The 11 best things at the 2015 15m/Std Class Nationals at Harris Hill

The evident organization behind this well-run contest started with informative pre-contest emails from XC and extended throughout. Yeah, we got lucky on the weather. But everything else about the contest was spot on, including all the little details (tie downs, camping accommodations, dinners, etc.) that can add or detract. And a scorer (Doug Martin) who never seemed impatient or set upon despite our many requests...and who uploaded scores each day to the SSA site faster than we could have visited a paper copy tacked up in the Flight Center.

Just to reiterate, Monty Sullivan did a great job as CD, responsive to input but solidly in control the whole way without the noise and posturing of a control freak: a lesson in how to manage the egos in this very individualistic sport.

And, yes, a FINISH LINE!!! (sigh). Just like the old days. I felt like I was 40 again. Fun for pilots, staff, and spectators. I recall the PA system announcing tasks and finishers when I first visited Harris Hill in 1968 as a teenager, and it's still a nice feature.

Thanks to all.

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"
U.S.A.

On Thursday, August 6, 2015 at 1:41:28 PM UTC-5, ND wrote:
I have to strongly agree with everything but particularly numbers one, two, SEVEN(oh god number seven was great) nine, and eleven. sure it was my home turf, but i enjoyed the racing, the camaraderie, and the social aspect of it immensely. Elmira is not to be underestimated! Thanks to everyone involved, not least of whom is XC himself. I'm glad to see so many shared my feelings about the contest, it's one I wont forget, despite all the beer.

-ND

Amazing. After all the angst over the past years about coming up with a "safer" way to finish because the line finish was just so dangerous, we rediscover the fun of it without any carnage!

What's next, actual crews at a contest?

Wish I had been there! ;^)

Kirk
66

Amazing. After all the angst over the past years about coming up with a "safer" way to finish because the line finish was just so dangerous, we rediscover the fun of it without any carnage!


I know you guys are trolling a bit here, but let's remember a few facts.

Elmira is uniquely suited to a finish line, because it in effect is a finish cylinder. If you don't make the finish, you glide down and land in the valley. Few other airports have this lovely circumstance.

The real problem of the finish line is not the danger of the line itself -- though there were quite a few stall/spin accidents, including fatalities, in the good old days. The real problem is the marginal final glide. Again, not a problem at Elmira. A much bigger problem out west with one runway and nowhere to land in the last 10 miles.

And, one contest without accident does not suddenly erase 50 years of statistics.

John Cochrane BB

On Thursday, August 6, 2015 at 4:55:07 PM UTC-4, John Cochrane wrote:
Amazing. After all the angst over the past years about coming up with a "safer" way to finish because the line finish was just so dangerous, we rediscover the fun of it without any carnage!


I know you guys are trolling a bit here, but let's remember a few facts.

Elmira is uniquely suited to a finish line, because it in effect is a finish cylinder. If you don't make the finish, you glide down and land in the valley. Few other airports have this lovely circumstance.

The real problem of the finish line is not the danger of the line itself -- though there were quite a few stall/spin accidents, including fatalities, in the good old days. The real problem is the marginal final glide. Again, not a problem at Elmira. A much bigger problem out west with one runway and nowhere to land in the last 10 miles.

And, one contest without accident does not suddenly erase 50 years of statistics.

John Cochrane BB

Quite true.
But it was fun
UH

It is fun! We should have an optional "show finish" line for contests where a real finish line is impractical.

John Cochrane BB

On Thursday, August 6, 2015 at 2:33:31 PM UTC-7, John Cochrane wrote:
It is fun! We should have an optional "show finish" line for contests where a real finish line is impractical.

John Cochrane BB

I proposed this several years ago - you could have a 2 mile ring at 1000' as an initial point to a 50' line finish for timing purposes. You just need to ensure that people are coming from generally the same direction.

9B

On Thursday, August 6, 2015 at 7:35:37 AM UTC-4, XC wrote:
The 11 best things at the 2015 15m/Std Class Nationals

1. The weather. We flew 7 out of 10 days in Elmira. We could have possible even squeaked in another but the CD wisely called a rest day. One of the practice days was fantastic soaring. Thanks to God, Alleluia.

2. FLARM used in the stealth mode, already mentioned in another post. It really worked well.

3. The flying was tough but the atmosphere was relaxed and enjoyable. Thank you pilots for the sportsmanship. Not one pilot left this contest early, in a huff, with a broken glider, or otherwise. Very rare.

4. The dinners were excellent. Thanks go to my wife, Rebecca, and many volunteers.

5. Beer consumed was more than most contests. We killed a 1/2 keg of Stella, 2 1/4's of Yuengling and 1/4 of Labatts. Thanks to those HHSC members who bought the beer.

6. The National Soaring Museum issued a press release for us. We gave about 4 TV news interviews and we were in newspapers all over the region. Thank you NSM for all your support.

7. We flew a finish line. Tons of spectators, thanks the the press release above, were watching from the fence. Crews, juniors and pilots enjoyed it, too. It felt like you were at a race.

8. We had a PA system to announce pilot meetings, task sheets available, "P7 4 miles out", etc. This is a nice detail to include in contest planning..

9. We had the contest during the summer so young people could attend. I estimate we had 20-25 young people involved in the contest in one way or another. The HHSC juniors did a great job with the line. We also had several young people come to visit. Daniel Sazhin competed as a junior. Noah Reitter flew as a guest in the Standard Class and as sniffer.

10. We spaced the grid spots far enough away from each other that every glider could easily get to their spot. Then we compressed the grid. I really recommend this detail to other organizers.

11. Monty Sullivan as CD was outstanding. The overall tone for the contest was perfect. The task setting was spot on. Thanks Monty.

XC

This was my 27th year of flying races and 26th years since I first flew at Elmira. It was a great contest all around.

Another important point is the number of folks who came to fly knowing they weren't going to win. There were an LS4, a Standard Jantar, and a Pegasus in the Standard Class, while an ASW-20 (sans winglets or water) competed in the 15M. These guys all learned a ton and competed just fine with the top pilots. Just a great attitude all around.

P3

Elmira is uniquely suited to a finish line, because it in effect is a finish cylinder. If you don't make the finish, you glide down and land in the valley. Few other airports have this lovely circumstance.

Yes and no. From the north and northwest, for sure. From some other directions, it depends on how far out you are when you see you're in trouble. The closer you get, the more Elmira looks like a more conventional site with few or no places to put down safely if you're a mile or two short. If you're willing to bail out before that, there are alternatives. But it's the guys who don't want to give up until it's too late that caused the problems in the past. So for many of the tasks we flew this year, we were back to "fly sensibly". Everyone did. And, yeah, it sure was fun!

Not trolling, BB. Sometimes you don't realize how much you miss something until you get to experience it again unexpectedly.

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"
U.S.A.

On Thursday, August 6, 2015 at 4:55:07 PM UTC-4, John Cochrane wrote:
Amazing. After all the angst over the past years about coming up with a "safer" way to finish because the line finish was just so dangerous, we rediscover the fun of it without any carnage!


I know you guys are trolling a bit here, but let's remember a few facts.

Elmira is uniquely suited to a finish line, because it in effect is a finish cylinder. If you don't make the finish, you glide down and land in the valley. Few other airports have this lovely circumstance.

The real problem of the finish line is not the danger of the line itself -- though there were quite a few stall/spin accidents, including fatalities, in the good old days. The real problem is the marginal final glide. Again, not a problem at Elmira. A much bigger problem out west with one runway and nowhere to land in the last 10 miles.

And, one contest without accident does not suddenly erase 50 years of statistics.

John Cochrane BB

it is a problem from elmira when coming from the southeast, but from most every other direction it's not. from the southeast there is 10 miles of city, trees, and hilly fields. having said that we are in a unique position to have a line.

On Thursday, August 6, 2015 at 4:55:07 PM UTC-4, John Cochrane wrote:
Amazing. After all the angst over the past years about coming up with a "safer" way to finish because the line finish was just so dangerous, we rediscover the fun of it without any carnage!


I know you guys are trolling a bit here, but let's remember a few facts.

Elmira is uniquely suited to a finish line, because it in effect is a finish cylinder. If you don't make the finish, you glide down and land in the valley. Few other airports have this lovely circumstance.

The real problem of the finish line is not the danger of the line itself -- though there were quite a few stall/spin accidents, including fatalities, in the good old days. The real problem is the marginal final glide. Again, not a problem at Elmira. A much bigger problem out west with one runway and nowhere to land in the last 10 miles.

And, one contest without accident does not suddenly erase 50 years of statistics.

John Cochrane BB

it is a problem from elmira when coming from the southeast, but from most every other direction it's not. from the southeast there is 10 miles of city, trees, and hilly fields. having said that we are in a position to have a line, but it's not bad at many other places either. mifflin for example, you have to be high enough to clear the ridges many times, or you have ridge lift,or there are plenty of fields to land in in the home valley.