Task H — 1-2-3-4
Four increasing targets, any order
About this task
Rule: Best 4 flights count: 1, 2, 3, and 4 minutes (any order). Unlimited flights in 10 minutes working time.
The Challenge: The order you fly matters enormously. Starting with 4 minutes (bold) gives you a buffer — if you max the hardest target first, the rest is downhill. Starting with 1 minute (safe) means the pressure escalates as fatigue and time run out. Landing between targets (e.g., at 2:27 when you needed 3:00) loses you 30 seconds from your total — better to land at 2:00 and count it as your 2-minute flight.
Decision factors:
- Flight order strategy: hard-first vs easy-first
- 'In-between' landings are devastating — 2:27 doesn't count as 3 and wastes 30s
- If starting easy (1 min first), stress mounts trying to achieve 4 minutes later
- If starting bold (4 min first) and succeeding, remaining flights feel like bonus
- Must decide mid-flight whether a flight 'counts' for a given target
What the data says: Despite strategic complexity, outcomes are surprisingly good — 54.6% above 900, only 8.9% fail. The high success rate (3rd lowest difficulty) suggests that the multi-target structure provides natural recovery points: even if you miss 4 minutes, getting 1+2+3 already scores well. The 7.6% crash rate comes from pilots who miscalculate the in-between zones. Used in 142 competitions — the single most common task.
Score distribution
Score probability vs flight time
Likelihood of achieving a given score based on total flown duration across all rounds of this task.