There is a lot i don't know about gliders, that's why i ask people who do, about a most things. However, I know this statement does not reflect reality in anyway.calgoddard wrote:Such a prediction bonus would have the effect of penalizing teams with superior gliders and rewarding teams with average gliders, i.e. gliders not capable of flights with a 1 foot per second descent rate or better.
The one thing i do know, is what kids with drop rates of 1.2+ can do with their gliders and in no way would a their gliders be at a disadvantage.
Next, I find it far less likely that a team would get a lucky win in such a controlled test. All teams could practice the exact same range of times, over and over, just like in GV. And like GV all teams would have the same opportunity to adjust for the environment. However, unlike GV the variables could be predetermined though math and physics since the science of air density in known. Compared to GV where surface conditions are are complete mystery box.
Next, if the heating and cooling is left on during the event it does boil down to who is the luckiest team no matter what criteria is set. There is no way a team can have just the right glider trimmed and ready to go, for when the air is full blast, barely moving or somewhere in between. Every flight will be different with no consistency no matter what the team does. So this argument that the bonus would be somehow different makes no sense.
Finally, even at a ceiling of 20' a good teams score would be 80 points with a bonus of 10. A really strong team would be in the 96 point range without bonus. So it's not a game changing bonus. It's a reward for hard work that moves a team up or down the ladder to reflect their actual skill not the luck of draw on balsa wood.