PILOT RELATED QUESTIONS
WHAT IF I FLY MULTIPLE WING TYPES? EG PARAGLIDER & HANG GLIDER & TANDEM
When you register for the challenge you will notice that there are 4 different pilot types that you can register for:
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A paraglider pilot
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A tandem paraglider pilot
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A hang glider pilot
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A tandem hang glider pilot
Each of these pilot types may have a different category ie you could be a 'FUN' class paraglider pilot but an 'EXPERT' class hang glider.
HOW DO I KNOW WHICH CATEGORY PILOT I AM?
The categories listed below are used so that you can challenge both yourself and other pilots at your own level.
Pilots are requested to self-nominate their class at the beginning of the season based on the following guide.
Pilots remain within this class for the season. If a pilot surpasses a level during the comp period, they should remain in their original nominated class.
HOW DO I CHANGE THE PILOT CATEGORY I REGISTERED AS?
If you find that you need to change the category you originally registered in, not a problem.
Perhaps you mistakenly put yourself in too high a category, or someone has pointed out that you are in too low a category.
Simply contact us below advising the reason, your SAFA number and the category to be moved to.
We will repost your flights to the new category for any current challenges.
WHY DOESN'T MY NAME APPEAR IN THE RESULTS PAGE FOR A CHALLENGE?
Don't forget that there are 2 steps to registering for a challenge.
The most common reason that your name doesn't appear under a challenge is that you haven't completed the 2nd step - registered for the challenge.
Step 1 - Register as a pilot within the system
This allows you to pick what wing you fly and what category you are ie fun, sports, advanced or expert.
You can also register multiple flying disciplines eg paraglider, hang glider, tandem pilot etc
You only need to register once within the system.
Step 2 - Register for a challenge
Once you are registered as a pilot you can register for as many challenges as are available to you.
Some challenges may have 'closed' registration which means you have to register via the challenge organiser.
This may be because they are charging pilots to enter the competition or because they want to restrict the participants.
Other challenges are 'self-registration' which means you can enter them online via the website.
CAN I USE MY PHONE TO RECORD MY FLIGHT?
We understand that not everyone flies with flight equipment i.e. new pilots and coastal pilots.
As such, they probably haven't invested in flying specific equipment for recording their flights. But don't despair! Your phone can be every bit as powerful as any of those expensive flight tracking devices.
No matter your phone type, you'll find that XCTrack, XC Soar or FlySkyHy will give you everything you need to participate in the Turnpoint Challenge and more. And best of all, XC Track & XC Soar are free.
A lot of pilots only use their tablet or phone as their flight instrument. So get to it .. download the app to your phone, upload your Airspace file or waypoints and join in.
HOW DO I GET THE WAYPOINTS & CYLINDER AIRSPACES ONTO MY DEVICE?
If you're stuck with trying to get the waypoints or cylinder airspaces onto your flight equipment then worry not. You are definitely not alone. It's perfectly normal to forget how to do things when we don't do them every day. And if you've never done it before then welcome to the world of flying with a purpose.
We will be adding the main flight equipment software how-to manuals below. They take time to create so as they are finished we will add them.
HOW DO I UPLOAD MY IGC FILE?
In order to score points in the Turnpoint Challenge you will need to upload your IGC file.
At the moment we only accept IGC file formats which may mean it is a 2 or 3 step process.
We will be adding the main flight equipment software how-to manuals below. They take time to create so as they are finished we will add them.
CHALLENGE RELATED QUESTIONS
I WANT TO RUN A CHALLENGE - WHAT DO I DO?
If you'd like to organise a challenge for your local club or state just reach out to us via our Contact Us page.
We are actively looking to have this challenge platform taken up in other states and countries. We'd love to hear from you.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A WAYPOINT & A TURNPOINT?
TECHNICAL EXPLANATION
WAYPOINT
A Waypoint is a place on earth. the 'Waypoint' is the fixed centre point defined by name, X,Y,Z description.
A Waypoint has a Name, Latitude, Longitude and Altitude above sea level (in metres AMSL)
TURNPOINT
A Turnpoint has a centre (Waypoint) and a radius.
The Turnpoint is the variable point on a given radius from the waypoint that defines the Turnpoint as tagged.
A Turnpoint is used as a Waypoint in a Task.
SIMPLE EXPLANATION
A waypoint is a set of co-ordinates that identifies a single point on a map.
These waypoints then have a cylinder set around them which becomes a turnpoint.
The cylinder size that we use for the Turnpoint Challenge is a 400m radius.
This means that if you fly within 400m of the waypoint you will have hit the edge of the turnpoint and have successfully tagged it!
REMEMBER: You don't have to hit the waypoint to tag the turnpoint. Some waypoints on the coast are actually in the ocean, however, the turnpoints can be tagged safely without having to fly over the water.
INTERESTING HISTORY
Turnpoint is the term used for 'turnaround points'. In the days before GPS pilots would have to have to fly around a point, photograph it from a defined FAI sector, then go to next turnpoint. Pilots would have to use manual navigational skills to go find them. Pilots took photos to identify the point and were severely punished if the set feature was not in shot. Competitions have been lost through pilots taking pictures of their boots!
Once GPS emerged on the scene pilots began to use a radius. The waypoint was extended out on a given radius where we had to turn. So the waypoint then became the turnpoint. All competition task boards now refer to turnpoints.
WHY ARE THE TURNPOINTS DIFFERENT COLOURS?
A lot of thought has also gone into the degree of difficulty or accessibility of turnpoints.
As a guide turnpoints have been graded from Green which are easily accessible and not too intimidating to Black - remote waypoints that only very experienced XC pilots should attempt.
NOTE: Pilots are advised to use their good judgement regarding the accessibility of turnpoints in association with the prevailing conditions and their personal skill level.
TURN POINT COLOURS
GREEN - LOCAL
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Nearby landing options are within easy glide.
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Not particularly intimidating and easily gained from a local launch.
BLUE - XC
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Has good landing options locally, may require some walkout.
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Requires some or a lot of XC to achieve.
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Not in a particularly intimidating fly zone.
RED - OUTLYING
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Turnpoints <20km away from launch which requires XC flight to both achieve and return from.
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Has probable landing area locally, although may be a town or road junction or feature that is not directly landable.
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These turnpoints are considered somewhat difficult to achieve and may be an outlying point.
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May require dedicated retrieve.
BLACK - REMOTE
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These turnpoints have very few or no local landing options.
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They require XC in and XC out often into intimidating environments
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Accessible only on 'good' XC days
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Probably needs dedicated retrieve or very long walkouts
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Requires considerable understanding of local aerology/terrain/ wind/ weather patterns.
GREY - NOT GRADED
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These turnpoints have not yet been allocated a grade.
PIlots should use their own discretion for these turnpoints in regards to their accessibility.
TURNPOINT DENSITY - HOW MANY SHOULD WE HAVE?
The team has aimed to balance out the density of waypoints doable from any one site and balance numbers between coastal and inland.
The aim was to achieve around 25 Tpts within 5km, 50 turnpoints within 15 km, 75 turnpoints within 30, and 100 within 60 km then the outer points at towns or road junctions along known / likely XC routes.
There are approximately 100 turnpoints on the Coast. Getting all these would need visit to a few of the coastal sites.
Inland, the aim was to balance turnpoints doable from each popular site e.g. Mystic / Corryong / Broughton / Flowerdale / etc
To improve the distribution from the Victoria 2019 challenge Mystic received a little thinning and some were better placed. Other areas received a significant boost with local turnpoints added at 5km and 15km.
Turnpoints at 30km and beyond were added along XC routes.
So, a pilot who mainly flies coastal can get up to 100, which balances with a Mystic pilot not venturing more than 30km, those who mix match coastal/inland will surely tag more, and those who fly all sites will get the most and have expanded their flying experience the most.
Whilst this example was drawn from the Victoria 2019 & 2020 challenges, it is a worthwhile exercise to keep in mind when creating waypoints / turnpoints in other areas.
HOW TO NAME A TURNPOINT
WAYPOINT / TURNPOINT NAMING CONVENTION SUGGESTIONS
EXISTING WAYPOINTS
Waypoints were initially collected from various competition files.
Pilots may be already familiar with that name so in general, if a waypoint existed in an existing waypoint file the name has been retained
NEW WAYPOINTS
Waypoint names MUST be 6 characters generally with 3 letters providing the description and 3 numbers providing the altitude of the waypoint.
The convention used for the first 3 characters is as follows:
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For a single name location or feature, take the first & last letter of the name and choose 1 more letter to help make sense of the waypoint name
i.e. Warahtonga could become WGA or WRA or WHA etc -
For a multi-name location or feature, take the first letter of each word in the name and choose any more letters required to make sense of the waypoint name
i.e. Cunninghams Gap could become CUG or CHG
NOTE: For waypoints on mountains, drop the reference to Mt or Mount and use the mountain name instead
ie Mt Broughton could become BRN, Mount Wellington could become WLN etc
The last three numbers indicate the map altitude in meters of the waypoint divided by 10.
A waypoint on a hill at 1860 meters would become 186, at 186m it would become 018 at 18m it would become 001
WAYPOINT NAMING CONVENTIONS EXAMPLES
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Demon Ridge becomes DMR100
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Birchip becomes BRP035
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Mystic becomes MYC080
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Ocean Grove becomes OCG002
WHAT TO DO WHEN WAYPOINTS ARE IN THE SAME AREA AT AROUND THE SAME HEIGHT
It is important that the waypoint names are UNIQUE, so if you have 5 turnpoints in the same area, all around the same height, you have a few options :
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change one of the characters in the XXX alpha portion of the name so
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change the xxx numeric portion of the name (add 10m or so to the height)
Example
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Birchip has 5 turnpoints all located within the flatlands which have a height of APPROX 350ASL.
Turnpoints close by then become BCP035, BPA035, BPB035, BPC035, BPD035 etc -
Ocean Grove has 3 turnpoints all with an approximate height of 20ASL.
Turnpoints close by then become OCG002, OGA002, OGB002 etc
Melbourne - Victoria - Australia
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