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Rally and Precision Flying How do I start ? Who can help me ? What will I need ? How much does it cost ? If you have worked your way as far as this you're obviously considering having a go at flying in a competition!! The 4 questions above are typically the most common of several questions which we get asked. We are always happy to answer any questions, so please do get in contact by email, phone or write. How do I start ? As mentioned above, the best thing to do is get in touch with us. If you are studying for a PPL or are even a non-pilot, we can try and put you in contact with a Sportsman class pilot that you can pair up with. If you hold a PPL(or higher), why not try and get a friend, syndicate partner or member from your flying club to partner up with you to form a Sportsman class entry. Again, if you don't manage this, get in touch with us as we may be able to find you someone to pair up with. Part of the fun of the Sportsman class is the social aspect of flying with another crew member and sharing the challenge together. Once you have found or been partnered up with a crew member the next thing is to decide which competition venues you wish to enter and contact that particular organiser. The organiser should then send you a proposed schedule for the weekend, any relevant information for arriving at the airfield, details of accommodation available and an entry form. Who can help me ? Again, if you contact us, we will pass your details to one of our existing members who is closest to you and they will then be able to get in contact with you. Hopefully they will be able to answer any questions you have and start trying to cover the basics of competition flying. They might even suggest meeting up at a convienient time and place to then cover aspects such as map marking, timing marks, speeds to fly, competition rules and a host of other topics. Effectively that member will become your mentor and it will also mean that when you come to a competition you'll know one friendly face straight away. If due to distance the above training / mentoring is not possible, do not worry, as there will be training available at the competition venues. For 2008, the competition schedule should run along the following lines (weather permitting) :- Saturday Morning - IntroductoryTraining briefing and practical flight planning / map marking session for newcombers. Training sessions for existing members as required. Lunch - Get together Saturday Afternoon - Possible mini-training course to plot and fly, accompanied by mentor. - Full landing competition. Saturday Evening - Social Get Together Sunday Morning - Open and Sportsman class Navigation Competition Sunday Afternoon - Results, Prizegiving and departure. What equipment will I need? The majority of equipment you will probably already possess, ie map marker pens, protractor, ruler, CRP-1 'whizz wheel' and some sort of clock/watch (with hours, minutes and seconds and preferably stopwatch facility - digital type displays are the best). Scissors are useful to have to cut up the photograph sheet into indivdual photos and either blutac or double sided tape to affix the photos to the top of the instrument coaming or similar location. If you are navigating at a Rally style event, you will require a plotting board (approx 450mm x 400mm) to affix your master map to. The GPS logger to be carried whilst you fly around the course will be lent to you by the club. We will also give you a set of timing mark sheets or you can download (and then print some off) from here ( awaiting file to then create hyperlink) How much will it cost ? Obviously there will be cost of the flying, although with Spotsman class or rally flying this can be shared. If the event is for a full weekend then there will be accommodation costs (depending on individual requirements ie B&B or 4* hotel) and food. The entry fee per competition is around £20 and is payable to the competition organiser. This fee enables the organiser to cover the various expenses required to produce and run the competition, with any surplus put in the club's funds. For your first competition, you will be our guest to see if the sport is for you. Should you get 'bitten by the bug' and decide to enter further competitions, then you will be asked to become a member of the club, which is currently £50 per annum. The club funds are used to purchase equipment (like GPS loggers), produce promotional material, cover day-to-day running expenses and our annual fees to the Royal Aero Club (who issue the International Competition Licenses required to enter FAI competitions). The club's accounts are audited and presented to the members at the AGM. |
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