Objective and Event Format
1.  The GARSA will officially be conducted over the period 01 - 25 Sep 11 and will involve a total of 10 flights.  The event is not a race nor a competition!  It is an event in which individuals participate against their own flying ability by navigating over a series of Flight Legs on which they are aiming to fly as close as possible to an individually calculated "target time".  Flight Legs can involve either and / or a combination of VOR, NDB and "dead reckoning" navigating under both day and night Visual Flight Rule (VFR) and / or Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) conditions with variable departure times and weather conditions.

2.  The event is conducted using MSFS versions FS9 and FSX.  These are the only officially supported flight simulators for the event.  Participants wishing to use X Plane for the event are welcome to do so, but the event organisers are not responsible for providing the flight situation files in a format other than for MSFS.

Eligible Aircraft
3.  Participants may fly any radial or other piston engined aircraft of their choice.  Turboprop, turbojet, turbofan and other such engined aircraft are not eligible for entry in the event.  An aircraft model variant will only become ineligible if it compromises the rule on engines, i.e. fitted with a turboprop, turbojet, turbofan and other such engine.  Aircraft may be fitted with "ferry tanks" to effect a minor increase in the range of the aircraft.  Where "ferry tanks" are used, the total aircraft weight must remain inside the specified maximum take-off weight (MTOW) for the aircraft.

4.  It is the responsibility of individual participants to ensure their nominated aircraft is suitable for use in the GARSA.  Changing to another aircraft type once the event has begun is not permitted.  Other considerations will include the Flight Leg distance, runway length and surface, and altitude performance.  This information can be found under the "Flight Schedule" link.

5.  It is highly recommended, but not mandatory, that aircraft have both a VOR and NDB navigation capability.  Additionally, a DME capability would also be useful.  Whilst it is intended and highly encouraged that these be the primary instruments of navigation, it is acknowledged that some participants may find the event too challenging.  Therefore, the use of GPS, FSNavigator, or other such navigation aids is not precluded.

Target Times
6.  The Target Time for each Flight Leg is calculated for each individual participant based on a Test Flight flown over a specified course in their chosen aircraft.  Additional time elements are included for the "climb to cruise" and "landing circuit" phases of each Flight Leg.  The Test Flight time is submitted during the Pilot Registration process.  The details for the Test Flight are contained under the "Test Flight" link.  The Target Time for each participant for each Flight Leg will be displayed under the "Target Times & Results" link.

9.  Participants can submit multiple entries for the event flying different aircraft.  A separate Pilot Registration is required for each entry.

Downloads
10.  A series of downloads (one for each Flight Leg) are required to set up standard flight parameters for weather and departure time for each Flight Leg.   Whilst departure and arrival runways are established as part of these flight parameters, participants are free to choose whatever runway they like.  These required files are available under the "Downloads" link.

12.  All PIREPS are to have times submitted in minutes rounded to two decimal places.  For example, a flight of 1 hr 2 mins 56 secs would be submitted as 62.93 mins.  It is recommended that you download and use Tom Goodrick’s FTime from the link on the "Downloads" page.  It records time from when the aircraft reaches 30 knots on take off until it decelerates to below 30 knots on landing.   Alternatively, you may record the time using a panel clock, but convert the seconds to decimal minutes. i.e. 30:45 on a clock would be 30.75 minutes.  The use of external clocks, watches, etc, is prohibited.  All timers must be internal to the flight simulator.

13.  The honesty and integrity of participants is relied upon, entirely, in entering this event and for submitting PIREPS that are accurate. Where a PIREP appears questionable or to be in error, the organisers may return it for clarification or confirmation before posting the results.

14.  The format for submitting PIREPS is detailed under the "PIREPS" link.

Proficiency Rating
15.  The proficiency rating system involves a participant starting each Flight Leg with 100 points.  The "actual time" flown for each leg is compared to the Target Time and for each percentage point difference, a point is deducted. For example, the Target Time for a Flight Leg is 50 mins, the "actual time" flown is 52 mins, therefore the proficiency rating for the Flight Leg is 96 points.   Conversely, using the same example but where the "actual time" flown is 46 mins, the proficiency rating for the Flight Leg is 92 points.  The proficiency ratings for each Flight Leg will be accumulated over the entire rally.  All proficiency ratings will be calculated to four decimal places and rounded to two decimal places.

16. The Proficiency Ratings will be updated ASAP after the closing date for each Flight Leg.   However, the organisers do not guarantee that updates will be applied within any particular timeframe.

Time Zone
17.  Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the standard time zone used for the event for the purposes of Pilot Registration , Flight Schedule dates, PIREPS, etc.

Event Forum
18.  The organisers have provided a forum where participants in the event may leave comments, messages, etc, for other pilots and / or generally discuss their progress in the event.  This forum should not be used as a means for formally contacting the organisers with official queries or messages.