Navigation

Fly around the course as quickly as possible. Altitude is at your discretion but note:

  • the START HEIGHT limit of 8000 feet MSL.
  • the TASK AREA height limit of 9000 feet MSL. If you exceed this you will FAIL the mission.

There are 3 turnpoints you must fly to in sequence between the start and finish lines. The turnpoint zone is radius 500 meters i.e. you must be within 500 meters to register as reaching the turnpoint.

Start

The start line extends a kilometer either side of the runway centerpoint, running approximately North/South perpendicular to the runway, up to 8000 feet MSL. Passing over the start line higher than this will not record a start.

TP 1

The first TP is to the West, along the valley to Bramberg.

TP 2

The second TP is to the North, at Oberaudorf. This leg requires you cross the valley, heading North, to pass over the hills on the North side. Note that curlover is to be expected in the lee of the North side of the valley, and this is an into-wind leg. Reaching the high ground may be problematic.

TP 3

The third TP is to the East, at Hohlwegen, in the valley beyond the high ground. Thermals in this area are expected to be weaker than elsewhere on the course, although some ridge lift should still be available.

Finish

The finish line runs East-West along the Northern boundary of LOWZ airfield.

After crossing the finish line, you can land at Zell Am See Airport (LOWZ) although this does not count as part of the mission.

You can navigate in this mission by following the Mission Compass and Mission Pointer. However, for a more challenging experience try removing the compass and pointer and flying by the glider instruments, map and gps (press "U" to toggle mission compass and "Shift +3 to activate GPS).

Task Advisory

Cloudbase is 9000 feet, Wind is 8 knots from the North-East, heading 045. The route takes you in part along the LOWZ valley and you should avoid the sink expected in the lee of the hills on the North side of the valley. The good news is the ridges on the South and West sides of the valleys are expected to be working. Reasonable thermals are expected, with lift typically around 5 knots to 9000 feet MSL, particularly in the West. To the North-East the thermals are likely to be weaker and less reliable.

Communications

Your ground crew will communicate with you via radio. Your callsign is "Yankee November."

FSX Hints

The mission will start a short distance to the East of Zell am Zee airfield with you pointing at the airfield. From there you can fly directly to the start line, and will pass through a thermal on the way. Remember that your objective for soaring starts is to have as much energy as possible, i.e. to be flying as fast as possible but still below the start gate altitude. Remember to lower the flaps as you slow down in thermals to maintain maximum lift to drag ratio and gradually raise them into negative as you exceed 80 knots. The on-screen task timer will start as you pass through the start gate.

For the first leg to TP 1, keep to the left of the valley, i.e. the South side, as this will give you the benefit of the ridge lift and the thermals are to be found on this side also. You will probably need to climb before you get to TP 1, because at that point you have to turn right across the valley and cross the high ground heading North. There is sink in the valley just before you reach the hills on the North side, as you would expect with curlover from the NE wind. In any soaring mission if you are in strong sink, you should accelerate to get out of it quickly. This is counter-intuitive as you are doubly concerned about your height above the ground, but slowing down to try and conserve height will simply keep you in the sink longer and lose more height overall.

One of the essential points in soaring is not to fly around the lee side of any high ground because there will be sink there. It is worthwhile studying all the briefing, maps and details carefully just as with a real soaring mission to recognize where curlover and sink is likely to occur and plan your route before you start the mission.

This Day 4 mission is more challenging than the previous days so strategy is more important.

If you can beat 1 hour 5 minutes you have done very well indeed.

Suggested Reading

To learn more about the skills you'll use in this mission, see the following articles in the Learning Center:

  • "DG-808S Competition Sailplane Aircraft Information"
  • "Soaring"