Re: [Aus-soaring] Handicaps

[Robert Hart]

On 17/08/11 21:14, Michael Durrant wrote: Folk,   Having now had the oppurtunity to fly a competitive Std class glider FQF (LS8) after many years campaigning GOD (19M Jantar) in the one class you could fly (Sports Class) with any hope of a competitive result,  I would ask that if there is any review underway of Sports Class handicaps that based on empirical evidence alone, the older Open/19M class gliders handicaps in that class be reviewed.   The low wing loading benefit on very weak days does not compensate for the loss incurred on the average competition day in Australia for these gliders given the way the polar drops off at normal cruising speed, especially given our current tasking approach which rarely, if ever, tests the book ends of the day when there might be some advantage for these gliders.   Given LS8/18 (0.895 handicap) performance on both strong and weak days, the relative handicaps applied to the Jantar 19M (0.910), Nimbus 2 (.90) etc are a joke...........based on my personal experience.   As a pilot of such a 30 year old open class glider, I would say that my experience of the handicapping across the board (ballasted and unballasted) for older gliders needs review. As I understand it, the handicaps are related almost exclusively to wing loading. Whilst this may well be a reasonable idea when the aerodynamics of the wings are very similar, this is not so when we are talking about intergenerational changes in aerodynamics. Even a passing perusal of the polars of recent gliders shows very significant performance gains of gliders from the 1980s, which have significant performance gains over the early glass ships such as the Nimbus 2. If the aim of handicapping is to try to create a more level playing field to allow the skill of the pilot to shine through, then this issue needs to be addressed. If that is not the aim of the handicapping system could someone please explain why we have a handicapping system at all? -- Robert Hart ha...@interweft.com.au +61 (0)438 385 533 http://www.hart.wattle.id.au

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