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 2 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, Selinsgrove Airport, is to the East, requiring a downwind jump onto the next ridge to the South.

TP 2

The second TP, Orbisonia, is along the ridge to the South-West from Selinsgrove.

Finish

To get home you will need to jump back upwind onto the Mifflin ridge. The final glide will have a strong cross-wind element, 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 West 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 Selinsgrove, keep to the left of the ridges, i.e. the North-West side, as this will give you the benefit of the ridge lift. get enough height on the Mifflin local South ridge to jump to the next ridge South which will take you much of the way to Selinsgrove. The ridge ends before Selinsgrove and you will need height to fly across to Selinsgrove and back to the safety of the ridge. Once back on the ridge it should be a straightforward run South-West to Orbisonia.

Soon after turning Orbisonia, you will need to plan an upwind jump, perhaps around Mill Creek, to get you onto the Mifflin South ridge and head for home.

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 40 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"