Flying style

Pilots grouped by how alike their flying was.

Analysis computed

The groups are flying style, and not score. The spread of ranks in each group shows where that style paid and where it did not.

Group A — Bold leavers

13 pilots · ranks 1–22 · median 8 · middle half 4–12

High — How often leaving the gaggle paid off group median P88 in this field (100 percent)
Low — Share of race time spent hunting for the next climb group median P21 in this field (24 percent) · usually a strength
High — Glide speed between climbs group median P77 in this field (63.9 kilometres per hour) · usually a strength
Low — Share of the flight spent in air that wasn’t sinking group median P24 in this field (57 percent)

1. Steven Crosby
2. Josh Woods
3. Hughbert Alexander
4. Tyler Borradaile (most typical of this group)
5. Rohan Taylor
6. Paul Bissett-Amess
8. Peter Burkitt
10. Rob de Groot
11. Dick Heffer
12. Richard Martin
13. Bradley Elliott
20. Dustan Hansen
22. Andy Schmidt

Group B — Outclimbed in company

4 pilots · ranks 7–23 · median 11.5 · middle half 8.5–16.3

Low — Climbing faster than the pilots sharing the thermal group median P5 in this field (41 percent) · usually costly
High — Arriving at ESS with height to spare group median P94 in this field (1107 metres) · usually costly
High — Share of the flight spent in air that wasn’t sinking group median P89 in this field (78 percent)
High — How low the pilot gets between climbs group median P89 in this field (56 percent)

7. Rory Duncan
9. Ward Gunn (most typical of this group)
14. Adrian Connor
23. James Morgan

Group C — Glide bleeders

12 pilots · ranks 15–33 · median 24.5 · middle half 18.5–28.5

Low — Glide L/D against the field median group median P15 in this field (0.82 ratio) · usually costly
High — Gliding wide of the optimal course line group median P79 in this field (23 percent)
Low — Glide speed between climbs group median P24 in this field (51.7 kilometres per hour) · usually costly
Low — How much of the thermal the pilot climbed before leaving it group median P26 in this field (38 percent)

15. Mick Lamb
16. James Atkinson
17. John Greenwood
19. Peter Garrone
21. John Harriott
24. Col Jackson (most typical of this group)
25. Brett Gilmour
26. Hossain Tefaili
28. Nolan Bear
30. Rob Larkin
31. Howard Taylor
33. Joe Baker

Not clustered: 27. James McGinty — only 5 of 20 metrics available (needs ≥ 60%); 29. Justin Gilmour — only 11 of 20 metrics available (needs ≥ 60%); 32. Andre Johnson — only 11 of 20 metrics available (needs ≥ 60%); 34. Les Bestt — only 6 of 20 metrics available (needs ≥ 60%); 35. Richard Hughes — only 7 of 20 metrics available (needs ≥ 60%).

29 pilots on 20 behavioural metrics formed 3 groups.