Tasks and waypoints

19Tasks

Building a task: the editor, the rulesets, start gates and time windows, then publishing it so pilots can load it into their instrument.

Mixed, see chapter

What a task is here#

Where Profile › Tasks

A task is a route with rules: a set of turnpoints, the times you may start and must finish, and the ruleset that decides how it is flown. Once published it can be loaded into the SkyTrackPro app, into XCTrack and into most other instruments, and it can be attached to a competition day for scoring.

The task manager requires SkyTrackLight or higher. Without it the tab shows Task manager is available from SkyTrackLight.

Creating a task#

There are three ways to start a task, all from the Tasks tab.

Create Task
An empty task. You give it a title, a ruleset and a task number, then place the turnpoints yourself. The normal route when you are designing the day.
Import
As a new task, or as a new version of an existing one
Reads a task file, for example an XCTSK exported from another tool, and turns it into a task here. When the task came from somewhere else. Import as a version to keep the history on the same task.
Duplicate
Copies an existing task under a new title and task number. For a second day on the same site, or a variant of yesterday's task.

A task can belong to you personally or to an organization, and it can be attached to a competition. Selecting an organization assigns the task to it, and only competitions of that organization are then offered.

The rulesets#

Ruleset How it is flown
Race (SSS to ESS) A mass start at the start gate, then the fastest pilot around the course wins.
Elapsed Time Each pilot starts when they like, and their own elapsed time counts.
FAI Triangle A triangle task following FAI geometry.
Custom Anything else. You define the turnpoints and the times yourself.

Note

The ruleset chosen here travels with the task into the app and into the scoring engine, so pick it before you start placing points.

The task editor#

Where Profile › Tasks › Edit

The editor is a map with a sidebar. The sidebar holds the turnpoint list, the meta panel, the versions and the weather. The map draws the task with its cylinders, its optimized route and its legs.

  • Add turnpoints from your waypoint groups, or by clicking the map.
  • Reorder them with Move, Top, Bottom and Move to position, or copy one with Copy. A copy goes to the end of the turnpoint list, ahead of the end of speed section and the goal.
  • Set Default cylinder (m) to change the radius of every point that uses the default.
  • Watch the readouts update: the distance through the centers, the optimized distance, the legs and the points.

Airspace Check runs the task against the airspace data and tells you what it crosses. Zoom Task fits the whole task on screen.

Important

Airspace and obstacle data may not be accurate or current. Always verify official sources before flight. A task that passes the check is not an authorization to fly it.

Time windows and start gates#

Time Zone
The zone all the times below are given in. Detected automatically, and you can search for another. Check it first. Every other time on this panel depends on it.
Takeoff Open
When the launch opens. Shown on the task board for pilots.
Start Time
The first start gate. The core time of a race task.
Deadline
When the task must be finished. Everything after it does not count.
Window Close
When the start window closes. For tasks where the window and the deadline differ.
Multiple start gates
Turns a single start into a series of gates. For race tasks with several starts.
Minutes between gates
The interval between gates. Together with the number of gates it decides how long the start window runs. The editor shows how many gates will be generated.
Turn direction before start
Left or Right
The direction pilots turn in the start cylinder before the gate. A safety rule. The common convention is right turns on even days and left turns on odd days.
Elevated Goal
200 to 1000 m above the goal, default 300 m
A goal reached at altitude instead of on the ground. For tasks that finish over high terrain. An elevated goal replaces the end of speed section: the editor asks you to convert the existing one to a turnpoint or remove it. Scoring picks it up from the task when the scorer prepares it, so there is nothing to set a second time in the scoring settings.

The task board#

A task carries the operational information pilots need on the hill, and it is shown on the public task page as the task board.

  • Safety phone number and safety radio frequency.
  • Retrieve phone number and retrieve radio frequency.
  • Safety notes, for emergency procedures and contacts.
  • Retrieve notes, for pickup points and logistics.

Tip

Fill these in even for a club task. They cost nothing, and they are the fields somebody will be looking for on the one day it matters.

Publishing and sharing#

A task starts unpublished and only you can see it. Publish Task makes it public, and it then appears in the public task feed at /tasks and can be loaded by pilots. Unpublish Task takes it back.

QR Code
XCTSK or XCTSKZ
A QR code pilots scan to load the task. XCTSK is the plain format, XCTSKZ the compressed one for larger tasks. Show it on the briefing screen. Use XCTrack, Naviter, FlySkyHi (or compatible app) and point your camera at the code.
Download Task
The task as a file for instruments that want one. For pilots without a camera to hand.
Share
Copies a preview link that opens the task without publishing it. To let a co organizer check a task before it goes public.

Every save creates a version. Versions in the sidebar lets you look back at what the task was earlier, which settles a lot of arguments after a task change on the hill.

The public task page#

Where Tasks

/tasks lists every published task, filterable by day and year, with the average optimized distance, the average distance through the centers and the average number of turnpoints across the current scope.

Opening one shows the task view: the map with the cylinders and the optimized route, the turnpoint list with radii, the time windows, the start gates, the turn direction, and the task board with the contacts and radio frequencies. From there a pilot can scan the QR code or download the file.

The weather forecast for the task, if the organizer set one up, is shown here as well. Competitions carry their own forecast per day on the competition page.