Great Flights Aren't Won by Hand-Flying Skills
Upon driving home from the airfield, after all the post-flight socializing, I was finally able to let my brain rest & digest the day. Often, I write on my gliding page straight away with raw emotions, but often, the drive home is where I really reflect upon the day. I realised two things: I had a great flight up to the 2nd turnpoint (approx 145kph & 6kt averages, no major mistakes*1). What I noticed was that my nearest point competitor, in particular, was getting away on my LXNAV power mouse. Behind me, a chasing competitor who had started 13 minutes behind me was also catching.
The sky had gone from streeting with continual lowering of the bases to scattered CU that looked more like water sacks in the sky. It was safe to say that the start of the flight wasn't going to continue. I had just had a low save off an extended cruise, 4-6kts on average.
In that climb & at that moment, 10-15km from TP2, the climb rate decreased to 3kts, I saw my chasing competitor flash up on the flarm, 5km away & 1300' below! The sky looked equal ahead & I was at 2/3 convection. I thought I could at least find an equal climb & I didn't want to mark the climb for my competitor, knowing he'd almost caught me. As soon as I left the thermal, I knew I had probably made the wrong decision for the weather ahead.
Twenty minutes later, I was using my turbo with one other. My chasing competitor almost used his jet from 1000', and I lost the nationals and much more.
Much more? What did I forget? This Nationals is also the 18m team selection for the POL WGC. If I had remembered this at the time, I would have played my cards correctly - which is where the title of this article comes in.
"Winning doesn't make you stronger; losing makes you stronger." Tomas Suchanek has said this to me many times over the years. After my recent loss, he repeated it. He also reiterated that it's all just training for the big show, the world championships. However, I'm still annoyed at myself after my last-day blunder at the Australian nationals.
Hopefully, this latest learning has hurt me enough to really let it sink in and not allow this lesson to be forgotten. Tobias Geiger also said to me, "It seems to me that you lost focus, Adam." Once I go through a start line, I'm intensely focused on the goal at hand, so I wanted to dismiss this one. However, I asked the question why he thought so. He said that I forgot what was important to me at the time, the focus of the day, the reason I was at the competition. I didn't do what was right for me.
Tobias was exactly right. My goals at every nationals vary; it's either: a) Win the nationals because there are no team selection points on the table, or b) gain team selection & winning the nationals is secondary.
When I left the three-knot thermal to go outland soon after, I forgot why I was really at the 18-meter nationals. This time, it was b) team selection first, winning second.
Tobias was right; I lost focus. Suchanek is right; losing will make me stronger.
I had the perfect start at the nationals, winning off the stick both days. I had the right mindset and focus. Continually, I found myself doing things because they were right for me at the time and without the influence of others.
I've debriefed this enough in my head now that I think I know what my personal solution is. Hopefully, this lesson will see me gain many more points, places, and titles in the future!
My personal solution? Simple: add a navbox to my LX9070, which continually reminds me to 'do what is right for you' & secondly, good old pen to paper, to have any key items for the day clearly visible.
Great flights aren't won by hand flying skills but by overall decisions. The same goes for poor flights.
Do what is right for you
Banner photo by Sean Franke
Adam Woolley was born into the gliding world, being the 3rd generation in his family. Going solo at 15, his thirst for efficiency in soaring flight & quest for a world championship title to his name has never wavered. One big passion is sharing his experiences & joy with other glider pilots all around the world. Adam is an airline pilot in Japan on the B767 & spends his off time chasing summer around the globe. He has now won 7 national Championships & represented Australia at 5 WGC's & 1 EGC.
