In 2007 Vicki Cain revived the Forbes Flatlands as a major international hang
gliding competition in Australia (see
here) after the last
meet there in 2001 following the 1998 World Championships . It was great to see
her make the huge effort and sacrifice (including financial) necessary to get
this competition going again. I've attended all of the competitions since and in
2009 and 2010 worked closely with Vicki as ex-officio meet director and
weatherman. I have seen up close how dedicated and hard working she is. Above
all she wants a fair and friendly competition that pilots enjoy and want to
return to the next year.

In 2011 I worked behind the scenes with Vicki editing and preparing the local
rules for the pre-Worlds, preparing documents to address the concerns of CASA
regarding CTAF airspaces, and more. It has been enjoyable working with Vicki and
making sure that all the concerns are addressed and that pilots have the best
opportunity to fly without undue regulation or impingement.

Vicki's hard work and dedication have paid off and in 2012 she hosted the
pre-Worlds in Forbes and in 2013 she will be hosting the World Championships.
Forbes has treated us well providing excellent weather, even in two La Nina
years. The pre-Worlds have been a great success with eight flying days out of
ten and with the rest days perfectly timed. Tasks have been challenging but
large numbers of pilots have been able to make goal. This is Australian flatland
flying at its best.

Against this background of great appreciation and success there has been a
niggling concern about the fairness of the competitions that came to the fore
when a complaint was lodged regarding a non competitor (actually there was more
than one) who flew the course and landed at goal on the sixth task. There is a
background to this complaint that I want to deal with a bit more.

There had also been a rumor that in a fairly recent Forbes Flatlands competition
a top competitor had been had been towed late to 5,000' down the course (but
still in the start cylinder) in order to allow him to catch up with the gaggle
at the edge of the start cylinder. This was viewed as favoritism by the tug
pilot (not necessarily the organization) and as unfair to the rest of the
competitors.

At the start of the 2012 pre-Worlds two competitors wanted to be sure about the
rules regarding where and how high the tug pilots were supposed to tow
competitors, and it was made clear to the chief tug pilot that all competitors
were to be towed to 2,000' and no higher (competitors could pin off earlier of
their own accord). That they were not to be towed more than 2 KM from the start
point of the tow paddock (there is a 1 KM reflight zone), and that they were for
the most part to be towed up wind (or to a nearby area of lift). These two
competitors wanted to be sure that the tug pilots were fair to all pilots and
that all competitors had an equal chance at the start.

A few days later (third task) on a windy day this was discussed again and a drop
off area upwind of the competitor's launch point was graphically illustrated and
displayed at the pilot meeting showing that pilots were to be dropped off within
2 KM upwind of their launch. Later one of the competitors verbally complained
that he had been dropped off downwind of the launch in light lift and had to
work his way back upwind to get back to the launch area and land for a
re-launch.

An official complaint was filed just before task seven, when a non-competitor was seen
by the complaining pilots on the course at the first turnpoint and, perhaps
because of their distrust, was assumed to be providing navigational aid to
selected competitors (see earlier Oz Reports on this incident). Everyone now agrees that he was not doing so. (I
have confirmed this by analyzing the track logs.) But obviously there was
something going on in the minds of these pilots that caused them to question the
fairness of the competition.

On Saturday night at the party wrapping up the competition I had an opportunity
to speak with one of these pilots. I asked him if he thought that the
competition was fair. He said that indeed it was most fair. He said that he also
appreciated the fact that CIVL was represented at the competition as an
impartial body that assured that the competition would be fair.

He then told me his story about a previous version of the Forbes Flatlands,
prior to 2007. This is a story that I can not confirm and has been denied and
the pilot has backed down a good ways from his original story.

This pilot feels that he has been treated unfairly in the past (whether true or
not) and that does explain a lot about why this particular pilot gained a
reputation for avoiding aerotow competitions in Australia, despite being a top
pilot. It may also explain why we continued to have car towing competitions in
Hay organized by this pilot.

It also explains why this competitor was so concerned about how the tug pilots
behaved at the pre-Worlds and how they would tow all the competitors. As he said
at the end of the competition, he felt that the competition was fair to him and
very much appreciated the good work that Vicki and others have done to create a
fair and enjoyable competition in Forbes.

I write this to show that something that was hidden (and still is) turns out to
be so useful in explaining behavior that was otherwise inexplicable. I can't
think of a good reason to be out in Hay car towing. I'm looking forward to
another great and fair competition at Forbes in 2013 (shoulder and other things
willing).