Gliding Competitions - History of Competitions

History of Competitions

In the early days, the main goal was to stay airborne for as long as possible. However, flights could last for days and some pilots killed themselves by falling asleep. This type of duration contest was abandoned by 1939.

From the earliest days of gliding there was also 'free distance' flying. Pilots launched themselves from a hill top, attempting to glide as far as possible. Once pilots learned to exploit ridge lift and thermals, flights could be extended further. Eventually they mastered flying from thermal to thermal, resulting in ever longer retrieves. As the pilots and gliders became better, the winner of a competition day might fly so far that he could not get back to the competition site for the next day. Turn-points were therefore used. Those pilots who managed to fly all the way to the turn-point and back would score the same distance as for free distance flights. When pilots and gliders became even better, most of the pilots would complete the task. Points were then awarded for speed.

Initially, observers would be stationed at the turn-points to verify that the pilots rounded them. Large contest numbers (in addition to the glider's registration) are still located on the bottom of one wing, and each side of the fin, to aid identification. Later on, pilots used cameras to photograph to prove that they had rounded each turnpoint and barograph to prove that they had not landed en route. Today, pilots use GPS-based flight recorders to log their positions securely so that they can prove that the task was correctly completed.