Saturday 18 December 2010
Sweden 2011
Here we go, the begining of the preperation for the 2011 Women Gliding World championship. This time in Arboga, Sweden and HERE is the new blog...
Sunday 9 August 2009
Early hours of the morning postmortem
It's 4:30 in the morning. I'm in bed in a roadside hotel in Nurnberg, Germany. Can't sleep.
There is no doubt that this was a fantastic competition. I've achieved an excellent result in my first International and the flying was the best I've ever experienced. However I can't deny that I'm feeling very low at the moment. To come so close to being world champion and to lose in the last minute is hard to take.
The only way I can make sense of this is to start planning the next campaign now.
So that's what I'm doing. Step one: set up "Sweden 2011 blog".... Watch this space.
Signing off.
There is no doubt that this was a fantastic competition. I've achieved an excellent result in my first International and the flying was the best I've ever experienced. However I can't deny that I'm feeling very low at the moment. To come so close to being world champion and to lose in the last minute is hard to take.
The only way I can make sense of this is to start planning the next campaign now.
So that's what I'm doing. Step one: set up "Sweden 2011 blog".... Watch this space.
Signing off.
Saturday 8 August 2009
How to lose a gliding cometition - part 2
Fly badly on the last day.
Unfortunately I scored a last minute own goal and have finished fourth.
Next Sweden 2011.
Unfortunately I scored a last minute own goal and have finished fourth.
Next Sweden 2011.
Thursday 6 August 2009
Tomorrow last day
Today was scrubbed again when a massive thunder storm exploded over the airfield. So tomorrow will be the last day. As it stands i'm in the lead but still everything to play for tomorrow.
Morning
Day before last and we have complete cloud cover here. The satelite picutres is not looking good either. We are rigging and gridding and waiting...
Glider performance and the Glide Ratio
A little bit more about the Glide. If the air is still (not going up or down) then any glider is always on a decending path, normally about 100-200 feet per minute. Glider performance is measured in the distance forward it can fly for the height loss it is incurring.
So for example you are at 2000 feet and gliding forward in still air. Let's say you flew forward 30,000 feet (about 10 km) and are now at 1000 feet, i.e. you lost 1000 feet of height and moved forward 30,000 feet, so your performance is 1/30. This is called the Glide Ratio.
Training gliders have a glide ration of about 1/28. My glider is about 1/36, high performance gliders can have a ratio of 1/60. For comparison, small single engine planes have a glide ration of about 1/8.
What you're doing in the Glide part of the flight is try and choose good air i.e. air which is going up, in order to improve that ratio. So typically in my flight i manange to achieve glide ration of 1/45 or better despite my glider still air ration being 1/36.
So for example you are at 2000 feet and gliding forward in still air. Let's say you flew forward 30,000 feet (about 10 km) and are now at 1000 feet, i.e. you lost 1000 feet of height and moved forward 30,000 feet, so your performance is 1/30. This is called the Glide Ratio.
Training gliders have a glide ration of about 1/28. My glider is about 1/36, high performance gliders can have a ratio of 1/60. For comparison, small single engine planes have a glide ration of about 1/8.
What you're doing in the Glide part of the flight is try and choose good air i.e. air which is going up, in order to improve that ratio. So typically in my flight i manange to achieve glide ration of 1/45 or better despite my glider still air ration being 1/36.
Wednesday 5 August 2009
Another scrub
Day 9 - after a long wait on the grid we scrubbed at 13:00 with thunder storms apporaching.
Two more flying days left and we are approaching the end game phase. I am still in the lead and need to keep a cool head.
Two more flying days left and we are approaching the end game phase. I am still in the lead and need to keep a cool head.
The Glide - A Sporting Philosophy
Earlier i mentioned that there are two main components during competition flight: the climb and the glide.
Climb rate is probably the most significant factor influencing your cross country speed, but at the highest level most pilots will have very similiar climbing skills and it is very hard to outclimb people. So getting good glides is what would make the difference.
So what is the Glide. Well, let's say you found stonking 800 feet per minute thermal and you are now sitting nicely at the top near cloudbase at 5000 feet and start your glide to the next good looking cumuls. At this point, you do what many pilots do...you relax, you have a drink, a bite to eat, maybe have a pee, take a picutre, check your emails on your new iphone...before you know it you lost 2500 feet and are now panicking for another climb.
Then you look left and your mate who left the climb at the same height, flying at the same speed as you is 2000 feet above you. "What's going on with my glider?" you think, "it's a flying brick..".
Actually, the problem is nearly always with the pilot rather then the glider. Whilst you take a straight line from cloud to cloud, your mate was weaving her way in and out between "energy lines" in the sky. While thermals are normally marked by cumulus clouds, the air between them is very rarely still, it normally rises and sinks in places and the good pilots will choose their route between climbs such that it will take them via the rising air rather then the sinking air. In gliding the straight line is very rarely the quickest.
So how do you pick a good line? First of all you have to be working very hard throughout the glide to maximize your glide and picking the best lines, no more relaxing and admiring the view. You need to focus on the sky and pick any tiny bit of information that will give you a clue where the air is rising. This can be a tiny wisp of a cloud, a haze-cap, other gliders movements, birds, ground features. You have to be completly focused and tune in to the sky outside and the physical sensations you are getting inside.
The Glide is a sporting philosophy. To stop in a climb is to go backwards, so by finding these energy lines you minimize the amount of time you need to spend in a climb.
Climb rate is probably the most significant factor influencing your cross country speed, but at the highest level most pilots will have very similiar climbing skills and it is very hard to outclimb people. So getting good glides is what would make the difference.
So what is the Glide. Well, let's say you found stonking 800 feet per minute thermal and you are now sitting nicely at the top near cloudbase at 5000 feet and start your glide to the next good looking cumuls. At this point, you do what many pilots do...you relax, you have a drink, a bite to eat, maybe have a pee, take a picutre, check your emails on your new iphone...before you know it you lost 2500 feet and are now panicking for another climb.
Then you look left and your mate who left the climb at the same height, flying at the same speed as you is 2000 feet above you. "What's going on with my glider?" you think, "it's a flying brick..".
Actually, the problem is nearly always with the pilot rather then the glider. Whilst you take a straight line from cloud to cloud, your mate was weaving her way in and out between "energy lines" in the sky. While thermals are normally marked by cumulus clouds, the air between them is very rarely still, it normally rises and sinks in places and the good pilots will choose their route between climbs such that it will take them via the rising air rather then the sinking air. In gliding the straight line is very rarely the quickest.
So how do you pick a good line? First of all you have to be working very hard throughout the glide to maximize your glide and picking the best lines, no more relaxing and admiring the view. You need to focus on the sky and pick any tiny bit of information that will give you a clue where the air is rising. This can be a tiny wisp of a cloud, a haze-cap, other gliders movements, birds, ground features. You have to be completly focused and tune in to the sky outside and the physical sensations you are getting inside.
The Glide is a sporting philosophy. To stop in a climb is to go backwards, so by finding these energy lines you minimize the amount of time you need to spend in a climb.
Tuesday 4 August 2009
Scrub
Today we woke up to complete cloud cover. The word from the organisers was "grid will open at 10:15 but don't rig...". Finally the day was cancelled (scrubbed) at 10:00.
So we decided to go sight seeing. Here we are in the Danube which contrary to rumours is definitly not blue.
Day 8, Lapse rate and more on the Start Game
Yesterday day 8. Forecast was not good, predicting a blue stable day with weak conditions. In order for good thermals to form you need the general air (environment) to be relatively cold, but also you want it getting colder rather quickly with height. So that when the warm bubble of the thermal is rising and so cooling, it is still warmer than the environment air and so continues to rise quickly. This rate of cooling of the environment air is called the Lapse rate.
When the air is stable, such as on a hot cloudless summer day, the environment air is not cooling with height fast enough (or sometimes not at all) and the thermal bubble rises slowly and not very high. These conditions can be very difficult for glider flights and are hard work, slow grovel and normally also hot and sticky.
The inital task was 3 hour Assigned Area task. At 12:30 the 15 meter class was launched and struggled to stay up. Launch was postpone by 30 minutes and the task was shortened to 2 hour AAT.
We finally launched into the weak conditions and indeed it was a struggle with weak climbs to 4000 feet and big gaggles of gliders, up to 30 gliders in a small area. Whilst waiting for the start gate to open we spotted a few isolated cumuls on track and Gill was calling 5 knots climbs to 6000 feet. Liz and I, together with Kay (Standard class) pushed on to the clouds and were rewarded with good climb now to 7500 feet. Nobody else spotted the clouds and they were all still struggling in the start area in the blue, 3000 feet lower than us. But with the westerly wind the clouds and us were nicely drifting towards the start line.
Finally everyone in our class came over below and were climbing in our cloud. We moved over to the next clouds and waited. Nobody spotted us...
Then we saw the Germans leave, followed shortly by the Czechs (2 gliders are the Germans, 3 are the Czechs..), and then everybody else...we've got them this time!
We waited 5 more minutes then made excellent start and after a very long glide we caught up with the early starters who were now marking climbs for us. The rest of the flight was fantastic with great runs and climbs. I finished 2nd again with 107 kph and Liz 3rd with similiar speed. The only reason we didn't win the day was because we got greedya and went too far in the 2nd area.
When the air is stable, such as on a hot cloudless summer day, the environment air is not cooling with height fast enough (or sometimes not at all) and the thermal bubble rises slowly and not very high. These conditions can be very difficult for glider flights and are hard work, slow grovel and normally also hot and sticky.
The inital task was 3 hour Assigned Area task. At 12:30 the 15 meter class was launched and struggled to stay up. Launch was postpone by 30 minutes and the task was shortened to 2 hour AAT.
We finally launched into the weak conditions and indeed it was a struggle with weak climbs to 4000 feet and big gaggles of gliders, up to 30 gliders in a small area. Whilst waiting for the start gate to open we spotted a few isolated cumuls on track and Gill was calling 5 knots climbs to 6000 feet. Liz and I, together with Kay (Standard class) pushed on to the clouds and were rewarded with good climb now to 7500 feet. Nobody else spotted the clouds and they were all still struggling in the start area in the blue, 3000 feet lower than us. But with the westerly wind the clouds and us were nicely drifting towards the start line.
Finally everyone in our class came over below and were climbing in our cloud. We moved over to the next clouds and waited. Nobody spotted us...
Then we saw the Germans leave, followed shortly by the Czechs (2 gliders are the Germans, 3 are the Czechs..), and then everybody else...we've got them this time!
We waited 5 more minutes then made excellent start and after a very long glide we caught up with the early starters who were now marking climbs for us. The rest of the flight was fantastic with great runs and climbs. I finished 2nd again with 107 kph and Liz 3rd with similiar speed. The only reason we didn't win the day was because we got greedya and went too far in the 2nd area.
Sunday 2 August 2009
Second half - a tough day
In football the first few minutes of the second half are critical if you are the leading team. The opposition are psyched up by their manager and will be raring to have a go at you. You need to sit tight, keep your focus and not concede.
Today felt the same, after yesterday's rest day and with 6 days to go, we knew the Czechs will come out all guns blazing. However we didnt need to take big risks and so with the forecast for weak conditions and early shut-off, we decided to start early.
As it turned out the conditions were better than we thought but our start time was not a big mistake. The Czechs did start 20 minutes after us and did win the day but by a small margin and they will need to take bigger risks to catch up unless we make big mistakes.
So for the day. It really was horrible flight, the climbs were extremly rough and narrow and my Libelle did not like it at all. I was having terrible time in the climbs and was getting out-climbs even by the weakest competitors. And climbing is normally my secret weapon, if all else fail at least i know i can outclimb people.
So i spent the whole flight 1000-1500 feet below everyone else trying to catch up. The reason i got a good result (third) was that i left the weak climbs even though i was lower than everyone. I didn't succumb to the temptation to take a few more turns in weak climbs in order to get to the safety of cloudbase.
So, played badly but still managed a good results. Fun factor 2, result factor 8.
Today felt the same, after yesterday's rest day and with 6 days to go, we knew the Czechs will come out all guns blazing. However we didnt need to take big risks and so with the forecast for weak conditions and early shut-off, we decided to start early.
As it turned out the conditions were better than we thought but our start time was not a big mistake. The Czechs did start 20 minutes after us and did win the day but by a small margin and they will need to take bigger risks to catch up unless we make big mistakes.
So for the day. It really was horrible flight, the climbs were extremly rough and narrow and my Libelle did not like it at all. I was having terrible time in the climbs and was getting out-climbs even by the weakest competitors. And climbing is normally my secret weapon, if all else fail at least i know i can outclimb people.
So i spent the whole flight 1000-1500 feet below everyone else trying to catch up. The reason i got a good result (third) was that i left the weak climbs even though i was lower than everyone. I didn't succumb to the temptation to take a few more turns in weak climbs in order to get to the safety of cloudbase.
So, played badly but still managed a good results. Fun factor 2, result factor 8.
Saturday 1 August 2009
The Shabath
Today is mandatory rest day so we're off to the local water park to chill out. Liz and Alan have gone to have icecream in Romania..
Outragous day
Yesterday's weather forecast was for a blue day with weak conditions. It turned out to be a mega racing day and we have achieved amazing speeds in our club gliders. Liz won the day with a whooping 113kph and i'm second with 110kph.
On a cloudless day (blue) you want to start as late as possible because you can use other gliders ahead to mark climbs for you. But on a day with possible showers you generally want to start as early as possible to minimize the chance of getting caught out in a showers (showers tend to develop later on in the day).
So yesterday at 12:30 it was still blue with no sign of cloud but by 12:45 the sky was full of great looking cumulus. After take off while flying around in the start area i noticed the clouds were getting taller very quickly, a sign of possible showers. We had a string of gliders following us around everywhere we went and to try and shake them off we tried a dummy start, went down track for 10km and came back. They all came back with us...
So we then made a proper start straight away which was the decision that won the day. The Czechs and Germans waited too long and got caught out. We had fantastic run all the way, cruising between climbs at 90-95 knots (170-180 kmh) and only stopping to climb 7 times. At one point i took a 10kt climb which is 1000 feet per minute. When you are in a climb like that it feels like you are on an express train to heaven..
The last 50km were tricky, clouds getting massive and we could see showers ahead. We took the last climb very high to have safety margin in case we get caught out in the sink (downdrafts) expected in the shower and got home to find out we romped the 220km task in just under 2 hours..my personal best speed ever in this glider.
On a cloudless day (blue) you want to start as late as possible because you can use other gliders ahead to mark climbs for you. But on a day with possible showers you generally want to start as early as possible to minimize the chance of getting caught out in a showers (showers tend to develop later on in the day).
So yesterday at 12:30 it was still blue with no sign of cloud but by 12:45 the sky was full of great looking cumulus. After take off while flying around in the start area i noticed the clouds were getting taller very quickly, a sign of possible showers. We had a string of gliders following us around everywhere we went and to try and shake them off we tried a dummy start, went down track for 10km and came back. They all came back with us...
So we then made a proper start straight away which was the decision that won the day. The Czechs and Germans waited too long and got caught out. We had fantastic run all the way, cruising between climbs at 90-95 knots (170-180 kmh) and only stopping to climb 7 times. At one point i took a 10kt climb which is 1000 feet per minute. When you are in a climb like that it feels like you are on an express train to heaven..
The last 50km were tricky, clouds getting massive and we could see showers ahead. We took the last climb very high to have safety margin in case we get caught out in the sink (downdrafts) expected in the shower and got home to find out we romped the 220km task in just under 2 hours..my personal best speed ever in this glider.
Friday 31 July 2009
2 long days of flying and Assigned Area Tasks
Last couple of days were long and hard, particularly yesterday. The day before yesterday we had a 3 hour Assigned Area Task, so what's that??
Well, the normal gliding competition task is called a racing task, simply race around a pre-defined course using GPS points to define the course. However, this means you might end up not flying in the best part of the sky i.e. where the best weather conditions are. Also, normal racing tasks do not test your skill as a glider pilot to select the best route to fly through.
So a new task type called Assigned Area Task (AAT) was invented. This is quite complicated and many pilots are stressed out when these tasks are set, not us Brits of course because we practice them a lot..
So how does it work? The task setter will define two or more areas, normally circles, with radius say of 20 or 30 km, and a Task Time, say 3 or 4 hours. You then have to fly from the start into each area (in the correct order) as far as you want then fly into the next area and so on and then come back on or after the Task Time has elapsed. When you get back your flight trace is analysed and the scoring program works out your overall distance for the day and divides that by your flight time to give your average speed. The fastest speed wins the day.
Things to remember:
You can fly anywhere you want within the areas.
The Task Time is minimum so if you come back in 2 hours of the 3 you still score as if you flew for 3 hours.
The scoring program calculates your maximum distance in a straight line, not your overall distance flown, so it doesn't pay to fly in curve lines or circles for that matter :)
Well, the normal gliding competition task is called a racing task, simply race around a pre-defined course using GPS points to define the course. However, this means you might end up not flying in the best part of the sky i.e. where the best weather conditions are. Also, normal racing tasks do not test your skill as a glider pilot to select the best route to fly through.
So a new task type called Assigned Area Task (AAT) was invented. This is quite complicated and many pilots are stressed out when these tasks are set, not us Brits of course because we practice them a lot..
So how does it work? The task setter will define two or more areas, normally circles, with radius say of 20 or 30 km, and a Task Time, say 3 or 4 hours. You then have to fly from the start into each area (in the correct order) as far as you want then fly into the next area and so on and then come back on or after the Task Time has elapsed. When you get back your flight trace is analysed and the scoring program works out your overall distance for the day and divides that by your flight time to give your average speed. The fastest speed wins the day.
Things to remember:
You can fly anywhere you want within the areas.
The Task Time is minimum so if you come back in 2 hours of the 3 you still score as if you flew for 3 hours.
The scoring program calculates your maximum distance in a straight line, not your overall distance flown, so it doesn't pay to fly in curve lines or circles for that matter :)
Wednesday 29 July 2009
The Climb
During a flight there are two main components that influence your speed, the Climb and the Glide.
So we all know that aeroplanes fly by moving through the air at speed and creating airflow over their wings which is a "Lift" force, but what about gliders? Well we dont have engines onboard but we have a much bigger enigine, Gravity. So we get towed by a tow plane and once released we point the nose down and let gravity pull us, resulting in accelaration and the speed required to generate the airflow which results in lift. Basically gliders are large paper aeroplanes...
This means that gliders are always on a decending path, normally at about 100-200 feet per minute, so how do we stay up? Well the answer is we find air that's going up faster than our decent rate.
There are many ways but the most common one is to use Thermals. In short, the sun heat the ground, the ground heat the bubble of air above it which then given a suitalbe trigger, pops up and rises up because it's warmer than the air around it. As it is going up it is cooling down until its temperature is equal to the air around it at which point it stops rising.
Gliders find thermalls (Climbs) then circle in them (they are sort of column or bubble shape). Some thermalls go up as fast as 1000 feet per minute or more. The faster we climb the faster we can glide forward, and in fact the climb rate is probably the most important factor in the average speed.
So the idea is to find the best Climbs, center in them (the thermal will do its best to throw you off its centre), turn tight (sometimes up to 60 deg of bank), then when the climb rate drops off (normally at the top) you leave and glide forward to the next climb. To win a competition you have to only take the very best climbs and reject weak ones. However, this is a trade off because if you are quite low you might have to compromise and take a weak climb otherwise you will be forced to land.
So we all know that aeroplanes fly by moving through the air at speed and creating airflow over their wings which is a "Lift" force, but what about gliders? Well we dont have engines onboard but we have a much bigger enigine, Gravity. So we get towed by a tow plane and once released we point the nose down and let gravity pull us, resulting in accelaration and the speed required to generate the airflow which results in lift. Basically gliders are large paper aeroplanes...
This means that gliders are always on a decending path, normally at about 100-200 feet per minute, so how do we stay up? Well the answer is we find air that's going up faster than our decent rate.
There are many ways but the most common one is to use Thermals. In short, the sun heat the ground, the ground heat the bubble of air above it which then given a suitalbe trigger, pops up and rises up because it's warmer than the air around it. As it is going up it is cooling down until its temperature is equal to the air around it at which point it stops rising.
Gliders find thermalls (Climbs) then circle in them (they are sort of column or bubble shape). Some thermalls go up as fast as 1000 feet per minute or more. The faster we climb the faster we can glide forward, and in fact the climb rate is probably the most important factor in the average speed.
So the idea is to find the best Climbs, center in them (the thermal will do its best to throw you off its centre), turn tight (sometimes up to 60 deg of bank), then when the climb rate drops off (normally at the top) you leave and glide forward to the next climb. To win a competition you have to only take the very best climbs and reject weak ones. However, this is a trade off because if you are quite low you might have to compromise and take a weak climb otherwise you will be forced to land.
Tuesday 28 July 2009
Day 3 - The Percentage game
Gliding competitions are long, this one is going to be 12 flying days with possible 12000 points on the board up for grabs. You can't win every day so the tactics is to put yourself in a good position and then get study results.
Today, 275 km racing task in the blue was tricky so we started early and although we got overtaken by later starters i managed to come fifth and retain my position overall.
Tomorrow is another day and still everything to play for so having an early night after singing a few Simon & Garfunkel with the Germans.
Today, 275 km racing task in the blue was tricky so we started early and although we got overtaken by later starters i managed to come fifth and retain my position overall.
Tomorrow is another day and still everything to play for so having an early night after singing a few Simon & Garfunkel with the Germans.
Day Win
On day one everyone got back so the task setter clearly thought the task was too short for the good conditions (it was) and felt he had to make up for it. Day 2 task then 439km for the club class. Long way to the north west then back and even longer way to the north east. Took off at 11:15, started at 12:45 and landed back after 6 so it was a long day and we're all knackered. More of the same today..
The leg to the west was awsome, good reliable cumuls and 6-7 knots climbs up to 6500 feet. Then crossing the river on the long leg to the east the clouds disappear and now almost the whole class were together. Liz and I together with the French pilot were at the top of the stack and pushed very hard, concious that the day is running out.
We turned the north east turn point after 4pm with still 145 km to go in the blue with climbs 3.5 knots at best, but still going up to 6000 feet. We egged each other on and as soon as the climb dropped below 3kts we moved on.
This seems to work very well and we managed to lose the hunting pack, now four of us at the front and Rose, who left earlier and always fly on our own also doing very well a little ahead.
Last 60km were under a sheet of Cirrus cloud that stopped the sun heating and climbs now down to 1.8kts. Managed to get a climb on the edge of the cirrus and then one more 30 km out to put us on marginal glide home. The last part into the control point is over a large lake and flying over it at 1200 feet with still 10km to go was character building material. But the last 10km were good and we got in comfortably.
Day win for me and first overall, Liz in 5th and second overall. A grand day out!
The leg to the west was awsome, good reliable cumuls and 6-7 knots climbs up to 6500 feet. Then crossing the river on the long leg to the east the clouds disappear and now almost the whole class were together. Liz and I together with the French pilot were at the top of the stack and pushed very hard, concious that the day is running out.
We turned the north east turn point after 4pm with still 145 km to go in the blue with climbs 3.5 knots at best, but still going up to 6000 feet. We egged each other on and as soon as the climb dropped below 3kts we moved on.
This seems to work very well and we managed to lose the hunting pack, now four of us at the front and Rose, who left earlier and always fly on our own also doing very well a little ahead.
Last 60km were under a sheet of Cirrus cloud that stopped the sun heating and climbs now down to 1.8kts. Managed to get a climb on the edge of the cirrus and then one more 30 km out to put us on marginal glide home. The last part into the control point is over a large lake and flying over it at 1200 feet with still 10km to go was character building material. But the last 10km were good and we got in comfortably.
Day win for me and first overall, Liz in 5th and second overall. A grand day out!
Sunday 26 July 2009
Day 1 at last
First day of school and I am the new girl in town. I’ve been preparing for this day for two years and am a bag of nerves. Weather briefing is a bit confusing but cold front has gone through over night and pressure is building so what more do we need to know? 310km Racing task for clubbies, grid launch in 1 hour, so much to do arrggghhh!
The tugs finally arrived today and the grid is launching dead on time, Standards first then us. Here we go, don’t blow the first day…! Off tow and first climb in the bag, finally I can relax a little. First leg west, Liz and I are sticking together and going well, then the French catch us up but we are catching up with the Germans ahead. Into the 2nd turn point and Liz is pushing ahead, I’m falling behind and trying to keep up with the now leaders, everyone is running very fast. After the turn Liz is calling 6kts, I’m lower at 3000 feet and can’t get the climb.
Must keep calm, long third leg flew mostly on my own and managed to catch up with the lead gaggle on the last turn, then had stonking run home to find out I’ve finished 2nd. Rose is 4th and Liz 6th. Standards also doing well with 5th, 11th and 13th, good first day in the bag for the team.
So overall wonderful day out, 7 and 8 kts climb up to 7500 feet and very fast speeds. Hoping for more of the same tomorrow.
The tugs finally arrived today and the grid is launching dead on time, Standards first then us. Here we go, don’t blow the first day…! Off tow and first climb in the bag, finally I can relax a little. First leg west, Liz and I are sticking together and going well, then the French catch us up but we are catching up with the Germans ahead. Into the 2nd turn point and Liz is pushing ahead, I’m falling behind and trying to keep up with the now leaders, everyone is running very fast. After the turn Liz is calling 6kts, I’m lower at 3000 feet and can’t get the climb.
Must keep calm, long third leg flew mostly on my own and managed to catch up with the lead gaggle on the last turn, then had stonking run home to find out I’ve finished 2nd. Rose is 4th and Liz 6th. Standards also doing well with 5th, 11th and 13th, good first day in the bag for the team.
So overall wonderful day out, 7 and 8 kts climb up to 7500 feet and very fast speeds. Hoping for more of the same tomorrow.
Saturday 25 July 2009
How to lose a gliding competition..
There are infinite ways to lose a gliding competition but the worse one has to be getting first and second degree burns on your chest two days before the comp start..
This is what happened to one of the club class German pilots who stumbled back as she was holding a large pot of boiling pasta water. She is now back in hospital in Germany and we all wish her well.
The most common way to lose a gliding competition is to take weak climbs.
Other ways to lose a gliding competitions:
Getting Swine flu
Forgetting to switch your flight logger on
Missing the start line
Missing the finish line
Confusing the start line with the finish line
Battery failure and not having second battery
Double battery failure
Entering the wrong turn points to your flight computer
Entering the right turn points to your flight computer but in the wrong order
Flying to slow
Flying too fast
Infringing airspace boundary
Infringing country boundary
Breaking your glider in a bad field landing
This is what happened to one of the club class German pilots who stumbled back as she was holding a large pot of boiling pasta water. She is now back in hospital in Germany and we all wish her well.
The most common way to lose a gliding competition is to take weak climbs.
Other ways to lose a gliding competitions:
Getting Swine flu
Forgetting to switch your flight logger on
Missing the start line
Missing the finish line
Confusing the start line with the finish line
Battery failure and not having second battery
Double battery failure
Entering the wrong turn points to your flight computer
Entering the right turn points to your flight computer but in the wrong order
Flying to slow
Flying too fast
Infringing airspace boundary
Infringing country boundary
Breaking your glider in a bad field landing
Rest day
Last day before the comp start. Nice cumulus but very windy, we are having a rest before opening ceremony this evening at the town square, hope to have nice pictures later on.
This morning first official briefing, each pilot was called up to the stage and introduced themselves and also got a bag of goodies. Also some last minute rule changes, start line is now 10 km long..
This morning first official briefing, each pilot was called up to the stage and introduced themselves and also got a bag of goodies. Also some last minute rule changes, start line is now 10 km long..
Friday 24 July 2009
Last practice day
Finally a proper task, 2 hour Assign Area task. Launched at 2pm and started 2:56, all in the blue. Very good first leg then went horrible on the second, climbs going from 7kts to scratchy 1.5kts, then a reasonable run back home. Respectable 80kph, dont think many clubbies got round, i know the Germans didnt so moral victory! Rose and Hannah landed out.
Tomorrow day off then opening ceremony in the evening.
Tomorrow day off then opening ceremony in the evening.
Thursday 23 July 2009
Psychology
I think psychology is the most interesting aspect of this sport so I want to write quite a lot about how I coped during the comp, I think it’s more interesting than technical details like what climb rate I was getting or what speed to fly I was doing.
Psychology is critical in any sport, but much more so in gliding where it’s really is all in your head and you are your own worse enemy. One of the problems you have as a competitor is that because there is no set start time (once the start gate is open you can start whenever you want, see Starts), you never really know how you are doing on the day, I mean you might feel you are having a great day only to land and find out that other people flew much faster and you’ve ended up 30th.
But normally it’s the reverse, you are having difficult time, you can’t get into the rhythm because the thermals are broken, you get low and you see gliders shooting past above you, and your think everyone else is having a blast, your morale evaporates, you are kicking yourself thinking your are the worse pilot in the world. But later you find out that actually, it WAS a difficult day and everyone had a bad day and you did ok.
What you need to do is to tell yourself, it is a hard day, the weather is bad and I am making the most of it, other people are also struggling. In the low points it’s crucical to stay calm and deal with the task in hand rather than thinking how other people are doing. But this is very very difficult to do, your brain is great at playing games with you.
Psychology is critical in any sport, but much more so in gliding where it’s really is all in your head and you are your own worse enemy. One of the problems you have as a competitor is that because there is no set start time (once the start gate is open you can start whenever you want, see Starts), you never really know how you are doing on the day, I mean you might feel you are having a great day only to land and find out that other people flew much faster and you’ve ended up 30th.
But normally it’s the reverse, you are having difficult time, you can’t get into the rhythm because the thermals are broken, you get low and you see gliders shooting past above you, and your think everyone else is having a blast, your morale evaporates, you are kicking yourself thinking your are the worse pilot in the world. But later you find out that actually, it WAS a difficult day and everyone had a bad day and you did ok.
What you need to do is to tell yourself, it is a hard day, the weather is bad and I am making the most of it, other people are also struggling. In the low points it’s crucical to stay calm and deal with the task in hand rather than thinking how other people are doing. But this is very very difficult to do, your brain is great at playing games with you.
Hot goulash
2nd official practice day. Hotter then yesterday - up to 37 degrees. We have a task, 173km but no one is in any mode to fly. We spend the morning trying to work out which bit of airspace we are allowed to fly through and marking them on our flight computer "SeeYou" which has a mind of its own. I am the geek (or "technical expert" as i prefer to call it..) in the team so keeping busy.
Lunch time we had improvised birthday party for Norman, one of the crew and we dunked him in our "pool".
By 2pm everyone has given up and we went to stick unionjacks on our trailer when i spotted a glider thermalling. Decided to take a launch, everyone thinks i'm mad, but hey, i am here to practice not to go swimming. It was actuallt quite good, 5 knot climb to 6000 feet but that was as good as it got then downhill from then. Had 2.5 hours around the control points and did a fast straight in final glide.
This evening went to town and had a goulash and very nice it was too.
Lunch time we had improvised birthday party for Norman, one of the crew and we dunked him in our "pool".
By 2pm everyone has given up and we went to stick unionjacks on our trailer when i spotted a glider thermalling. Decided to take a launch, everyone thinks i'm mad, but hey, i am here to practice not to go swimming. It was actuallt quite good, 5 knot climb to 6000 feet but that was as good as it got then downhill from then. Had 2.5 hours around the control points and did a fast straight in final glide.
This evening went to town and had a goulash and very nice it was too.
Wednesday 22 July 2009
Technical check
Passed technical check ok, despite my wings span being 0.001 cm over 15 meters...otherwise all ok, weight is not above the max so can afford big breakfast tomorrow.
In the technical checks the gliders get checked to ensure they comply with the rules for their class, in particular in terms of weight and wing span which are major factors in performance. Generally speaking if the conditions are good you want to be as heavy as possible, this is because heavy glider will fly faster for the same height loss compare to a light glider. Some competitors will go to great effort to add weight to their gliders. The gliders get weighed every day during the comp.
In the technical checks the gliders get checked to ensure they comply with the rules for their class, in particular in terms of weight and wing span which are major factors in performance. Generally speaking if the conditions are good you want to be as heavy as possible, this is because heavy glider will fly faster for the same height loss compare to a light glider. Some competitors will go to great effort to add weight to their gliders. The gliders get weighed every day during the comp.
Pep talk from the coach
We spent the morning writing all the Hungarian turn points into our shiney new Hungarian airspace maps. Luckily all the turn points are numbered, just as well because there is no way we can pronounce them.
Starting
Starting in a gliding competition is a critical phase of the flight and can make or break your score. Once the task is set, you get some time to get ready, then all the competitors get to the grid into their gliders and get launched by tow planes usually up to 2000 feet.
Launching 50 or so gliders can take up to an hour so launched gliders hang around the start gate (an imaginary line of about 10km long) and wait. Once all gliders have launched the comp control announce the start gate open and then you can make a start. However, you dont have to make a start at that time, you can start any time you like after the gate is open.
What happens then depends on the conditions, if the day is good then it's worth waiting for others to start because 1) they will mark thermalls for you and 2) the conditions generally improve later on. However if you get it wrong you might get left behind too late in the day to get round the task so it's a dangerous game to play. If on the other hand you start too early then you would normally get overtaken by later starters.
In particular on a day with no cumulus clouds to mark thermals you must not leave too early because you will be marking climbs (thermals) for later starters, so on such "blue" day there is normally a cat and mouse game with people making dummy starts and then coming back to restart.
Launching 50 or so gliders can take up to an hour so launched gliders hang around the start gate (an imaginary line of about 10km long) and wait. Once all gliders have launched the comp control announce the start gate open and then you can make a start. However, you dont have to make a start at that time, you can start any time you like after the gate is open.
What happens then depends on the conditions, if the day is good then it's worth waiting for others to start because 1) they will mark thermalls for you and 2) the conditions generally improve later on. However if you get it wrong you might get left behind too late in the day to get round the task so it's a dangerous game to play. If on the other hand you start too early then you would normally get overtaken by later starters.
In particular on a day with no cumulus clouds to mark thermals you must not leave too early because you will be marking climbs (thermals) for later starters, so on such "blue" day there is normally a cat and mouse game with people making dummy starts and then coming back to restart.
The team
The comp is individual as well as team event. In the Club class it’s Liz, Rose and myself, Standard class it’s Gill, Kay and Hannah. All seasoned Internationals pilots except Hannah and me, and Hannah is in a new glider so tall order.
What’s it all about? Cont..
What’s it all about? If you are an experience comp pilot look away now..
So how do gliding competition work, I mean, gliders are lovely, elegant, serene things that you see on hot sunny days float quietly and peacefully through the English countryside, what do they have to do with competition of any sort?
Well, I would say that this common perception of gliding couldn’t be further than the reality of competition flying. Competitive flight is intense, fast, furious, aggressive, stressful, dangerous, immensely satisfying and most of all – brilliant fun. I would liken it car racing without the noise and fumes.
For detailed description of how gliding competition works see here and even more details on the Lasham website.
But in short, you race around a pre-defined course and the fastest wins. Simple. Not quite though, so later on I’ll give more my own take on things like Tasks and Scoring and tactics.
A regional or national comp would normally last 9 days, this may seem like a long time but don’t forget, gliding is very much weather dependent so in a good comp you’d expect to fly on 6 out of 9 days. Some comps last year had only 2 days. International comps are 12-14 days.
Competitions are split into classes, the main classes are:
Club class: Handicapped comp for gliders with relatively low performance
Standard class: High end gliders with 15 meter wingspan and no flaps
15 Meter class: High performance gliders with 15 meters wingspan with flaps
18 Meter class: High performance gliders with 18 meters wingspan with flaps
Open class: Anything goes – no limit on wingspan or otherwise
So how do gliding competition work, I mean, gliders are lovely, elegant, serene things that you see on hot sunny days float quietly and peacefully through the English countryside, what do they have to do with competition of any sort?
Well, I would say that this common perception of gliding couldn’t be further than the reality of competition flying. Competitive flight is intense, fast, furious, aggressive, stressful, dangerous, immensely satisfying and most of all – brilliant fun. I would liken it car racing without the noise and fumes.
For detailed description of how gliding competition works see here and even more details on the Lasham website.
But in short, you race around a pre-defined course and the fastest wins. Simple. Not quite though, so later on I’ll give more my own take on things like Tasks and Scoring and tactics.
A regional or national comp would normally last 9 days, this may seem like a long time but don’t forget, gliding is very much weather dependent so in a good comp you’d expect to fly on 6 out of 9 days. Some comps last year had only 2 days. International comps are 12-14 days.
Competitions are split into classes, the main classes are:
Club class: Handicapped comp for gliders with relatively low performance
Standard class: High end gliders with 15 meter wingspan and no flaps
15 Meter class: High performance gliders with 15 meters wingspan with flaps
18 Meter class: High performance gliders with 18 meters wingspan with flaps
Open class: Anything goes – no limit on wingspan or otherwise
Monday 20 July 2009
Turf war
Arrived late last night and found a nice patch in the shade to stake our British flag. Woke up this morning surrounded and had a territorial bust up with the Hungarian team..all sorted with a little help from the comp director.
Actually everyone is extremely nice and helpful including the Germans who let us borrow some milk for breakfast.
First practice flight, went east to where the weather suppose to be good and it was blue and horrible, went west and into mega 8 knots thermals up to 8000 feet. So when it's good it's very good when it's bad it's very bad..
Quick trip to Tesco..they don’t sell marmite..
Tomorrow first official practice day and scrutineering. My tail numbers are too small, hope noone care too much.
Actually everyone is extremely nice and helpful including the Germans who let us borrow some milk for breakfast.
First practice flight, went east to where the weather suppose to be good and it was blue and horrible, went west and into mega 8 knots thermals up to 8000 feet. So when it's good it's very good when it's bad it's very bad..
Quick trip to Tesco..they don’t sell marmite..
Tomorrow first official practice day and scrutineering. My tail numbers are too small, hope noone care too much.
Sunday 19 July 2009
Tuesday 7 July 2009
What's it all about?
What are gliding competitions? I can hear you ask, how do you compete in gliders, i mean, gliders are about floating peacefully and calmly in the countryside...?
Friday 8 May 2009
Training - Wonderfull May weather
Fantastic few weeks, brilliant training period. Two weeks ago we had the Lasham compete. Saturday very windy, landed out on the first TP like a novice, very embarrassing. Sunday much better, 320k to Corby and Chievely, 85kph. Would have been better if i didn't lose all battery power.
Last weekend really good. Saturday out and return to Honinton (Devon) in the DG1000 with a student, still managed very good speed, 97kph. Always great to go to the seaside.. Sunday another 300k this time with Liz, going three times round the club 100. Again lost all power. Must sort this out.
Last weekend really good. Saturday out and return to Honinton (Devon) in the DG1000 with a student, still managed very good speed, 97kph. Always great to go to the seaside.. Sunday another 300k this time with Liz, going three times round the club 100. Again lost all power. Must sort this out.
Tuesday 24 March 2009
The Comp
I will be flying in the Club class for the British team in the 2009 Women's Gliding World Championship to be held in July/August in Sezeged, Hungary.
This is the competition blog. The official GB team competition blog is here and will have real-time updates and scores. This blog is my own personal tale..
The official competition website is here.
Free Counter
This is the competition blog. The official GB team competition blog is here and will have real-time updates and scores. This blog is my own personal tale..
The official competition website is here.
Free Counter
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)