Glider Racing Online

tonycondon

tonycondon

Gastons CRO (Chief Dinner Reservation Officer)
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Mar 9, 2005
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Tony
I'm surprised no one posted this yet (or I missed it). Cross posted from rec.aviation.soaring:

Tomorrow the 2nd of January 2010 will be the first day of the 3rd
FAI World Sailplane GP final in Santiago, Chile.
The races will be transmitted live on the Internet with commentary in
English and Spanish allowing gliding friends the world over to join in
the excitement of the races. The race coverage includes an interactive
chat channel allowing friends and competitors to talk with each other
and send questions directly to the pilots.
Live coverage is linked to the Competition web site which will contain
regular news and results. http://www.grandprixchile.org/
We would like your help in publicising this event for Gliding so
please forward this message to your clubs, colleagues and gliding
friends.
The final will be on Saturday the 9th of January providing an
excellent opportunity for clubs to organise a race evening with big
screens or briefing room computers to watch the racing and join in the
party.
The race is scheduled to start each day at 3:00pm local time in Chile
which is 19.00 in Europe a perfect time for evening viewing.
Widening the audience for our wonderful sport is very important for
it’s future, you can help by spreading this news amongst your friends
and contacts.
Thanks for your help and please send us your feedback to help us
improve the Gliding race presentation.
 
ah i thought i remembered something. i responded to that thread on my phone, and forgot all about it.
 
Too much holiday R & R, rest and relapsation.
 
Just one giant gaggle today. Very interesting feed though. A lot more information than when I was doing this stuff.
 
lance it will probably be more or less a big gaggle for the whole race. the grand prix style of racing is that everyone starts at the same time and it is more "head to head" racing. very good for spectating vs. the timed races that you flew where no one knew who won until everyone was home and a bunch of photos were developed and math was accomplished.
 
Grrr stupid security on my work PC. It won't let me install the Google Earth plugin. I guess I'll have to be productive today.... :-(
 
Actually the last leg was pretty interesting. Gos caught up with and blew by Kawa in a fairly impressive way. Gos' glider was clearly superior. I can't get the site right now to see what he was flying. Kawa has a Diana 2.
 
and theres a Ka6CR in the Soaring classifieds with enclosed trailer for 6000 bucks. then you and pete can race!
 
No, I NEED a gazillion Euro ASG29.
 
Well a guy in my club may have a nice Cirrus G81 for sale. Not quite a ASG29, but not bad :-)
 
Just found out that #1 Gos and #2 Kawa today were both flying Diana 2's. So change my order from Schleicher to SZD.
 
there was a Diana 2 at the last SSA Convention, what a beautiful aircraft.
 
Plus that Diana 2 is quite a sexy looking sailplane.

I'm pretty sure the SZD dealer will be in Little Rock for the convention...
 
I am very tempted to go. At least for a day to see the exhibition hall.
 
Lance F said:
I am very tempted to go. At least for a day to see the exhibition hall.
Click to expand...

It would be GREAT to see you again Lance. Be sure to alert us if you get there so we can hook up.
 
I want one of those ASZDGW-9000s with the 200 foot wingspan and a best L/D of 82 when inverted.
 
tonycondon said:
there was a Diana 2 at the last SSA Convention, what a beautiful aircraft.
Click to expand...

I "tried on" the original Diana at an SSA convention in Ontario CA.
I do mean "tried on", it was a snug fit, and you do lay more prone than in the Grob 104 Speed Astir.
 
I am ready for the convention, I dont think I will try on any new sailplanes but I have my eye open for a deal!
 
Is there a way to replay the tracking data for a given day? I wasn't able to logon during the afternoon to watch.
 
unfortunately no. apparently you can download the traces and if you have the proper software you can replay them. something to work on for the next grand prix for the software developers.
 
Hard to believe, but it is kind of exciting live.
 
thats why the grand prix racing style was started. short fast head to head racing makes it exciting for spectators which draws sponsors etc. what would be sweet is when ESPN picks it up.
 
Good race today so far. Not too fast, not too high. Seems they are using a combination of ridge and thermal lift. Local experience appears to be very helpful. This technology is NOT helping my work productivity.
Leaders are about 135 km out and the commentators are figuring that they can go straight in from there without any more thermaling if they don't get too impatient (fly too fast) on the ridge. One landout .
 
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i have a feeling that the guy who landed out in the Gran Prix is not quite as happy as I usually am when I land out.
 
tonycondon said:
i have a feeling that the guy who landed out in the Gran Prix is not quite as happy as I usually am when I land out.
Click to expand...
No doubt. It was one of the Germans.
It's going to be a sprint to the finish probably between 4 competitors.
 
A second German just landed out. Final sprint now. The leaders are now flying over 200 kph
 
Great finish. Sebastian Kawa in his Diana 2 won.
 
I didn't get to watch today. Bummer.
 
So Lance, are you going to get a Standard, 15m 18m or open class ship for next year???
 
lance in case you don't read RAS here is a report from today from a guy who was there:

[SIZE=-1]What can I say, these guys have the mind of a hawk and the balls of a bull. What a good race today. The local won, but what you missed was the local crowd going bananas when he crossed the line.[/SIZE]
Click to expand...
 
When they can get cameras in the cockpit like the NASCAR races, this online concept will be awesome. Flying along the redge tops of the Andes. Wow!

As for me, well the ships that can convert between 18 and 15 M look pretty good. :D



Now, what's the lottery up to this week?
 
Lance you should just find a Cherokee II somewhere. Then with my 2 and yours we can meet some where and get another pilot and do Grand Prix style racing! It'll be a blast :)
 
We'll see. Today's race should be spectacular. They're already getting up to 3,000m waiting for the start.
EDIT: Now up to 3600M waiting for the start! They will be flying FAST!
 
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