[MT-ALES] Weekend

[Greg]

On 8/31/2018 8:50 PM, CURTIS SUTER wrote:
> Greg is flying a mixed TD/ALES contest in a non-man on man format.  This is at Farragut park north of Coeur da’lene.  I am intrigued by this.  It should be real fun.

It's actually a pure TD (Thermal Duration), but you can launch either 
via winch, or electric with an altitude limiter like we use for ALES.  
There is a window (usually 45 min) in which you can launch for your 
flight at any time.  The tasks are set by the CD, and can vary between 6 
and 15 minutes.  I think they use a graduated runway type landing, there 
is a long stripe, and as long as you're within that stripe, your score 
is calculated by how far away the nose of your sailplane is from that 
stripe.

It sounds like a lot of fun, but I'm not so sure about that 'open winch' 
(or 'Open launch') method. I envision everyone hanging around waiting, 
until some brave soul launches.  If that person finds lift, there's a 
mass launch of everyone, scrambling to get to that thermal.  If that 
person who launched initially does NOT find lift, everyone just kind of 
whistles and looks around, no hurry.

I'm going to try to do a report and post it to rcgroups, I'll send a 
link to the MT-ALES reflector if I do.  Internet connection may be 
spotty out there on the shore of Lake Pend OReille.

Speaking of which - did you know Lake Pend OReille is a US Navy 
Submarine base?  Quite active for training during WW2, but still active 
for sonar and acoustic research on submarines.  Turns out Lake Pend 
OReille is the 5th deepest lake in the US - some 1200 feet deep!  
Perfect for diving submarines and listening to how quiet they are at 
depth.  There's a picture on wikipedia of a new US Navy electric warship 
(they're quiet, and they're stealthy) cruising on the Lake, with snow on 
all the mountains around it.

Farragut State Park is only 5 hours from Helena via I-90.  The Spokane 
club (Inland Empire Quiet Flyers) holds contests there several times per 
year.

--
Greg