A aviation & planes forum. AviationBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » AviationBanter forum » rec.aviation newsgroups » Soaring
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Are OLC and Contest Soaring really that different?



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #11  
Old March 1st 12, 03:34 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Mike[_37_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 72
Default Are OLC and Contest Soaring really that different?

On Feb 29, 6:49*pm, Papa3 wrote:
On Wednesday, February 29, 2012 5:11:39 PM UTC-5, Sean Fidler wrote:
Some observations:


OLC:
Get in your glider and go as far as you can, as fast as you can. *Start whenever you want. *Turn in your file and you’re done. *Before the flight you look at the weather and plan to use it to maximize your flight distance within the given local & conditions. *1000+ pilots. *Very few rules. *Growing.


Contest Soaring:
Register, fill out forms, insurance, etc, etc. *Travel to the contest site. *Go to the pilots meeting (safety, etc). *Listen to the weather briefing. *Beforehand the CD and task committee have looked at the weather, terrain, etc and planned a task that takes the pilots into the best flying conditions possible. *Grid and launch when told. * Once in the air, at some point, the start gate is opened. *Start whenever you want. *Maximize your flight distance and speed in an AAT or MAT task (more and more common with handicap based classes, AT's are very rare) within the given condition’s as planned for you by the task committee. *When done turn in your file. *Lots of rules. *Around 100 pilots. *Declining attendance in general with the exception of a couple rare regional contests.


I very much enjoy both modes. *A have flown more in contests than OLC.. *But (based on the recent debates) when you think about it these two forms of glider competition are really much more similar than one might think in terms of flying challenge and actual process.


Especially if you consider a group of friends flying on the same day and out of the same flying field.


I'll bite. *Leaving aside logistics and all the other stuff, let's look at the differences around the competition on a given day:

Tasking:
- *OLC: Get to the airport and see how it looks as you launch or maybe even after you get in the air. *Head off in the best direction. * If you don't don't like the looks after a few miles, head off in another direction. *If that doesn't work, pick a third. Heck, if it doesn't look as good as you thought it would be, go back to the airport and practice low saves. * You can always fly another day.

- *Racing Task: *Fly the task as determined by the CD and his/her competition comittee based on weather progged that morning and maybe (maybe not) updated at the time of launch. * *If there's a blue hole 20 miles out on the first leg, figure out whether to climb in weak lift before the blue hole or drive on through hoping for a low save on the far side. *No turning back now. * Oh, and that big cirrus shelf that moved in faster than predicted... cut now and run for the second turn or dive deep hoping the good conditions stay put for a little longer. * Quit now or make a wrong decision and get hammered in the standings.

Turnpoint Strategy

- *OLC: *This last cloud looks like a great place to turn.

- *Racing Task: *The CD gave us a 20 mile radius TAT. *Looks better to the West, but that cuts the second leg short. *If I end up making better time than I thought on the second leg, I'll have to go deep into the notorious Swamp River sinkhole. *Or, even worse, I cut all the turns too short and I'm 20 minutes early. *At 60 Miles Per hour I threw away 20 miles that the other guys got. That's 10% on this 3 hour TAT. * Goodbye 100 points...

Start Strategy
- *OLC: *Staying up nicely. *Guess I'll head out.

- *Racing Task: *Okay, so I'm figuring on around 60mph today, with the day dying around 5:00. *It's a 220 mile AAT, so I need to be on course by around 1:30 latest. *But, none of these other guys seems to be starting. *I sure don't want to be out there alone on a blue day. *But I don't wanna play start gate roulette much longer. *Please KS, take a start now..

Gaggle Flying

- *OLC: *My buddy Alpha Bravo caught up with, how nice. *We can fly together now.

- *Racing Task: *That ******* Alpha Bravo started 20 minutes behind me and he caught up to me. *If I stay with him the rest of the way, he's got me smoked. But if I head out alone, I run the risk of hitting the dirt. *Damn. *Where did KS gaggle go?

Final Glide

- *OLC: *I'm 30 miles out. * Just hit a nice 3 knotter. *Yeah, it's not the best thermal I've seen all day, but it's pretty good. *What's another few minutes in the climb? *Why risk soiling my shorts...

- *Racing Task: *I'm 30 miles out. * Damn - best I can find is a 3 knotter. *DJ says the way to go is to "bump up" to final glide. *Well, I'm 2,000 low, but here goes nothin'...

Religion

- *OLC: *Down to 1,000 feet. *Thank you God for that 1 knotter. *Better hang on to this one for a while.

- *Racing Task: *Down to 1,000 feet. *God dammit - can't you do better than 1 knot?! *Those guys are KILLING me! *God dammit! * Lord, I promise if you just give me 3 knots, I'll go to church every Sunday for the rest of my life.

Those are just a few of the things I can think of that make Racing Tasks very different from the OLC. *And lest anyone accuse me of being a snob, remember that I started one of the very first Internet-enabled decentralized contests way back in 1997, a couple of years before the current OLC. *I'm sold on the idea. *I actively participate. *My club's #1 in the OLC in the US. * I'm just realistic that they are distant cousins on the family tree of XC Soaring.


LOL!!
  #12  
Old March 1st 12, 04:39 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Ramy
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 746
Default Are OLC and Contest Soaring really that different?

On Feb 29, 6:34*pm, Mike wrote:
On Feb 29, 6:49*pm, Papa3 wrote:



On Wednesday, February 29, 2012 5:11:39 PM UTC-5, Sean Fidler wrote:
Some observations:


OLC:
Get in your glider and go as far as you can, as fast as you can. *Start whenever you want. *Turn in your file and you’re done. *Before the flight you look at the weather and plan to use it to maximize your flight distance within the given local & conditions. *1000+ pilots. *Very few rules. *Growing.


Contest Soaring:
Register, fill out forms, insurance, etc, etc. *Travel to the contest site. *Go to the pilots meeting (safety, etc). *Listen to the weather briefing. *Beforehand the CD and task committee have looked at the weather, terrain, etc and planned a task that takes the pilots into the best flying conditions possible. *Grid and launch when told. * Once in the air, at some point, the start gate is opened. *Start whenever you want. *Maximize your flight distance and speed in an AAT or MAT task (more and more common with handicap based classes, AT's are very rare) within the given condition’s as planned for you by the task committee. *When done turn in your file. *Lots of rules. *Around 100 pilots. *Declining attendance in general with the exception of a couple rare regional contests.


I very much enjoy both modes. *A have flown more in contests than OLC. *But (based on the recent debates) when you think about it these two forms of glider competition are really much more similar than one might think in terms of flying challenge and actual process.


Especially if you consider a group of friends flying on the same day and out of the same flying field.


I'll bite. *Leaving aside logistics and all the other stuff, let's look at the differences around the competition on a given day:


Tasking:
- *OLC: Get to the airport and see how it looks as you launch or maybe even after you get in the air. *Head off in the best direction. * If you don't don't like the looks after a few miles, head off in another direction. *If that doesn't work, pick a third. Heck, if it doesn't look as good as you thought it would be, go back to the airport and practice low saves. * You can always fly another day.


- *Racing Task: *Fly the task as determined by the CD and his/her competition comittee based on weather progged that morning and maybe (maybe not) updated at the time of launch. * *If there's a blue hole 20 miles out on the first leg, figure out whether to climb in weak lift before the blue hole or drive on through hoping for a low save on the far side. *No turning back now. * Oh, and that big cirrus shelf that moved in faster than predicted... cut now and run for the second turn or dive deep hoping the good conditions stay put for a little longer. * Quit now or make a wrong decision and get hammered in the standings.


Turnpoint Strategy


- *OLC: *This last cloud looks like a great place to turn.


- *Racing Task: *The CD gave us a 20 mile radius TAT. *Looks better to the West, but that cuts the second leg short. *If I end up making better time than I thought on the second leg, I'll have to go deep into the notorious Swamp River sinkhole. *Or, even worse, I cut all the turns too short and I'm 20 minutes early. *At 60 Miles Per hour I threw away 20 miles that the other guys got. That's 10% on this 3 hour TAT. * Goodbye 100 points...


Start Strategy
- *OLC: *Staying up nicely. *Guess I'll head out.


- *Racing Task: *Okay, so I'm figuring on around 60mph today, with the day dying around 5:00. *It's a 220 mile AAT, so I need to be on course by around 1:30 latest. *But, none of these other guys seems to be starting. *I sure don't want to be out there alone on a blue day. *But I don't wanna play start gate roulette much longer. *Please KS, take a start now.


Gaggle Flying


- *OLC: *My buddy Alpha Bravo caught up with, how nice. *We can fly together now.


- *Racing Task: *That ******* Alpha Bravo started 20 minutes behind me and he caught up to me. *If I stay with him the rest of the way, he's got me smoked. But if I head out alone, I run the risk of hitting the dirt.. *Damn. *Where did KS gaggle go?


Final Glide


- *OLC: *I'm 30 miles out. * Just hit a nice 3 knotter. *Yeah, it's not the best thermal I've seen all day, but it's pretty good. *What's another few minutes in the climb? *Why risk soiling my shorts...


- *Racing Task: *I'm 30 miles out. * Damn - best I can find is a 3 knotter. *DJ says the way to go is to "bump up" to final glide. *Well, I'm 2,000 low, but here goes nothin'...


Religion


- *OLC: *Down to 1,000 feet. *Thank you God for that 1 knotter. *Better hang on to this one for a while.


- *Racing Task: *Down to 1,000 feet. *God dammit - can't you do better than 1 knot?! *Those guys are KILLING me! *God dammit! * Lord, I promise if you just give me 3 knots, I'll go to church every Sunday for the rest of my life.


Those are just a few of the things I can think of that make Racing Tasks very different from the OLC. *And lest anyone accuse me of being a snob, remember that I started one of the very first Internet-enabled decentralized contests way back in 1997, a couple of years before the current OLC. *I'm sold on the idea. *I actively participate. *My club's #1 in the OLC in the US. * I'm just realistic that they are distant cousins on the family tree of XC Soaring.


LOL!!


LOL indeed!
And as an avid OLC participant, I couldn't agree more. It is very
different from racing tasks. This is why I like it more...

Ramy
  #13  
Old March 1st 12, 04:43 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Sean Fidler
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,005
Default Are OLC and Contest Soaring really that different?


  #14  
Old March 1st 12, 05:09 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
ASM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 79
Default Are OLC and Contest Soaring really that different?

On Wednesday, February 29, 2012 2:58:56 PM UTC-8, noel.wade wrote:
On Feb 29, 2:18*pm, Bob Kuykendall wrote:
I very much enjoy both modes...


It doesn't sound that way from the way you've described it.

Thanks, Bob K.


Bob -

You're a tech/web-savvy guy, so I know you can figure out this
acronym: DNFTT. :-)

Thanks,

--Noel


Noel,

And your point is?

Jacek
  #15  
Old March 2nd 12, 03:28 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Papa3[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 753
Default Are OLC and Contest Soaring really that different?


And just in case anyone needed further proof that OLC Pilots and Racing Pilots are different: http://tinyurl.com/7j6b7mq
  #16  
Old March 2nd 12, 04:43 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Sean Fidler
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,005
Default Are OLC and Contest Soaring really that different?

On Thursday, March 1, 2012 9:28:46 PM UTC-5, Papa3 wrote:
And just in case anyone needed further proof that OLC Pilots and Racing Pilots are different: http://tinyurl.com/7j6b7mq


Exactly my point...

Why are OLC pilots somehow targets? Wow....
  #17  
Old March 2nd 12, 05:18 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Papa3[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 753
Default Are OLC and Contest Soaring really that different?

On Thursday, March 1, 2012 10:43:38 PM UTC-5, Sean Fidler wrote:
On Thursday, March 1, 2012 9:28:46 PM UTC-5, Papa3 wrote:
And just in case anyone needed further proof that OLC Pilots and Racing Pilots are different: http://tinyurl.com/7j6b7mq


Exactly my point...

Why are OLC pilots somehow targets? Wow....


Wow. Just wow. I hearby rename you Cameron. Free back seat ride on the ridge to first person to figure out the reference. Anyone? Anyone?
  #18  
Old March 2nd 12, 05:35 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
S. Murry
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 68
Default Are OLC and Contest Soaring really that different?

On Thu, 01 Mar 2012 22:18:16 -0600, Papa3 wrote:


"Pardon my French, but Cameron is so tight that if you stuck a lump of
coal up his ass, in two weeks you'd have a diamond."
--Ferris Bueller

Which Ridge?

--Stefan

On Thursday, March 1, 2012 10:43:38 PM UTC-5, Sean Fidler wrote:
On Thursday, March 1, 2012 9:28:46 PM UTC-5, Papa3 wrote:
And just in case anyone needed further proof that OLC Pilots and

Racing Pilots are different: http://tinyurl.com/7j6b7mq

Exactly my point...

Why are OLC pilots somehow targets? Wow....


Wow. Just wow. I hearby rename you Cameron. Free back seat ride on
the ridge to first person to figure out the reference. Anyone? Anyone?



--
Stefan Murry
  #19  
Old March 2nd 12, 01:01 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Papa3[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 753
Default Are OLC and Contest Soaring really that different?

Stefan,

Next time you're in New Jersey, look me up.

P3
  #20  
Old March 2nd 12, 05:19 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
ASM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 79
Default Are OLC and Contest Soaring really that different?

On Thursday, March 1, 2012 8:18:16 PM UTC-8, Papa3 wrote:
On Thursday, March 1, 2012 10:43:38 PM UTC-5, Sean Fidler wrote:
On Thursday, March 1, 2012 9:28:46 PM UTC-5, Papa3 wrote:
And just in case anyone needed further proof that OLC Pilots and Racing Pilots are different: http://tinyurl.com/7j6b7mq


Exactly my point...

Why are OLC pilots somehow targets? Wow....


Wow. Just wow. I hearby rename you Cameron. Free back seat ride on the ridge to first person to figure out the reference. Anyone? Anyone?


HAHAHAHAHA!!!! I can't answer it directly. If I did, the politically correct police would be chasing me for rest of my life.

Jacek
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Soaring Contest at Moriarty New Mexico Mike[_8_] Soaring 7 January 4th 11 08:43 PM
Region 8 USA Soaring Contest Roy Clark, \B6\ Soaring 4 June 25th 08 04:01 PM
Region 12 Soaring Contest g l i d e r s t u d Soaring 0 February 1st 06 06:59 AM
US Region 7 Soaring Contest Paul Remde Soaring 0 May 11th 05 03:19 PM
US Region 7 Soaring Contest Paul Remde Soaring 0 March 23rd 05 03:18 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 10:00 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 AviationBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.