Competition Pilots Seminars

By Erik Mann

Imagine your first Soaring Contest . . . You arrive at the contest site eager and well rested. Your charts have been prepared for weeks, and you've studied the contest area until you can recite the turnpoints in both alphabetic and numeric order. Your trusty sailplane is a finely tuned racing machine, with all systems in top working order - cameras primed to fire at the flick of a switch and wings polished to a blinding gloss. You're so familiar with rules and procedures that you'll be ready to assist Charlie Spratt if he has any questions. If the contest organizers had any sense, they would just hand you the trophy and be done with it . . . Now wake up! Any soaring pilot who has flown a competition knows that the first experience can be daunting at best and downright frightening at worst. There is so much to learn about racing and very little opportunity to learn it. You will likely be flying at an unfamiliar site, with more sailplanes than you've ever seen in a concentrated area, and task distances significantly in excess of any you have ever flown. The last thing you need is to be confused about rules and procedures. Unfortunately, it seems that this "mystery" about racing keeps some potential competition pilots from experiencing one of the truly great aspects of our sport. The Region II Soaring Council decided to take on the task of introducing some likely candidates to racing. We knew of several other very successful programs throughout the country, and wanted to see if we could duplicate their successes. The Region II Competition Pilots Seminar was the result, and following is a little background and some suggestions offered in the hope that others will organize similar events. Planning, planning, planning. During the non-flying winter months of 1994-95, a core of Region II members sat down to develop the plan for the first Region II Competition Pilots Seminar. The purpose of the seminar was simple: take a group of fledgling competition pilots, pair them with experienced veterans, run them through a realistic simulation of a contest day, and prove that racing is fun, exhilarating, and most of all - safe . The execution was anything but simple! The planning group consisted of Competition pilots Dave Michaud (UM), Wayne Cree (WC), and Erik Mann (P3) with the support of Paul Finestone, Jeannie Schwillie, and Mark Allen from the host Philadelphia Glider Council (PGC). We decided on the following basic requirements: No more than 20 students (due to towplane and field limitations). At least 10 mentors (student to mentor ratio not to exceed 2:1). Students required to have "cross country experience." We left it up to the students' good judgment on this issue. Advertisements were placed in Soaring beginning in February for the April 29 date. With a heavy load of responses from interested people coming in the day the magazine made it into mailboxes, we knew we had hit on a popular idea. The format. Early on, we determined to try to fit the Seminar into a single day. The day would be divided into two parts: Chalk Talk: This would consist of a briefing on Competition Basics, followed by a "Keynote" lecture from an expert racing pilot. Flying: This would consist of simulated tasks flown by "students" paired with "mentors." The mentors would be free to "teach" at a level appropriate to their students. Preparations. Each registrant was provided with a complete package of documents several weeks in advance of the Seminar date. Included were: Overview Document, outlining procedures, directions, schedule, etc. Sailplane Racing Association Competition Guide. This extremely informative primer to racing was published by SRA to help answer many of the Frequently Asked Questions from new racing pilots. It is a must read for anyone considering racing. Competition Rules for Sports Class. Turnpoint List for the local area, with instructions on how to prepare charts (more on this later). In addition, we managed to convince 11 experienced competition pilots from around the Mid-Atlantic to volunteer as mentors. Several of these mentors drove long distances to be at the Seminar, and the students were fortunate to have the benefit of their years of experience. The Day. Saturday, April 29 dawned clear, cold, and breezy at the PGC field. Richard Kellerman (QV), our designated Weather Guy predicted a very good soaring day. There were 19 students and 11 mentors who were itching to get in the air, so we made sure to get started right on time. Dave Michaud (UM) opened the chalk talk with a very informative discussion on competition basics. He talked about preparation, starting, turnpoints, and a slew of other topics that can cause a first-timer to run into problems. As Dave pointed out, there's an easy way and a hard way to learn about these potential pitfalls - he wanted to make sure that the students learned the easy way. Our keynote speaker was Doug Jacobs (DJ), National and World Champion pilot. Doug was extremely generous to drive down to Pennsylvania overnight from Rhode Island, and we were rewarded with a fantastic lecture/discussion. Doug started out by explaining his philosophy on the Risk/Reward curve associated with racing. He pointed out the need to fly within your own limitations and still push yourself to meet challenges. However, he noted that the potential returns for going beyond your limitations were very small indeed compared to the dramatic increase in risk. There were many nods of agreement among the 50-plus people in the audience. Doug also clued the crowd into some of his personal racing secrets. One of the most interesting was his approach to Final Glides. Doug revealed that some of his best wins were the result of well executed Final Glides that shaved minutes off his time. He pointed out that many pilots fall into the following psychological trap: After a long and arduous task, it is tempting to try to get up to Final Glide height as soon as possible ("I've gotten this far, I'm not going to land out now . . ."). This can mean choosing less than optimal climbs. Instead, he pointed out that, conditions permitting, it is usually more efficient to set out for home at below the Final Glide altitude and make use of the best lift along the way, only attaining final glide altitude relatively close to home. Doing this can add to the "pucker factor," but should result in significantly better speeds. Flying. After the talks were over, it was time for flying. Two students of roughly equal experience were paired with a single mentor. The mentor and students agreed on the task to fly and the learning objectives for the flight. The conditions were very good, with lift to 7,500 AGL and thermal strengths running between 6 and 8 knots, making for some impressive flights. DJ was the first to get going with his two students, Richard Kellerman (QV) and Jim Meikeljohn (FT). The group set off into the strong conditions, and before they were done, they had flown nearly 500 kilometers. QV, a relative newcomer to competition soaring, described the flight as one of the highlights of his involvement with soaring to date. Jim Paris (1F), also led his two Standard Class students on a very respectable task, with a flight exceeding 300 kilometers. These two "students", Jack Beavers (RAE) and Mike Waters (X6), later went on to win a day and the contest respectively in Standard Class at the Region III meet in Elmira. Needless to say, they have been booted out of the student ranks! Cathy Larsen (CL), an experienced competition pilot in her own right, felt that she wanted a tune up for the season. So, she signed on as a student, paired with mentor Peter Krasnoff (BF). Peter and Cathy had a great flight, and Peter took the time to put together a 4 page analysis of their flight, with observations on what they could have done differently to improve their times. Meanwhile, some of the other mentors set out on less ambitious tasks. UM, having handed his LS-6 over to DJ, hopped into the back seat of a Grob 103 with PGC member Bob Lacovara. Leaving PGC at almost 8,000 AGL, they set off for Solberg Airport (about 40 miles out). A little over 30 minutes later, they arrived over Solberg at 7,000 AGL, never having circled. Bob incredulously asked if this was the way competition flights always work out. UM simply replied "yes", displaying yet another attribute of the successful racing pilot. Results. For most, the day was a rousing success. Many of the students flew tasks that were longer and more challenging than those they would fly on a regular basis. They also gained a much greater appreciation for racing and some valuable suggestions for improving their times. However, it was clear that the results varied with the preparation and experience of the students. Although groups were small and students were supposed to have reasonable cross country experience, navigation and communication proved difficult in some cases. Several of the participants were clearly not prepared to land out or navigate around an unfamiliar site, and these students presented a challenge for their mentors. On the other hand, these experiences provided some lessons that will help us do a better job next time around. Some of the shortcomings included: Student Preparation. Several pilots showed up without charts and without having read the rules. We will absolutely require that this be done prior to flying next time. Student Qualification. Although we intended the Seminar as a motivator for experienced cross-country pilots, several students were clearly not ready for that level of flying. Concerns about reaching an airport 20 miles away from an altitude of over 7,000 AGL showed that these students were really ready for more basic cross-country instruction. Next time, a Silver Badge will be the absolute minimum requirement. Student/Teacher Ratio. Despite the fact that some of the groups worked fine with two students per mentor, others found it difficult to keep the groups together. Next time, we will strive for a 1 to 1 ratio. Tasks. Mentors were able to chose their own tasks (flying a POST). Although this allowed some groups to take full advantage of the weather, it also meant that some of the skills of thermalling in gaggles, jumping from one gaggle to another, and start strategy were lost. It also made it more difficult to communicate and plan, as tasks were changed in the air. Next time, standard speed tasks will be called, allowing mentor/student teams to compare speeds against other teams. The tasks will be divided into an A Task, B Task, and C Task for students with varying experience and equipment. Conclusions. Was it worth the effort? Absolutely! The results were manifested in the general increase in participation at local contests, the results at regionals, and the enthusiasm within the local clubs for more cross country and racing instruction. Although racing isn't for everyone, the enthusiasm and excitement it generates spreads throughout host clubs and FBOs, often bringing pilots of all experiences and interests closer together. It's that kind of enthusiasm that will ensure the sport of soaring attracts and keeps new members and makes it fun for all of us. If you think you would like to organize a competition seminar in your area or want more information about the Region II seminar, please feel free to contact me at (201) 761-4876 or online at pappa3@ix.netcom.com.