Tasks and competitions

20Tasks

Creating, editing, importing and sharing tasks, waypoint lists, and studying a task on the map before you fly it.

Mixed, see chapter

Where tasks live#

The Tasks tab has four sections, and the difference between them is mostly about what needs a connection.

Section Contains Needs internet
Local Tasks stored on this device. These are what you fly. No
My tasks Tasks you created on skytrackpro.app. Yes, to load
Public Recent public tasks shared by others. Yes, to load
Waypoints Your waypoint lists, used to build local tasks. No

Caution

Only local tasks can be selected on the Flight tab. A task on the server is not on your phone until you copy it down. Do that at home, not on launch.

Fig. 20.1The Tasks tab. Local tasks are the ones you can fly with no connection.

Waypoint lists#

A task is built from waypoints, so a waypoint list comes first. The app imports the usual formats: .wpt, .cup and .gpx.

Where Tasks › Waypoints › Import waypoint file
  1. Open the Tasks tab, then Waypoints.
  2. Press Import waypoint file and pick the file.
  3. The app confirms with Imported waypoint list "<name>" (n waypoints).
  4. Use Rename to give it a name you will recognize, and swipe a list left to delete it.

Note

Competitions publish their waypoint groups for download in several formats. You can add them straight to your lists, see Competitions.

Caution

Without at least one waypoint list, task creation is blocked with Import a waypoint list first in the Waypoints tab.

Importing a task#

Most competition tasks arrive as a QR code on a briefing screen or as an .xctsk file. Both import straight to your device, described as Scan a QR code or import a task file (.xctsk / .json) to store tasks offline.

  1. Open Tasks, then Local.
  2. Either scan the task QR code with the camera, or press Import file and select the file.
  3. The app confirms with Imported task "<title>".
  4. The task is now local, and can be selected on the Flight tab.

Good to know

QR import needs no connection. A briefing in a field with no coverage works exactly as well as one in a hotel.

Caution

If the code or file cannot be read the app says Could not parse a task from the QR code or file. Ask for the file rather than rescanning a code that is too small or too damaged.

Creating a task#

  1. In Tasks, press New task.
  2. Enter a Task name.
  3. Choose the Waypoint list to draw from.
  4. Select at least two waypoints. The counter shows Selected x n.
  5. Press Create task.

Tip

You can add the same waypoint more than once with the x2 button or Add one, which is exactly what you need when the ESS and the goal are the same point.

Fig. 20.2Selecting waypoints for a new local task.

Editing a task#

The task editor is where a list of waypoints becomes a real task. It is organized into Basic info, Turnpoints, Legs and Statistics.

Title
The task name as it appears everywhere else.
Task type
Race / Elapsed / FAI Triangle / Custom
How the task is scored and how the start behaves. Match the briefing. Race is the usual competition task with fixed start gates.

Each turnpoint carries its own settings, opened with Edit turnpoint.

Role
Turnpoint / SSS / ESS / Goal
What this point does in the task. SSS is the start of speed section, ESS is the end of speed section. A task needs exactly one SSS and one ESS. If you set a second ESS the app asks what to do with the old one, offering Convert ESS to turnpoint or Remove ESS.
Shape
Cylinder / Line / Sector
The geometry of the control zone. Goals are often lines, turnpoints are usually cylinders. Set it from the briefing. A goal line and a goal cylinder are scored differently.
Radius
Meters
The radius of a cylinder or sector.
Line length
Meters
The length of a goal line.
Bearing
0 to 359 degrees
The orientation of a line or sector.
Elevated Goal
200 to 1000 m, default 300 m
A finish height above the goal rather than on the ground. Only when the briefing calls for it. The app enforces the CIVL range and defaults to 300 m.
Reorder
Drag a turnpoint to change the order of the task.
Duplicate turnpoint
Adds another copy, useful when a point is used twice.
Replace turnpoint
Swaps it for a different waypoint, keeping the settings.
Remove turnpoint
Deletes it, after a confirmation. A task must keep at least one.

Caution

Leaving with unsaved work prompts Save changes? with You have unsaved task changes. Save before you fly, and the app confirms with Local task saved.

Start gates#

Start gates decides how the SSS opens, described in the app as Choose how the SSS opens (local task option).

Start Opens Once
A single start at the given time.
Multiple Start Gates
A series of gates. Set the Number of gates and the Gate interval. The app shows a summary such as Example: 4 gates every 15 min.

The other times in Basic info are Takeoff open, Start time, Window close and Deadline.

Tip

Enter these carefully. They drive the start countdown banners in flight, and a wrong start time means the app counts you down to the wrong moment.

Sharing a task#

A task can leave your phone in two ways: as a QR code on your screen, or as an .xctsk file.

  1. Open the task and press the QR button.
  2. Choose the QR format: Compressed (XCTSKZ) or Legacy (XCTSK).
  3. Hold it up to be scanned. The hint reads Scan to import in SkyTrackPro, XCTrack, SeeYou.
  4. Or use Share .xctsk to send the file.

Note

Compressed is preferred because it produces a smaller, more reliable code. Use legacy only for older readers that cannot handle it.

Good to know

This is the fastest way to distribute a task on a hill: one phone shows the code, everyone else scans it. No signal required.

Studying a task#

Before you fly a task, open it on the study map. This is where you find the airspace you would have flown into and the cable across the valley you were going to cross.

Fig. 20.3The task study map, with the optimized route drawn through the cylinders.
Optimized route
The shortest legal path through the task. The Optimized badge is its length, measured from the takeoff.
From SSS
A second badge with the same optimization measured from the start cylinder instead of the takeoff, which is the distance the task is scored on. It only appears when the task has an SSS.
Optimized route skips takeoff
Drops the takeoff leg from the drawn route, so you can see where the optimizer actually enters the start cylinder. Press it again to bring the takeoff back.
Study line
Drag the route itself to try a different way round. Two things can be dragged: a handle on a cylinder rim moves the point where the route touches that zone, and the line between two cylinders bends around an obstacle or a mountain.
Measure distance
Measure between any two points.
Reset edits
Puts the route back to the optimized one.

Tip

As soon as you drag anything, a third badge appears with the length of your edited line. The gap between it and Optimized is exactly what the detour costs you, so you can price a valley crossing before you commit to it in the air.

Caution

You cannot change a turnpoint radius here. Dragging a rim handle moves where the route touches the cylinder, not how big the cylinder is. On a sector the handle is limited to the sector itself. Radii are part of the task and are edited in the task editor.

Three overlays can be turned on over the study map, from the buttons down the side.

Airspaces
Every airspace file you have installed and enabled, drawn as it is on the flight map.
Obstacles
Cables, lifts and masts from your installed obstacle databases.
Thermal hotspots
The seasonal thermal layer, so you can see where the lift usually is along each leg.

Caution

The airspace and obstacle buttons are greyed out until you have installed and enabled at least one file of that kind, since there is nothing to draw. Download them before you travel, see Airspaces and Obstacles.

Tip

Task study is the highest value ten minutes in competition flying, and it needs nothing but your phone. Do it the evening before with the airspace overlay on.

Task warnings#

When a task is loaded, the app checks that it can resolve the ground height of every turnpoint. If it cannot, it tells you rather than quietly producing wrong numbers.

Message Meaning
DEM validation incomplete: n turnpoint(s) unresolved Some ground heights are missing. Distances are fine, arrival heights at those points are not.
DEM validation incomplete for <roles>. Arrival and goal calculations may be wrong. The missing points include critical roles such as ESS or goal. Take the final glide numbers with caution.

Tip

The usual fix is to download an offline region covering the task area, or to open the task once with a connection so the heights can be fetched and cached.