FxRES postal in 2024

[martynk]

Its that time of the year again.

I am happy to run the postal again next year. (If you'll have me..)

However, are there any changes to the rules that you would like to see?

My contribution is that I think running a separate F3L league in additional to the COMBINED F3L/F5L league may encourage more bungee flyers to take part. There area few F3L pilots but their scores just seem to get lost in the mainly F5L (silent) noise..

I would welcome your views on this and any other thoughts you may have..

 

Best wishes

[Graham Lorimer]

Is it worth considering a different type of comp for F5RES next year, maybe as many flights within a one hour slot, with a max of 6 minutes each flight, and the model must be landed and relaunched from the same spot for each flight. It would involve a battery change or two also. The result being the total flight time achieved within that one hour slot.

This would bring it a little closer to current comp rules that require the ability to find thermals more often, and not stay in the same one for quite as long.

Just my thoughts.

 

Graham

[AnthonyB]

I would think, in keeping with the actual comp (like Graham above) a similar idea.

Say 6 flights, 6mins for bungee launch and / or 6mins from motor cut. A bit of waiting about and you are also at the hour.

That's 1pt per second.

360 for perfect score and 1pt off for each second under or over.

All flights to be consecutive and just like at present, launch to 60m.

The only number being the 6 flights added together, the dream being 2160.

Unlike the present comp where the score can be from 3mins to 120mins.

The score will look far closer. Preferably done on 2 batteries.

This can be done in a wider variety of conditions.

PS If you look at my landings (no spoilers) you will nearly always see me miss the ground a few seconds before landing.

[Graham Lorimer]

Good suggestions Anthony.

The one hour slot for the flights makes sense, and rewards waiting for and identifying the good air before each launch.

My biggest reason for a change would be the boredom factor coming in when you have a 25 minute flight on the board for the month, and in order to beat it, you must get above 25 minutes, and so often you fall short at about 22 minutes and feel the time has been wasted.

 

GL

[cirrusRC]

Relaunching and being able to go back to same lift is a good skill to practice, proposed format works well for that.

My concerns with this approach. 

1) what about the alt traces? I don't fancy seeing loads of flight traces per flight on this page.

2) the format is more open to abuse.  Easy to pick which 6 flights you submit.

3) more admin involved keeping track of flight times

4) when conditions are good, it comes more of a turn around task - how quick you can land and get back in the air.

[AnthonyB]

David, there will not be lots of traces, just one chart with the 6 flight entry.

It will not be open to abuse, because on all the systems the flights are numbered - that is why I said consecutive.

I have never actually done this because it has never existed, but the chart would look as above or this one (obviously I was not going for 6mins here.

You need a spare battery in your pocket. 10 seconds to unplug and plug back in. 20sec if you have to change battery.

On the chart above it is Sept4_2 / Sept5_2 / Sept6_2 because Sept is the month, then 4, 5, 6, etc for the flight number with the _2 because I cut off the climb part to see the glide clearly. Below the numbering is simple.

[AnthonyB]

By the way Graham - Someone has posted 6 really good flights and you are out to beat it. 

You do 4 perfect flights and you are set for a really good challenge - then the next 2 flights are in sink -  DRAT !!

[cirrusRC]

Anthony, the Altis manager is very limited and does not support the display of multiple flights on one graph.

Maybe we can run both old and new formats and see how it goes?

[AnthonyB]

David, go to Tools and click. Select Flight comparer. Select the file you downloaded.

It will give you a list of the flight logs. Tick the boxes and they will come up as each flight all on the same chart.

In this case it would help if you chopped off the point up to where the motor cut. That will then display only the glide time. If the original flight was 6 then the motor part will be 6_1 and the part we want will be 6_2. Hence across the saved image it will list 6_2,  7_2,  8_2 ....... That will show sequential flights (glide only). 

[cirrusRC]

Bravo, thanks Anthony.  Didn't know you could do that.

[andyharrold]

This format probably does not work for me as I fly at a busy club and flying an hour straight off would be frowned upon  but I accept that this is my problem! 

It does seem to me to be possible to somewhat cheat the system.

Launch my F5 Res. Find lift...   Land.

Launch into lift with F3. Fly 6 mins 

Launch F5. Keep launching until get good lift. Land!   Launch F3. Second good score!

Repeat!

There is no timescale on Altis as far as I know.

 

 

[mark_r]

The big plus with the postal 'comp' is that it keeps the interest alive throughout the year and provides some kind of target to aim for. Inevitably different sites will provide different opportunities to provide thermal lift so I'm not sure that changing the format is too meaningful. I would though suggest capping the maximum time (maybe 45 mins or so), as this will avoid a monster time killing the other times in the month and keep a more realistic target for everyone.

[StraightEdge]

That's an interesting idea which doesn't change the existing format.  The only question is what happens if two or more folk all get the (say) 45min max?

[martynk]

2 minutes ago, StraightEdge said:

That's an interesting idea which doesn't change the existing format.  The only question is what happens if two or more folk all get the (say) 45min max?

Share the points... Or keep on going for 45 minutes until you fail

[andyharrold]

How about.     1 point per minute.( 45 max)

Easy to  administer.

The 45 max means that there is still hope left for everyone in the latter part of the month ,once Steve, Anthony and Cirrus have posted their 45s to get close to / equal the best of the month's times .

[Graham Lorimer]

17 hours ago, andyharrold said:

This format probably does not work for me as I fly at a busy club and flying an hour straight off would be frowned upon  but I accept that this is my problem! 

It does seem to me to be possible to somewhat cheat the system.

Launch my F5 Res. Find lift...   Land.

Launch into lift with F3. Fly 6 mins 

Launch F5. Keep launching until get good lift. Land!   Launch F3. Second good score!

Repeat!

There is no timescale on Altis as far as I know.

 

 

Good luck Andy if trying to get effectively 6 powered flights and 6 bungee launched flight into a one hour slot, with each bungee flight being tasked with finding the lift.

I would think, if you can pull that off, you deserve to win for the month!

 

GL

[AnthonyB]

14 hours ago, andyharrold said:

How about.     1 point per minute.( 45 max)

Easy to  administer.

The 45 max means that there is still hope left for everyone in the latter part of the month ,once Steve, Anthony and Cirrus have posted their 45s to get close to / equal the best of the month's times .

This has degenerated from "shall we do F3L separately" into something else. I don't "normally" rocket off, so I can't see the difference between the 2 classes (when I fly).  

Endowing me with super hero status is nice, but not realistic. I don't think I have ever actually won a month. Normally my score is below HALF of the winner - but I don't care. I post the flights I have done - I would have done them anyway, comp or no comp.............. I just like to fly, for me.

I can't remember actually posting a 1 hour + flight. I know I have done them, just not shown other people.

What we really need to do is get OTHER people up to the standard - but what do I know !

 

[andyharrold]

1 hour ago, Graham Lorimer said:

Good luck Andy if trying to get effectively 6 powered flights and 6 bungee launched flight into a one hour slot, with each bungee flight being tasked with finding the lift.

I would think, if you can pull that off, you deserve to win for the month!

 

GL

My point was Graham that nowhere does the Altis log start and finish times.

[StraightEdge]

44 minutes ago, AnthonyB said:

I don't think I have ever actually won a month. Normally my score is below HALF of the winner - but I don't care. I post the flights I have done - I would have done them anyway, comp or no comp.............. I just like to fly, for me.

What we really need to do is get OTHER people up to the standard - but what do I know !

 

I agree.

I participate because I like to fly and try to do the best I can within my abilities.  I'm chuffed if I score say 15mins, notwithstanding that others might get 30 or even 45mins in similar weather conditions.  I'm always playing against myself, and if I do well then a nice consequence is that I place somewhere in the middle-half of the leaderboard.

The postal has got me out flying and learning from flying - and enjoying myself hugely - over the last three years.  If it didn't exist I'd still fly, but the focus to get out there when I can and do my best is always buoyed by the fact that there's a postal to participate in - and a flight report to be uploaded afterwards - all part of the enjoyment.

So it's not about changing the rules so that the runners up don't lose heart - it's about ensuring that everyone gets to play.

It's also about encouraging newcomers to join in, and - especially important! - finding a way to help those who repeatedly struggle to get more than a few minutes (in decent conditions when the old hands are getting half an hour or longer) to improve their understanding and skills so they can begin to make real progress.

[Graham Lorimer]

18 minutes ago, andyharrold said:

My point was Graham that nowhere does the Altis log start and finish times.

I understand that Andy, but does it all need to be done within an hour? Maybe a three hour slot would work, up to the flyer if he wants to wait around without flying, or fly something else within that 3 hour window, no problem.

As Anthony has shown, the flights can be logged on one print out, and as long as all 6 flights are sequential, no problem. This means that there are no practise flights within the 6 flights. using that competition model.

All postal comps require an element of honesty.

GL