Competitor’s General Briefing Notes

  1. The aim of the Rally is to improve basic flying and navigational skills to enable a team to navigate and handle their aircraft under basic VFR conditions, independently of technical systems – thus enhancing flight safety. The overall aim for the competition is achieved by:
  • Emphasizing the ability to follow a precise track, adhering as closely as possible to a given ground speed and therefore a given time schedule.
  • Emphasizing the ability to handle the aircraft under precise speed, height, and directional conditions.
  • Emphasizing that the Rally is intended to be a fun event for aviators to perform accurate and safe flying skills. 

Navigation is by map only. 

The use of EFIS, GPS, Smart Phones, Auto Pilot, Tablets or any other ground speed or ground-tracking device is forbidden. We are going to closely monitor the top 10 aircraft in the manner described below and openly display any suspicious results to public scrutiny. 

If your aircraft has EFIS instrumentation, readouts showing the following.

  • ground speed
  • terrain and other ground features
  • TAS
  • track (TRK) or
  • any wind vectors

MUST BE DISABLED OR BLANKED OFF.

You should rely ONLY on indicated airspeed, magnetic heading, and altitude readouts.

Organizers will be scrutineering all aircraft before departure as well as checking aircraft during the course of the event to ensure that none of the above is being used.

NB: THE RALLY IS NOT A RACE

  • For each day of the Rally, you will receive a map and a route sheet, which shows the turning points and the cumulative distance from the start, and the magnetic track (where applicable). Please note that the magnetic track is for your guidance only. You should measure the track yourselves on the maps and apply the appropriate variation.
  • GROUND SPEED & START TIMES

Each competing aircraft has chosen a speed (Approximately 10-15% slower than normal cruise speed), which is your required Ground Speed over the course.

The start time is NOT the time at which you get airborne or start the takeoff roll. Your “Start Time” is the time at which your scoring starts, so is the time at which you should aim to be at the start point. All calculations are based on the assumption that you are at the start point at the start time.

Accordingly, you will need to start your takeoff roll up to several minutes before the given “Start Time”, to allow for clean up, climb, acceleration and getting onto track. The precise time you should allow for the takeoff roll, climb, and cruise to this point will depend on the runway in use and your aircraft type and speed. You will not be scored at the START gate or on the first leg. The first scoring point is AFTER Turn Point 1. 

When working out the time at which to start your takeoff roll, bear in mind 

  • the time to get airborne
  • the time to retract gear and flaps
  • the time to accelerate to the desired speed
  • the difference between the runway heading and the departure track (for example, if the track is 180 degrees different from the runway heading, it will take about two minutes from start of takeoff roll to abeam the centre of the runway).

It is recommended that, when marking your maps, you work on the elapsed time rather than the actual local time, to allow for such problems as delays, change of times and so on. We suggest you start your minute markers at the Start Point at 0:00:00 and you should press your Stopwatch when your Master Watch reaches your given start time.

Start Time (this should occur when your Aircraft is near or overhead the “Start Point”). Or ‘Fudge” your Master Clock to read the hour when your Start Time elapses (e.g.  9:00:00).

  • DO’S & DON’T’S ENROUTE
  1. NO orbiting is allowed at any stage. Any aircraft seen orbiting (or found on examination of the GPS loggers to have orbited) will be disqualified.
  2. Do not re-enter track by more than 45 degrees. 
  3. NO slow flying. If you are too fast, reduce speed by use of flap, but don’t get low and slow. The event has historically had a good safety record, apart from one fatality several years ago, when a competitor stalled and spun at a turning point due to flying too slowly.
  4. Fly at between 500 (minimum) and 1500 feet (maximum) AGL. Flying lower than 500 feet AGL is illegal. It will also be penalized by disqualification. NB 1000 feet over National Parks.
  5. Follow the normal rules about overtaking, if you should have to overtake another aircraft (if you are both on time, this should not happen!).
  • FUEL
  • Please refuel on arrival, to avoid delays on the Rally. 
  • Course distance (start to end point) is +/-250nm per day.

  • SCORING, PENALTIES & RESULTS

Remember to hand in your logger.

Scoring at a control

All scoring at the various controls will be based on whether the competitor has passed within the “gate” or whether the competitor was considered to have missed the “gate” or control point. 

If, in the opinion of the organizing committee, a competitor was at any time guilty of poor airmanship or breach of the civil aviation regulations additional penalties may be awarded. 

Dangerous flying may be penalized by disqualification.

Penalties

  • Time Penalty:

A competitor’s score at each control will be expressed in seconds and represents the competitor’s error (early or late)

  • Penalty per second late or early – 1 point
  • Max time penalty per control – 120 points

An “overhead” score (i.e., one based on time only, with no additional penalty points) will be awarded if the competitor is shown to have been within 1500 meters either side of the control position. This effectively means that the competitor should aim to fly within a corridor 3 km wide, the centre of which is the line joining the turning points.

  • Off-Track Penalty

If a competitor is shown to have passed abeam the control at a distance greater than 1.5 km, the competitor will incur a penalty of 45 points on top of the time points.

Team Entries

The aggregate score of three individual participants entered, as a team will be used to calculate each team’s performance. The team with the lowest overall score will be adjudged the winner. In the event of a tie, the team whose pilots have the lowest aggregate number of flying hours will be adjudged the winner.

Failure of GPS Logger

Where a GPS logger fails completely or cannot be downloaded, the committee may award points based on the competitor’s score on a leg where the logger was successful. Any overall score based on such scoring will not make the competitor eligible for any overall prizes or for the prizes for the leg on which the logger failed.

Results

  • Daily Results

The provisional results for the first day of the Rally will be announced at approximately 19.00 hrs. The TOP 10 will only be advised of their placing and not the amount of points accrued until the end of the Rally on Day 2. Awards for the first day of the Rally will not be presented at this time but will be awarded at the main prize-giving, when the final results are known.

  • Overall Results

The overall results for the Rally will be announced at the prize giving. 

A full set of results for the Rally, including overall results, will be available for competitors’ viewing after the announcement of the overall results. Copies of these results will be sent to every competitor with the final newsletter after the Rally.

  • The Winner

The winner of the Air Rally will be the crew with the lowest numerical score.

  • Ties

In the event of two crews achieving the same numerical score, the crew whose pilot has the lower number of flying hours will be awarded the position.

  • Disqualification

A crew may be disqualified for:

  • Disregard of these rules or any verbal or written supplementary instructions issued by the Organizers.
  • Dangerous flying, offence in contravention of the Civil Aviation Regulations or any other conduct considered by the Organizers not to conform to normal safe flying practice.
  • Any misconduct or other behavior, either on the ground or in the air, likely to bring into disrepute the good name of the sport, the Organizers, or their sponsors.
  • Any aircraft seen orbiting (or found on examination of the GPS loggers to have orbited) will be disqualified. 
  • Any plane which has cut more than 45 degrees into the track will be disqualified.

As mentioned, the organizers will closely scrutinize the tracks actually achieved by competitors. We have in the past had some suspiciously good tracks, so good that it was fairly obvious that the crew was using the track feature of their GPS or EFIS. Even the best of competitors using the basic instruments have minor deviations from track. If necessary, any such suspicious track will be investigated and may result in disqualification.

  • Protests
  • Competitors are the only persons who have the right to file a protest against any provisional results and only then through their crew captain. 
  • The pilot is considered, by the Organizers, to be the crew captain.
  • A competitor will have two hours after the posting of the provisional results (and for the TOP 10, 2 hours after receiving Day 1 results at the end of the Day 2 rally) for all aircraft for each stage (excluding the results for the final stage) to consider the results. If a competitor is not satisfied with the results, a protest may be entered in writing to the Clerk of the Course. Both pilot and navigator must sign this protest.
  • The clerk of the Course will, on receiving a protest, convene an investigation committee that shall comprise the Chairman and Secretary of the Organizing Committee, the Chief Marshal, and the Clerk of the Course to consider the merits of the protest.
  • The competitor who lodged the protest may be called to attend the meeting and inspect the relevant marking sheets.
  • If a protest is upheld, the investigation committee may make an amendment to the results posted for that stage. Any amendments will be advised to all other competitors at the earliest convenience. No protests whatsoever will be accepted after two hours following the posting of the results. Protests against other competitors’ scores are forbidden. This does not preclude a complaint made by one competitor against another on a matter of air safety.
  • Any ruling made by the investigation committee will be final and binding.