Dustin writes:

I will be totally stoked if Tom shows up flying any glider at all.
Unfortunately Christian isn't coming anymore, and the stories of Manfred,
Attila, and other Moyes and Icaro secret weapons appear to be fantasies. Or are
they?? I hope not!

This race is a pure test of glider and harness performance, where even 1/4 of 1%
advantage on the typical 48 km course means approximately 5 seconds lead at the
finish. There is no circling, and besides three 180 degree turns, it is a flat
out straight line race for over half an hour. There are extended portions of the
course which are run at min sink speed, best glide speed, and at increments up
way way past VNE. All our assumptions about which glider has the best sink rate,
best glide, and best glide at higher speed, from our experience at thermal
comps, are put to the test and ultimately answered here.

Beyond that, we can test the effects of ballast, glider settings, and blending
and fairing things that are typically left in the breeze in a thermal comp. It
is a breeding ground for performance developments that trickle down to
production, because there is no doubt about whether something worked --
independent of the pilot or the air. No other event allows us this honest view
of raw performance, where pilots become just glider jockeys. Which is why the
escalation of threats of bigger and bigger guns (world champions) being sent to
Canoa is so entertaining. Of course the course must be run very efficiently and
turnpoints tagged perfectly, so a solid comp pilot is probably the best bet.

But I really came here to taunt the AEROS pilots. After all, I've never seen one
down there and from what I always hear, they must be the fastest, slipperiest
thing to ever exist. There are about half a dozen spots left in the race, and I
would love for someone to put their glider where their mouth is.