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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| How much of the thermal the pilot climbed before leaving it | clear pattern | ||
| How low the pilot gets between climbs | clear pattern | ||
| Final glide committed to when leaving the last climb | too few pilots | ||
| Share of race time spent hunting for the next climb | clear pattern | ||
| Time spent flying with a gaggle | clear pattern | ||
| Share of lift turned in that was kept as a climb | clear pattern | ||
| Glide L/D against the field median | some pattern | ||
| Glide speed between climbs | some pattern | ||
| Climbs joined on another pilot's marker | some pattern | ||
| Distance covered between climbs | could be chance | ||
| Arriving at ESS with height to spare | too few pilots | ||
| Gliding wide of the optimal course line | could be chance | ||
| Climbing faster than the pilots sharing the thermal | could be chance | ||
| Low saves dug out from the bottom of the band | could be chance | ||
| Share of the flight spent in air that wasn’t sinking | could be chance | ||
| Share of the height gain made outside thermals | could be chance | ||
| Time to core thermals | could be chance | ||
| How round and consistent the circles were | could be chance | ||
| How often leaving the gaggle paid off | too few pilots | ||
| Climb rate at thermal exit | could be chance |
3 behaviours were measured on fewer than 8 pilots — too few to tell either way.
Metrics with a clear pattern, plotted against rank
How much of the thermal the pilot climbed before leaving it
How low the pilot gets between climbs
Share of race time spent hunting for the next climb
- Speed-section phase shares, field p25/median/p75: climb 22/27/34% · glide 27/31/35% · search 32/45/49%
Time spent flying with a gaggle
- 30 gaggle episodes detected (peak size 6 pilots).
Share of lift turned in that was kept as a climb
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 | too few pilots | ||
| Race time lost against the fastest pilots, leg by leg | could be chance |