Navigation
Fly around the course as quickly as possible. Altitude is at your discretion but note:
- the START HEIGHT limit of 6000 feet MSL.
- the TASK AREA height limit of 7500 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 6000 feet MSL. Passing over the start line higher than this will not record a start. |
TP 1 |
The first TP, Mill Creek, is to the South-West, reachable along the local ridge to the South of the airport. |
TP 2 |
The second TP, Allensville, is slightly to North. Reaching this TP will require a small jump upwind onto the ridge running to the North of Mifflin. |
TP 3 |
The third TP, Three Barns, is to the East. From TP2 you first have to cross back to the South side of the Mifflin valley, so make sure you leave enough height to do this. Then it is a run along the South ridge which merges into another ridge on the approach to Three Barns so you will have to be careful with the ridge lift there. |
Finish |
On the way back from Three Barns you may well take the more Northerly ridge heading towards Mifflin, but at some point you probably want to cut back to the main ridge to the South of Mifflin. The final glide will be into wind, so don't cut it too fine. The finish line runs approximately North-South across the East end of the runway. |
After crossing the finish line, you can land at Mifflin Airport, 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 6000 feet, Wind is 17 knots from the North-West, heading 310. 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 sides of the valleys are expected to be working. Reasonable thermals are expected.
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 Mifflin airfield with you pointing at the airfield. From there you can fly directly to the start line. 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.
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.
If you can beat 1 hour 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"