Hi Paul, As I somewhat earlier said, we should wait for the official report, and full knowledge of the facts, before trying to draw ANY definitive conclusions. Given this, I therefore was NOT making any judgement as such, at all.
Other than that, you are in general perfectly correct, and your further comments/conclusions are astute and bear thinking about. >From what Jim choose to tell us, there is a difference between his final glide and that of the other two pilots who also outlanded close to home. Jim ended up in a situation where he had nowhere to go. In contrast, the other 2 pilots safely landed, without incident, in a suitable paddock, and I think that is the lesson here. They did indeed show greater wisdom. Hope that helps to clarify things for you. Kindest regards, Gary BTW let me correct one part my earlier email. The Specialist is an American not Australian - work written many years ago by Charles Sale. However the parallels to the Australian experience are unmistakable. From: aus-soaring-boun...@lists.internode.on.net [mailto:aus-soaring-boun...@lists.internode.on.net] On Behalf Of Paul Mander Sent: Thursday, 30 October 2014 1:54 PM To: 'Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia.' Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] Bizarre Comp Rules - in the shit I think youve been a bit quick to judge. You state that whilst Jim chose to fly on, two other pilots made quite routine outlandings 7km back on the track, implying a greater wisdom on their part. Those outlandings were not routine, if you study the traces. They were straight in landings just as was Jims. One of them makes a desperate last circle close to the ground then straightens up and lands. There is a striking similarity in all three traces, which paint a cautionary picture. All three picked up climbs just before their last turn, and then appear to consider themselves on final glide. Then they turn into a 20kt headwind from the SW, lose their final glide and start to search for lift. All three try to thermal again without success. All three glide on and the ground rises up to smite them; the other two are simply 7km further out when it does. There are undoubtedly lessons to be learnt from their experience, not the least being how quickly thermals die in Queensland and how quickly the trap can snap. But its not instructive, or fair, to make out that one was foolish where others were wise. From: aus-soaring-boun...@lists.internode.on.net [mailto:aus-soaring-boun...@lists.internode.on.net] On Behalf Of Gary Stevenson Sent: Tuesday, 28 October 2014 10:45 PM To: 'Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia.' Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] Bizarre Comp Rules - in the shit Michael Texler in his post of the evening of 28 Oct, finally Got It. Tim has now amplified matters, so that to mis-quote one famous author, even a schoolboy can understand. Just a preamble: the point I really want to make is that on that last day when Jim choose to fly on, 2 pilots in Sports Class elected to make quite routine outlandings (into the same paddock apparently), just 7 km from home. As usual their traces are available on Soaring Spot. Names do not need to be mentioned just look at Sports Class, and then check the outlandings and distances covered to pinpoint the two relevant traces. Tim , you are being a little bit shy in your use of the Oz vernacular. The Municipal Dunny Man filled a very valuable and quite unique place in servicing one the essential needs of communities prior to the development of reticulated sewerage systems. So to get the language straight, let me put shed loads back into its true blue and dinky di context: shit-cart full loads. Further ; For Australian Musical Researchers try Googling Municipal Dunny Can. ..... And of course do not overlook that Australian work of great literary worth titled The Specialist. For visual art buffs this work was no doubt part inspiration for the 2006 Oz movie Kenny. Cheers, Gary From: aus-soaring-boun...@lists.internode.on.net [mailto:aus-soaring-boun...@lists.internode.on.net] On Behalf Of Tim Shirley Sent: Tuesday, 28 October 2014 8:39 PM To: Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia. Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] Bizarre Comp Rules... Hi all, Once again a disclaimer: I hold no relevant official position with the GFA. I do have considerable experience as a rulemaker, as a Contest Director, as a Scorer, and as a competition pilot. I speak only for myself. What follows is general clarification about competitions and rules, and is not intended as a comment on any specific incident. Back when I was involved in competition rulemaking, I remember we introduced some principles as a preamble to the rules and on checking I found that most of them are still there: At all times it remains the responsibility of pilots to operate in accordance with the GFA Manual of Standard Procedures and all applicable laws and regulations. Pilots are expected to conduct themselves at all times in the spirit of these rules and in accordance with the practice of good sportsmanship. Safety is at all times the primary consideration. If at any time a pilot feels that the requirements of these rules compromises the safety of their flight then they should take whatever actions are required to ensure the safety of themselves and of other air users. This may include withdrawing from the task or from the competition. Pilots are required to conduct themselves in a manner that will not bring disrepute on the Organisers, the hosting club or the GFA. There is nothing in the competition rules that suspends any laws. There are no exemptions. Pilots flying in a competition are just pilots, and must obey every requirement of the law. They remain fully responsible as Pilots in Command for the conduct of the flight. If they choose to disobey the law or good practice then that is entirely their responsibility. The competition is a game. Flying is not. No one wants to break their glider or themselves, and the rules of the game clearly discourage that by the simple fact that most of the time there is another race tomorrow. You won't get any points from a hospital bed or if your glider is in bits. On the last day, well if there was a million dollars at stake I could imagine that the risk of rolling yourself into a ball might be worth taking for some - but in our game why would anyone break a $100K glider for a bottle of cheap wine and a round of applause? Or even for the opportunity to spend shed loads of their own money representing Australia? If you want to know who is responsible for the safety of a flight where you are the Pilot in Command, take a good look in a mirror. And be very sure of what you see. Cheers Tim Shirley tra dire é fare c' é mezzo il mare On 28/10/2014 2:06 PM, Texler, Michael wrote: The caveat should be in place that the crash was a result of your own poor decision making. Now what constitutes poor decision making is a matter of opinion. Surely competition rules should be in place to discourage crashing: i.e. you crash, you are out of the comp. You pack up and go home. I'll leave it to others more experienced in these matters to give reasons why. _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.internode.on.net To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
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