2004 SRA Pilot Opinion Poll Results

October 22, 2004 9:47 AM

Percentages usually do not add up to 100% because multiple selections can be made on many questions. Also, some questions are not answered by all survey submitters.
Analysis Categories All
Summary of detailed data representing All respondants. 171
1.0 Demographics All
1.1 What class(es) in National contests did you fly this year?
All 81
47%
1-26 1
1%
World 5
3%
Sports 18
11%
Standard 15
9%
15Meter 22
13%
18Meter 23
13%
Open 2
1%
Motorglider 5
3%
Senior 20
12%
1.2 What class(es) in Regional contests did you fly this year?
All 128
75%
1-26 1
1%
World 3
2%
Sports 37
22%
Standard 33
19%
15Meter 60
35%
18Meter 2
1%
Open 4
2%
Motorglider 1
1%
Senior 8
5%
2.0 Emergency Locating Transmitters (ELT) All
2.1 Do you have an airframe mounted (impact activated) ELT in your glider?
Yes 53
31%
No 116
68%
2.2 Do you have a portable (user activated) ELT in your glider?
Yes 29
17%
No 136
80%
2.3 Should ELTs be made mandatory for all participants at all SSA contests?
Yes 71
42%
No 96
56%
2.4 If yes, should ELTs be made mandatory in:
2005 44
26%
2006 37
22%
3.0 Reverse Seeding for Sports Class Regionals All
3.1 Should entry to a Sports Class Regional continue to be determined by reverse seeding?
Yes 105
61%
No 54
32%
3.2 Should Sports Class Regional entry via reverse seeding be restricted to pilots from that region?
Yes 70
41%
No 85
50%
3.3 Should Sports Class Regional entry via reverse seeding be restricted to a maximum of 5 pilots?
Yes 49
29%
No 105
61%
4.0 Foreign Pilot Entry in USA Nationals All
4.1 For an oversubscribed USA Nationals, foreign pilots should be selected for the entry slots available to them on the basis of: 
  • Date of application
  • SSA seeding
  • Seeding position in their home country
    • Date 65
    38%
    SSASeeding 60
    35%
    HomeSeeding 41
    24%
    5.0 Finish Cylinder and Finish Gate All
    5.1 Which type of finish do you prefer?
    FinishCylinder 69
    40%
    FinishGate 80
    47%
    NoPreference 22
    13%
    5.2 Should both finish types be retained, for use at the CD’s discretion?
    Yes 130
    76%
    No 40
    23%
    6.0 Increased Weighting of Distance in TAT and MAT All
    6.1 Should the weighting of distance in TAT and MAT be increased to allow a non-finisher with long distance to beat a finisher with a much shorter distance?
    Yes 68
    40%
    No 102
    60%
    7.0 Reduce Day Devaluation when Pilots Start Late All
    7.1 Should day devaluation due to landouts be reduced when large numbers of pilots start late, long after the task has opened?
    Yes 58
    34%
    No 110
    64%
    8.0 WGC-style Scoring All
    8.1 Should SSA contests adopt the scoring and devaluation formulas used at the World Gliding Championships?
    Yes 104
    61%
    No 54
    32%
    9.0 Standard Class Nationals 9 psf Wingloading Limit
    The SSA Rules Committee has received several requests to eliminate the 9-psf wing loading limit in the Standard Class Nationals. Please respond to these questions only if you have competed in the Standard Class Nationals in the last two years, or if you plan to compete in the Standard Class Nationals in the next two years.     		 All
    9.1 Should the 9 psf wing loading limit be eliminated for the Standard Class Nationals?
    Yes 45
    26%
    No 42
    25%
    9.2 Should the 9 psf wing loading limit for the Standard Class Nationals be made optional at the contest organizer’s discretion (announced by the preferential entry cutoff date)?
    Yes 28
    16%
    No 59
    35%
    10.0 Open Class Weight Limit
    Please respond to this question only if you have competed in the Open Class Nationals in the last two years, or if you plan to compete in the Open Class Nationals in the next two years.    		 All
    10.1 Should the SSA adopt the current international Open Class weight limits and allow 2-seat motorgliders to fly at up to 850 kg as long as they do not carry disposable ballast?
    Yes 34
    20%
    No 13
    8%
    11.0 Turnpoints for AT and MAT
    The current turnpoint cylinder for Assigned Task and Modified Assigned Task is a one mile radius “mini turn area” in which each pilot’s distance is measured to his best-scoring fix within the cylinder.     		 All
    11.1 Would you prefer a one mile radius turnpoint cylinder in which each pilot’s distance is measured to the center of the cylinder?
    Yes 38
    22%
    No 130
    76%

    !!!

     
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    		 All
    12.0 Goals for Contests
    Some people have requested that the SSA develop a list of contest goals against which any proposed new rule could be judged.    		 All
    12.1 For SSA Regionals, please rank the following contest goals in order of importance. (1 = most important, 8 = least important) All
    12.1a Increase participation
    1 27
    16%
    2 28
    16%
    3 21
    12%
    4 22
    13%
    5 14
    8%
    6 9
    5%
    7 10
    6%
    8 6
    4%
    12.1b Improve safety
    1 24
    14%
    2 18
    11%
    3 21
    12%
    4 22
    13%
    5 17
    10%
    6 17
    10%
    7 15
    9%
    8 1
    1%
    12.1c Ensure fairness
    1 14
    8%
    2 31
    18%
    3 19
    11%
    4 23
    13%
    5 19
    11%
    6 12
    7%
    7 17
    10%
    8 1
    1%
    12.1d Promote technological development
    1 5
    3%
    2 3
    2%
    3 3
    2%
    4 5
    3%
    5 10
    6%
    6 12
    7%
    7 14
    8%
    8 81
    47%
    12.1e Make it fun
    1 28
    16%
    2 25
    15%
    3 33
    19%
    4 19
    11%
    5 19
    11%
    6 8
    5%
    7 2
    1%
    8 2
    1%
    12.1f Keep cost of participation low
    1 6
    4%
    2 11
    6%
    3 16
    9%
    4 15
    9%
    5 22
    13%
    6 36
    21%
    7 25
    15%
    8 4
    2%
    12.1g Measure cross-country skills
    1 26
    15%
    2 17
    10%
    3 15
    9%
    4 14
    8%
    5 20
    12%
    6 17
    10%
    7 23
    13%
    8 4
    2%
    12.1h Teach cross-country skills
    1 6
    4%
    2 3
    2%
    3 7
    4%
    4 15
    9%
    5 15
    9%
    6 25
    15%
    7 30
    18%
    8 36
    21%
    12.2 For SSA Nationals, please rank the following contest goals in order of importance. (1 = most important, 9 = least important) All
    12.2a Increase participation
    1 9
    5%
    2 10
    6%
    3 11
    6%
    4 14
    8%
    5 24
    14%
    6 19
    11%
    7 14
    8%
    8 13
    8%
    9 19
    11%
    12.2b Improve safety
    1 30
    18%
    2 12
    7%
    3 20
    12%
    4 24
    14%
    5 12
    7%
    6 17
    10%
    7 7
    4%
    8 8
    5%
    9 3
    2%
    12.2c Ensure fairness
    1 15
    9%
    2 35
    20%
    3 28
    16%
    4 20
    12%
    5 17
    10%
    6 9
    5%
    7 4
    2%
    8 3
    2%
    9 1
    1%
    12.2d Promote technological development
    1 4
    2%
    2 3
    2%
    3 7
    4%
    4 13
    8%
    5 13
    8%
    6 14
    8%
    7 19
    11%
    8 29
    17%
    9 28
    16%
    12.2e Make it fun
    1 9
    5%
    2 11
    6%
    3 25
    15%
    4 21
    12%
    5 25
    15%
    6 15
    9%
    7 17
    10%
    8 6
    4%
    9 4
    2%
    12.2f Keep cost of participation low
    1 2
    1%
    2 6
    4%
    3 6
    4%
    4 19
    11%
    5 15
    9%
    6 28
    16%
    7 22
    13%
    8 22
    13%
    9 9
    5%
    12.2g Measure cross-country skills
    1 33
    19%
    2 25
    15%
    3 15
    9%
    4 11
    6%
    5 16
    9%
    6 9
    5%
    7 13
    8%
    8 8
    5%
    9 3
    2%
    12.2h Teach cross-country skills
    1 3
    2%
    2 1
    1%
    3 4
    2%
    4 2
    1%
    5 4
    2%
    6 10
    6%
    7 24
    14%
    8 34
    20%
    9 51
    30%
    12.2i Select USA Team pilots
    1 29
    17%
    2 31
    18%
    3 17
    10%
    4 8
    5%
    5 6
    4%
    6 12
    7%
    7 12
    7%
    8 9
    5%
    9 10
    6%
    12.3 Please give your definition of what makes a contest “fun”. 103
    60%
    13.0 Other Issues All
    13.1 Are there any other issues that you would like the SSA Rules Committee to address, or any questions that you would like to see included on future SRA polls? 56
    33%