How to interpret plots

overhead

overhead view of flight path: The blue outline represents the perimeter of the pond. The red circles represent gate markers (laid out as specified for IPC distance and zone accuracy). In this example we can see that a 630 degree turn was executed starting 100 feet behind the gate and 550 feet offset. There were two "snaps" in the turn and the rollout was 350 feet behind the gate and 25 feet offset.

side

side view of flight path: This angle provides a good view of the rollout and shows how steep and tight to the gate the pilot was during the approach. We can also see how high above the gate the maneuver was initiated (1700 feet in this example).

dive_speed

speed during dive: This is a key plot that shows the different speed components (x-axis, y-axis, z-axis, and total) during the speed building maneuver. The z-axis (vertical) speed is most important because it shows how power was built (and lost) during the turn. This example demonstrates the difficulty generating and maintaining power during a bigger turn. There are three humps where the speed peaked. The first hump was during double front riser input (55mph peak). The second hump was during the snap at 270 degrees (92mph peak). The third hump was during the snap at 630 degrees (99mph peak). Some vertical speed was lost between the peaks but the total speed (which combines all components) shows that most vertical speed lost here was converted to horizontal speed. You need to be careful interpreting horizontal speeds, however, because wind can significantly influence them.

swoop_speed

speed during swoop: This plot shows horizontal speed (combined x-axis and y-axis) during the plane out and swoop. In this example horizontal speed peaked at 79mph and entry gate speed was 72mph. Horizontal speed decreased gradually during the swoop until touchdown at 27mph (400 feet past the gate). Motion didn't stop until 450 feet (due to the slide or run out).

dive_angle

dive angle: This plot shows the dive angle during the turn/dive (90 degrees is straight down). The three humps correspond to the front riser dive and the two snaps in the turn.

turn_rate

turn rate: In this example the turn rate was zero until 1400 feet (which marks the start of the transition off double front risers). The two spikes correspond to the snaps in the turn. The first snap occured at 900 feet and the second snap (faster than the first) occured at 400 feet. The height of the last snap is a key data point because it determines the character of the rollout. Too high and you will lose speed due to excessive time in the rollout. Too low and you will lose speed due to excessive riser or toggle input.

heading

heading: This plot shows the heading (direction of flight). The heading is 0 degrees when flying directly towards the gate. In this example the pilot was facing the gate at 800 feet and again at 200 feet (270 degrees and 630 degrees into the turn, respectively).