Winning strategies
Which behaviours went with better ranks on this task.
Analysis computed
Which behaviours went with better ranks
Each row is one behaviour, compared against the published ranks. Select a row to plot it against rank.
| Behaviour | Strength | What it means | Pilots measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glide speed between climbs | clear pattern | ||
| Gliding wide of the optimal course line | clear pattern | ||
| Final glide committed to when leaving the last climb | clear pattern | ||
| How long after the gate opened the pilot started | clear pattern | ||
| Share of race time spent hunting for the next climb | clear pattern | ||
| Share of lift turned in that was kept as a climb | clear pattern | ||
| How often leaving the gaggle paid off | could be chance | ||
| Glide L/D against the field median | clear pattern | ||
| Distance covered between climbs | some pattern | ||
| Time spent flying with a gaggle | some pattern | ||
| Climbs joined on another pilot's marker | could be chance | ||
| Climb rate at thermal exit | could be chance | ||
| How low the pilot gets between climbs | could be chance | ||
| How round and consistent the circles were | could be chance | ||
| Arriving at ESS with height to spare | could be chance | ||
| How much of the thermal the pilot climbed before leaving it | could be chance | ||
| Climbing faster than the pilots sharing the thermal | could be chance | ||
| Share of the height gain made outside thermals | could be chance | ||
| Share of the flight spent in air that wasn’t sinking | could be chance | ||
| Time to core thermals | could be chance | ||
| Low saves dug out from the bottom of the band | could be chance |
Metrics with a clear pattern, plotted against rank
Glide speed between climbs
- Field glide speed: median 58.0 km/h · p90 67.2 km/h (27 pilots)
Gliding wide of the optimal course line
Final glide committed to when leaving the last climb
How long after the gate opened the pilot started
Share of race time spent hunting for the next climb
- Speed-section phase shares, field p25/median/p75: climb 34/40/43% · glide 25/28/33% · search 28/34/39%
Share of lift turned in that was kept as a climb
Glide L/D against the field median
Outcome checks
These measure the result, not a behaviour, so they always follow the ranks.
| Outcome | Strength | What it means | Pilots measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Race time behind the leader at ESS | clear pattern | ||
| Race time lost against the fastest pilots, leg by leg | clear pattern |