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Sailplane Show and Shine

Sept 20th

Well today wasn’t like yesterday, we started flying sometime after 10 after a prolonged meet and greet, and finished near five..

Breeze out of the south west/ south all day, and sometimes a little gusty. Down low was interesting and I felt at times, there was lots of lift but we couldn’t really latch onto it..

We marveled at a kettle of Eagles and watched how one got out from 50 ft rather effortlessly

We held the day together with rather long periods of show and tell, and sharing secrets for finding thermals.

For a good part of the day the sun played Havoc with launches, as we were Launching to the south

I may have gotten in 8 flights all day, and most of them with the Majestic.

It turned out to be a true battleship, and showed how some 4 oz lead blocks suited to fit as ballast into a Elio or Bird of Time may be a wonderful investment

I have no pictures to post , so If someone wants to mail some in I’ll put them up.

There are some Score sheets out there, but I haven’t seen them, maybe If I get a picture of them I can post them.

Needless to say none of us were Sitting atop our Ladders.

Mother Nature wins , but we had a blast        :):)

Update :Sept 18

It’s 32 deg here at 2:30, Thermals are popping everywhere, and If tomorrow is like this , it will be a Great Day

Update : Wed Sept 16

Field taking Shape,

Weather for Saturday, according to wind guru is SW flow.

Hopefully that will change around by noon, as sometimes happens

Temperature between 25 and 27 Deg, so it will be balmy

Down load a copy of the Score Sheet here:

Ladder Score Sheet

There’s a couple days left to get in some practice, I hope to practice as well before Saturday.

Practice

 

 

5:30 to 6:30

Temperature close to 20 deg and breeze from the north at least 10 km/h

I  was able to stretch my line the full length of the field.

I got out the Bird of Time.

1st flight 5:38 Minutes

Awesome I made the 1st rung, and well on my way up the ladder

I had hoped to land at near 5 minutes to see If in fact that was easy, LoL made a fly pass to high, so came around and landed within 5 ft.

2nd Flight 7:02 Minutes

Huum, It’s gonna be difficult to get 10 minutes to reach the second rung, and to add to my misery, I landed 100 ft plus away.

3rd Flight 6:00 Minutes

Obviously I’m not going to achieve 10 minutes after 6 PM today, but I did get within 5 ft so I pick up 10 pts for that. Much better then the last flight.

Apparently the tape I’m using If approached from the right angle can be used to slow down the slide.

So, after that slight brain cramp on the second flight I was left with 170 Pts, out of a maximum of 180 . The 10 minute rung was elusive this evening, but Saturday I know that will be a different story.

:):):)

 

 

Where:

8627 HWY 311 Balfron , NS

Just south of Tatamagouche

When: Sept 19th 2015

8:30 – 9 AM

I’ve been advised that there will be favorable winds, clear skies and 25 Deg temperature

Hilite will be a Ladder Event Competition, which will likely use up the batteries you bring..

A great opportunity, to not just fly in circle’s but to have a little friendly Competition with the guy next to you

Bring as many Sailplanes as you like.

There will be a 2M and under class as well as the Open above 2M class..

The Ladder event is designed to provide a low-pressure competition for
those who are looking for Thermal tasks as well as those who prefer
the pure-soaring aspect of our hobby (as opposed to split-second
approach and spot landings).

For this event, pilots will time
themselves using a timer, or counting If they’d like,  that will sound an alert when the task time is
reached and will be on their honor.

Some already have their radios set for timing, If not most Radios have timers, and I’d suggest at  least a switch to start the time after Launch would be great.

Also for those with Devices, Apple /Android

Android App

Another Android App

The time will be non-precision,
meaning that if you fly for 3:35, you will get a perfect 3 minute score.
Note that a 2:35 would be a zero score. Task Times are based on
Plane size
If you are a beginner, and need
another flyer to help coach, that is Ok, matter of fact someone next to you may be able to see the Thermal you miss. 🙂
Note: any type of sailplane is Ok to use in this event, 2M, Unlimited,
woodies, RES, Moldies, things you found in the attic, things you found
in the backyard.

Sailplanes though, not intended as a Barnstorming Event or a fly the Runway heading Type Event

Unlike normal Thermal-Duration events, there is no need to worry about
the exact time of the flight, only that you exceed one of the Flight Task
times, however you do need to complete the Tasks in order and the lower rung must be completed before you move up the Ladder.

 

However, unlike other
Ladder events, you can keep racking-up 3 minute flights if you are
having trouble getting to the next step. For example, if pilot A
already has a 3 minute flight, but his next flight is a 4:15, he can
still count a 3 minute flight. This is done to provide positive
motivation for those in this group to

Soar, Soar, Soar

Landing Tasks are also included in the Event
10 points within 10Ft of spot and 20 Points within 5 ft of spot.

2nd rung and higher

However, to motivate all Fliers to get off the 1st rung, Landing Task points are Limited to half of what they are on higher rungs

So, the first rung or Task,  landings are 5 points within 10 ft and 10 points within 5 ft

Flight time Points are awarded based on Total minutes 10 Points for each Ladder
Minute

You can fly any number of 3 minute flights you want and tally them, however when you have reached the next rung ie 6 minutes, then from that point on you can no longer add to the 3 minute rung tally

Summary
Use any sailplane – DLG/HL, 2M, unlimited, woody, electric, hotliner,
scale, aerotow, XC, RES, mouldie

Soar, Soar, Soar
This will be an informal contest for bragging rights, participation is strictly
voluntary.

All tasks will be Ladder Task
The ladder will depend on the wingspan of the model,  2 m and under 3 minutes and 6, 9, 12 etc thereafter

For  greater then 2 M  sailplanes 5 minutes, and 10, 15, 20 etc thereafter

Electric Launch
All flights Power to Altitude, and motor off until next Task, some consideration needs to be made so that an unfair advantage is not gained by powering your plane to 1000 ft and then sailing from that point.

Please consider what your planes capabilities are!

 

Where other string launched or hand launched planes cannot achieve that height on launch

 

Winch and Hi Start Launch

I reckon here on my field a 350Ft launch may be the upper limit, I have never measured this though

Classes
2 Classes
up to 2M will fly 3 minute tasks
greater than 78″ (2M) will fly 5 minute tasks

You can enter with as many models as you like,
each model will fly it’s own ladder, I’ll give you a sheet with 4 ladders on it, and have extra for the other 6 planes you bring

Scoring will be simple:
FLYING
10 points for each ladder minute flown, no over-time penalty
Landing points will be awarded as follows:
LANDING
10 points for a LSFI landing(within 10 Feet or less), 20 points
for a LSFII(5 ft or less)

Only when flying the lowest rung, 3 minutes or 5 minutes(Larger then 2M)  will the Landing Task Points be 10 and 5 respectively

All scoring will be Tallied at the end of the Competition.
If you’re flying an electric in the contest you can use a   LMR
device (height). Shuts motor off at defined height
or as an Option 20 Second Launch time, or whatever you’ve decided, based on your model and power setup.

In any case, everybody will get a lot of flying time –
if you get to the 5th ladder step with a

2M Plane you will have flown at least 45 minutes
2M Plus you will have flown at least 75 minutes,

Of course with multiple rung flights the skies the limit

I’ll post a Tally Sheet here as soon as I get one done up, and that will help clarify the scoring , I hope, or ask questions.

Bring a Lunch as well as Drinks…

A Chair

If you have a Tape measure , something soft like a Seamstress Measure, 10 feet long bring that as well.

or a 10 ft Plastic streamer, with a mark at 5 ft

I’ll place some flags or something in a Landing Area away from the Launch area so you have a Target after your Launch

As a Bonus , 50 pts, If at any time during your Quest to Climb the Ladder you sense out of this world, hat sucking above the moon lift, you can choose to try and achieve a Thermal Duration Time .

This time cannot be used on your Ladder, and will be recorded seperatly, and the highest time at the end , when all points are Tallied, will receive the Bonus

If someone wants to bring Corn for a Corn Boil later that would be great, I have a Pot that will hold 50 cobs, and a burner and propane etc here..

I’m not sure I have this all clear yet

Tally Sheet, Ladder

This is Marked for 2M and under, each rung has the times, and underneath empty boxes which are marked after each task.

On the left are boxes for marking the landings 10 ft to 5 ft, and on the right under 5ft, these are recorded after every Landing

The Total areas, are just used for tallying your score at the end of the Competition.

If you happen to get 33,  3 min flights , I’m not sure what to tell you about your 34th 3 min flight, other then you should check your battery 🙂

Something a little cleaner

With some Sample Task entries and a Total Score

I need to add a bit more detail though