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How to enjoy your fir~,.

British Team Coach Andy Davis, above, winner of two Standard ClassGold Medals at World Championships, draws on the successful teamtraining programme and on his own experience for tips to help you

WHEN well prepared and in the rightframe of mind I find competitionflying really enjoyable. I can hardly

wait for the daily briefing to find out whatthe next challenge will be. It is fantastic funto race along with your peers on a good dayand incredibly satisfying to complete a difficulttask on a day when you might normally noteven open the trailer doors. It is even more funif you are performing well.

Yet it can be incredibly frustrating anddemoralising if you perform badly, especiallyif the reasons are within your control.

In this article I intend to focus on the five

main areas that experience has shown canand do affect competition performance andtherefore the satisfaction you gain from flyingin competitions.

These are:

Preparation - of your equipment, making sureyou understand the task objectives, how topractise effectively, fitness and logistics;Expectationsand objectives- the psychologystuff, assessingwhat level you have reached,setting realistic goals and objectives;Theory (just a little) - what you can easily doto consistently go faster and why;Practice- how to effectivelytrain for contestflying;Execution - what to do at the competition,the main dos and don'ts.

Although this guide is intended to helpthose pilots new to competitive flying withboth preparation for and participation in theirfirst competition, experienced racing pilotsmight also find it useful revision.

Much of the content is drawn from the

British Team Coaching Programme.

PreparationTo start with, it goes without saying that yourequipment should be in the best possibleworking order. The time to sort this out is wellin advance of the competition.

Wheel brake: sooner or later in a competitionyou are going to have to make an outlandingand the wheel brake on your glider must bewell adjusted and effective. Nothing is goingto distract you from the primary task of soaringmore than worrying about its effectiveness,and how you are going to stop the gliderif you land in one of those small fields below!

Drinking water: your cockpit should becomfortable and have provision for carryinga reasonable quantity of drinking water.Dehydration really affects performance,especially in a long competition, and ispotentially a killer. If you regularly getheadaches after flying you almost certainlydon't drink enough.

How much should you drink? As a guide,in hot weather I often drink two litres of water

before flying, three litres of water on a five-hour flight and then another litre after landing.

Relief system (pee tube for us boys!): if youare drinking enough water you will eventuallyneed to urinate. Your glider should have aneasy-to-use relief system (I personally don'tfind plastic bags easy to use - nor does JayRebbeck... but that's another story). I knowthat it's not quite so easy for you girls, butthere are answers: ask other female pilots.(Geralyn Macfadyen has a system that workswelL) Restricting fluid intake is not an option.

Wing leading edge: most performance losscomes from damage and chips to the leadingedge: fill any chips or dents with filler orgel coat and rub smooth. Then keep the win?clean throughout the competition. Considerfitting bug wipers. Used regularly in buggyweather they really do prevent a large amour'of performance loss.

Instruments: having the latest gadget in thecockpit is much less important than ensuringthat what you have is reliable and that youknow how it works. Too many gadgets increaseyour workload and keep your attention insidethe cockpit when you should be lookingoutside. The most capable computer in thecockpit is the pilot's brain and the best sourceof information is the pilot's eyes. A good totalenergy audio variometer is crucially importantso that you can keep your eyes outside whenjoining and climbing in thermals. Your GPS

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Top:Andy in Discus 2a 80, in which he won the 2003 Yk' "

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.t gliding competitionnd logger system should have the latestJrning point database, and if using an,Iectronic airspace map make sure you usele same database as the competition scorer.

'railer: don't forget to check your trailer tolake sure it is up to the job of retrieving.ights, brakes and tyres should all beerviceable and the trailer should hold yourIrecious glider securely.

Inderstand the task objectiveshe next step in preparation is to understandhe task objectives. Read the latest edition ofle competition rules (the British GlidingIssociation's Competitions Handbook is issuednnually and can be downloaded fromvww.gliding.co.uk) so that you understand;ow to make a valid start, turning pointnd finish. More importantly, understand theIbjectivesof the two types of task:

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Fixed-course task: this is the classic racearound turning points set by the task setter.The pilot who finishes in the shortest time winsand the others receive a proportion of thewinner's points, depending on their relativespeed. . You must aim to finish because thereare very few points for outlanding unless a lotof other pilots also fail to finish.

Assigned Area Task {AAD:arguably the mostmisunderstood task by competitors andtask-setters alike. The task-setter defines theassigned areas and assigned time for the task.The pilot then chooses his own turning pointin each of the assigned areas (in the rightorder) with the objective of going as fast aspossible and finishing after the assigned timehas elapsed.Thereis no penalty for flying afterthe assigned task time; indeed, if conditionsare improving it might pay to fly further andincrease your averagespeed. It is important to

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plan to go far enoughso that you don't finishinside the assigned time. Youractual turningpoint doesn't have to be a defined point; thescoring system works out the point in spacethat gives the best geometry to maximise yourdistance. It is also important to remember thatmeandering around inside the assigned areasin an unplanned way isn't adding to yourdistance and hence speed. A good way to keepfocused on racing is to choose a "target TP"inside the assigned area, set it in your GPSand race towards it.

When flying an AATyour priorities, in order,should be:1. Youmust finish. The task is a race andoutlanders don't receive many points.2. You should not finish early. Only considerfinishing early if by doing so you can avoidalmost certain outlanding. You should go farenough in each assigned area to make sureyou don't finish early. This is because yourfinishing speed is calculated by dividing yourmarking distance by your actual task timeor the assigned time - whichever is greater.

Although most points are lost by outlanding,the next best way to lose points is by finishingearly.

As an example, on a 4-hour AAT, pilot A flies300km and finishes in 4 hours. His finishingspeed is 75km/h. Pilot B is much faster andflies 300km in 3 hours 45 minutes. His actualspeed is 80km/h, but because he finished inless than 4 hours his finishing speed for scoringpurposes is his marking distance, 300km,divided by the task time, 4 hours. This alsocomes out at 75km/h, so he receives the samepoints as the slower pilot, A. If he had justflown a bit further in any of the sectors inorder to make sure he finished after 4 hourshe would have scored nearly 20 per cent morespeed points than pilot A.

A goodruleof thumb is to plan to be startingfinal glide asthe assignedtime elapses. ~

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» How to practise effectivelyEven when your equipment is in order andyou know what you'll be trying to achieve,you still need to practise effectively. Everyflight you make should be like a competitiveflight. Set a task, make a start, fly the taskif at all possible and make a finish.

Simply flying cross-country by followinggood patches of weather around is not goodpractice for competition.

If possible, use the glider and equipmentyou intend to use for the competition.

Physical fitnessPhysical fitness is another key element ofpreparation. Gliding competitions are verydemanding, both mentally and physically.Many hours of task flying over several daysrequire high levels of stamina. It is impossibleto remain mentally alert for long periodswithout first attaining a reasonable levelof physical fitness. Anything you can doto improve your physical fitness willimprove your performance and enjoyment.(See below for psychological preparation.)

LogisticsYoualso need to sort out logistics well inadvance. Once you have identified yourcrew and made sure they know the datesthey are needed, agree defined roles andresponsibilities for yourself and for them.Will you trust the crew to rig the glider?Connect the controls? Fill up with water-ballast? Clear logger memories? Load thetasks into the GPS?Clearly there are nohard and fast rules, but what is importantis that you define what you expect thecrew to do and what you will do.

I personally always take responsibility foritems that have critical safety implicationsor flight recording function. I always rig thewings, tailplane, connect the controls andOJ the glider; clear logger memories, installthe loggers and load tasks into the GPS.

Try to get everything (glider, caravan, tent,crew) to the competition site early so thatyou can check in with the organisation ingood time. Settle yourself in and establisha daily routine that allows you to relax.

Expectations and objectivesOnly after honestly appraising your levelof progress can you establish some realisticexpectations for the competition.

Assess your own abilities: try to considerobjectively what level your flying hasreached. How experienced are you?How have your skills developed? What haveyou achieved so far: Silver, Gold, 300km,500km? Do you have any other competitionexperience, task weeks or Inter-club League?How did you perform relative to the otherpilots? Are you able to compare your flyingwith that of other experienced competitionpilots? How well has your practice for thecompetition been going?

Realistic expectations: you should try toestablish some realistic expectations and

Figure 1, right. illustrates

the polar curve foran unba/lasted Discus

with the construction for

2kt average climb rate.

5, Figure 1 - classic MacCready constructionDiscus:7351bs

4

[Assume 2kt average climbrateDrawtangent to curvefrom 2kt point

By repeating thisconstruction for various

climb rates using your

own glider's polar curve,

it is possible for you to

draw up a table of

average climb rate versus

theoretical average

cross-country speed, as

in Table 1 (opposite)

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objectives prior to entering the competition.For example, if you have previously flowna 300km flight, a realistic expectation is tosuccessfully fly a 300km task with theobjective of going faster than you havepreviously achieved, or perhaps completinga 500km task if the weather is good.

It is important to note that the emphasisis on flying objectives and not on the result.One of the ways to very effectively inhibityour performance is to set unrealisticobjectives that focus on the result.

For example, if your objective is to placein the top five, failure to achieve that resultdestroys your enjoyment of the competitionand the resulting stress will further affectyour performance.

The psychology of competingFlying a glider cross-country requirescomplex mental processing of vast amountsof information.

We see, hear, and feel information,which we need to be able to observe,process, and compare with our database(our mental library of our experience),decide what to do, instruct our hands andfeet on the controls and review our decisionto see if it was correct, while at the sametime continuing to observe and process newinformation as it comes in.

The pilot is best able to carry out thesecomplex mental processes when relaxed.As 'stress levels rise, the individual's capacityto carry out these complex processes isgreatly reduced. Decisions start to becomeirrational rather than instinctive.

The perfect state of mind is relaxed andalert with decisions being made almostinstinctively.

All sorts of mental baggage can raise yourstress levels, and - by cutting across yourability to process information - this cansignificantly lower your performance levels.

There isn't a lot we can do about someof the baggage we carry around such as ourjobs, relationships, financial worries, and

20 50 60 70 ~Air5peed (kt)

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so on, although we can help by not startingany new projects just before the competitionbegins. There is, however, a huge amountwe can do about gliding and competition-related baggage.

Start by preparing properly for the contestso that you are content with your equipmentand training. Establish realistic expectationsand objectives for the competition.

Many pilots find a regular daily routine atthe competition helps them to relax.

Use other competitors for information,but don't allow yourself to worry about whatthey are doing or have done. Ifsomebodyhas caught you up having started later,it's just history, there's nothing you can do tochange that history.

Most definitely don't try to do somethingdifferent to get away from them, it's a certaina recipe for disaster.

Don't waste time and energy complainingthat the task is too difficult/easy/set in thewrong direction (delete as appropriate).It's the same task for everybody.

It's noticeable that those pilots who spendmost time complaining often do the worstin competitions; they are just stressingthemselves into performing badly:

If you get low, lose time or suffer anyother disappointment, you can force yourselfto relax by concentrating on soaring aspectsof the flight, for example, where you willfind the next good climb, which street tofollow and so forth.

Focusing on the result is bad for yourmental health. Emphasise flying objectivesand ambitions. Tryto relax and to flyinstinctively whilst avoiding irrationaldecisions. Above all else aim to have fun.

A little theoryThis section will give guidance on how fastto fly and explains how you might consistentlygo a little faster by flying a little slower.By giving an appreciation of achievableaverage speeds, it will also help to guideyou on what your task start time should be.

Table 1

Theoretical average cross country speed Discus. 7351bs

Averageclimb rate

(kts)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Best Theoretical average

Speed to Fly XC speed

(kts) (km/h)

52 (best UD speed) 0

56 44

67 62

75 77

80 87

81 94

~ 1m

MacCready TheoryThe classic MacCready construction is usedwith the glider's polar curve to determinethe theoretical optimum speed to fly andaverage cross-country speed for a range ofcIimb rates (see Figure 1, left).

Tangents to the polar curve are drawnfrom average climb rate values on thevertical axis. The point at which the tangenttouches the curve is the theoretical optimumspeed to fly, and the point at which thetangent cuts the horizontal axis is thetheoretical average speed for that climb rate.

Figure 1 illustrates the polar curve for anunballasted Discus with the construction for2kt average climb rate. By repeating thisconstruction for various clinib rates usingyour own glider's polar curve, it is possibleto draw up a table of average climb rateversus theoretical average cross-countryspeed, as in Table 1, above (again, theexample is for an unballasted Discus).

Electronic flight computers basically dothe same sum when computing the speedto fly and in still air would direct the pilotto fly at the quoted best speed for any givenMacCready setting. Increasing the wing-loading by the addition of waterballast hasthe effect of increasing the speeds byapproximately the square root of the weightincrease, so adding 200lbs of water to theDiscus increases quoted speeds by about10 per cent (it's interesting to note that withthe Discus at plausible UK climb rates it'salmost never worth flying faster than 80ktunballasted). Classic MacCready theorydemands that the MacCready is set to theanticipated average climb rate in the nextthermal to give the optimum speed to flytowards that thermal. There are also severalpractical considerations to bear in mindwhen setting the MacCready.

How fast to flyA common mistake amongst inexperiencedcompetition pilots is to fly too fast by settingtoo high a MacCready setting. One reasonis over-estimating climb rates.

Consider a typical British day, on whichour pilot arrives under a promising-lookingcloud, feels a good surge of lift and spends3 turns, say 1 minute, getting centred andclimbing 100ft in the process. Once centred,he climbs for 2 minutes at a settled averageof 4kt, 800ft. His total climb so far is 900ft in3 minutes. The lift then dies off as he

Figure 2 -Effect of flying slower than optimum speedDiscus: 735/bs 3kt day

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2Besttheoretical average X/Cspeedfor 3kt climb:41.5kt =77kph

10 20

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X/Cspeed achieved by flying islower (62kt) and achieving4kt climbs: 44.5kt = 82kph

60 70 80 10D90

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Figure 2: in typical UK conditions, flying a little slower by setting a lower MacCready has little effect on theor~tical

average cross-country speed but it does increase your search area for the next good thermal (Steve Langland)

approaches cloudbase. He spends another3 turns (1 minute) climbing a further 100fttrying to recentre the lift before decidingthat he has wasted enough time and leavesthe thermal. Total height gain is 1,OOOftin4 minutes, so the actual average climb ratefrom entering to leaving the lift is only 2.5kteven though the averager settled at 4kt.

The achieved climb rate from entering toleaving the thermal will depend very muchon how quickly the pilot centres, howdecisive he is about leaving as the thermaldies at the top and how deep the operatingdepth is, but the important point to note isthat the actual average climb rate willalways be rather less than that indicatedby the typical 20-30 second averager foundin most variometer systems, It is very easyto over-estimate the average climb rate.

Now consider the effect of flying a littleslower than the optimum speed betweenthermals.

Figure 2 (above) illustrates the effectof flying between thermals on an averageBritish 3kt thermal day at best UD speedinstead of the theoretical optimum inter-thermal speed. Theoretical optimum isshown by yellow line 1, tangent to the polarcurve from the 3kt point. However, if theglider is flown between thermals at the zeroMacCready speed (best UD) of 52kt, thetheoretical cross-country speed in this caseis the point where the green line 2 from the3kt climb point to the polar curve at 52ktcrosses the horizontal axis. Incredibly, thetheoretical cross-country speed is only

8.5km/h less, a reduction from optimum ofjust 11 per cent, but with the advantageof achieving a glide angle of 43:1 instead ofthe 32:1 achievedat 75kt - a 34 pet centimprovement in glide angle and,til'ereforesearch area for the next thermal.

Not only does flying slower significantlyreduce your chances of an outlandingor time-consuming low scrape, but byincreasing your search area significantly,also increases your chances of finding abetter-than-average thermal.

Clearly as speed flown between thermalsmoves closer to the theoretical optimum, theaverage speed increases until there comes apoint where there is very little difference inaverage speed, but still remains a significantimprovement in glide angle. The theoreticaloptimum inter-thermal speed for a 1.5ktMacCready setting is 62kt, giving a glideangle of 39:1. If this 1.5kt MacCready speedof 62kt is flown on a 3kt day, the actualaverage speed will be 74km/h. This is justfour per cent less than the optimum, butwith 22 per cent better glide angle andsearch area.

If this 22 per cent better search areayields a thermal just 1kt stronger at 4kt,the average cross-country speed will nowincrease to 82km/h, as illustrated by thered line 3. This is six per cent quicker thanthat achieved by flying strictly at theoreticaloptimum cross-country speed and climbingat 3kt. This assumes that the pilot actuallydoes find a stronger climb as a result offlying a bit slower with a much bigger

>- search area, but it nicely illustrates afundamental point. In typical UK andNorthern European conditions, flyinga little slower than the optimum speedby setting a lower MacCready has verylittle effect on your theoretical averagecross-country speed, but has huge benefitin terms of increasing your search area forthe next good thermal. (f you find a betterthermal as a result, your average speedwill almost certainly be higher.

Note that these examples are all targetspeeds. Once the MacCready is set at agiven value, it is very important to follow thespeed director commands, especially if ittells you to fly faster when in sink. I don'tpersonally chase every little twitch of thespeed director, but generally fly at the targetspeed and then smoothly vary the speed forsustained speed director commands.

These arguments illustrate why manysuccessful competition pilots instinctively settheir MacCready to about half the achievedaverage climb rate in their thermals.

They recognise that the fastest pilots findthe best climbs and are optimising theirchances of finding those better climbs with-out sacrificing too much of their theoreticalcross-country speed. Combine this withthe tendency to over-estimate our achievedaverage climb rate, and the argument to ily alittle slower becomes even more compelling.Furthermore, since a low scrape can be verytime consuming and a premature outlandinga total points disaster, there is a major tacticalimperative to fly a little slower to improveour search area and avoid getting low.

When should I start?

First you have to know how fast you are likelyto go. Once again we go back to basicMacCready theory. Using the constructionshown in figure 1 draw up a table ofoptimum cross-country speeds for variousclimb rates and then reduce the values bysay 10 per cent to allow for route deviations,navigational errors, etc, as illustrated byTable 2 (below) for an unballasted Discus.

This table now becomes your referenceagainst which you can estimate your likelyaverage speed for the day, having receivedthe daily met briefing with its forecast ofpredicted thermal strengths. As mentionedpreviously, cross-country speeds willapproximately increase by the square rootof any weight increase (not exactly, because

Table 2

likely average cross country speed Discus, 7351bs

Average

dimb rate

(kts)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Theoretical likely average

average XC speed XC speed

(kls) (kmlh)

0 0

44 40

62 56

77 70

67 76

94 64

101 91

amongst other things, climb rates will be iworse with waterballast). The effect of ::adding 200lbs of water would be to increase Ispeeds by about 10 per cent, so the middle ~column givesa handy guide to likely aver- ~age speeds when carrying water. Once you ~are able to estimate your likely averagespeed for the day, you can calculate howlong any given fixed course task is going totake, or estimate how far you are going to beable to fly in the assigned time in an MT.

Having calculated how long your task islikely to take you, consider your start timeoptions by working back from the desiredfinish time. The met forecast will give a cluewhen the soaring day is going to fade. Planto fly your task in the strongest part of theday, but leave yourself a bit of soaringmargin at the end of the day in case youdon't go quite as fast as planned.

For example, if you anticipate 4 hoursto complete the task and good thermals areexpected to die away after 5.3Dpm, aI/owyourself a 3D-minute margin, and plan a5pm finish. Subtract the 4-hour task timeand your planned start time in this caseshould be 1pm.

Consider practical factors that might affectyour planned start time and adjust yourplans accordingly. If significant showeractivity is forecast, consider starting as earlyas possible to complete the task beforeshowers become widespread. If there islikely to be a large amount of spreadout,consider if this might slow you down andadjust your start time to suit. In blue weather,thermals often peak later in the afternoonthan when clouds are present and it is oftenbeneficial to start a bit later (additionally,if you start early, you have no other glidersahead to mark thermals and later starters are

going to use you as their thermal marker).Some sites may have particular local factorsthat influence your decision - for exampleincoming sea air in the late afternoon, whichmakes an early finish advisable.

The aim is to always take off with anoptimum start time for the day in mind.

PracticeTheskills, judgment and stamina requiredto participate successfully in a competitioncannot be gained without practice ortraining. Everyflight you make should,if possible, simulate a competition flight.

Fly cross-country at every opportunityFly cross-country tasks as much as possible,ideally in the glider you will use for thecompetition. If the weather is soarable butwill not allow you to fly cross-country,practise important flight activities, forexample, thermal location and centring byclimbing a bit, airbrake down, centre again.Practise choosing fields and later visit themon the ground to give yourself feedback andbuild confidence in your judgment.

Set yourself tasksTry to set yourself a task every time you fly.Following patches of good weather around

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the countryside at random will not train youto fly a competition task in which youare required to fly to given turning pointsor assigned areas. If possible, also practiseilying AATs.

If your glider carries water and you intendto use it in the competition, fly with water,building up the weight over a series of flightsso you learn what is a comfortable weightfor given conditions.

Set yourself a task before take-off, plan itproperly and work out a start time.

Use the time between take-off and yourstart to relax, practise thermal location andcentring (note where the thermals lie inrelation to the clouds).

Starting efficiently is quite an art, so makea proper start from a BGA start sector andthen, weather permitting, make a determinedeffort to complete the whole task as set.

Don't give up unless the task dearl}'becomes impossible. It is very importantto learn to stay airborne and keep going indifficult weather. In this way, build up yourstamina and develop mental toughness.

Make a proper finish across a finish lineor ring to gain familiarity with }'our finalglide computer and to learn the planningand safety issues involved in low-energyarrivals before your first competition da)'.

Analyse each flightLook back on each flight. If any other pilotsflew the same task, discuss the flight withthem. Ask yourself a series of questions:- Was the start time right?- What went well?

- Why did it go well?- What went badly?- Could it have been avoided and how?- Did I follow the best route?- Was I ruthless about the climb rates?

- Too much, too little, about right?- Did I find the best lift?

- Did I identify the right clouds?- Where was the best lift in relation to them?- Could I have centred quicker?- Was my final glide about right?- Was it too fast, too low?

Be honest with yourself, but don't worryabout errors and mistakes you couldn'tpossibly have anticipated in advance.

If you identify any particular weaknessesin your flying, then concentrate on thoseweaknesses in your future practice.

ExecutionAt the competition it is essential to stayrelaxed, focused and avoid distractions.Don't increase your mental baggage bycomplaining about the task-setting or byworrying about what the other competitorshave done or are doing - it's all just history.

You can't change history but you caninfluence your future.

Remain focused by following your dailyroutine and concentrating on soaring aspectsof your own flight such as where the nextclimb is, which cloud street to followand so on.

Think ahead, run and review two planssimultaneously in your head: a short-termand a long-term plan.

The short-term plan might be to find andcentre a climb under the next cloud. Thelong-term plan might be to consider optionsafter you have climbed, what it looks likeahead, which way to route and how high toclimb to reach the next good weather.

Obviously, one plan takes priority overthe other from time to time. They are bothinterdependent and constantly changing- there is no point in having a long-termplan to glide 20km across to the next cloudstreet if the short-term plan can't get youhigh enough to get there!

Remain flexible throughout the flight.Be ready to change your plans if required.Look well ahead to see if there are anyweather developments that might affectyour planned route. Be prepared to slowdown to conserve your height at the firstsign of a major problem. Conversely, beready to speed up again as soon as you cansee good weather within range ahead.

StartingPrior to your start, watch on track to seeif there is any sign of weather deterioration.Look well upwind to see if there is any signof high cirrus rushing in that could dilutethe sun and weaken thermals. Unexpectedspreadout, showers, high cloud or blueconditions are all good reasons to adjustyour planned start time.

Don't worry about what other competitorsare doing - treat them as another source ofinformation you can use to your advantage.For example, if they are all starting early,ask yourself why. There might be somethingyou haven't noticed, but if you can't see alogical reason, ignore them and stick withyour original plan.

Resist the almost overwhelming urge toset off the very moment the start opens.Try to relax and focus on soaring issues.Sample as many clouds as possible to learnwhere the lift lies in relation to the clouds.

If conditions are reliable, move a littledistance away from the start area, wherethere are fewer gaggles and gliders to worryabout. I find that munching on a sandwichhelps me to relax.

On taskOn task, take what you perceive to be thebest route and climb in the best thermalsyou find. Fly at a comfortable speed thatallows you to reach the next good-lookingcloud at a reasonable height. Always tryto fly so that if your intended cloud doesn'twork you have enough height to reachanother cloud high enough to give youa good chance of climbing away.

Don't be tempted to fly fast just becausethe others are. The actual speed you fly atdoesn't matter very much; the fastest pilotsuse the strongest climbs and centre quickest.Again, don't worry about what the othercompetitors are doing, but use them to youradvantage. Ifthey are climbing ahead onyour route, sample their thermal and makeyour own mind up. If it's good, climb, butif it's not, leave it. If you hit a good climb onthe way to the gaggle, stop and climb in it.

Similarly with route: it's very easy toblindly follow other gliders. If they are goingyour chosen way, follow them. If not, askyourself why and if you can see no goodreason, go your own way.

Remain alert for weather changes ahead.If it is deteriorating or you cannot see sunahead, slow down to best glide speedimmediately. If you do then happen to finda good climb this precaution won't affectyour average speed very much. Conserveyour altitude so that when you do eventuallybreak out of the poor weather and seegood conditions, you have enough heightto reach them.

If conditions become really bad, do be

prepared to do anything necessary to stayin the air. Turn 900 to track, or in extremesituations turn through 1800 back to yourlast climb. If you cannot see any prospect ofanother climb, stop in the first weak liftyoufind while still at a reasonable altitude ratherthan continuing onwards to scratch at lowlevel. The reason for this is that if a soarablepatch of sky opens up a short distance awayyou will have the height to reach it.

If all else fails, look on your map for aridge facing into wind and consider ridge-soaring there to wait for an improvement.

Equally, when you suddenly break out intogood weather, force yourself to increasespeed again.

Final glideIf you remain focused,concentrateon flyingyour own glider, don't worry about whatthe others are doing and maintain both ashort- and long-term plan, you will eventuallyreach a point where you are able to finalglide to the finish.

This is probably the end of a long andtiring flight and there is no point at all inmaking it more stressful than necessary.

Ifyou have a height margin, try to conserveit until you are close to the finish rather tbanburning it off early and finding you have nomargin at all for the last few kilometres.Overall, it costsalmost no time to climb abit higher in the last thermal and thenregainmostof the time spentclimbingbyconvertingthe extra height into speed as youapproach the finish.

Toland out just shortof the finish is verycostly in points, and a hasty field selectionat low level is very dangerous. Think wellaheadand plan your arrival longbeforecrossing the finish. Decide if your energywill allow you to fly a circuit or if you mustland ahead.

Keepmonitoring your heightand speedas you close on the finish and decide if youneed to change your plan. If in doubt, thesafest option is always to cross the finish,open the brakesand land straightahead.

I hope you find this guide to survivingyour first competition useful, and if youare a more experienced competition pilot,perhaps it served as a usefulrevision.Good luck, relax, enjoy it and rememberthat at the end of the day it is only \. -

a game, so aim to have fun. ~

Keep monitoringspeed and height on finalglide;if in doubt, the safest optionis always to cross the finish,open the brakes and land straightahead (www.whiteplanes.com)