End of Season Sunset Warning for SSA-OLC Participants

This is cross posted from the SSA Home News & Information General
News:

As the days get shorter as the end of the soaring season nears, the
SSA-OLC Committee has been receiving complaints about flights after
sunset without required aircraft lighting. Although the requirements
for night flight begin at twilight for pilots in the US, the
requirements for aircraft lighting begin at sunset. Gliders without
approved lighting must land, and move clear of lighted runways and
taxiways before sunset.

IGC flight logs contain a GPS time stamp which is the most exact time
standard readily available. So, violations of this requirement are
quite plain to see in these logs. The SSA Board was concerned about
flight logs with obvious violations damaging the sport if they were
posted in the public record of the OLC. So the board adopted a policy
disqualifying such flights from the OLC, as well as FAI awards such as
badges and records. See:

http://www.ssa.org/download/SSA%20Po...Violations.pdf

The SSA-OLC Committee prefers that pilots voluntarily remove the
flights, rather than having them removed by an admin. We have contacted
a number of pilots to request this, and they are currently in various
stages of the 5-step grieving process (denial, anger, bargaining,
depression, and acceptance). You can avoid this emotional roller
coaster by planning and executing your flights to be complete before
sunset, unless you have approved night lighting.

You can't just duct tape a flashlight to the nose for night flight. The
requirements for navigation lights are very specific to color,
intensity and direction. If your aircraft is equipped with approved
night lighting, and it was used for flight after sunset, you must put a
note in the comments section of the OLC claim form explaining this.

We also have been advised of flight claims that show altitudes in the
log well above the 18,000' MSL limit for Class-A airspace in the US.
The IGC logger altitude is subject to a number of errors, which could
total to several hundred feet. We are currently reviewing with the
pilots a number of flights that appear to exceed even a reasonable
error budget.

Note that unless your flight reference altimeter has been properly
calibrated for IFR flight, and is set to a current ATC altimeter
setting, you will need to allow an extra buffer below 18,000' MSL
indicated altitude to account for possible errors. If you have an
encounter with an IFR aircraft with calibrated altitude references, the
calibrated references and ATC logs will be used to determine your
actual altitude in any subsequent investigation.

Again, if your flight log shows flight above 18,000 MSL, after
correcting for field elevation at takeoff, you will need to provide an
explanation in the comments section of the OLC claim form explaining
this. The same requirement applies to entering special use airspace.
This will immediately answer any questions that may concern other
competitors, or anyone else reviewing your flight log in the future.

Finally, if you note a flight that appears to be questionable, do not
speculate in public forums (like news://rec.avation.soaring). Contact
the pilot privately if you can. If the flight is in the US, contact the
SSA-OLC Committee by email at olcatssadotorg. Or use the complaint
tab on the OLC Web header to initiate a partner check.

Doug Haluza
SSA-OLC Admin

Doug Haluza wrote:
intensity and direction. If your aircraft is equipped with approved
night lighting,

So has anyone in the USA investigated options to add lighting to a
sailplane?

The new generation of super bright LEDs seem to be a perfect solution
for us. They could even be embedded in various parts of the wingtip or
winglet. A couple AA batteries installed at each light location would
probably last 20 or more hours, so no need to run wires. But since
current draw would be quite low, a fairly lightweight wire would be
suitable.

-Tom

"GC flight logs contain a GPS time stamp which is the most exact time
standard readily available. So, violations of this requirement are
quite plain to see in these logs."

Unfortunately, sunset doesn't come with a GPS timestamp, so I'm afraid
this isn't as easy as you make it sound.

Yes, I know there are standard tables of sunset times, but these make
assumptions that may not be exactly correct and at a given location
actual sunset may differ from the calculated one by many minutes.
(Ask any local physicist./astronomer).

Of course, gross violations are pretty obvious, but I have operated
from a field where landing to the west is best done after the sun has
descended behind mountains, which usually occurs close to the time of
"official" sunset and is standard practice by those flying late.

Methinks all this scrutiny of flight logs is getting a bit too
intrusive and nit-picky.

Mike

Mike the Strike wrote:
"IGC flight logs contain a GPS time stamp which is the most exact time
standard readily available. So, violations of this requirement are
quite plain to see in these logs."

Unfortunately, sunset doesn't come with a GPS timestamp, so I'm afraid
this isn't as easy as you make it sound.

Yes, I know there are standard tables of sunset times, but these make
assumptions that may not be exactly correct and at a given location
actual sunset may differ from the calculated one by many minutes.
(Ask any local physicist./astronomer).

Of course, gross violations are pretty obvious, but I have operated
from a field where landing to the west is best done after the sun has
descended behind mountains, which usually occurs close to the time of
"official" sunset and is standard practice by those flying late.

Methinks all this scrutiny of flight logs is getting a bit too
intrusive and nit-picky.

Mike

The apparent movement of the sun in the sky is known very precisely (we
have been observing the sun for centuries). The only variable is the
refraction of the atmosphere, which changes the precise angle at which
the sun appears to pass below the local horizon. Various sunset
calculations use different refraction calculations, so they may differ
by a few minutes, but not "many minutes". The time of actual sunset may
also vary by a few minutes from the calculated value. The US Naval
Observatory has a sunrise/sunset calculator available online, and this
is probably the most reliable source for sunset times.

Unfortunately there is widespread ignorance of the sunset rule for
aircraft lighting, despite the fact that it has remained unchanged for
many years--longer than most pilots have been flying. So, we have seen
a few gross violations posted to OLC.

The point of all this is to get pilots to self-police, and not post
these flights in the first place. They should not be making flights
that continue after sunset witout lights anyway, but we certainly don't
want to see them on the OLC in any case.

P.S. The sun will appear to set below mountains before official sunset
when at an altitude lower than the mountains, becase the mountains will
appear to project above the local horizon.

P.P.S. Note that the sun will appear to set later than official sunset
when flying for the opposite reason--the local horizon appears to be
depressed. So you will need to enter the pattern to land well before
the sun appears to be setting in flight.

Doug,

May I make some suggestions? (1) Do not change OLC rules mid-season. (2) If
you insist on checking all traces for certain violations, do it at the time
of claim -- automatically -- and reject those that do not pass, there and
then.

Going back through the season and arbitrarily hand-picking "bad" flights
seems like huge waste of time -- yours and everybody else's.

More generally, I can't help but notice that OLC has become a much worse
place since SSA got involved. It started with a huge ugly STATIONARY banner
on top of SSA-OLC page that serves no good purpose but to generate
advertisement income for SSA at the expense of users' screen space. I
checked other national OLCs, and the ONLY three out of 29 that do this
tasteless disservice to their users are AT, FR and US.

Now this policing of the traces. OLC used to be an extremely valuable tool
for sharing and learning. I used to rave about it and promote it to all my
soaring friends. Still, I estimate that only about one-third of the pilots I
know post their flights. Which is a pity, because those who do NOT post tend
to be the more experienced and wiser pilots. See any connection?

You can count the "stages" in the "process", but I do not see how you can
count on the last one being acceptance. Many did not accept OLC to begin
with and still fewer will if the current trends with SSA-OLC continue. The
rate of participation will be further diminishing, as will be the value of
the OLC to the rest of us. Pity.

Once again, U.S.A. shows the way.

Thank you.
--
Yuliy Gerchikov


"Doug Haluza" wrote in message
oups.com...
This is cross posted from the SSA Home News & Information General
News:

As the days get shorter as the end of the soaring season nears, the
SSA-OLC Committee has been receiving complaints about flights after
sunset without required aircraft lighting. Although the requirements
for night flight begin at twilight for pilots in the US, the
requirements for aircraft lighting begin at sunset. Gliders without
approved lighting must land, and move clear of lighted runways and
taxiways before sunset.

IGC flight logs contain a GPS time stamp which is the most exact time
standard readily available. So, violations of this requirement are
quite plain to see in these logs. The SSA Board was concerned about
flight logs with obvious violations damaging the sport if they were
posted in the public record of the OLC. So the board adopted a policy
disqualifying such flights from the OLC, as well as FAI awards such as
badges and records. See:

http://www.ssa.org/download/SSA%20Po...Violations.pdf

The SSA-OLC Committee prefers that pilots voluntarily remove the
flights, rather than having them removed by an admin. We have contacted
a number of pilots to request this, and they are currently in various
stages of the 5-step grieving process (denial, anger, bargaining,
depression, and acceptance). You can avoid this emotional roller
coaster by planning and executing your flights to be complete before
sunset, unless you have approved night lighting.

You can't just duct tape a flashlight to the nose for night flight. The
requirements for navigation lights are very specific to color,
intensity and direction. If your aircraft is equipped with approved
night lighting, and it was used for flight after sunset, you must put a
note in the comments section of the OLC claim form explaining this.

We also have been advised of flight claims that show altitudes in the
log well above the 18,000' MSL limit for Class-A airspace in the US.
The IGC logger altitude is subject to a number of errors, which could
total to several hundred feet. We are currently reviewing with the
pilots a number of flights that appear to exceed even a reasonable
error budget.

Note that unless your flight reference altimeter has been properly
calibrated for IFR flight, and is set to a current ATC altimeter
setting, you will need to allow an extra buffer below 18,000' MSL
indicated altitude to account for possible errors. If you have an
encounter with an IFR aircraft with calibrated altitude references, the
calibrated references and ATC logs will be used to determine your
actual altitude in any subsequent investigation.

Again, if your flight log shows flight above 18,000 MSL, after
correcting for field elevation at takeoff, you will need to provide an
explanation in the comments section of the OLC claim form explaining
this. The same requirement applies to entering special use airspace.
This will immediately answer any questions that may concern other
competitors, or anyone else reviewing your flight log in the future.

Finally, if you note a flight that appears to be questionable, do not
speculate in public forums (like news://rec.avation.soaring). Contact
the pilot privately if you can. If the flight is in the US, contact the
SSA-OLC Committee by email at olcatssadotorg. Or use the complaint
tab on the OLC Web header to initiate a partner check.

Doug Haluza
SSA-OLC Admin

12. Airspace Violations
The OLC organizers have to assume that the participants
in the contest will not violate restricted airspace
during their flights. ATC clearances are necessary
to enter certain airspace. The OLC team will not check
if a pilot has obtained the necessary clearance to
enter airspace which needs ATC clearance. This is not
within our competences and responsibilities. However,
if we get to know that there has been an obvious violation
of airspace then we reserve the right to carry out
special actions against that pilot and his participation
in the OLC. Of course every pilot is allowed to contact
other pilots in case of a potential airspace violation.

What rules are they changing? Is busting FAR's okay
if they do not specify not to? Will your insurance
pay a claim if you get hit at FL200 or flying after
sunset? If we as a group knowingly allow cheating
to occur, are we liable as well? If pilots want to
fly illegally, they don't need to post logs for the
rest of us to see.

I wish pilots flew in accordance to the *privilege*
of the license...then this discussion would be moot.
Calling enforcement an issue is a weak argument.




At 01:06 07 September 2006, Yuliy Gerchikov wrote:
Doug,

May I make some suggestions? (1) Do not change OLC
rules mid-season. (2) If
you insist on checking all traces for certain violations,
do it at the time
of claim -- automatically -- and reject those that
do not pass, there and
then.

Are you saying that 2/3 of the pilots you know are afraid to post
flights because they regularly bust FARs? Please tell me where you
fly?

At my home field, probably 3/4 of the pilots post their flights,
including the very best pilots.




Yuliy Gerchikov wrote:
Doug,

May I make some suggestions? (1) Do not change OLC rules mid-season. (2) If
you insist on checking all traces for certain violations, do it at the time
of claim -- automatically -- and reject those that do not pass, there and
then.

Going back through the season and arbitrarily hand-picking "bad" flights
seems like huge waste of time -- yours and everybody else's.

More generally, I can't help but notice that OLC has become a much worse
place since SSA got involved. It started with a huge ugly STATIONARY banner
on top of SSA-OLC page that serves no good purpose but to generate
advertisement income for SSA at the expense of users' screen space. I
checked other national OLCs, and the ONLY three out of 29 that do this
tasteless disservice to their users are AT, FR and US.

Now this policing of the traces. OLC used to be an extremely valuable tool
for sharing and learning. I used to rave about it and promote it to all my
soaring friends. Still, I estimate that only about one-third of the pilots I
know post their flights. Which is a pity, because those who do NOT post tend
to be the more experienced and wiser pilots. See any connection?

You can count the "stages" in the "process", but I do not see how you can
count on the last one being acceptance. Many did not accept OLC to begin
with and still fewer will if the current trends with SSA-OLC continue. The
rate of participation will be further diminishing, as will be the value of
the OLC to the rest of us. Pity.

Once again, U.S.A. shows the way.

Thank you.
--
Yuliy Gerchikov


"Doug Haluza" wrote in message
oups.com...
This is cross posted from the SSA Home News & Information General
News:

As the days get shorter as the end of the soaring season nears, the
SSA-OLC Committee has been receiving complaints about flights after
sunset without required aircraft lighting. Although the requirements
for night flight begin at twilight for pilots in the US, the
requirements for aircraft lighting begin at sunset. Gliders without
approved lighting must land, and move clear of lighted runways and
taxiways before sunset.

IGC flight logs contain a GPS time stamp which is the most exact time
standard readily available. So, violations of this requirement are
quite plain to see in these logs. The SSA Board was concerned about
flight logs with obvious violations damaging the sport if they were
posted in the public record of the OLC. So the board adopted a policy
disqualifying such flights from the OLC, as well as FAI awards such as
badges and records. See:

http://www.ssa.org/download/SSA%20Po...Violations.pdf

The SSA-OLC Committee prefers that pilots voluntarily remove the
flights, rather than having them removed by an admin. We have contacted
a number of pilots to request this, and they are currently in various
stages of the 5-step grieving process (denial, anger, bargaining,
depression, and acceptance). You can avoid this emotional roller
coaster by planning and executing your flights to be complete before
sunset, unless you have approved night lighting.

You can't just duct tape a flashlight to the nose for night flight. The
requirements for navigation lights are very specific to color,
intensity and direction. If your aircraft is equipped with approved
night lighting, and it was used for flight after sunset, you must put a
note in the comments section of the OLC claim form explaining this.

We also have been advised of flight claims that show altitudes in the
log well above the 18,000' MSL limit for Class-A airspace in the US.
The IGC logger altitude is subject to a number of errors, which could
total to several hundred feet. We are currently reviewing with the
pilots a number of flights that appear to exceed even a reasonable
error budget.

Note that unless your flight reference altimeter has been properly
calibrated for IFR flight, and is set to a current ATC altimeter
setting, you will need to allow an extra buffer below 18,000' MSL
indicated altitude to account for possible errors. If you have an
encounter with an IFR aircraft with calibrated altitude references, the
calibrated references and ATC logs will be used to determine your
actual altitude in any subsequent investigation.

Again, if your flight log shows flight above 18,000 MSL, after
correcting for field elevation at takeoff, you will need to provide an
explanation in the comments section of the OLC claim form explaining
this. The same requirement applies to entering special use airspace.
This will immediately answer any questions that may concern other
competitors, or anyone else reviewing your flight log in the future.

Finally, if you note a flight that appears to be questionable, do not
speculate in public forums (like news://rec.avation.soaring). Contact
the pilot privately if you can. If the flight is in the US, contact the
SSA-OLC Committee by email at olcatssadotorg. Or use the complaint
tab on the OLC Web header to initiate a partner check.

Doug Haluza
SSA-OLC Admin

Yuliy Gerchikov wrote:

More generally, I can't help but notice that OLC has become a much worse
place since SSA got involved. It started with a huge ugly STATIONARY banner
on top of SSA-OLC page that serves no good purpose but to generate
advertisement income for SSA at the expense of users' screen space.

Maybe it depends on your screen size: I didn't even notice it was
stationary and I don't think it's ugly. No problem here (19" monitor).


Now this policing of the traces. OLC used to be an extremely valuable tool
for sharing and learning. I used to rave about it and promote it to all my
soaring friends. Still, I estimate that only about one-third of the pilots I
know post their flights. Which is a pity, because those who do NOT post tend
to be the more experienced and wiser pilots. See any connection?

No, I don't. This SSA "policing problem" you mention didn't exist until
recently, so that couldn't be the reason those pilots didn't post. And,
it doesn't seem to be the case in Region 8 (experienced and wiser pilots
not posting): our most prolific posters are also our most experienced
pilots, though a few good pilots don't post their flights.

You can count the "stages" in the "process", but I do not see how you can
count on the last one being acceptance. Many did not accept OLC to begin
with and still fewer will if the current trends with SSA-OLC continue. The
rate of participation will be further diminishing, as will be the value of
the OLC to the rest of us. Pity.

If the people posting flights that appear to have illegal operations in
them decide to stop posting to the OLC, is that bad? Most of the flights
posted don't exceed 18,000', don't enter restricted airspace, and don't
fly after sunset, so maybe these restrictions won't deter most pilots.

Personally, I find participating in the OLC makes me a little more
cautious close to 18,000', a little more diligent near restricted
airspace, and bit more conservative when I get low. And that's not a bad
thing.

--
Note: email address new as of 9/4/2006
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA

"Transponders in Sailplanes" on the Soaring Safety Foundation website
www.soaringsafety.org/prevention/articles.html

"A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

Good points, Yuliy.
To avoid the SSA frame, you can use the following url:
http://www2.onlinecontest.org/olcphp...olc-usa&spr=en
May I add that a better use of the SSA banner would have been to
provide a Rules link which clearly state the rules, instead of hiding
it under "About" which most people never care to check. Instead, the
only "rules" link available is the international one which says nothing
about these sunset limitations, which many pilots were not aware of.
Also, the content of the rules section hidden under the "About" link
keep changing during the season, and worse, are reinforced
retroactively.

Ramy

Yuliy Gerchikov wrote:
Doug,

May I make some suggestions? (1) Do not change OLC rules mid-season. (2) If
you insist on checking all traces for certain violations, do it at the time
of claim -- automatically -- and reject those that do not pass, there and
then.

Going back through the season and arbitrarily hand-picking "bad" flights
seems like huge waste of time -- yours and everybody else's.

More generally, I can't help but notice that OLC has become a much worse
place since SSA got involved. It started with a huge ugly STATIONARY banner
on top of SSA-OLC page that serves no good purpose but to generate
advertisement income for SSA at the expense of users' screen space. I
checked other national OLCs, and the ONLY three out of 29 that do this
tasteless disservice to their users are AT, FR and US.

Now this policing of the traces. OLC used to be an extremely valuable tool
for sharing and learning. I used to rave about it and promote it to all my
soaring friends. Still, I estimate that only about one-third of the pilots I
know post their flights. Which is a pity, because those who do NOT post tend
to be the more experienced and wiser pilots. See any connection?

You can count the "stages" in the "process", but I do not see how you can
count on the last one being acceptance. Many did not accept OLC to begin
with and still fewer will if the current trends with SSA-OLC continue. The
rate of participation will be further diminishing, as will be the value of
the OLC to the rest of us. Pity.

Once again, U.S.A. shows the way.

Thank you.
--
Yuliy Gerchikov


"Doug Haluza" wrote in message
oups.com...
This is cross posted from the SSA Home News & Information General
News:

As the days get shorter as the end of the soaring season nears, the
SSA-OLC Committee has been receiving complaints about flights after
sunset without required aircraft lighting. Although the requirements
for night flight begin at twilight for pilots in the US, the
requirements for aircraft lighting begin at sunset. Gliders without
approved lighting must land, and move clear of lighted runways and
taxiways before sunset.

IGC flight logs contain a GPS time stamp which is the most exact time
standard readily available. So, violations of this requirement are
quite plain to see in these logs. The SSA Board was concerned about
flight logs with obvious violations damaging the sport if they were
posted in the public record of the OLC. So the board adopted a policy
disqualifying such flights from the OLC, as well as FAI awards such as
badges and records. See:

http://www.ssa.org/download/SSA%20Po...Violations.pdf

The SSA-OLC Committee prefers that pilots voluntarily remove the
flights, rather than having them removed by an admin. We have contacted
a number of pilots to request this, and they are currently in various
stages of the 5-step grieving process (denial, anger, bargaining,
depression, and acceptance). You can avoid this emotional roller
coaster by planning and executing your flights to be complete before
sunset, unless you have approved night lighting.

You can't just duct tape a flashlight to the nose for night flight. The
requirements for navigation lights are very specific to color,
intensity and direction. If your aircraft is equipped with approved
night lighting, and it was used for flight after sunset, you must put a
note in the comments section of the OLC claim form explaining this.

We also have been advised of flight claims that show altitudes in the
log well above the 18,000' MSL limit for Class-A airspace in the US.
The IGC logger altitude is subject to a number of errors, which could
total to several hundred feet. We are currently reviewing with the
pilots a number of flights that appear to exceed even a reasonable
error budget.

Note that unless your flight reference altimeter has been properly
calibrated for IFR flight, and is set to a current ATC altimeter
setting, you will need to allow an extra buffer below 18,000' MSL
indicated altitude to account for possible errors. If you have an
encounter with an IFR aircraft with calibrated altitude references, the
calibrated references and ATC logs will be used to determine your
actual altitude in any subsequent investigation.

Again, if your flight log shows flight above 18,000 MSL, after
correcting for field elevation at takeoff, you will need to provide an
explanation in the comments section of the OLC claim form explaining
this. The same requirement applies to entering special use airspace.
This will immediately answer any questions that may concern other
competitors, or anyone else reviewing your flight log in the future.

Finally, if you note a flight that appears to be questionable, do not
speculate in public forums (like news://rec.avation.soaring). Contact
the pilot privately if you can. If the flight is in the US, contact the
SSA-OLC Committee by email at olcatssadotorg. Or use the complaint
tab on the OLC Web header to initiate a partner check.

Doug Haluza
SSA-OLC Admin

Stewart,

You missed the point. Enforcement is not the issue here -- consistency is.

If you insist on enforcing certain rules, then (a) state them clearly, and
(b) enforce them all the time and not just on a whim. Checking flights at
the time of claim and rejecting those in violation might be OK. Going back
and pulling flights retroactively is not OK. Going back and pulling flights
*selectively* -- some but not the others with similar "violations" -- is
....I am gasping for words here, and "disgusting" is the RC1 so far. I don't
want to even get close to the question how, when and why they decide to pull
any given flight and not the next one -- I am afraid that would undermine
the last of my respect for humanity .
--
Yuliy


"Stewart Kissel" wrote in
message ...
12. Airspace Violations
The OLC organizers have to assume that the participants
in the contest will not violate restricted airspace
during their flights. ATC clearances are necessary
to enter certain airspace. The OLC team will not check
if a pilot has obtained the necessary clearance to
enter airspace which needs ATC clearance. This is not
within our competences and responsibilities. However,
if we get to know that there has been an obvious violation
of airspace then we reserve the right to carry out
special actions against that pilot and his participation
in the OLC. Of course every pilot is allowed to contact
other pilots in case of a potential airspace violation.

What rules are they changing? Is busting FAR's okay
if they do not specify not to? Will your insurance
pay a claim if you get hit at FL200 or flying after
sunset? If we as a group knowingly allow cheating
to occur, are we liable as well? If pilots want to
fly illegally, they don't need to post logs for the
rest of us to see.

I wish pilots flew in accordance to the *privilege*
of the license...then this discussion would be moot.
Calling enforcement an issue is a weak argument.




At 01:06 07 September 2006, Yuliy Gerchikov wrote:
Doug,

May I make some suggestions? (1) Do not change OLC
rules mid-season. (2) If
you insist on checking all traces for certain violations,
do it at the time
of claim -- automatically -- and reject those that
do not pass, there and
then.