GPS Scoring at the 14th Annual Montague XC Cup

The 14th annual Montague Cross-Country Cup for the first time in its history was a 5-day event. Contest days were Tuesday, June 14, through Saturday, June 18, with Monday scheduled as practice day. The 5-day format attracted far-away teams from Colorado and New Hampshire, but fewer local teams committed for the entire 5-day duration.

Also for the first time, official scoring was done by on-board SkyTraceGPS receivers and the Winscore software program. For back-up, teams also manually filled out score sheets during their flights. Last year, it was the other way around.

The new scoring system is a vast improvement over the manual one, and many thanks go to Bob Nelson and John Ellias for adapting the full-size program to our use. Only some minor quirks have yet to be understood. For example, Winscore sometimes failed to recognize a proper finish and assessed penalty points.

Given GPS/Winscore recording and scoring, speed tasks only, and the multi-day format, our cross-country flying with model gliders is now as close to the full-size events as possible. To most participants, this makes it more attractive and interesting.

Speaking of the contest, it was as challenging as usual, even though host Dean Gradwell and CD Ron McElliott chose the tasks sensibly and fitting the particular weather conditions each day.

The toughest day was Friday, when only two teams managed to complete the task. The southern-most turn-point that day was Gazelle which required a grueling upwind return to the finish line. Greg Norsworthy won that day ahead of John Ellias.

Without meaning to sound pretentious, I contend that the Montague Cross Country Cup has evolved into a world-class event. The new contest format plays a part in this, as do the spectacular setting and course. But the ultimate icing on the cake is the generous hosting by Dean Gradwell.

Dean and his team convert his hangar at Siskiyou County Airport into event head quarters, which means each team has tables and chairs and ample hangar space to comfortably prepare and maintain their planes. The team also hires local businesses to provide catered meals at the hangar —the barbecue alone is an outstanding experience. The first through fifth place trophies also are made by local artist George Poppas.

All this makes the Montague Cross Country Cup an enjoyable and worthwhile event for anyone interested in RC glider flying.

See you in 2012!