Southern California XC League

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XC Task Clinic

This year we will be featuring one XC Clinic aimed at bootstrapping individuals who have never flown a task with the information they need. This clinic may be useful for both Sprint and XC league participants since the discussion will be centered around task specific information. The XC clinic will be about 3 hours in the morning and in the afternoon we will go up to launch and fly an actual Sprint task. Topics for discussion will include:

XC task terminology: what the heck does ESS, exit cylinder and all that other non-sense mean?
GPS Setup: There are certain configurations that you must set your GPS up with in order to fly a task on top of just learning how to program a task and get your gps to route you to the next point.
Instrument Setup: My personal recommendations for instrument setup beyond just the basics of your GPS. Things like your vario, radio and spot.
What items to carry on an XC or task flight
What does a typical day day of task flying look like, what you should expect and what is expected of you.
General theory on how to fly an XC task successfully

The Clinic date is Sunday, March 29th. Cost is $50 which includes retrieve and sprint task fee but not site dues or rides to launch. Only requirements are to have a GPS device. Most smart phones are capable of running XC software now that allows you to program a task and record a flight log. I will be able to show you available apps and teach you how to use them at the clinic.

Where

Meet at the Marshall LZ

Where

9AM: The clinic will start at 9AM sharp, there will be a lot to go over so please be on time!
Noon: We'll grab our gear and start to shuttle up to launch. En-route we can grab a bite to eat and take it with us.
1PM: Arrive at launch start to setup and program our task.
2PM: Launch
5PM: Kick-offparty in the LZ. I'll try to get Crestline Society to bring out the goodies and people can make donations for food and drinks.

What to Bring

Glider, harness, reserve, helmet, all the usual stuff
GPS!
Data cable for the GPS if possible
Laptop (I will have extension cords and power bars)
All your other instruments that you fly with (vario, radio, satellite tracker, etc)
Flight deck (very important for placing instruments on if you have never flown with a GPS before)
Backup batteries for instruments. If you are using a cell phone as a GPS I highly recommend getting at least a 3000mah auxiliary battery that could potentially be plugged into your phone during flight
Stylus... If you are using a phone as a GPS this is critical to using it with gloves on. If not, a simple pencil can help you push small buttons on other GPS units.
Food, water, sunglasses, pen and paper, etc.
Cash, check or PayPal at the event for payment

Notes

If you have never been to Marshall before you may want to read up on site protocol in advance.
If you are not a Crestline Soaring Society member you will need $10 cash/check to pay for site use fees if you plan to fly task.
If you have new instruments or gear that you plan on using at the event, try to test it out in advance. Make sure things turn on, flight decks connect to harnesses, etc.
Make sure all your instruments are charged the night before. Even better have backup batteries for everything!
If you are bringing your laptop try to download the drivers for your device in advance if applicable. This can be hard for Mac users as most drivers are for PC.
Sprint waypoints here