Pacific Northwest League

Online paragliding competitions have been going on for many years now, and are becoming more popular now that the websites that host them are very easy to use.

I have started the "Pacific Northwest League" as a friendly Online Competition for Oregon and Washington Pilots.

What you need to participate in the League:

1. A GPS and the proper cable to download your GPS track to your PC.
2. A download program, like GPSdump (free) or any program that saves your track as an *.igc file.
3. A free account on the Leonardo website
4. An internet connection

HOW IT WORKS:

Go flying and record your flight with your GPS. Using a free program such as GPSdump, G7ToWin, or Compegps (slick but not free) to download the GPS track and save it as an *.igc file on your computer. Open a web browser, login to Leonardo and upload the *.igc file. The download/upload process takes about 5 minutes. At the end of each month, I will publish the scores to the various area mailing list and to a website.

STEP 1: GET AN ACCOUNT ON LEONARDO

You need an account on Paragliding Forum to use Leonardo. Please use your real name to help me gather the scores at the end of each month.

Bookmark this link to go directly to the Pacific Northwest League page. You can login from the Main Menu there.

Bookmark this link to go directly to the Submit Flight page to upload a flight. Works best if you checked "Log me on automatically" when you logged on.

Under "My settings" you may want to select Imperial instead of Metric.

STEP 2: CONFIGURE YOUR GPS TO RECORD

Each model is a little different, but the setup is pretty easy, especially if you use your manual. You want to turn "Recording" on under "Tracks" which should be in the main menu. The interval at which your location is recorded isn't critical, but should be sized according to the number of points your unit can record. For the Garmin 76s (stores 10,000 points), a 3 second interval works well.

Critical Tip: Clear your GPS track log just before every launch launch. (This assumes you will be downloading your track after each flight).

STEP 3: DOWNLOADING YOUR TRACK TO YOUR COMPUTER

You need a program that will download your GPS track and save the track as an *.igc file on your PC. If you don't have one, download GPSdump. It's free and it is safe.

For Macs, try http://flighttrack.sourceforge.net/

Test the recording and download process by turning your GPS on, set it to record your track, and walk down the street with it for a couple minutes, then turn your GPS off. Connect your GPS to your PC and start GPS dump (or use your preferred program). Try to save your track as an *.igc file. See below for specifics on using GPSdump.

USING GPS DUMP (PC Only)

For GPS dump, version 4.03:

Connect your GPS to the computer using the cable that came with your GPS.

Open the GPSdump program.

Click the button for your model of GPS, example: If you have a Garmin and are using a serial cable, click the button "Garmin (RS232)"

If the program "sees" your GPS, you will see a list of points that comprise your track. Select the correct sequence of waypoints by highlighting (clicking on) the first point, then hold down the shift key and select the last waypoint. By correct sequence, I mean be sure to check that your highlighted range of waypoints all have the same date because it is possible to download flights made on different days to one *.igc file, but I don't think Leonardo would accept it.

Save the track as an IGC file by:

Clicking on "File", then,

Select "Save log in IGC format"

On the next screen, type in any 3 digits under "FR serial Number, Enter 3 alpha"

Press OK (and remember where you saved the *.igc file)

STEP 4: UPLOADING THE *.IGC FILE TO LEONARDO

1. Go to the Submit Flight page to upload a flight.
2. Using the Browse button to locate your *.igc file
3. Press the "submit" button

HOW THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST LEAGUE WILL BE SCORED:

A. Monthly winners: The sum of your top 6 highest OLC scoring flights for the month.
B. Overall: A total of the the monthly (May thru September) scores.

HOW LEONARDO CALCULATES YOUR OLC SCORE:

Realize that triangles are worth more than a straight line flight! An FAI triangle will be scored with factor of 2 points per kilometre. All other triangular routes will be scored with factor 1.75 per kilometre. An FAI trianlge is defined as: the shortest leg of the triangle must be at least 28% of the total triangle.

You can contact Brett Hardin via email if you have any questions.