Next Sunday, August 7th, we’re hosting Kentucky’s first-ever Speed 400 F5J Electric Sailplane contest! We’ll be holding this at Sun Valley Park in the South End of Louisville. Registration starts at 10 AM, contest starts at 11 AM! A suggested $10 donation would be appreciated.

You can get more info and the official rules here: LASS 2005 F5J Speed 400 Electric Sailplane Contest

For more information, contact Ed Wilson.

As Ed stated in his last President’s Log, the LASS F5J competition will be on August 7, 2005. In between now and then, we will hopefully have some “practice” contests to really test out the contest structure that we have proposed. So — make sure you have something Speed 400-powered to fly by August! (The Goldberg Endurance 400 Ed reviewed is a great example).

Finally, credit must be given to Perry Benningfield for really getting the ball rolling on doing an electric sailplane competition! He, along with me (Ben Wilson), Brian Kopke and LASS freshman David Gruneisen all contributed to this draft in one way or another.

LASS Electric Sailplane Competition F5J Rules

DRAFT (2005/03/24)

Craft allowed:
	Electric
		8 cell NiCD / NiMH
		Speed 400 non-replaceable-brush can motor
		Direct-drive or geared
			Note: all equipment limits are "up-to" limits.
			6,7 or 8 cells are acceptible, as are Speed 280, 300, 380, etc.

	No wingspan limit
	Skegs are optional.

Frequency Control:
	Pilots should have a primary and a backup frequency.
	These should be made known to the CD before the contest.

	"Clip" system
		We will not be impounding transmitters, however in order to safely turn on your transmitter,
		you must "own the clip" from the frequency board.  No clip = no right to the channel.

		The CD will attempt to alert pilots of frequency conflicts.

Tasks:
	Limited motor run, thermal duration with an in/out landing
		1 minute limited motor run
		10 minute flight
		10' circular landing area.

	Any part of the plane that crosses into the landing area will be counted as an "IN" landing.
	A plane may not flip over or shed parts on landing.  That will be an "OUT" landing.

	Contest Director (CD) may adjust flight goal time according to weather/time.

Scoring:
	600 pts for a 10 minute round
		1 second unpowered flight = 1 point
	100 points for an "IN" landing.  

	Scores for each round will be normalized to 1000 points for the highest scorer(s).

Rounds:
	3 Rounds
	1 Round = 3 Flights
	1 Flight = 1 minute motor run "climbout" and a 10 minute unpowered flight.

	Each round will consist of 3 10 minute flights on one battery charge.

	Dependent on the number of entrants, there may be multiple "flight groups".
	Each flight group will vary from round-to-round (to ensure everyone flies against everyone else).

	Round 1
		Group A: Bob, Ed, Frank, Robert, Gene
		Group B: Allan, Charlie, Will, Dave

		Flight 1 / Group A
		Flight 1 / Group B
		Flight 2 / Group A
		Flight 2 / Group B
		Flight 3 / Group A
		Flight 3 / Group B

	Round 2
		Group A: Bob, Charlie, Robert, Dave
		Group B: Allan, Ed, Will, Gene

		(flight schedule the same as above)

	One optional final round will be an All-Up Last Down round.
	No precision landing, 1 minute motor run, 1 second = 1 point. Scores will be normalized.

Winners:
	All normalized scores will be tallied at the end of the day.
	The lead scorer will be crowned champ.

	A prize for the winner of the AULD contest may also be awarded.

Brian Kopke pitched in a did some research into the subject, and he has found some pretty good info regarding F5b/speed 400 contest structures and limitations. For your reading pleasure, I submit these links:

• Andy Willet’s F5B Contest Rules
• Brian’s RCGroups Thread: Speed 400 F5 class??
• AMA F5B Rules (check section 4)
• Albuquerque Soaring Assoc.’s F5J Contest and Rules

So, in short, find yourself a Speed 400 motor, a 7 cell battery pack and plane that can tote it, and get it ready!