My one gripe about Condor 2 is the crappy pixelated PDA map. I can get a sense of what’s going on but I really don’t know what’s going on LOL!
Any easy alternatives?
There is. Only I don’t remember what it’s called 
I think it is a feed from the sim to an Android-based tablet app. And I agree about the map. I’ve resorted to having the task map, which often doesn’t drop until an hour before start, expanded on screen and taking quick peeks from under my VR headset.
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Thanks, Smokinhole, - and the others- for a well-written, informative and fun article that has renewed my curiosity about gliding and soaring.
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That’s the one!
@Hardhat2, Welcome back! (according to @Discobot you’ve been away for awhile.) And thanks!
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Hi! To find out what I can do, say @Discobot display help.
Been following along from a distance, but my curiosity keeps getting more and more peaked. Probably going to do some reading on “McCready flying.” The meshing of analytical and instinctive flying is intriguing.
Currently engrossed in the Mudspike rally league, but definitely looking at picking up Condor after that.
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I spent a little time messing around with XCSoar (Windows version)… and with some messing around with downloading maps, and converting Condor 2 Flight Plans to XCSoar Task files… I have the following:
It requires some pre-flight steps, and I am not completely familiar with all the XCSoar functions yet, but I think it has possibilities. It would be nice if we could get the window to pop up in VR.
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So my first free flight attempt involved me landing out. On the side of a mountain. In a forest. With no wings left on the glider. I did however narrowly miss taking a fir tree to the nose of the glider and my rate of descent was about 300 fpm. So I probably wouldn’t have died, just been severely injured and need a wilderness rescue team. So overall I’d say I’m doing about 300% better than some folks Viggen landings…
Short version, I saw what looked to be some good ridge lift along a high mountain ridge (I intermittently use the lift helper to verify my thoughts on what looks like a good place to find an elevator). Rather than take the longer, but over flat farmland route, I choose to head down the valley of the ridge line. I made it probably about 100-200’ low to the ridge line, and just couldn’t quite catch enough lift to get me up into the main air currents. Once I realized I wasn’t going to make it, I tried to make my way out, but didn’t have the speed or altitude to make it happen.
Definitely an enjoyable, almost puzzle like flying.
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So by the rule of ‘any landing you can walk away from…’, I’d say that you qualified for an OK rating. 
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That does look promising! Thanks for the research @PaulRix! I didn’t realize there was a Windows version of XCSoar. I remember downloading the android version quite a while ago but let it slide.
So this is a very useful article on Condor sim-racing for newbies and those of us who are rusty.
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Love the article. Quite helpful. And within, Daniel get’s another mention.
Great stuff! Lots of excellent info in there.
Tonight, I decided to fly the task again from the nightly challenge where neither @smokinhole or I were able to finish… This time around (and with some 20/20 hindsight), I was able to finish the route and land safely at the (correct) airport.
As a reminder, my original plot, where I just couldn’t get high enough to reach Turnpoint 3 and ended up landing out.
Second time around was much better.
I’m starting to get a better feel for the thermals…sometimes.
And the final stats.
I’m pretty happy with my progress at this point. Lots to learn though.
The article that @smithcorp pointed us to was really helpful… knowledge such as where the thermal is likely to be in relation to a cloud, the sun and the wind really helped. Also the fact that wide, flat areas give less opportunity for lift, therefore be plenty high before crossing an area like that, also helped. I think that is what got me the first time around.
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Wow, beautiful 16 loop progression in that third pic Paul! It’s like stitch work, almost like a surgeon. 
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That one really seemed to work well, I just seemed to hold the glider at the right bank angle, and right airpspeed to stay right in the middle of the thermal… my other climbs were not as good… but I guess good enough to get the job done.
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I flew much better on tonight’s task. I am learning that flying with caution is far more enjoyable than trying to live on the edge. What a great group! Even though everyone is competing, they are constantly communicating useful information such as what clouds are working, bad sink and conditions on various ridges. The more I learn, the more I love.
The Cascades. Stunning.
A great final glide. Man, this moment feels wonderful!
RaceID=1493023394
StartTime=13:15:00
FlightTime=01:57:58
TaskStart=13:30:36
TaskTime=01:30:10
PlayerStatus=Finished
DistanceFlown=107.74 nm
AverageSpeed=71.69 kts
PenaltyPoints=0.0
GhostCount=0
Between two servers I believe we had a tad under 50 competitors. Best time was 1:18. I was in the upper middle of the pack. After 2 DNFs in a row, I’ll take it gladly.
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Nicely done Eric! I’m downloading the Cascades scenery right now. For some reason my downloads from the Condor Club are really slow, despite paying for membership. I was hoping to have it all downloaded in time for tonight but right now it is still sitting at 15%… oh well. Next time I will be ready.
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I’ve noticed that if I attempt 2 downloads in a single day, it throttles me back. This might be a simple coincidence but I have seen it twice now. I am really sorry you couldn’t make it. It was a good one. You should give it a try. It’s pure thermaling (although some poor souls did attempt to ridge in a few spots). The thermals are strong, high and a bit scarce so it takes some planning to complete.
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