Bayside R/C Club of Fremont, CA will be having a Fun Fly on June 8th. My purpose is not so much to invite you all, but to invite comments on the somewhat unique format that we will be trying for the first time.

In my experience, fun fly's are a lot of fun, but you tend to spend a lot of time waiting for the officials, and then you have maybe 5 minutes of air time to do whatever event they've cooked up. Do that about 3 times and the day is over.

I wanted to design a fun fly with something for everyone, where the flight stations would be full all day, and where the officials, judging, and competition would never get in the way of the fun. This is what I came up with....




Intent

The idea is to structure a fun fly “contest” with an absolute maximum of fun and flying and a minimum of official interaction.

General Rules (Unless Otherwise Specified)

1. The field is not closed to sport flyers, though it may get a bit crowded and hectic.
2. All normal field rules and safety procedures are in effect.

• Call your intentions on the flight line. Situational awareness is paramount.
• Use courtesy and common sense in excess.
• No low flying tasks when people are beyond the flight stations. (retrieving aircraft, etc.)
• Remain in bounds.
• A helper is recommended for most tasks.
• Pilots and helpers must remain behind the flight stations.
• Keep the flight stations full and fly.

3. The competition begins at 9:00 am with a contest meeting. Competition flying begins at 9:15 am. Competition flying ends at 2:00 pm. The award ceremony is at 2:30.
4. Contest officials will answer questions, tally the final scores, and award the prizes, but are not involved in the running or judging of the actual tasks.
5. Contestants are requested to bring stop watches to the contest and to share them with other pilots as needed.
6. The contest consists of 12 tasks from which each contestant may choose up to 5. The final choice of tasks may be made at any time before 2:00 pm and more than 5 tasks may be attempted.
7. All tasks are self judged or judged with the help of a friend or friends of your choosing. Pilots are responsible for recording their own results on the score board.
8. Pilots may choose to fly any task at any time, as many times as they wish. Pilots may fly multiple tasks within the same flight, or multiple attempts at the same task within the same flight if the task allows. Pilots may use multiple or different aircraft for different tasks. The only limitation is general courtesy, allowing all pilots who wish to fly a chance to fly.
9. Any aircraft of any type airplane/helicopter/electric/etc. may participate.
10. Helicopters should fly in the helicopter area unless the task dictates otherwise.
11. Scored tasks must not break any club/safety rules or damage the aircraft in any way, not even a broken prop.
12. Raffle tickets are awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each task. 1st place – 10 raffle tickets, 2nd place 5 raffle tickets, 3rd place 2 raffle tickets.
13. All contestants receive 5 raffle tickets upon entry.
14. The rules may be changed during the contest if safety requires. Contest official decisions are final.
15. All contestants participate at their own risk.

Flight Tasks


1. Lowest Pass – A helper/judge is recommended.Fly the length of the runway, in any direction, at any speed, without touching down at any point. Estimate, by eye, the maximum altitude achieved at any point while over the runway. Estimate from the lowest point on the aircraft to the ground If you perform the task inverted you may divide your estimated maximum altitude by 2. Report the altitude in feet (inches if you must).

2. Payload – Maximum weight carried aloft, not normally part of the aircraft, for a flight of at least 1 minute. Report weight in ounces.

3. Spot Touch and Go – A helper/judge is recommended. The spot will be pre-marked on the runway with concentric circles every 5 feet in radius. Estimate the distance by eye from the point of first touch down to the center of the spot. Helicopters must touch in reasonably fast forward flight. Please don’t do a full stop landing unless you are ending your flight. If you stub the prop or kill the engine it doesn’t count. Report the distance in feet (inches if you must.)

4. Fastest Pass – A flag judge and a timer/helper is required. Measured time for one pass down the runway into the wind or in the direction of the predominant landing pattern. The flag judge stands in line with the far end of the runway and flags the start of the run. The timer stands in line with the other end of the runway, starts when flagged and stops when the aircraft passes by. The flag judge and the timer should stand well behind the fence line behind the pilots. There is no need to fly really low or directly over the runway. Report your time in seconds.

5. Most Loops – A timer/helper/counter is required. Perform as many loops as possible in 1 minute. Report loop count. Helicopters must perform loops in forward flight, not flips.

6. Most Spins – A helper/counter is recommended. Climb as high as you feel is safe and perform as many spins as you dare. Helicopters can pirouette, but all aircraft must be at full idle. Report spin count.

7. Longest Glide – A timer/helper is required. Climb for 30 seconds after takeoff, kill the engine and time the glide. Fixed wing aircraft must land on the runway. If you touch the ground anywhere other than on the blacktop runway it doesn’t count. Helicopters must take off in the helicopter area and must land on the carpet. If you touch the ground anywhere other than on the carpet it doesn’t count. Helicopters receive a bonus multiplier of 20. Helicopters may idle the engine as long as the clutch is disengaged. Report the time in minutes and seconds after any multiplier.

8. Least Upright – A timer/helper is required. Take off, fly for at least 1 minute inverted, and land (upright). Measure the total time that the aircraft is within 90 degrees of upright. Time starts when the wheels/skids leave the ground, stops when the aircraft goes inverted, starts when the aircraft goes upright, and stops when the aircraft touches the ground. The flight must take off from the runway or the helicopter area for Helicopters. If fixed wing aircraft touch the ground anywhere other than on the blacktop runway during landing it doesn’t count. If helicopters touch the ground anywhere other than on the carpet it doesn’t count. Any damage, even a broken prop, and it doesn’t count. Report your time in seconds.

9. Bomb Drop – A helper/judge is required. – The spot will be pre-marked on the runway with concentric circles every 5 feet in radius. Drop the provided powder and tissue bomb onto the marked spot on the runway. All aircraft, including helicopters, must be in substantial forward flight and must be over 10 ft. above the ground when the bomb is dropped. Judge the distance from the center of the spot to the point of impact by eye and report in feet.

10. Shortest Roop Flight – A timer/helper is required. Take off, perform a loop and a roll and then land. Helicopters must enter forward flight before executing the loop and the roll. Time starts when the wheels/skids leave the ground, and stops when the aircraft touches the ground. The flight must take off from the runway or the helicopter area for Helicopters. If fixed wing aircraft touch the ground anywhere other than on the blacktop runway during landing it doesn’t count. If helicopters touch the ground anywhere other than on the carpet it doesn’t count. Any damage, even a broken prop, and it doesn’t count. Report your time in seconds.

11. Best Trick – Call it loud and do your thing for all to see. It doesn’t have to be a trick exactly, just impressive in some way. Winners will be judged by applause at the beginning of the awards ceremony. Be prepared to remind the crowd of your trick when the time comes.

12. Coolest Aircraft – Winners will be judged by applause at the beginning of the awards ceremony. Be prepared to hold it up or display it to the crowd somehow when the time comes. The only requirement is that it has to have flown at some point during the contest.

Bonus - Best (Unintentional) Crash – Judged by applause at the beginning of the award ceremony. 20 tickets for first place. 10 tickets for all other significant crashes.