Telemetry has traditionally been banned in most Soaring contests, except for battery voltage feedback, and in most contest formats the argument has always been that Soaring must remain a “pure” sport where we use our bodies to feel the changes in the air and decide where to fly without the help of external or “onboard” technologies.
Developments in radio manufacturing and by Soaring hobbyists and enthusiasts have seen many devices used for optimizing flight and launch settings such as recording altimeters, tension loggers, and GPS locators. Those modelers making the rules for our current Soaring contest formats are generally opposed to the introduction and use of any such devices during contests except for F5J, where recording altimeters provides the scorer with each contestant’s starting height.
But what if we imagine other types of Soaring contest formats that are now possible by embracing and using this readily available telemetry?
What about “thermal racing?” This is where each contestant would launch as we do now, but then the task would be to climb as high as possible before returning to the landing zone for an “on-time” precision landing. This height gain information is supplied by onboard recording altimeters currently being successfully used in F5J. The task could require staying aloft for the traditional 10 minutes, with the added task of height gained and precision landing providing bonus points.
Another variation could be a race to a set height with a bonus for the fastest pilot to get there and race back down for the landing. (Flutterless aircraft would be a requirement!) There are many possibilities and most of them are exciting to ponder and it’s even more exciting to do in this new electronic world.
Another idea with excellent potential as a Soaring contest format (using similar altitude-logging telemetry) would be a Limited-Altitude Duration contest. This would be Thermal Duration as we have it now, but limited to a maximum altitude. For every second you spend above the contest-declared limit, you would be penalized.
Imagine how much fun it would be if we flew Thermal Duration with a maximum height of 500 feet. The lower height means we could launch from smaller fields with much shorter towlines or even fly contests off of bungees. That might provide an alternative to the current high-velocity and high-stress F3J launches and allow pilots to display their skills at pure, low-level thermaling.
This format would require an onboard altimeter that relays the height to the pilot. Such devices have been available for years but are now usually standard features in many modern radios.
These simple formats do require the use of currently outlawed devices, but take nothing away from the type of raw skills current Thermal Duration contests require. I believe such ideas actually put more emphasis on pilot skills than do our current Thermal Duration and F3J formats.
The cost of these amazing telemetry devices is surprisingly low. The Hexpert Systems Zlog Z6R is $80 and the Aerobtec Altis v4 is available for $85 from Esprit Model. These units were developed specifically for F5J and provide an easily read visual display as well as recording data for download later. For those wanting more, Esprit Model has a complete stand-alone Jeti system called the JetiBox Profi Monitor that attaches to a transmitter and provides visual and audio feedback to the pilot from as many as 20 onboard Jeti sensors.
Eagle Tree also has a great stand-alone system that provides altitude, battery voltage, variometer, and flight feedback to the pilot with various add-on sensors. Most of the onboard altimeters can be programmed for between 1-second and 10-second samples rates and have sufficient onboard memory for an entire day of flying.
There is an exciting future ahead in Thermal Soaring as the increased sophistication of the radio systems continues, but only if we embrace this new technology and figure out how to use it in a way that enhances the Soaring spirit rather than simply ignoring it, being afraid that telemetry will harm our sport, or banning the use of these devices.
Human nature resists change, but the acceptance of new ideas is inevitable. It’s just a matter of time. Let’s stimulate this conversation, keep an open mind, and see what other ideas develop.
Go downwind and soar.
