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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 — Gaggle flyers

9 pilots · ranks 1–11 · median 6 · middle half 3–8

  • High — Time spent flying with a gaggle group median P89 in this field (57 percent)
  • High — Climbs joined on another pilot's marker group median P88 in this field (80 percent)
  • High — Share of lift turned in that was kept as a climb group median P85 in this field (87 percent)
  • High — Glide speed between climbs group median P82 in this field (73.3 kilometres per hour) · usually a strength
  • 1. Olav Opsanger
  • 2. Rohan Holtkamp
  • 3. Jon Durand (most typical of this group)
  • 4. Gordon Rigg
  • 6. Steven Crosby
  • 7. Rory Duncan
  • 8. Rich Reinauer
  • 10. Neale Halsall
  • 11. Vic Hare

Group B — Escape artists

5 pilots · ranks 9–29 · median 14 · middle half 12–19

  • High — Low saves dug out from the bottom of the band group median P91 in this field (3.0 count)
  • Low — How low the pilot gets between climbs group median P13 in this field (11 percent)
  • High — How often leaving the gaggle paid off group median P86 in this field (100 percent)
  • Low — How much of the thermal the pilot climbed before leaving it group median P15 in this field (34 percent)
  • 9. Glen Mcfarlane
  • 12. Harrison Rowntree (most typical of this group)
  • 14. Trent Brown
  • 19. Nils Vesk
  • 29. Mitch Butler

Group C — Conservative final gliders

16 pilots · ranks 5–37 · median 21.5 · middle half 16.8–25.3

  • Low — Final glide committed to when leaving the last climb group median P25 in this field (5.28 ratio)
  • Low — Low saves dug out from the bottom of the band group median P29 in this field (0.0 count)
  • Low — Distance covered between climbs group median P30 in this field (2.2 kilometres) · usually costly
  • High — Share of the height gain made outside thermals group median P68 in this field (10 percent)
  • 5. Craig Taylor
  • 13. Steve Blenkinsop
  • 15. Paul Bissett-Amess (most typical of this group)
  • 16. Todd Wisewould
  • 17. Daniel Rhodes
  • 18. Peter Burkitt
  • 20. Gary Herman
  • 21. John Muldoon
  • 22. David Drabble
  • 23. Hossain Tefaili
  • 24. Troy Horton
  • 25. Neil Hooke
  • 26. Michael Free
  • 27. Stuart McElroy
  • 28. Diego Mendonca
  • 37. Airie Merlin

Group D — Slow gliders

5 pilots · ranks 30–34 · median 32 · middle half 31–33

  • Low — Glide speed between climbs group median P6 in this field (49.0 kilometres per hour) · usually costly
  • High — Final glide committed to when leaving the last climb group median P94 in this field (24.60 ratio)
  • High — Share of the height gain made outside thermals group median P94 in this field (19 percent)
  • Low — Glide L/D against the field median group median P6 in this field (0.85 ratio) · usually costly
  • 30. Rennick Kerr
  • 31. Andrew Sutton
  • 32. Ward Gunn
  • 33. Ivo van der Leeden (most typical of this group)
  • 34. Bruce Atkinson

Not clustered: 35. Brett Davis — only 9 of 21 metrics available (needs ≥ 60%); 36. John Harriott — only 3 of 21 metrics available (needs ≥ 60%).

35 pilots on 21 behavioural metrics formed 4 groups.