FAPA Club 40 Racing Rules
GENERAL
1) All contestants must have current AMA membership card. All planes must pass a general safety inspection at each race and comply with all requirements. The host club is responsible for performing this inspection.
2) Landing fee is TBA.
3) Required equipment:
Planes: Unmodified ARF Trainers Limited to the Following:
See club 40 rules at: Club 40 racing
Planes must be assembled in accordance with the instructions provided with the ARF. Modifications for increase safety are permitted. All planes must have functioning ailerons, elevators, rudder and throttle. A minimum of 4 working servos are required. Bolt on wings are allowed for rather than the rubber bands if desired. Minimum recommended fuel tank is required. Spinners or safety nuts are required.
4) Fuel will be furnished by Host club paid for w/ the entry fees.
SAFETY
1) SAFE FLYING IS OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE.
2) All planes must pass a general safety inspection before each race. If a plane crashes during a race, it must be re- inspected before it flies again.
3) Pilots must not overfly barrier grass, pits, spectators, or other areas designated by the Host Club. A warning is issued for the 1st offense. The second warning will result in a disqualification. The Starter can black flag any plane/pilot for unsafe flying or equipment at his discretion.
4) Only pilots and spotters will be allowed on the racing field during a race and must wear hard hats. All other participants and spectators must be in designated safety areas. These areas will be determined by each Host field.
POINTS
1) All heat races are 10 laps around the designated course. Planes must fly around the pylons along the course route. Any plane turning too soon will be awarded one cut per infraction.
Points will be awarded as follows: First Place 5 points
Second Place 4 points
Third Place 3 points
Finishing Race 1 point
Race is finished when the first plane completes the 10 laps. The finishing race point is awarded to all flyers in the air when the first plane crosses the finish line on the 10th lap.
Pilots will be awarded points from the moment of takeoff (ROG) for final place in that heat.
If a pilot achieves ROG, this qualifies them for placement and awarded points. If the pilot suffers a flame out once the race begins, there will be no restart. The pilot will earn the placement points but not the bonus point for finishing the race.
If a crash, flameout, or other incident occurs prior to completing the first lap for determining position, the pilot, or pilots, will be awarded a 3rd place finish w/o the bonus point. If, for example, all three racers has either a crash or flameout prior to completing the first lap all pilots will receive a 3rd place finish, no bonus point (did not make 10 laps) and awarded a total of 3 points each. Placement for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd position does not begin until the completion of the first lap.
If a crash or flameout occurs affecting 2 or 3 planes, the order of finish will be determined by the race order at the previous completed lap prior to the incident and crossing of the Start/Finish Line, except if the incident(s) occurred before the first lap has finished (e.g. collision on takeoff) as noted above.
2) Points will be deducted for pylon cuts as follows:
First Cut -3 points (2 points + loss of the 1 bonus point for completing race)
Second Cut-2 points (Total of 5 deducted if race is completed)
Third Cut - ALL points lost and bonus point lost
If a pilot has a cut, but does not complete all 10 laps to be awarded the bonus point, then the pilot will have only 2 points deducted from the first cut.
IMPORTANT: Pilots will be responsible for making sure that the points are correct on the day of the race. Once the race is over, the points cannot be challenged. Only corrections to mistakes in addition will be allowed. It is the responsibility of the Host field to provide a scoring scribe. Pilots will initial final race results indicating they are in agreement w/ the points awarded for the day.
3) Points will be awarded to the registered pilot racing the aircraft. He can fly any aircraft during a race.
RACE FORMAT
1) Two pylons will be used. They will be approximately 350 feet apart. Host field may use longer course. It is also the Host field’s responsibility to maintain adequate pylons and starting area.
2) Three {3} planes will be flown in each Heat. A heat is 10 laps around the course. Starts will be simultaneous ground take-offs. Spotters will hold the planes for this launch. Once launched, the Spotter will stand behind the pilot. There will be no single plane heats. Two plane races are allowed and points will be awarded for First and Second.
3) A Heat will consist of ten {10} laps around the course. Each pilot will fly three {3} heats to establish placement for the final heat "fly off" for the days champion.
4) Initial Heat assignments will be made by random drawing. If a frequency conflict exists, adjustments will be made. Starting positions will also be made by drawings. After the first Heat, Heat assignments will be based on an order ranking based on total accumulated points as the heats progress. All flyers are ordered according to desending accumulated points which then dictates the order for the following heat (w/ exception to frequency conflicts)
5) Each pilot is responsible for obtaining a required Spotter. Pilot and Spotter are required to wear hard hats.
6) The Host field will provide Pylon Flaggers for each pilot at the two pylons. They will be responsible for signaling by flag to the pilot's spotter that the plane has gone past the pylon. They will also count any cuts by the racer’s plane. THE WORD OF THE FLAGGER IS FINAL. The Host field will also provide lunch and/or snacks for the Flaggers.
7) Engines will be started in a designated area and the plane will be carried to the starting line.
WINNER OF HEAT
1) The first pilot to complete ten {10} laps is the winner. In the event of "mishaps", the finishing order will be that of the order of the last complete lap.
2) Second and Third place is determined by finishing the required laps or by attrition.
3) Points will be awarded by calculation of placement and cuts.
Fly-Off Placement: Fly-off placement for First, Second, and Third will be determined by the order of finish, with no pylon cuts allowed. You cannot win a fly-off with a pylon cut(s) unless everyone in the heat also cut the same number of pylons. A pylon cut automatically moves you to third place unless the other flyers also had a pylon cut.