Model Forum / Radio Controlled / Air Models / September 2010

I got a third and a second in two Sportsman Pattern Primers in
Marcellus, NY, a few years back.

I had fun and hope to try it again.  I've been distracted by
all kinds of things, not least among them serving as the
webmaster for <http://nsrca.us>.

                Marty

I am a competition RC glider pilot. I fly club contests, the Long
Island Silent Flyers, www.lisf.org .  I also fly in a competition
soaring league, the Eastern Soaring League. www.flyesl.com . I fly two
types of thermal duration glider contests.  One is hand launched and
one is winch launched.  Let me tell you a little about glider
contests.

Hand launched - these are gliders with a typical wing span of 50 to 60
inches.  The particular type of hand launch I use is called a discus
launch.  There is a peg in the end of the wing.  You hold the wing tip
and spin around like an Olympic discus thrower.  My launches are
typically between 120 and 140 feet. The really good pilots can hit 160
to 200 feet.  The goal is to find thermal lift to help you keep the
glider in the air for a target period of time to accumulate points,
one point per second, according to a variety of tasks. I am not a
highly accomplished DLG pilot but I enjoy the competition just the
same.

If you have never seen a discus launched glider being thrown, click on
these links.

This is a more relaxed throw using a 2 channel Mountain Models DL50
DLG. This plane can also be simply side arm launched.
http://www.mountainmodels.com/dl50.wmv
This is a video of a DLG contest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCPKsUC1D8s&feature=fvw

Typically there are 5-10 glider pilots in a flight group launching and
working the air at the same time during a designated task window of
about 7-10 minutes.  During that window the pilot will likely make
several launches in order to accomplish the tasks and score points.

Winch launched gliders - These gliders typically have wing spans of 70
to 150 inches.  They have no motors, so we use a winch to tow them up
using a motor on the ground.  It is somewhat similar to how you get a
kit up into the air but much faster and much more powerful.  The line
is typically 200 to 300 pound test and some of the competition gliders
can break the line on the launch.  A good winch launch will get you
500 to 700 feet in altitude.

Again the goal is to get the glider into thermal lift, keep it in the
air then land exactly at the designated time on a designated spot.
Points are awarded for time in the air and how close you come to the
landing spot.  Typical flight time would be 10 minutes and landing
points would awarded to how close you get to the center of a 100 inch
radius landing circle with the maximum score at the center of the
circle.

If you have never seen a winch launched glider contest, this video is
not a bad example.  They show some typical gliders, then at about 1:45
they show some winch launches and around 3:00 you start to show some
spot landings.  The task is simple, like most sports.   However being
excellent at it takes time.  In the video they are using one winch.
In most of our major contests we will have 3-5 winches with pilots
launching in flight groups of 3-5, being scored against each other.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Rbm5kKk3fo

It's a lot of fun.

Ed Anderson
President - Long Island Silent Flyers
President - Eastern Soaring League
Present on the flying field whenever possible.

Ed Anderson <AEAJR@OPTONLINE.NET> wrote in news:11df2a7e-8ec8-49e4-b1e0-
ed4ccdc9d688@v23g2000vbi.googlegroups.com:

I compete against terra firma. I try to avoid her for a period
of time and then attach my plane in the most gentle way possible.

Brian