to the "club" autocross events, but competition is a 2-day
affair, the average level of skill is higher, and the venues are
typically nicer. Costs increase by a factor of 5 or 10, but
surprisingly the attendance levels are still pretty good. Since 1 or
2 of these "Tour" type events are held in almost every State, a
motivated competitor can go to a handful of these events each year
without travelling too far (and it helps that the Tour events are only
a "long-weekend" affair, even with a day of travel). The National
Championship is held in the middle of the country (Topeka, KS) every
year, so that people from one coast or another don't have any special
advantage in terms of travel distance or "home field". The
championship event hosts a seriously-large number of competitors (I
think its somewhere around 600) over a week-long event, and it is
quite a sight to see!

But here's the crux of the issue: EVEN if they _double_ the number of
competitors at the National Championship, they're only adding 500 or
600 participants in total. AND most of those would likely be people
already competing at the mid-level events. Furthermore, given the
cost and time-commitment for this week-long event (on the part of
competitors AND organizers) it would be a monumental task to try to
grow that single event by that much. In contrast, growing the "club"
competitions by only 10% - 20% would add a HUGE number of new
participants, since there are literally hundreds of "local" Autocross
events held each year. If each local event averages 60 participants,
a simple 10% growth at 100 events would add as many new competitors
(and likely far more fresh faces to the sport) as doubling the big
National Championship - and it would do so with less cost and fewer
organizational headaches. And if your competition structure is good,
some of those new faces WILL go on to compete at the higher levels and
push those numbers up, too - just not by any huge amounts (because the
hurdles are simply too great for most people).

Returning to Soaring: I don't know all the ins and outs of the
various "Club" and "Sports" classes - but a basic competitor shouldn't
HAVE to be an expert. They should be able to sign up as a newbie in a
simple class (an indexed or handicapped class is fine), and get to
compete against others. If folks are concerned about aligning
themselves with International Championships or some other goal that
suits "higher levels of competition", they need to do so in a way that
does NOT have any impact on the entry-level pilots.

Thanks for listening/reading,

--Noel

For the curious, here's a little more background about me:
-----
In addition to my glider-time, I have 100 hours in power (got my PPL
SEL in mid-2006, about a year before getting my Glider rating). The
first 20 hours in gliders were spent in club aircraft - mostly
Blaniks, in weak conditions near Seattle, WA. I then bought a Russia
AC-4 and flew that for about 40 hours over a 10-month period - again,
mostly in weak-weather conditions. I studied like crazy, read every
book I could find on gliding, XC-flying, and weather... and I did a
lot of work with flight simulators like Condor. I wanted to enter the
Region 8 competition this year in Ephrata, but work prevented me from
having the time AND I'd never officially gotten my Silver badge
(although I had some 100 - 150km flights in my Russia). Fortunately
the insane work I did this year earned me a big promotion, and I was
able to step up to a primo DG-300. Its not a top competitor according
to all of the pundits; but for me it had the best blend of performance
(in the 40:1 or better category of gliders), ergonomics, and safety.
I acquired the glider in July and added about 50 hours to my Log-book
in July and August alone. Most of my flights in the DG have been
300km - 400km jaunts out in Ephrata, WA. I'm eager to take my skills
and experience and try competition, but I have a full-time job and
would like to own a house or a condo someday; so you're not going to
see me buying a high-dollar ship or traveling all over the country
anytime soon. I believe that I'm not alone in having limited time and
money to devote to the sport, even though it is my biggest passion.

  #13  
Old September 20th 08, 01:29 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
HL Falbaum
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 133
Default SRA Poll


"HL Falbaum" wrote in message
. ..

"Sam Giltner" wrote in message
...
Again, my opinions only, and keep yours opinions coming -- the RC
wants to hear from everyone on this issue.

John Cochrane
BB


Yes -two scoresheets and a AAT with big circles should make the idea
viable. Then the little guys can use the big boys as a yardstick to see
how they did. Good Idea!

I flew one contest in Sports Class recently, in a ASK21, and Sam flew his
ASW27 (painted to look like a LS-1f). A V2bx and an LS4 were neck and neck
with him for the most part. (Cordele Reg 5 So.2007) Sam did very well
against the newer ships.

I normally fly something with higher performance and had to constanly
remind myself ( forgot a few times and paid the price) of the difference.
But I think the tasking was compatible, given the large size of the
circles. The K21 and the V2bx were outside the club class limits, so we
would have been flying Sports anyway. The LS1f, LS4, and Libelle could
have elected Sports or Club. Only big difference I see is one more
"HowIdunit" speech.

Hartley Falbaum
DG808c "KF"


Oops--my error
There was a V2c in the mix, but the V2bx was actually a LS3a!
But if you look at the results, you'll see that the mix was pretty good. And
the AAT pretty well solved the tasking problem. Newbies want to be part of
the action and measure their progress. So tasking should allow comparison
with the performance of the experts. A dual scoresheet does this, and still
allows the Team aspirants to compete with each other.

Hartley Falbaum



  #14  
Old September 20th 08, 01:39 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
HL Falbaum
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 133
Default SRA Poll




"noel.wade" wrote in message
...
OK, time for a total newbie (to competition) to chime in...

I'm eager to take my skills
and experience and try competition, but I have a full-time job and
would like to own a house or a condo someday; so you're not going to
see me buying a high-dollar ship or traveling all over the country
anytime soon. I believe that I'm not alone in having limited time and
money to devote to the sport, even though it is my biggest passion.


Sounds like you should take a look at what we have done in the Southeast.
The GTA race series. (Georgia, Tenessee, Alabama was the origination, but
Florida and SouthCarolina show up sometimes)

Many races over the season, various venues, simplified rules, and an "A"
(experienced) and "B" (Newbie) class with mildly less ambitious tasking for
the B class. We attract all levels from total newbie to US Team members. A
"run what you brung" approach works for us.

Check out http://home.att.net/~g.t.a.race/

If you don't have anything like this in your area, organize it.

Hartley Falbaum
USA


  #15  
Old September 20th 08, 02:18 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
BB
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 140
Default SRA Poll

Please, let's keep basic facts straight.

Sam, I fully support you. There is no harm in keeping two score sheets
and having two winners.


That's not the club class proposal. The proposal is to have two
entirely separte classes and contests, at all levels. Separate
scoresheets and winners is another interesting idea, but please let's
keep straight what we're talking about here.

I will support RC financially but I would like the RC to source more
input from the community during question formulation process. I would
also like to know what the process is so I can submit my input.


I'm glad to hear of your offer of support, but RC is entirely
volunteer. RC listens to anyone who will talk to us; its chair (Hank
Nixon) carefully keeps track of all email sent to the commitee, we
have regular "SRA" meetings to discuss issues at contests, and the
poll is online now. How much more sourcing should we be doing? The
proess is email Hank or answer the phone.

John Cochrane
  #16  
Old September 21st 08, 06:27 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Brian[_1_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 399
Default SRA Poll

Some very good points Noel,

Yes getting involved in racing can be intimidating. But it really
isn't that hard espeically in the Sports Class.
While you should spend an evening reading the rules the basics are
quite simple. GPS has really improved this.
I will probably miss something but here is my short list of things you
need to know...

how and when to start the task.
know thermal in a gaggle and know when you need to leave a gaggle.
how to go through the turnpoints and the various turnpoint radi.
how and when to finish.

as in most things 90% of the rules apply to 10% or less of the
situations you might be in as a new contest pilot.

My biggest problem with my 1st contest was that when a gaggle got to
crowded for me I would leave and many of the other gliders would
follow me. Interestingly, usually when I left I found a better thermal
anyway.

If at all possible get a mentor to help you out with the contest.
There are a lot more qualified mentors than I but I would happy to
assist you any way I can.

I have every intention of flying the Sport Class at Region 8 next year
and possibly assisting the the 18 meter Nationals. I have flown sports
class for quite a few years as I tried to keep up with the 15 meter
ships. But my HP18 just can't keep up with the new ASW27's and simlar
ships. I haven't raced at all for a couple years for budgetary reasons
but hope most of that will be resolved next year.

As one note I would like to see the rules changed for some contests to
allow more communication during the contests, Perhaps at the CD
discretion. It would be nice be able to Team Fly with new contest
pilots and lead them around the course. I know that it is a turn off
for many pilots that they go fly for 3 or 4 hours around the contest
couse and don't talk to anyone other than occasional position
reports.. When what they really like is the social aspect of the
flying and the conversation that occurs while doing so, this doesn't
typically happen at contest. Having more open communication would make
the flying more like any other saturday afternoon flight. Of course
some pilots don't care to listen to the chatter, but other do and I am
certainly not recommending this for all contests but I think some
sports class contests would beneifit from this and get more
particiaption as a result. I agree there may be some saftey concerns
about this and as a result it might have to be limited to smaller
contests.

I am not that familar with the proposed Club Class, But i agree it
would be nice to have an intermediate handicapped class that fit
between the Sports class and the15 Meter Class. Perhaps this would
resolve some of the problems with having Nationals on opposite side of
the country if the Sports class was West Coast when the Club class was
East Coast and vica versa.

Hope to see you at Ephrata 2009.

Brian Case
CFIIG/ASEL
HP16T N16VP "V6"
  #17  
Old September 21st 08, 07:04 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
noel.wade
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 681
Default SRA Poll

Thanks, Brian.

I appreciate the info, but that's sort of tangential to my point.

The shortest summary of my original point is this: Don't get too
fancy with the handicapped classes in a way that might further
increase the difficulties or intimidation-factor that first-time
competitors have to deal with. Don't exclude ships that first-time-
buyers or club pilots might be using to fly their first competition.

Take care,

--Noel

  #18  
Old September 22nd 08, 04:13 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,124
Default SRA Poll

On Sep 19, 11:34*pm, "noel.wade" wrote:
OK, time for a total newbie (to competition) to chime in...

As a 30-year-old 110-hour glider pilot (having watched DVDs like "A
Fine Week of Soaring" and "Gladiators of the Sky", and seeing the
discussions of renowned champions online), race events are
intimidating! *Its a supportive community and I am thrilled at the
seemingly fierce-but-still-friendly competition - however that doesn't
stop the event from being intimidating. *There are all kinds of rules,
scoring issues, the potential for new and strange terrain or flying
challenges - oh, AND the fact that you're going to be compared to some
really good pilots!

If you want to lure new folks in like me (I was going to fly Region 8
this year but work prevented it), you need to provide an EASY avenue
to do it. *The World Class has failed (speaking as someone who bought
a Russia AC-4), the Standard & 15-meter classes are seemingly chock-
full of fancy and expensive racers, and the 18m or Open class are just
unthinkable in terms of dollar amounts for most folks! *Look at me - I
was making $30/hour when I bought my Russia, I don't have a mortgage
to pay (just rent on a small apartment), and I have no car payment...
I live on the expensive West Coast (Seattle area), but I make a higher-
than-average wage compared to the general populace and even then a
$20k glider-budget was just about all I could justify. *Frankly I
think part of the reason the average glider-pilot-age is so high is
because it takes until retirement to be able to afford a $100k
"modern" glider!!! :-)

Looking at the numbers and the barriers to entry: if the SRA wants to
draw more people in, they need to concentrate on a non-intimidating
and easy-to-get-into class for new folks to try it out. *It can be
competitive, it can have good pilots, and it can include fancy
aircraft (I don't think most newbies want to be coddled or need to be
guaranteed a trophy their first time out) - but it needs to be
straightforward and pilots need to be able to "run what they brung"
without worries over SSA vs IGC vs FAI technicalities / crap. *They
need to be able to experience the competition without a major
commitment, and _then_ if they like it they will start spending lots
of time and money to get better gear and compete at higher levels -
but those choices and priorities won't come until AFTER they have
tried a basic event or two.

I strongly believe that the idea of classes which help grow sailplane
racing and promote the sport of gliding in general have NOTHING to do
with International competition or the selection of a US Team. *Look at
auto-racing as a guide - I used to be heavily involved in that sport
and have crewed or driven in NASCAR, Autocrosses, SCCA Road-course
racing, Off-road Rally, Trans-Am events, and more... *No matter what
the racing format, the people seriously vying for a "national team" or
international competition are always an EXTREMELY small sub-set of the
overall competitor population. *And the reasons for that are obvious -
you not only have to have the talent and skill to be a top-tier
competitor, but you have to have the time, money, and equipment; and
these can be formidable obstacles to the average competitor! *There is
no denying the special atmosphere and excitement of a National or
World championship; but while that might inspire some existing pilots
and competitors to "aim high", it won't do much for getting new folks
into competition.

Let's look at a more specific example: *Autocrossing. *This form of
auto-sport can be done by anyone with a street-legal car that has
seatbelts. *It costs $20 - $30 for a day of competition at the basic
"club" or "local" level. *The competition itself only involves 3 or 4
laps around a 1-minute course; but the barriers to entry are SO low
that events near major cities can draw 100 - 200 competitors per day,
and do so consistently over an 8 to 16-event season! *The next level
of autocross competition in the USA is the "National Tour" events or
the "Pro Solo" events put on by the SCCA. *These follow a similar
format to the "club" autocross events, but competition is a 2-day
affair, the average level of skill is higher, and the venues are
typically nicer. *Costs increase by a factor of 5 or 10, but
surprisingly the attendance levels are still pretty good. *Since 1 or
2 of these "Tour" type events are held in almost every State, a
motivated competitor can go to a handful of these events each year
without travelling too far (and it helps that the Tour events are only
a "long-weekend" affair, even with a day of travel). *The National
Championship is held in the middle of the country (Topeka, KS) every
year, so that people from one coast or another don't have any special
advantage in terms of travel distance or "home field". *The
championship event hosts a seriously-large number of competitors (I
think its somewhere around 600) over a week-long event, and it is
quite a sight to see!

But here's the crux of the issue: *EVEN if they _double_ the number of
competitors at the National Championship, they're only adding 500 or
600 participants in total. *AND most of those would likely be people
already competing at the mid-level events. *Furthermore, given the
cost and time-commitment for this week-long event (on the part of
competitors AND organizers) it would be a monumental task to try to
grow that single event by that much. *In contrast, growing the "club"
competitions by only 10% - 20% would add a HUGE number of new
participants, since there are literally hundreds of "local" Autocross
events held each year. *If each local event averages 60 participants,
a simple 10% growth at 100 events would add as many new competitors
(and likely far more fresh faces to the sport) as doubling the big
National Championship - and it would do so with less cost and fewer
organizational headaches. *And if your competition structure is good,
some of those new faces WILL go on to compete at the higher levels and
push those numbers up, too - just not by any huge amounts (because the
hurdles are simply too great for most people).

Returning to Soaring: *I don't know all the ins and outs of the
various "Club" and "Sports" classes - but a basic competitor shouldn't
HAVE to be an expert. *They should be able to sign up as a newbie in a
simple class (an indexed or handicapped class is fine), and get to
compete against others. *If folks are concerned about aligning
themselves with International Championships or some other goal that
suits "higher levels of competition", they need to do so in a way that
does NOT have any impact on the entry-level pilots.

Thanks for listening/reading,

--Noel

For the curious, here's a little more background about me:
-----
In addition to my glider-time, I have 100 hours in power (got my PPL
SEL in mid-2006, about a year before getting my Glider rating). *The
first 20 hours in gliders were spent in club aircraft - mostly
Blaniks, in weak conditions near Seattle, WA. *I then bought a Russia
AC-4 and flew that for about 40 hours over a 10-month period - again,
mostly in weak-weather conditions. *I studied like crazy, read every
book I could find on gliding, XC-flying, and weather... and I did a
lot of work with flight simulators like Condor. *I wanted to enter the
Region 8 competition this year in Ephrata, but work prevented me from
having the time AND I'd never officially gotten my Silver badge
(although I had some 100 - 150km flights in my Russia). *Fortunately
the insane work I did this year earned me a big promotion, and I was
able to step up to a primo DG-300. *Its not a top competitor according
to all of the pundits; but for me it had the best blend of performance
(in the 40:1 or better category of gliders), ergonomics, and safety.
I acquired the glider in July and added about 50 hours to my Log-book
in July and August alone. *Most of my flights in the DG have been
300km - 400km jaunts out in Ephrata, WA. *I'm eager to take my skills
and experience and try competition, but I have a full-time job and
would like to own a house or a condo someday; so you're not going to
see me buying a high-dollar ship or traveling all over the country
anytime soon. *I believe that I'm not alone in having limited time and
money to devote to the sport, even though it is my biggest passion.


Noel:
You are right in the "target market".
Your glider is just right for the sports class and will fit into club
as that comes about. It is also good enough to be competitive in
regionals in standard class and even your first nationals. When you
get to 95% of the winners score in the FAI classes , you may ne ready
for a better glider.
Some things that are available and being done to try to help you get
going:
1) Read the SRA publication on starting competition soaring. It covers
pretty much everything
you need to understand in order to get started.
2) Enter the next available race, ideally not in a site that will
intimidate you. You want to start at a contest
at your home site if you are lucky enough to have one there.
3) Not having a ranking ensures you get in to your first contest
because we have provided a limited number, usually 5 slots for
unranked pilots to get in and try racing.
4) Ask your contest organizers if they can arrange for an experienced
competition pilot to lead a "rookie school" for you and the other new
guys. I have been teaching these for about 20 years and have gotten
good results with new guys having a lot of fun and avoiding some of
the usual frustrating beginners mistakes. At Perry and Dansville this
year we also introduced winners speeches from the best rookie each
day.
5) If the organizers can't do #4, they can certainly find you a
mentor.
The current sports class is a great way to get started in competition.
Some of the contemplated changes have potential to make "economy
class"(not intended to be a snotty term) better, but there is geat
opportunity now.
Jump in and give it a try.
UH
  #19  
Old September 22nd 08, 11:09 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
noel.wade
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Posts: 681
Default SRA Poll

On Sep 22, 8:13*am, wrote:

Noel:
You are right in the "target market".
Your glider is just right for the sports class and will fit into club
as that comes about. It is also good enough to be competitive in
regionals in standard class and even your first nationals. When you


UH -

Thanks, one would hope that many gliders would be suitable in an
indexed/handicapped class... That's the idea of having a handicap in
the first place! :-)

My concern is the fact that having multiple handicapped classes might
split the field and/or confuse newcomers. The knee-jerk reaction by
newcomers is to be relieved to have the top-tier guys in a different
class, but ultimately it waters down the competition and differences
in the index/handicap values will lead to all sorts of wrangling about
who and what can or can't win in a particular class. We see this in
auto-racing all the time - people will buy a specific car for a season
or two, so that they have an easier shot at winning with a specific
handicap. That would be to the detriment of your basic competitors
who haven't the funds or the experience to hop around between
different ships.


Some things that are available and being done to try to help you get
going:


Thanks for the tips! I've done a bunch of reading and preparation
over the last several months already. I am lucky to have the Region 8
contest nearby, although I might look at driving to another Regional
on the west coast next year if it happens earlier in the season. Our
group doesn't tend to do mentoring in competition (at least in terms
of the flying part), BUT they do hold a couple of XC seminars each
year where folks do lead-and-follow type flights; and the local pilots
in the northwest have been more than generous in sharing their
knowledge and assistance. Having a talk or two with the first-timers
before the flying begins would be great, though - to help avoid those
rookie mistakes.

Oh, and there's one more preparation item you forgot to mention: The
all-important Silver Badge. That was the #2 reason I didn't make the
competition in Ephrata this year. Work time-pressures were #1, but
they had the effect of squeezing me down to only a 3 day window right
before the competition to try for my Silver... And with no guarantees
on the weather, it just wasn't solid enough for me to make that leap.

Thanks, take care,

--Noel
P.S. Totally on a tangent, but there is another frustrating reason I
think competition (and general soaring-pilot) numbers are dwindling:
Very few CFIGs that I have flown with are interested in Cross-country
flying, and few of them promote it or competition-flying. Seems like
a darn shame and a tremendous waste of an opportunitiy, since XC
soaring - to me - is the best way to keep people involved in the sport
over the long-term. I don't care who you are, local soaring around
the airport is *going* to get boring at some point, and you're going
to get tired of paying the (rising) tow-fees to simply hover near the
airfield!

 




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