There were a lot of 'under the cover' changes to the website today, as well as an obvious change to the main menu.  I've also added pages with a privacy statement and terms of use for those who like 'fine print'.  As always, let me know if something doesn't look right. - David 

The integration of the forum with the main web site is complete!

There is now a "Forum Sandbox" at http://www.flyesl.org/forums/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=19.  If you are unsure about how the forum works, just go to the sandbox and exeriment with adding replies and starting new topics.

As always, tell your friends if it works and let me know if it doesn't.

David

 

This morning was spent investigating the intermittent errors that many of you early adopters have reported on the website. The good news is that I've discovered where they are being logged (and how to view the log), some common causes, and possibly how to fix them.

Bottom line: I made some changes, and I'm hopeful that they will address the issue. Because the site is hosted on a shared server it is likely that sometimes reponse will be quick and sometimes it will be slow. But we should not have been getting as many errors as we have up to now.

My thanks again go out to the early users. Keep testing, and spread the word to others if you like what you see. Please continue to let me know if you don't like what you see or have issues.

David 

Today I added some code to better integrate the contest registration user database with the forum database. Now when you register your id and password will be synchronized with the forum. Unfortunately, you'll still have to login to post, but your id and password will be the same as the home page.

Those users who have already completed the initial registration process will need to change their password to get their forum id and password in sync. (First login, then click the Profile button, then the 'Change Password' link at the bottom). If you currently have a password that you really like, first change it, then change it back.

Also, several users have reported intermittent "... module not available" error messages. I'm looking into it, but for now just refresh the page.

David 

Announcing - Web site signup and contest registration!  Woo Hoo! The code for ESL contest signup is now available for testing.  Hopefully you won't find too many bugs or issues, but I want to know about it if you do.  Please take a few minutes to get a login and register for the April Fool's contest.

Thanks
David

 

Here is how it works:

Any club in the Eastern Soaring League geography can host an ESL contest weekend. There is no membership fee for the club or the pilots who fly in the ESL.

For Hand Launched/DLG/F3K, the geography is any state East of the Mississippi.

For TD/winch launched contests the states are MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD or VA. The smaller area for TD is due to the logistics needed to move winches and related support equipment around the league.

Contact the ESL President and work with him to find an open weekend on the ESL calendar. ESL has expanded the calendar so there will be more open dates in 2012. Hand launched and Thermal Duration can run on the same weekend.   http://www.flyesl.org/Contact.aspx

Now that your contest weekend is on the calendar, pilots can see the event and register to attend. Typically there are two one day contests over a weekend making it practical and worthwhile for pilots to travel 4-8 hours in order to attend two contests. Here is a typical contest listing:
http://www.flyesl.com/contest_registration/c_detail.asp?cid=9

The pilots fly the contest and the club reports the results to the ESL. The results are then posted on the ESL standings pages. There is an ESL sanction fee that is paid to the ESL treasurer. Contact the treasurer to discuss the process.     http://www.flyesl.org/Contact.aspx

As the season progresses, each pilot's top scores are added into the season standings. For Hand Launched Division it is your top 5 contest scores. For Thermal Duration Division it is your top 6 contest scores. So pilots don't have to fly all the contests to be in the running for top scores.   http://www.flyesl.com/scores/HL_oVe.asp

At the end of season contest the ESL provides awards for the top 10 pilots in each division as well as a top combined pilot who flew at least 4 contests in each division.

You can host more than one contest weekend. For example our club, the Long Island Silent Flyers, http://www.lisf.org , hosts 3 ESL contests weekends a year, or four TD and two HL contests each season. You will see them listed as LISF 1, LISF 2 and the Long Island Hand Launched Classic.

These three contest weekends are major events for our club. We totally enjoy them and look forward to them every year. Our TD contests typically have 25 to 40 pilots and our HL contest typically has 15 to 20 pilots.

Hosting ESL contests really boosts interest in soaring at our club. The pilots who fly the ESL contests tend to advance in their skills more quickly. Pilots get to meet and make friends with pilots from other states, forming a network of relationships that would not have occurred without the ESL contests.

In 2010 our two ESL Hand Launched contests were also recognized as qualifying contests for the US F3K team that will compete in Sweden in 2011. I am proud to say one of our pilots made the team and placed Third in his class and his team placed first in the world in their class. If he had not flown in the ESL he might never have approached that skill level.

Perhaps your club would like to host an Eastern Soaring League contest weekend too. If you would like to discuss our experience as an ESL host club feel free to contact me at aeajr@optonline.net .

Ed Anderson
President, LISF
Newsletter Editor, ESL

 

The site now has some more users.  The officers have been registered and can log in.  Which of them will figure out how to update their profile and make their addresses and phone number public?  Which of them will figure out how to make an announcement, or upload a new photo for the home page?

Do any of them care?

 

I'm looking for some feedback on the home page photos.  I picked out a few that I thought were interesting from those available in the forum.  A couple of them aren't great photo quality, but I thought the content was interesting.  I'd love to have make more photos available (both new and old).  Ideally they would be 300 x 300 pixels, but if you have a great photo and don't know how to size it, just send what you have to webmaster@flyesl.org. 

Things are just getting started here at the new website of the ESL.  There is a lot to do before the site will be 'prime time', but you can always check the home page for the latest news from any of the ESL officers.  The forum from the old website has been migrated here, so check it out and let me know if anything is missing or not working properly.

David Beach