Wills Wing
Flytec

Oz Report

Volume 11, Number 100
Tuesday, May 22 2007
Quest Air, Sheets airfield, Groveland, Florida, USA
https://OzReport.com
"Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

to Table of Contentsto next topic 2007 Team Challenge

Mon, May 21 2007, 8:41:44 am EDT
Team Challenge
Fly together in Tennessee

Jono Fisher|Kevin Carter|Mike Kelsey|Oliver Gregory|PG|Quest Air|Tennessee Tree Toppers Team Challenge 2007|USHPA|video|weather

oliver gregory «olliettt1955» writes:

The Tennessee Tree Toppers www.treetoppers.org would like to invite all pilots interested in a fun cross country competition and educational flying experience to join us for the 2007 Team Challenge.  Pilot registration and check in meeting for the Team Challenge is 6 PM Saturday, September 29TH. The meet will start September 30th and run through October 6th.

[IMAGE]

Photo by Jono Fisher.

The Team Challenge format is unique.  Pilots are organized into teams of four or five with a mixture of experience levels.  Advanced cross country pilots mentor their less experienced team mates as they learn cross country flying tactics and practice flying to goals in the beautiful Sequatchie Valley near Chattanooga TN. The Sequatchie is a very friendly place for cross country.  Lots of fields and almost no way to get lost!

Minimum skill level for the Team Challenge is Hang 3 with reasonably solid thermal soaring skills and solid foot launch skills.  Hang 2 level pilots are encouraged to come and learn along with the teams.  Henson's Gap is a well known Hang 2 site with a giant landing field within easy reach of the famous Radial Ramp.  We'll have Hang 2 fun tasks and the landing skills clinic will be open for Hang 2's as well.

We'll call overlapping tasks so everyone gets to fly together for at least part of the tasks, yet the tasks will be challenging enough to keep even the cross country racers interested.  Advanced pilots coach their team mates by example and by radio as they fly along the tasks.  Scores are weighted based on skill level and glider performance.  Pilots are encouraged to participate in the weather forecast committee, task committee and safety committee.  This is the place where many pilots put it all together for their first real XC flights.  It's a blast!

This year we'll focus on landing skills and cross country flying.  We'll make efforts to video landings at goals and if soaring conditions allow, we'll have an early morning landing clinic.  In the evenings we'll have educational talks on weather forecasting, cross country flying and landing skills with video enhanced learning.

We expect to have a few nationally known experts around to help with the discussions and perhaps to serve as team leaders.  Kevin Carter, US National Team Member and all round great guy, is gonna help us out with the landing clinic and as a team leader.  Kevin is one of the best teachers in Hang Gliding and has organized very successful clinics at Quest Air in FL. I have several friends who've attended his excellent clinics.  Kevin made one comment to me about my landings and I've not blown a landing since!  Knock on hard wood!

Our Meet Head this year will be Mike Kelsey.  Mike lives in Mena, Arkansas, where he fell in love with the Ouachita Mountains.  Mike has served as the President of the Buffalo Mountain Flyers, started the Ouachita Mountains Hang Gliding Series, (See the story in the Hang Gliding Paragliding Magazine, July 2006), and received a commendation from the USHPA for his efforts with the Series and for promoting hang gliding and paragliding in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma with the Ouachita Hang Gliding web site at www.ouachitahanggliding.com. Surrounding states have used Mike's year-long hang gliding series as a model for their own club/state grassroots contest.  Prior to his return to hang gliding, Mike busied himself with building one of the best Mountain Bike Racing Series in the Nation, the Arkansas Mountain Bike Championship Series, (www.ambcs.com), and conceived and served as event director for a number of Mountain Bike Racing Events in Arkansas.  We are glad to have Mike on board.

The Team Challenge is only $150 for registration and membership.  If you are already a full member, the cost is only $90. We'll have great campfire discussions, cookouts and trips to Chattanooga if the weather permits.  Inexpensive breakfast for pilots and volunteers will be available in the clubhouse every morning.  We have a fun party planned for the last night with great food, a band, goodie give aways, and trophies for the winning teams.  We'll also sponsor a couple of worthy pilots who are cash poor, and in need of a great flying vacation.

Check out our website for more information on the team challenge and some great pictures and video's of some flying in our area.  Our site also has a link for online registration.  www.treetoppers.org

Come have a great time with us at the number one hang gliding club in the nation!

Discuss "2007 Team Challenge" at the Oz Report forum   link»

to Table of Contentsto next topic OzGAP 2005/GAP 2000 script/program updated for SeeYou 3.71

Mon, May 21 2007, 8:43:05 am EDT
OzGAP 2005
I've updated my program for scoring hang gliding and paragliding competitions

CIVL|PG|USHPA

http://ozreport.com/11.097#0

With help from Andrej at Naviter I have updated my OzGAP 2005/GAP 2000 script/program as well as created new customized output XSL template files that you can use to score hang gliding and paragliding competitions.  Naviter changed SeeYou which required that I change my script/program to allow for the new output specifications.

The new programs are available on the Naviter web site here. The script/program is inside the CUC file which is the competition file.  You can extract the files (and folders) from the zip file to a folder in your My Documents folder.  A sample competition is set up and ready for you to edit to your specs.

There is a bit of documentation on how to use SeeYou for competitions here. I have already set up a competition for you.  You just need to rename files and folders a bit.  I'm sure that you can figure that out.

You can customize the XSL files if you like.  There are also standard ones that come with SeeYou.  You do have to install SeeYou 3.71 if you want to use this scoring system.  It is free to use for one month.

I expect add-ons to my program soon that will allow you to view pilots flying against each other on line (after they turn in their IGC files). Right now you can download the IGC track log files for or each individual pilot (click on their name) for each task (for example, here for task one) or for all pilots for each task (see here). See here for my information about the up coming on-line pilot flight display system.

One thing that is very nice about this scoring system with SeeYou is that you can output the results of each task and the whole contest as an XML file which can be easily read by CIVL and also any other program (like the USHPA NTSS ranking system - which, btw, doesn't seem to be working at the moment).

Naviter has not thoroughly documented the SeeYou competition features and I have not thoroughly documented my program.  But I have provided a bunch of hints and if you are a clever fellow you can figure it out.  I am also available at reasonable rates (depends on your competition size, etc.) to provide on-line real time consulting.

In fact, I will score the whole meet for you on-line.  You just download the IGC track log files locally and email them to me, along with the turnpoints (and a few other pieces of information).

Discuss "OzGAP 2005/GAP 2000 script/program updated for SeeYou 3.71" at the Oz Report forum   link»

to Table of Contentsto next topic Lumby Air Races

Mon, May 21 2007, 8:43:26 am EDT
Lumby
$5000

PG|photo|Randy Rauck

Randy Rauck «randy» writes:

Cash Prize goal for the Lumby Air Races has been reached at $5000.00!

The Lumby Air Force will be hosting the second annual Lumby Air Races June 8, 9 and 10, 2007 for Hang Gliders and Paragliders.

This will be a fun event and will work in conjunction with the Nationals.  Advance registration will be restricted to 50 this year and possibly next as well . The Hang Gliding Nationals have had $1000.00 cash donated as well for prizes so far.  Next years race will have a cash goal of $10,000.00 . The entries from 2006 and 2007 will also be given first priority in 2008. Registration details www.LumbyAirForce.com.

Please support the 2007 Lumby Air Races and the sponsors while you visit and all year long

Gold Sponsors $1000.00 or more:

Blue Ox Pub
The Regional District of the North Okanagan Area "D"
Lumby Rural (Rick Fairbairn)
The Lumby Days Society

Silver Sponsors $500-$1000:

Raven Aviation Ltd.
Spirit Of BC 2010
The Lumby Air Force Flying Club

For more info check out the new and improved website with many more photos and building at www.LumbyAirForce.com The logging is finally underway by the Lumby High School Logging Training Program on Coopers Launch to allow extra launching to the south, southwest and west southwest!

Discuss "Lumby Air Races" at the Oz Report forum   link»

to Table of Contentsto next topic Kitty Hawk Kites Spectacular

Mon, May 21 2007, 5:14:41 pm EDT
KHK
They are out there on the dune.

Doug Haber

Aerial shot taken from a kite (Para-foil) at the 2007 Hang Gliding Spectacular.  Photo by Doug Haber of http://www.elevatedpics.com .

Discuss "Kitty Hawk Kites Spectacular" at the Oz Report forum   link»

The Oz Report, a near-daily, world wide hang gliding news ezine, with reports on competitions, pilot rankings, political issues, fly-ins, the latest technology, ultralight sailplanes, reader feedback and anything else from within the global HG community worthy of coverage. Hang gliding, paragliding, hang gliders, paragliders, aerotowing, hang glide, paraglide, platform towing, competitions, fly-ins. Hang gliding and paragliding news from around the world, by Davis Straub.

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