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Rob's Challenge
RULES
Yes, unfortunately, there is a need to have Rules to successfully conduct events such as the EARC. The EARC is intended as a fun event and is open to everyone who is interested in virtual flight. Please take the time to read the Rules. Registration in the event is interpreted as acceptance of the Rules.
Objective and Event Format
1. The EARC will be officially conducted over the period 01
Sep '19 - 31 Dec '19 and will involve a total of 23 stages of one or
more flights. The EARC is not a race nor a competition! The
original event was a race, but only one aircraft completed the event in the
stipulated time frame. We are hoping for a better success rate. 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, Lockheed Martin's Prepar3D and XPlane11.
Eligible Aircraft
3. Participants may fly any aircraft of their choice. Aircraft may be
fitted with "ferry tanks" to effect an
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 EARC. Changing to another aircraft type once the event has begun is not permitted. Other considerations will include the Flight Leg distance and runway surface. Information on all Flight Leg distances will be made available over the coming weeks.
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, Plan-G, 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 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.
Pilot Registration
7. Pilot registration for the event will open from 0001 hrs UTC,
06 Aug '19 and close at 2359 hrs UTC, 12 Nov '19. Due to the
length of the event we will allow an overlap between the registration period
and initial flight reports. Prior to registering, complete the Test Flight as
per the instructions under the "Test Flight" link.
8. Persons wanting to participate in the event must complete and submit the application under the "Pilot Registration" link. All applications must be completed fully. Incomplete applications will not be processed. On acceptance, each participant will be allocated an ID number which MUST be quoted in all PIREPs and correspondence. It is not intended to issue registration confirmation emails. Participants can confirm their registration in the event by checking for their name on the Roster under the "Roster" link. It may take up to three days for a name to appear on the Roster.
9. Participants can submit multiple entries for the event flying different aircraft. A separate Pilot Registration is required for each entry.
10. To accomodate the full range of potential aircraft there will be four sets of flight plans, A to D. The A flight plans are for slower shorter range aircraft and may have from 1 to 4 flight sectors per stage of the event. The B flight plans will use just one flight per stage, while the C flight plans are developed for high altitude jet aircraft using a single flight for each stage. The D Flights will consist of a single stage from each of the A Flight Legs. This will shorten the total flight distance for D flights to about half the length of the A to C flights.
Team Entries
11. Team entries for the EARC are permissible. In the case of a
team entry, each member of the team flies the same aircraft for their allocated
Flight Leg. Registration for team entries is as per single participants
with a single point of contact to act as the coordinator for correspondence and
PIREP submissions. Team entries can only submit a single Test Flight time
and can use the method of their choice to calculate that Test Flight
time. The most usual method is the average of each team member's
individual Test Flight time. Flight Leg "target times" will be
calculated using the team's submitted Test Flight time.
EARC Downloads
12. A series of downloads (one for each Flight Leg) will be available
to set up departure points for each Flight Leg. Weather will not be defiined for this event and entrants are free to set it to
suit themsleves. Whilst departure and arrival
airports are established as part of these flight parameters, participants are
free to choose whatever runway they like. These optional files will be
available under the "EARC Downloads" link in a few weeks time. It will be possible to set up flights from the
flight information that will be uploaded shortly.
PIREPs
13. Participants should try to file a
separate PIREP for each Flight Leg which may consist of the totals of up to 4
individual flight Sectors for the A flights. Any
participant failing to file a PIREP by the end of December may be declared
"Withdrawn". Participants may fly and submit PIREPs in advance
of the date suggested in the Flight Schedule. Results from PIREPs
submitted in advance will not be posted until after the respective Flight Leg
suggested reporting time and date.
14. 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 which will be made available. It records time from when the aircraft reaches 30 knots on takeoff 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.
15. 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 correction or confirmation before posting the results.
16. The format for submitting PIREPs is detailed under the "PIREPs" link.
Proficiency Rating
17. 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.
18. The Proficiency Ratings will be updated ASAP after the suggested date for each Flight Leg. However, the organisers do not guarantee that updates will be applied within any particular timeframe.
Time Zone
19. 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
20. 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.
Official Correspondence
21. All official correspondence relating to the event should be
addressed to the Rally Director at GAAR15director(at)gmail.com
(substitute @ for (at) in the email address).
General Caveats
22. The EARC is intended purely as a fun event for all participants.
There is no obligation, legal or otherwise, on the part of the
organisers to conduct this event to its conclusion. The organisers cannot
be held responsible for any matter or thing which may arise from the conduct of
this event.
23. The decision of the Rally Director, or their nominee, on any matter concerning this event is absolutely final and no correspondence or other communication will be entered into.