At 10:40 PM 1/26/00 +0000, you wrote:
>Maybe I am missing something. Maybe there is not a problem at all but
>I have seen several posts of people going on about how much downwind
>landing was going on.<<
Ok Michael,
now I'm backing up to give you an explanation... You have missed
something... you've not been there, not competed or administrated events
like we're talking about (NATS or major TD events).. Rich B. in particular
spoke of landings at the NATS (many of them downwind) which prompted your
suggestion..
>Question, was it necessary to land downwind? Or were those people
>blowing
>smoke?<<
let me explain what you don't know...
the NATS at Muncie, In. per se..
largest un-obstructed field you'll likely fly at...
event is flown man-on-man using a flightline of 12 winches set toward
general prevailing (or forcast) winds.. landing zones also number the same
as the winches.. we use mostly runway landings (modified L-6) with the
individual zones staked equidistant apart.. there is a safety line approx.
15 ft. from the LZ where all flyers/helpers must stand... penalties for
overflying this zone are severe (0 for the round)..
It is a time-consuming major break in the event to move this set-up..
at recent Muncie NATS (almost all that have been there since '95) winds have
been light enough that any localized thermal activity determines wind
direction.. it changes constantly... you get the conditions you get when
your group launches, and the same goes for landing... every competitor must
deal with the conditions dealt to the flight group (what man-on-man is about)
>Most of the thermal flying fields I have been to are shaped such that
>you can aproach the LZ from at least 180 degrees to 270 degrees of
>bearing without overflying the winches.
>If I have 180 degrees to work with I can at least get a 90 degree
>crosswind. If the aproach is blocked such that there is less than 180
>degrees
>available then there is serious potential for trouble.<<
with 8-10 fliers in a group, approaches from the same direction (from the
"hopefully" downwind end of the field are mandatory for all... thermals or
shifting winds don't always guarantee such...
wanna solve this for the NATS competitors now?
again,
before making off-beat suggestions about what might work, an understanding
of what is required might be better..
I'm sure the NATS comittee is looking for able & knowledgable volunteers..
Mike Stump
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