Tasks and competitions

21Competitions

Finding and following competitions, their tasks, files and news, and the pilot identification QR code.

Needs internet

Finding a competition#

The Competitions tab lists events hosted on SkyTrackPro, plus events listed from elsewhere. Filter with Upcoming, Past or All, and press Load more for older entries.

Fig. 21.1The competition list, with dates, location and registration state per event.
Registration open
You can sign up now. Sometimes shown as open until a date.
Registration opens <date>
Not yet open.
Registration closed <date>
Sign up has ended.
Signed up
You are entered in this one.
Listed externally
The event is hosted elsewhere and only listed here.

Pilot counts appear as Allowed, Registered and Confirmed, which tells you how full an event is and where you stand.

Caution

This whole tab needs a connection. Offline it says You are offline. Competitions are only available when you are online. Anything you will need in the air has to be pulled down first.

Inside a competition#

Opening a competition gives you five tabs.

Tab Contains
Info Summary, dates, location, timezone, registration status and the link to the public page.
News Competition announcements. The newest article opens automatically.
Tasks The tasks for the event. Tap one to open it and save it locally.
Files Documents and downloads from the organizer, including airspace, obstacle and waypoint files.
Operations Operational details such as transport, HQ and schedules.

Note

What you can see depends on your registration status. Operations may be hidden with Operations are currently hidden. Required status: <status>, and are only available for competitions you take part in.

Getting the task onto your phone#

This is the step that matters most on a competition morning. The tab hint says it plainly: Tap a task to open details and save locally.

  1. Open the competition, then the Tasks tab.
  2. Tap today's task.
  3. Save it to this device.
  4. On the Flight tab, choose it under Task before you start.

Caution

Do this while you still have a signal, at HQ or on the bus, not on launch. A task that is only on the server is no use to you at 2000 m.

Note

Task visibility is controlled by the organizer on the server. If a task is not showing, the app explains it as No tasks are available for your current registration status yet.

Files, airspace, obstacles and waypoints#

Competition files are more than documents. Airspace, obstacle and waypoint files can be installed into the app directly from here, which saves a lot of fiddling with downloads and file pickers.

  1. Open the Files tab. The hint reads Tap a file for actions: download/share, add to Airspaces, or add to Obstacles.
  2. Tap the file you want.
  3. Choose Download / Share, Add to Airspaces or Add to Obstacles.
  4. The app confirms with, for example, Airspace file added to Settings > Airspaces.
  5. Check the file is enabled in its settings page. The hint Save locally and enable in Settings is there for a reason.

Waypoint files have their own section, with Add to My Waypoints, confirmed by Waypoint list added to Tasks > Waypoints.

File type Accepted formats
Airspace .openair, .air, .txt, .geojson
Obstacles .geojson, .mbtiles
Waypoints The formats offered by the organizer, downloadable as zip, gpx, cup or wpt

Tip

Work through the Files tab the day before: task, competition airspace, obstacles, waypoints. Then download an offline map region for the area and you are independent of coverage for the whole event.

Pilot identification QR#

Your personal code, described as Show this personal pilot QR for registration, briefing, lunch package and other goodies.

Note

It appears when your registration status is confirmed and the organizer has enabled QR codes. Otherwise the app explains QR codes are available in competitions where you participate with confirmed status.

Good to know

The code is cached on your phone, so it still scans in a field with no coverage. See Preparing a flight.

Rating a competition#

You can rate each task and the event as a whole. The app explains the timing as You can rate each task once you have flown it, and the overall competition on the last day, after the final task.

  1. Open the Feedback section of the competition.
  2. Press Rate on a task, or on Overall competition.
  3. Set the ratings. Tap a selected value again to clear it.
  4. Add a comment if you want. The hint is Share anything useful for the organizers.
  5. Press Send feedback. The app thanks you with Thanks! Your feedback was saved.

Note

You can come back and Edit your feedback later. Sending and loading both need a connection.

Tip

Write the comment the evening of the task while it is fresh. Organizers act on specifics, and "the goal field was hard to find from the north" is worth more than a score.

Live tracking in a competition#

Competition flying is where live tracking earns its keep: the organizers can see where everyone is, you can send status messages, and the retrieve can find you.

  • Level messages L1, L2 and L3 for the codes your event has agreed.
  • Emergency and need help buttons, sent by press and hold.
  • Task stop notifications pushed from the organizer to your screen.
  • A post flight sheet for reporting that you are down and whether you need retrieve.

All of it is covered in Live tracking and buddies.