2005 SRA Pilot Opinion Poll Results

#10.1 could offer an option to score the motorglider to the nearest airport that was within a 20:1 glide before engine start if that airport is not a turnpoint. Also, please consider instituting the club class in the U.S., at least at the National level. Many of us cannot afford sailplanes that are competitive in the Standard Class and the Sports Class has too broad a range of sailplanes to be a truly fair competition, especially at the National level. The 20m 2-seaters that fly this class now are under handicapped for their wing loadings. The top 15m and 18m gliders that turn up to fly the Sports Nationals are driving tasking to where lower performance gliders simply cant finish, much less at competitive speed. It is time for a more competitive and affordable class and Club Class seems to work well in other parts of the world. Thanks for your consideration.

1. Allow motor gliders in all national competitions. Allow all non-motorgliders in motorglider championships. Score motorgliders to last turn point before using motor to place motorgliders in the same boat on the last leg home as the non-motor gliders. (ie. if the motor glider chooses to try to make it home on a weak day, it has no advantage over the non-motor (pure) glider.

10.1 should have option of 5 minutes prior to lastfix

10.4 I think another option that should be considered is to score the motor glider for 1/2 (or 3/4, etc) of the distance from that last turnpoint to the last turnpoint achieved before engine start.

4.1 - I would select both if a steering turn were mandated to funnel finishers for MAT and other pilot option tasks. 9.1 - eliminate the wingspan limit, but retain the handicapping.

6.1 - havent flown std nat, but think 9 lb should be dropped 7.1 - havent flown open ant, but think organizer should get to choose based on site and tug qualities. 8.1 Open Nats = no handicap, perhaps allow Regionals a choice to handicap, and get a class again. Kestrels cant run against ASH25/Nim3/4s. 8.2 18M - would you get more entrants if it WAS handicapped? 9.1 Two Seat - any span, but only with handicap, (more players?) You did not ask about giving a pilot a DQ for future contests, based on unsafe behavior. I know of three pilots not racing due to a current competitor who was/is involved in midairs and several near misses. I think you missed a chance to see if there is more background interest in this topic than simply from me or my region. Thanks, C. Brickner (racing only in Sports, but a 17 year CM for this gang of pilots.)

A big Thank You to the SSA Rules Committee for the current excellent state of our contest rules. Keep up the good work.

Ask nationals pilots if tasking should be more challenging ( longer tasks using more of the day.) I.E. more in keeping with WGC tasking.

Availability of contest personnel, i.e. can competitors fill some positions.

be careful; how you interpret the results. Some of these are have vs. have-not questions. If you dont have it (ELT, motorglider) you arent in favor of it.

Clerify entry requirements as to team flying at a contest. Entry for the team as the highest ranking if there is a seating entrance list. If enterd as a team prior to the cut off all team members can fly... I think the rules are stated but it the inturpritation of the entrant must be qualified and if as it states and entrant can be a team and the ranking of the team is the highest of the team.

Comment: Removing wing-loading limits on Std. Class will do nothing to improve either our team selection process (ie. stated purpose of the Nationals) or improve participation in regionals. If anything, its a major step backwards. Why would we do this? Question for next year: Should the SRA actively investigate the use of Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) Flight Recorders (such as those produced by Garmin, Magellan, etc.) for use at all levels of competition? Currently, the rules read that a COTS unit cannot be used to qualify for a positon on the World team.

Cylinder finishes should not have a minimum altitude as that requires unsafe cockpit heads-down time when approaching the finish. Gate finish minimum of 50 is fine, since it is a visual task. ELT requirements, if made mandatory, should allow use of any type of ELT at the pilots option, instead of a TSOs aircraft ELT. Let the pilot decide how he wants to be found and what he considers the threat to be. Tasking should mimic World tasking when possible. Get rid of Sports Class and replace it with Club Class. Or add Club Class.

Do not change the rules every year, keep the rules unchanged for 3-5 years at a time. This would allow pilots to get comfortable with the rules before the next change, there might be less bitching. Please do make sports class competition worth as much as the FAI classes, just because I cant afford a competitive ship for standard/15m does not mean that I dont want a hard fought competition. Thanks Todd Smith 3S

Eliminate the winglet rules. Make rules less complicated. Allow members to select thir own password for SSA and SRA.

For sports class events, there is such a wide range of handicaps that we should consider a hybrid TAT/MAT that is flexible for mis-forecasting, bad air (like a fire over the turnpoint), and glider performance. There was much concern this year regarding a TAT that was too short for a long wing glider and caused a significant point loss. Perhaps in response, CDs kept the TATs on the long/aggressive side. Yet, numerous times low performance gliders were quite challenged by the length or course of a TAT. Im not sure there was a equavalent amount of concern for this. Sports class should be balanced to include all gliders (perhaps with a CH handicap of 1.5 or less as a cut off for nationals). I would caution leadership that the spirit of the sports class is not watered down as higher and higher performance sailplanes enter the sports class. I welcome the competition and will continue to pit my Russia against those long wing birds, but lets keep the sports class sporting.

For the Club Class Team Selection, instead of using the exact same model list or range of handicaps as the world competitions why not just use their range +/- some reasonable percentage. If the world club class equates to our handicap range of .950-1.013 [LS-4 to Libelle], why dont we consider only allowing qualification of gliders with a wider range of .850-1.180 [DG-600 to HP-15]. This would cut out the ASW-22 and ASH-25 guys, as well as L-13, k-8 pilots that are at the extreemes of the ranges. I propose that if we are to consider the idea of limiting the qualifiers it should be wider than the worlds but not be so wide as to expect likely failure from unfamilairy with the glider performance that will be flow in the worlds [1-26 at a handicap of 1.600, or Blanik at 1.580].

Hold off on the impact activated ELT requirements till the new 406 are cheaper which will happen in a couple of years as the present ones become outdated.

I am extremely concerned that mandating the use of ELTs will dramatically impact the ability of many pilots to compete. I have hosted contests recently and I believe we would have had significantly less participation if ELTs had been required. I am strongly opposed to making them mandatory. I sell ELTs so you would think that I would be in favor of making them mandatory.

I believe more thought needs to be given to the proposed manadtory ELT rules. Significant installation compliance issues exist for standard airworthiness ships. I suggest the rules committee seriously considers using personal ELTs fastened to ones parachute. There are no installation issues and one could purchaase the new 406 mhz technology NOW at reasonable cost and be assured it will still be useable for more than a few years.

I believe that motorgliders be permitted in all competitions: (1) Now permitted in international competitions. (2) Participation of all gliders should be encouraged. (3) I have a motorgliger and feel that overall that I am at a disadvantage. Weak days with the extra weight are not fun ! (4) The contest results do not indicate that scoring to the last fix before engine start gives an advantage to motorgliders. Rick Howell FD , Aux-powered Sailplane Assc.

I followed the ELT issue on RAS recently with great interest. The SSA should not make ELTs mandatory specifically in view of the upcoming changes regarding monitoring the the current frequencies. I doubt that impact-activated ELTs do work reliably in gliders keeping in mind that they were developed for much larger and faster aircraft. Personal locatator beacons now used by hikers, mountain climbers and sailors seem to be the way of the future. I dont care much about my ship after I bailed out - I like to be found, and that could be miles away from the wreck. The requirement for a fixed installed unit adds several other problems such as annual inspections, weight, space (I fly a Libelle - where am I going to place the ELT and antenna??), antenna placement, etc. Just my 5 cent worth of ramblings, GM

I support the limited reverse seeding for Sports Class regionals - consider limiting the option to in-region pilots. Mifflin may be very difficult to get into for pilots who have only flown Sports Class. How can we hold a Sports Class Nationals when the Sports Class Regional pilots have a very slim chance of making the cut - especially when many of these pilots fly Sports (Club) Class gliders?

I would like the rules committee to address the possibility of making our sports class contests more like our European counterparts; only allowing (club class) gliders. The contests would be more fair and the results would be more valid without the problems associated with trying to task the occasional Nimbus 3 and Schweizer 1-26 in the same contest. Our rules could allow up to an ASW-20 (or similar) on the high end and a Libelle (or similar) on the low end.

I would like to see approval of portable ELTs rather than mandatory impact activated ELTs for contests. Is the objective to find the glider or the pilot ?

I would like to see question 10.1 expanded to include the choice of last turnpoint or landable airport achieved before engine start. The perceived advantage of motor gliders is that they can (if the pilot is bold or stupid enough) be flown into unlandable areas gaining task distance than would not be achievable if a destructive landout was the consequence. I had to select last turnpoint because that is the only answer that comes close. Please allow 406Mhz non impact activated PLBs until such time as fixed impact activated 406 ELTs are available at a reasonable price. thanks Andy (GY)

I would like to see the minimum finish altitude raised to 500 or even 1000 feet.

In contrary to IGC rules SSA rules dont allow motorgliders in Standard Class and in 15-meter Class contests.

l. Consider scoring all classes using handicaps as well as without. Currently Id prefer to fly in my 15M class, but have no chance of winning with a 30-year-old glider. The only option is to fly Sports Class and compete against entry level pilots as well as the more experienced. 2. The SSA Sports Class definition confuses the entry level type contest with that between pilots who just fly older gliders. The European Club Class avoids this confusion. Redefine the Sports Class and create other events or criteria for entry level pilots. 3. I won an ELT last season in a Sports Class event and immediately sold it. The more electronic junk you insist be added to compete in contests, the more you eliminate pilots with few resources and compound the idea that competition soaring is a rich mans sport. Evididence now exists that the non-IGC-approved dataloggers cannot be rigged to show tampered-with flight logs. They should all be approved for use in contests.

Many thanks for all the work and caring about contests and the rules.

No water ballast at Regional Contests Increase the floor of the finish cylinder to 1,000 ft agl Do whatever it takes to publish a grid sheet soon enough to eliminate Day 1 chaos. Consider the UK grid where ROWS are assigned, and gliders may take any position on the assigned row. This could work at many of our contest sites. Make it possible for the user of these surveys to UNSELECT an item! QV, October 03, 2005

Note on Item 10.1 - Starting the engine is the same as landing out, only safer. It should be treated the same as landing out. The other choices would make flights MUCH less safe. I dont understand why the question is even here!

On start gates versus cylinders: While both should be available to allow a CD to adapt to local circumstance, only one type of finish should be used at any particular contest. They do not mix well. Rolling finishes should be scored with no penalty; if a pilot uses this option in an unsafe manner the CD always has the option of awarding a penalty.

Organizers should be required to make available the tentative grid positions for the first day no later than the evening of the practice day. Late arrivals can be put at the end of their class on the first day. CDs should be encouraged to fly the task.

Re- evaluate the airfield bonus points for the open class. Many approved airports are marginally safe for Open class gliders and it is often safer to land in a field. It would be best to eliminate the bonus altogether.

Reasses the unfair handicaps for the Sports class. Carl Herold handicaps are not fair, nor do most pilots feel that they are....So, what the????

Regarding question 10... I prefer last turnpoint to score an engine start. If a motorglider pilot wants the extra points, he/she may fly to a landing like pure sailplanes.

Seeding for Sport Class team entry. Team entry rules were written assuming one sailplane with multiple pilots. Now we have two place sailplanes where the same pilots are in the ship for all flights. A low seeded pilot should not be allowed to buy a high seeding by sitting in the back seat while the ship is flown by a hired high ranking pilot. Seeding in such cases should go only to the highest ranked pilot or to the team. A team seeding would be use only when the same team members flew another contest. There are now several rules regarding tean entrys. None of the 2-place ships flown with the same pilots have conplied with these rules. The rules should be enforced, changed, or deleted.

Seriously consider applying more rules based on international contests (starts, finishes, tasks, scoring).

Team flying should be allowed. Family radios such as the Gramin Rhino should be allowed and voice communications between gliders and ground crews should be allowed on family radios during contests. Position reporting via data link between gliders and ground crews should be allowed. I favor a simple scoring system, where on any flyable day, contestants receive one point for each competitor they beat. The current scoring system is really poor.

The rules improve every year. Keep up the good work.

Two place sailplanes should not be permitted to compete with single place sailplanes while carrying two seeded or otherwise qualified pilots on board. The ablility to share the workload and the combined experience clearly puts all others at a signifigant disadvantage.

Two seaters in sports class. Both pilots shared in the effort together, both piolts should earn that ranking as a team not as indivuals.

Use of Club Class gliders *only* in Sports Class contests.

We are moving toward greater use of transponders in gliders, and they can be important in areas where gliders are mixing with air carrier aircraft. Im not prepared to argue for mandatory transponder installation, but the issue ought to start to get some attention for contests in high density airspace. Caesars Creek and Chicago Glider Club airspace are examples that come to mind.

We should allow PDA with card or mouse GPS and third-party software that saves a trace (GNII, SeeYou mobile, Winpilot) for regional contests. Many non-contest pilots opt for this setup as its the cheapest, then face a substantial cost to enter a contest, and one that gives them no extra functionality. Example: A guy in my club went to his first contests this year. He flew an ancient $13,000 mini-nimbus with dilapidated instruments. His setup was a PDA with a card GPS running seeyou mobile. Yet he had to go get something new to enter the contest -- money much better spent on a decent vario. If someone really wants to program a PDA to generate a false trace and win a regional (with the substantial risk of disgrace if caught), good for them. Anyone good enough to do that could modify currenty-accepted non-secure devices anyway. If youre still worried about cheating, limit it to sports class regionals. Specifically, change regional rules 6.7.3 Flight recorder requirements .... • A device that consists of software that runs on a computer readily programmable by the user (such as a PDA or handheld computer) is not acceptable unless such a device is IGC-approved as Secure. to • A trace saved on a PDA by third-party software is acceptable for regional contests. (Third party not commercial because there is some free stuff out there like Bireckis program).

We should implement a higher floor (i.e. 1000 at 2 miles out) for the finish Cylinder with more significant penalties for finishing below this floor. The penalty in 2005 (rolling finish) is not enough.