How competitions work.
THGF competitions run in MSFS 2024 on real historical weather. Every pilot flies the same conditions — the comp organiser locks the weather snapshot for each task day, and scores are based on what you actually fly in those conditions.
The weather anchor
Every competition task day has a sim time — a specific historical date and time that determines the MSFS 2024 weather. All pilots use this same sim time, which means everyone flies in identical wind, thermal, and sky conditions regardless of when they personally load the sim.
Example: the organiser sets Day 1 sim time to 2026-06-15 · 11:00 UTC. Every pilot selects that date and time in MSFS, loads the site, and flies. The weather is the same for all of them.
The time question
The challenge for global competitions: pilots live in different time zones. A task starting at 10:00 UTC is 11:00 for a pilot in London — but 19:00 for a pilot in Sydney and 06:00 for one in New York. THGF competitions handle this with three formats:
Open Window
Current defaultThe competition date defines a 24-hour window. Fly the task any time during that calendar day — your local time, your schedule. The weather snapshot is fixed, so the conditions are identical no matter when you fly.
- + Globally accessible
- + No alarm clocks
- + Fly when your local weather (real) is best for sim
- – Pilots are not flying simultaneously
- – No shared live experience
Time Window
Coming soonThe organiser sets a task start time. Pilots have a fixed window — say 8 hours — from that start time to fly. Tighter than Open Window, looser than synchronized. Suitable for competitions that want some time-of-day structure without excluding distant timezones.
- + Structured but flexible
- + Encourages roughly shared conditions
- + Manageable for most time zones
- – Some pilots at the edge of the window may face night flying locally
Live Event
FutureEvery pilot flies at the exact same UTC moment. This is a true live competition — you share the sim with other pilots at the same time. The organiser sets a specific UTC start time and everyone launches together.
- + True live competition feel
- + Position sharing in-sim
- + Closest to real hang gliding events
- – Requires pilots worldwide to be available at one fixed time
- – May be impractical for large international fields
Entering a competition
Any signed-in pilot can enter an open competition. When you enter you select:
- 1Your category — the type of glider (King Post, Topless, etc.)
- 2Your glider — the specific MSFS preset you will fly for all days of the comp
- 3Your glider is locked for the duration — you cannot switch between task days
Uploading your flight
After flying a task day, upload your IGC file from the competition day card on the competition page. Your flight must:
- Be recorded by the THGF Variometer WASM in MSFS 2024
- Have real historical weather active (not preset weather)
- Match the sim time set by the organiser for that task day
- Be flown on the glider preset you declared when entering
Flights that don't match the declared preset or sim time will still upload to your logbook but will not count toward competition scoring.
Scoring
Scores are entered by the competition organiser after each task day closes. The current scoring system is simplified — distance, duration, or altitude gain depending on the task type. FAI-standard scoring is planned for future competitions. Day scores accumulate to an overall standings table visible on the competition page.