Hey all,


I thought I'd start a thread where folks can post the write ups or ask questions for assistance with their LSF non contest tasks. I'm going to request to have this thread stickied. Even non members of the LSF (although I highly encourage folks to join, it is a great organization) can post here, if they want to say work on a duration or a goal and return and discuss their results. Or, folks that have already achieved a level but are currently not able to participate in contests, if you want to work on a higher level duration or distance goal, please share with your RCGroups cohorts.

Here are the tasks:

http://www.silentflight.org/LSF_Base/tasks.htm

Or, I have summarized them here:

Level 1:

5 minute thermal flight
15 minute slope flight
5 landings 3 meters or less from a spot

Level 2:

15 minute thermal flight
60 minute slope flight
10 landings at 1.5 meters or less from a spot

Level 3:
30 minute thermal flight
2 hour slope flight
1K goal and return flight

Level 4:

1 hour thermal flight
4 hour slope flight
2K goal and return flight

Level 5:

2 hour thermal flight
8 hour slope flight
10K goal and return flight

OK, I'll start the festivities.
:-)

Last September, after at least 8 times out trying, I finally completed my 2K goal and return in Holland, Indiana. Here is a picture from that session. I had a lot of help from my model rocket club members. At one point, I did get scared I was going to land short again, but I found that one last thermal and made it home.

Ryan

Very cool Ryan, I was following the discussion where this idea was floated, and i'm glad you created a thread for it.

I will have to talk to the NASA guys (North Atlanta Soaring Assoc) about a reasonably close slope that might be ok.

Yikes, flying from the back of that pickup or something?
heheh anyhow very cool,

Bravo for getting this started, i think it will be a great addition to the monthly X5J and Fun 5J (electric powered) stuff already here on RCGroups..

I thought that instad of certain tasks others could be substituted.

Is this true?

In the levels 1 through 4, you can substitute a second thermal flight in place of the slope flight, but for Level 5, the slope flight is mandatory

Originally Posted by Fly2High

I thought that instad of certain tasks others could be substituted.

Yes, you don't have to do the slope tasks in levels 1-4, you can do a 2nd thermal as long as it is not on the same day as the first thermal.

But, since this is a thread for posting task results, and I want to encourage slope afficianados as well, I thought I might leave that in the task list.

And, Frank, I encourage you to join the LSF, and you could serve as LSF club coordinator for LISF!

Ryan

Originally Posted by tone

I will have to talk to the NASA guys (North Atlanta Soaring Assoc) about a reasonably close slope that might be ok.

Tone, the sloping is not actually required for the real LSF program (except level 5), but, some folks do enjoy the sloping so they choose to do the slope tasks during their LSF journy.

I guess a bit about me is in order. I'm currently a LSF3 and need about 2,000 contest points to finish L4. I have done the 1 hour thermal task 4 times (lost my voucher sheet).

Originally Posted by tone

Yikes, flying from the back of that pickup or something?
heheh anyhow very cool,

Many folks ride in the back of trucks for the goal and return flights. This picture was taken after I completed my 2K (about 1.2 miles) goal and return flight. It is a lot of fun.

Ryan

Adults may legally ride in the back of pickups in the state of Indiana. Note: Only recently was a law passed requiring pickup drivers to wear seat belts. If you don't reside in Indiana, you may want to check with your state police.
Jim Deck

That, and in the place I was flying my 2K, it is so rural, I have never seen a police vehicle on that stretch of road. It is literally just farm, farm, farm. Up until about 15 years ago, this road was not even paved.

Ryan

Yeah, just joshing about the truck.
They just started making us wear belts in trucks down here in Georgia too. Dangitall..

One of my favorite vids was some guys flying a .40 something alongside a pickup while they drove along country roads. Notably they were mostly lined with cornfields..
I looked for a while, but i'll never find it. Was back in 2004 or 2005 maybe..

I knew about the task substitution thing, just wanted to get the ball rolling..
Plus i am hoping there really IS a decent Slope around here somewhere.
There is a reservoir Dam about an hour and a half away, but the conditions (water/rocks/traffic) give me the heebies..

Fortunately for me, a guy who is really into this stuff and lives nearby had a convertible last fall and we managed to do the task. He has such nice soaring stuff I'm almost tempted to think the convertible was bought for the LSF task, tho it's not so easy to climb in quickly after you've got enough altitude to make an attempt.

On my 2Km out and return flight, we had one "encounter" with a CHP officer in the Mojave desert (North of Los Angeles) and we almost got a ticket since there "were no seatbelts in the back of the pickup". The officer also promised that he could find more
"issues" with the car if we didn't get out of there... Needless to say, I aborted my flight... We did not have any problems on my 10Km ride...

I've been working on my level 3 thermal flights and 30 mins is harder than I thought it would be. One day last November I thought I had it in the bag, and discovered only after setting up to land that my timer (thanks a lot, Doug!) goofed reading the stopwatch, and I was 3 minutes short!

One other thing I'd like to mention, I have found Google Earth to be a superb tool for getting exact distances for the XC tasks. That way you can avoid wasting time going farther than necessary.

...just wait until you find out how long 8 hours can be...

Originally Posted by LVsoaring

I've been working on my level 3 thermal flights and 30 mins is harder than I thought it would be.

I thought you had a Paragon, right? Paragon is a great ship for long duration flights.

Originally Posted by LVsoaring

One other thing I'd like to mention, I have found Google Earth to be a superb tool for getting exact distances for the XC tasks. That way you can avoid wasting time going farther than necessary.

A hiking GPS works great too. That is what I use to verify courses.

Ryan