Jim; We're seeing some action regarding F3J competition with winch launch in SOCAL. The Torrey Pines Gulls (TPG) club has run a few such contests and they've been very well received. In addition, the Harbor Soaring Society (HSS) has been running an almost monthly F3J winch launch contest. The big advantage is a significantly reduced requirement for support personnel. If you're using two man tows, this requires a four man team which mandates at least 24 participants to run six man heats. In addition, you're either flying, towing or timing during each heat which means no rest for the old and weary. However, with a winch launch, it only takes a pilot and timer which means you can run a six man heat with only a dozen competitors. If you draw 15-20, you even have the option of an occasional break. Given that participation in soaring contests is declining, I think we'll see further movement toward F3J winch launch contests out of necessity. Of course, I'm talking about local and not international contests since manpower doesn't seem to be an issue in Europe. So, looking down the road five years, will we see a format change in FAI F3J competition? I doubt it, but a change could occur at the AMA level. In fact, the recent trend toward MOM competition is a step in that direction.
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