Rules, &%$#!, Rules

In the interests of creating some clarity around what we may, or may not, do to that unlucky band of masochists who call themselves "Gauntleteers", here are the rules. We may make up some new ones as we go along, but this seems enough for now.

MISSION STATEMENT

This is not a rule. The objective of the Cape Gauntlet is to stretch and encourage growth of pilot's cross-country and competition skills. We hope to foster a culture of learning, sharing and a safe stretch.

This is achieved through bring pilots together who have a range of experience, setting a common challenge and encouraging communication, both on the ground and in the air. This means help should be at hand (albeit in a Gauntlet).

So, don’t be fooled by the name and image, the Cape Gauntlet will embody true Cape hospitality, and thus has a velvet lining.

Can you handle it?

RULES

1. Annex A to Section 3 of the Sporting Code shall apply subject to what is set out below.

2. Annex "A" is available via this website as well as the IGC website.

Note: The intention is not to be legalistic but to be fair. The rules are simple and most protests and unhappiness is the result of a failure to apply the rules. It is only fair to apply the rules to everyone.

HANDICAPS

3. The handicaps used by OLC (DAeC) are to be applied (the SSSA handicaps have not yet been finalised, nor do they have handicaps for all of the glider types flown from Worcester). We won’t be changing these handicaps as we go along either. It’s no good asking. Certainty is a rare luxury.

DOCUMENTATION

4. All pilots will be required to sign an indemnity and will have to be in possession of a valid GPL and letters of authority. (These, in any event, should be on board of all gliders.)

FLYING FAR AWAY

5. If there is any doubt as to whether you are cleared (or current) cross-country, you should confirm with the CFI this before participating.

6. If you are going to fly out of glide range of Worcester as part of this competition, you best ensure your trailer is ready, roadworthy, licensed and usable. Otherwise you may find nobody comes to get you . . . .

7. Make sure you have the club phone number (or better yet, the club telephone list) in your glider, together with a cell phone.

LOGGERS

8. All loggers will be accepted (IGC approved or not).

9. Loggers are to be handed in within 20 minutes of landing. It is expected that you will (within this time) provide either:
(a) A cable to download your logger to a laptop (along with the logger and a power cable or battery if required)
(b) An IGC file on a USB memory stick
(c) Notification that your IGC file is on the OLC website

FLARM

10. All gliders are to be equipped with functional FLARM units and the latest firmware version (this is v3.00 as of 24 February 2006) as published from time to time on the Cape Gauntlet website. You are expected to switch them on too.

BRIEFING

11. Briefing is at 09:00. At the briefing a draw for the launch sequence will take place. Briefing attendance is mandatory.

Note: Self-launchers may launch when there is a gap in aero-towing (aero-tows take precedence.

ENTRIES

12. To facilitate organisation, participants have to confirm their participation by latest Wednesday night preceding a competition day. Failure to register may result in your launch not being considered part of the grid (i.e., the contest may start before you launch or before you reach start altitude). After all, we have to arrange enough tugmeisters to hurl you into the air.

13. We will be asking a nominal entry fee of R100 to cover various expenses. You might actually get something for it, but don’t hold your breath. If you find this uncertainty frustrating, let us know by limerick. But make sure it rhymes.

TURN POINT DATA FILE

14. The turn point data file is available via the Cape Gauntlet website and the Worldwide Turn point Exchange.

TASKS

15. Tasks will either be:
(a) assigned speed task
(b) assigned area speed task
(c) OLC (and scored in accordance with OLC, save that a start time and start line will be set, and possibly a duration). We might also try OLC with some mandatory turn points. Don’t count on these turn points being anywhere near a mountain.
(d) Occasionally, we might try something different. Like a day where we declare a host of turn points with specific points values. These points will be scored like OLC kilometres (handicap applied and then the day adjusted to 1000 points).

16. The turn points used to define these tasks (and start and finish points) are all in the turn point data file.

START LINE

17. The start line will open 20 minutes after the launch of the last glider to which a launch has been allocated. (If you are late, or refuse a launch, the start line will open nonetheless).

18. The start line is 10 km long, perpendicular to the first turn-point or, if an OLC task, the start direction will either be perpendicular to a track line from the start point to Robertson airfield, Renosterhoek or Villiersdorp.

19. Start height is restricted to 1800m AMSL (6000ft AMSL).

FINISH LINE

20. The finish line is a circle 2km in diameter, around FAWC. The line must be crossed at least 600m AMSL (approximately 2000ft AMSL) (Note: crossing the finish line below 2000ft results in no speed points, and in the case of an OLC task with a 50km penalty.

AIRSPACE

21. The flight lands out at the first point of an airspace transgression (this is non-negotiable). Airspace not specifically briefed as ‘open’ for the purposes of a task will be considered transgressed if entered. Normal rules of entry for ‘open’ airspace will apply unless briefed otherwise.

RADIO PROCEDURE

22. It is compulsory to remain on the appropriate TIBA frequency.

23. It is expected that all participants will follow the guidelines outlined in Cloudbase for Radio. Stealth flying will attract stealth points.

PROTESTS AND COMPLAINTS

24. See rule 34. Still want to? Lodge it with the Director.

25. You are expected and required to report infringements of the rules and procedures (e.g., poor or no radio procedure).

SCORING

26. Score on each day will be a maximum of 1000 points (see Sporting code 3 for the calculations). For OLC days, the winners OLC points will be factored to 1000 and the rest of the field will have the same factor applied to their OLC points to determine their competition score.

27. Where mandatory turn points are set , the task setter / director will advise the penalty for not rounding the turn point as one of:
(a) Scored as a land out at closest point
(b) Scored as a penalty (e.g., x points per turn point missed)

28. Scores of all contest days count to an accumulated total. The accumulated total for all contest days will be used to determine the winner. (Feb – Dec).

29. Mr Farrell will be the winner (we will award penalties to other pilots).

30. The Rule relating specifically to Mr Farrell is invalid (just checking you are awake). But it might actually happen like that occasionally.

COMPETITION DAYS

31. The competition runs from February to December.

32. Days where no task is possible will be dropped and not replaced.

JURISDICTION

33. All Cape Gauntlet competition activities are subject to normal rules of the Cape Gliding Club, and flying activity is subject to the jurisdiction of the flying panel of that august body. So if you beat up, you might be beat up.

OBJECTIVE

34. Isn’t it funny how the most important rules are left hiding at the end? This is supposed to be fun, make sure you FUN the GAUNTLET.

The Night of the Gauntlet

"The Night of the Gauntlet" will take place at 20h00 on 22 February at 7 Stellenberg Ave, Kenilworth - Alan's house.

Please advise your intentions 083 300-1687 or you may find the landing area a little unexpectedly crowded.

See you there.

Spatzmeister's lyrical challenge

Found scrawled on a taxiway at an airfield not far from here. . . .

Does he have enough guts
to fly the gauntlet by Spatz
and Oust Mr Farrell
from the top of the Barrel
and be back before the bar shutz.

For those that did not see it, the above was in part-response to the following offering:

Mr Farrell was a pilot of note
But his heart was totally smote
When he pulled too much G
While trying to ski
And NOW he does dishes by rote!

Can you handle the Gauntlet?

Why not throw down the challenge of the Gauntlet to another pilot via a limerick?

Or are you afraid of rhyme on your wings?

Wednesday 22nd is the "Night of the Gauntlet"

We intend having a briefing on the various different aspects of this competition, from safety, to tasks, scoring, the dreaded handicaps, procedures around starting, turnpoints and finishing.

If you are after just a little bit of fun, or seriously contending to oust Mr Farrell from TOPSPOT, and you are a little bit concerned about how, if or whether you can take part, join us for a beer and briefing!

Venue to be announced when we know how many we will be (RSVP by end of Sunday 19^th February).

GOK takes up the Gauntlet

It is with great pleasure that we can announce that the CGC committee decided last night to make GOK available to fly in the monthly Cape Gauntlet competition (first Saturday of each month).

Essentially this means that once a month an early cross country pilot will get to fly the competition in GOK with a pundit (like Martin Grunnert), and then brag about it at the club social afterwards.

Interested? Here is a view of what it looks and feels like to be part of the Gauntlet:

All you have to do is mail Alan O'Regan with your details (your answer will influence your priority in the queue):
- when you got your cross-country rating
- how much cross country flying you have done
- which pundits you have managed to fly with.

Alan will maintain a list and let you know when it is your turn to fly. Of course, if you have your own glider, you can enter the Gauntlet anyway. You need to indicate participation no later than the Wednesday preceeding the day (1st of March for next month).

Can YOU handle the Gauntlet?

A comp for all seasons

Garthe Milne records his experiences at the Cape Gauntlet and says it is not just for the pundits:

Hey, I came fifth in the first Cape Gauntlet day, and there were seven starts!

Yeah, I suppose you know there were two relights. That makes me fifth out of five aircraft. Alan has now twisted my arm to spill the beans!

I decided to participate in the “Gauntlet” as a good opportunity to be at briefings, hear strategy and tips, and hopefully compare experiences of the flight with the really experienced pilots. I won’t beat them (unless possibly their “p” bags get jammed), but I also wouldn’t refuse an offer to play golf with Gary Player! I won’t repeat that story now!

The 09h00 briefing foretold the winds and conditions. Alan gave me individual advice on crossing from the Tulbach valley onto the Porterville mountains (and back!). I have been solo to the end of the Tulbach valley and to Tradouw twice, but Porterville and Renosterhoek are Sirens calling me!

I was tightening GHW’s wheel brake cable when Sven started chasing to get aircraft to the takeoff point. MIV’s starter sounded like a rooster with a hernia and he feared we would have a one-MIV-start day. As luck sometimes has it, just as GHW reached RW 15, the wind changed, so with wheels rolling, HW beat everyone to RW33. After positives and pre-takeoff checks I was soon airborne, hoping to join Peter Farrel who had reported he could maintain height at Jan du Toit’s.

The launch and initial tow was turbulent and slow. While fighting the turbulence, an appreciated voice called on the radio that my airbrakes were out. See them close fast! It was still turbulent and at one stage the tug soared unusually high above me. Mark later chewed me out about the airbrakes (will make me more conscious in the future). I don’t know if I didn’t have the brakes over the detent, or whether they just opened on a bump. Maybe the ground crew will let me know. (GHW’s air brakes have opened on me twice before in mid-tow). Lesson: Check brakes LOCKED before takeoff. Don’t expect the tug to waggle rudder when your brakes open! If the tow seems rough before the tug takes off, or if it climbs slowly, check your airbrakes.

The climb to Jan du Toit’s was turbulent though uneventful, and we reached there at about 3500 ft. There was huge smoke everywhere that I didn’t like, and I released near the mountain into lift. A half circle later I was in stronger sink than the lift, and the pattern didn’t change. With a similar situation on Brandwag, I headed back to FAWC, hoping to get one of the valley thermals to get away. It simply didn’t happen, and the red hill and downwind thermals were on holiday, so I was soon in the middle of RW15 again, wondering whether to put GHW in the hangar or not!.

Lesson: It’s a bad investment to release below 4000 ft or 4500 ft on the north mountains- even the Audenberg. I should have radio’d Mark to make one or more circles to gain height. My (poor) excuse is I didn’t like being on tow with the heavy smoke around. Actually it would have been even better to get him to do a safety circuit on take-off. Twice in the past I have also had to return fast from Waaihoek (Google Earth calls it RooiBerg).. Maybe its wiser to always go to the Audenberg first!

After helping launch the flying list, I decided to stretch the overdraft, and was under tow for the clouds to the East of the airfield. Releasing into a thermal I tried to retract GHW’s undercarriage, but it only went half way. I closed it fully and tried again with the same effect. Better to have an undercarriage locked down than up, so I deployed it, checked it was locked properly, and focused on remaining pleasures!

I was now in the middle of the valley, under clouds with a draggy undercarriage, and mountains to the North that had failed me about two hours earlier. Time to forget about the competition, and enjoy soaring under the clouds!

An hour under the cloud reaffirmed the joy of soaring. Cloudbase was about 5000’ and I could skip between clouds without a care in the world about getting back to the airfield. GUC shared a thermal for a while, then I departed towards Keeromsberg, but turned back since the clouds were covering its top, making it impossible to visit the cliff and radio huts on top of Ben Heatlie.

With wheel out, and shot down earlier, the will to go far from Worster had gone, so I headed for ViC Peak, reaching the South side at 3500 ft. Lift slightly more than sink let me gain 50 ft per pass, so I got much practice before the beacon was under the wings. Nice flying though!

After about 2.5 hours airborne, HW was back in the hangar. I slipped the trailer’s dolly under the nose and rolled the wheels onto a series of thin planks till the main wheel came off the ground. One of the brackets that keeps the wheel bay doors from jamming the wheel when retracting had been bent outward, probably by a stone during the first landing or retrieve. I straightened the bracket with fingers, and the undercarriage problem was solved.

So ends another day, and still not yet past Porterville. Never mind! Porterville will still be there on future week-ends!

The cloud flying was great, the friendship was great, and the poor judgements will hopefully be avoided when next in a similar situation. The Gauntlet day was / is a great opportunity to break new ground with CGC friends on the mountains -- or is that a poor choice of words?

Hope you will be at next month’s Gauntlet. See --- you don’t even have to fly the course to participate! However you may come more than fifth!

Garth

2006 D1 Final

With the weather only being good for a type 3 day, it was actually a perfect day for competition. There was a SW / SE forecast, but with too much moisture on the Langeberge to be useful.

We set an 4 hour OLC 5 turnpoint with a fixed start line. If it had not been for the fire which made the first 10km too perilous for some, all pilots could have achieved well.

Unfortunately, Adriaan Hepburn, quickest on the day, was hit with a penalty for missing the start line. Otherwise this day showed that it possible to run task days from Worcester - especially with the weather information we now enjoy thanks to Dr Jack and Dr Ian!

Click the blog entry title for the results!