Hi Bill, in the case of the late landing window think super windy conditions with planes waaay downwind and not able to get back in time.

Originally Posted by Brady Baggs

So to continue my F5J Rules questions I have a couple more.
Landing direction into the wind.
But I had the craziest landing last year. I was early by a minute or so and was on final. Right when the plane got to the end of the tape, I hit lift. So I decided to take a turn over my landing spot. I never was out of my lane and made a full circle landing back in the original direction into the wind. We counted the landing but In the Worlds competition would that have been counted?
And can you answer all of my silly questions with the differences between Tour USA and FAI Worlds if any?

I know you can fly over 59 seconds after the end horn and your time still counts for preliminary rounds but no landing points. But does the 59 seconds over apply to the fly off rounds also?

Thanks again

Originally Posted by SoaringDude

Hi Brady,

The difference between F5J USA Tour and FAI F5J rules is outlined on --wait for it!-- the Tour Contest Rules page here: http://www.f5j-usa.com/contest-rules/.

Circling in your lane on final approach is generally frowned upon even though there is no explicit rule against it. Guys occasionally do it. If you interfere with another pilot they can request a reflight. If the CD thinks you interfered with any pilot intentionally, the CD can kick you out of the contest (CIAM General Rules, section C.19.1.1 (c)). So if you do it be 100% sure your lane is clear and that your flying is 100% safe.

The 1-minute late landing window is in effect for both qualifying and fly-off rounds (F5J rule 5.5.11.12 (g)).

Brady, you're referring to the East Coast Fall contest, correct? If it is the "incident" that I recall then at that event I don't think it was of an issue. I was either timing or flying during that round and from my perspective you weren't causing interference with other pilots flights. I was aware of it as I believe someone called this out or I saw it.



From my perspective as a contest director I am looking at making sure all competitors and helpers/timers are safe while on the flight line. In that mode of thought I would prefer that pilots always make a landing in the same direction as all other competitors, i.e. everyone landing in the same direction. However, as I've seen numerous times here in FL on days with the wind only pulling to the largest thermal it can be hard to agree prior to launch the direction that ALL competitors must land. As a competitor I want to keep my model safe and to do so means an upwind landing. Obviously if we're 3 minutes to go in the window, everyone has made it out, then when I'm the CD it's easy to make the call to switch landing direction. However, in the situation that Brady was in this was impossible. Most others had gotten out and to make a switch for one competitor is unfair. What my stance on this goes back to what I first said, making sure all competitors and helpers/timers are safe. If you're going to be landing down wind, or coming at a 45 across lanes to stay in the wind, have your helper announce this. Make sure that those around you know your intentions. As a timer you need to not only watch your pilots model but other models, pilots, and their helpers.



I want to say that common sense should prevail, but that's not always the case and that's why we have codified rules. It's hard for me to put my safety and CD hat on and reconcile that with my competitor hat as I want to tick all the boxes, safe, fun, and competitive.

Originally Posted by SoaringDude

Hi Bill, in the case of the late landing window think super windy conditions with planes waaay downwind and not able to get back in time.

Chris - I was not counting a land out as landing over a minute late. I was referring to still being in the air after a minute.

Hi Bill, you said you did not recall "ever seeing anyone more than a second or so late" so I gave you an example of conditions where guys have landed inside of 75m but more than a few seconds late. It happens. Not often but it does happen. Pls call me if you want to discuss. Thanks!

Splitting hairs Chris. The overwhelming number of times folks are late it is only by a second or so. Yes, in rare instances people have fought to get back to within 75 meters and are still in the air past the end of the window. But it is still far from a common situation and I personally do not recall seeing it. It is more common to see land outs as opposed to the long fight home to get within 75 meters.

P.S. Not trying to be argumentative, just trying to make the context of my original comment clear.

With the widespread virus concerns in the US the F5J USA Tour's Advisory Group recently discussed how to best approach the 2020 season. At this stage we can only guess how long stay-at-home orders and your virus concerns will persist.

We do feel that each hosting club should respond to their own virus concerns and act appropriately. If a club decides to cancel a near-term Tour event we are open to their re-scheduling it later in the season. If they decide to run their contest (in a virus-safe manner) and are okay with possible lower turnout be aware of the Tour's minimum pilot limits: for a 2-day event it takes 10 pilots flying a minimum 4 rounds. For a 1-day contest it takes 6 pilots flying a minimum 4 rounds (ref: Qualifying Events).

In the meantime we wish everyone a safe season and hope we are all back to normal soon. If you have any questions let us know.

Thanks,
F5J USA Tour Advisory Group
--Lee Wolfe, Steve Neu, Lenny Keer, Larry Jolly, Jim Monaco, David Beach, and Chris Bajorek

FYI - The Texas event hosted by SLNT that was originally scheduled for mid April has been rescheduled to June 13-14. The Tour calendar has been updated with this change.

(this announcement was sent out yesterday via the Tour's email list. If you are not already on our list you can sign up on f5j-usa.com via the "F5J USA Tour email list" box located in the right-hand sidebar of every page)

Unfortunately we in the US are still facing state and local orders that are asking us to, among other things, limit the size of groups that assemble for activities. This continues to put into question when our 2020 Tour calendar events should resume.

The Tour's Advisory Group would like to offer the following guidance as to when and how you should resume hosting your Tour events:

1. We feel that any decision on whether to reschedule and/or run your event rests 100% with your club or organization. The Tour's Advisory Group will only require that you use the F5J and Tour rules that already exist.

2. Minimum pilots: It bears mentioning that the current Tour Qualifying Events rules for pilots is a minimum of 10 pilots for 2-day events, or 6 pilots for 1-day events.

3. Public contest announcements: your Tour event calendar entry can either reference your organizer contact info or an RC Groups contest thread (either will satisfy Qualifying Events rule #5).

Any questions please let us know. We wish you all the best in your upcoming Tour events.

Thanks and best regards,

F5J USA Tour Advisory Group
--Lee Wolfe, Steve Neu, Lenny Keer, Larry Jolly, Jim Monaco, David Beach, and Chris Bajorek

Just wanted to let you all know that we still intend to hold the 2020 Buzz Averill Memorial this year, as scheduled on August 22-23, 2020.  Greg McGill will once again serve as CD. Because of the CoVid19 pandemic, however, we are moving the venue from the Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque to the Evergreen Turf Farm in McIntosh, NM.  This is because of uncertainties in the availability of the Balloon Park, as it is currently being used as a Covid testing site.  The sod farm site does come with some risk in that, should it rain during that time frame, access to the field could become difficult or impossible.  For that reason, we will also be charging a minimal registration fee to cover our basic expenses.   We will soon be posting more information on RCGroups and on-line registration at soarabq.org. Stay tuned!

Regards, Richard the Registrar

Wow. What a fun event this was. Weather on both days was challenging. Conditions for the fly-offs was interesting

All in attendance had a great time. Including Jax. He really appreciated the ponds being filled

Take a look at the scores in the flyoffs. Shows just how tough the conditions were.

http://www.gliderscore.com/OnLineScores.aspx

Special thanks to Tim Johnson and the CVRCC crew for running the event. Tim and company did a wonderful job. Looking forward to the August event!

Looks like those West Coast boys aren't worried about no stinkin' virus. We're all going to die from something someday! Rock on!

I just updated the F5J USA Tour standings (here) which now includes the F5J in Visalia event from last weekend. This makes 4 Tour events so far this season with more coming. Looks like the season is ramping up!

Remember to check the Tour calendar for the latest event status.

Chris
www.f5j-usa.com

I am now getting more questions about Team Selects (TS) for the 2021 F5J World Championship so here's an update. As a reminder this event is run by the USA FAI F5 Committee; Steve Manganelli is their chairman. Two of our Tour Advisory Group members are also on that committee: Steve Neu and Lenny Keer. FYI Steve M. started a TS RCG thread back in January here.

We just sent out an email to past Tour event organizers in an effort to find one who is willing to host the Team Selects this year by Oct 30. Per the TS event's written plan this is a 3 or 4 day event with no fly-offs and only 1 discard. It will also be a Tour event which will help draw more pilots. If we are not able to secure a TS site for this year then SLNT in Texas has agreed to host it next Spring.

By the way, any club that hosts the TS can have a very qualified CD Sandy Smith doing the CD honors if they wish.

Any q's let us know or feel free to make a post in the TS thread referenced above.

Thanks,
Chris

Chris, just wondering why the Oct-30 limitation?
Why not November? December? Shorter days?

Hi Oleg and good question. That is what's currently written into the Team Selection Program doc. Regardless of the reason since our whole schedule this season was turned on its head if you want to propose a date after Oct 30 I'm sure Steve Manganelli and his F5 committee will consider it and let you know.