Hosted by St Augustine RC Flyers
3054 Allen Nease Rd, Elkton, FL 32033

The St. Augustine RC Flyers are hosting a sanctioned Florida Soaring Society (FSS) ALES contest on March 13 and 14th. We will fly two one-day contests with FSS awards presented each day.

Club/location info here: http://staugustinercflyers.org/ and here

General Information
- Entry fee is $15 each day
- Pilots Meeting will be 9:45AM Saturday and 8:45 AM Sunday
- We will end the event by 3PM Sunday to support our long distance travelers
- Number of groups in each round will be determined by the signups each morning
- Given the continuing situation and concerns with COVID we will not be providing lunches this year. Plan accordingly
- We will be following our FL St John’s County guidelines of maintaining six feet separation and wearing masks as appropriate.
All other general/rules/safety information and any Q&A will be provided at the pilots meetings each day.
Camping and Field Amenities

No camping is permitted on the field. There are a few RV parks in close proximity, the closest would be COMPASS (Compass RV Resort: St. Augustine, FL - Sun RV Resorts) There are also several hotels within quick driving distance of our field.


ALES Rules:

The Rules: (Numbers in parentheses refer to the 2019-2020 AMA Soaring Contest Rules. Other rules in that document also apply here.)
• Altitude limiters will be set to 150 meters and the task time will be 7 minutes. The CD reserves the option of changing the task time from one round to the next, if needed due to weather conditions.
• We'll fly strive for eight rounds if possible each day, and if we do then there will be one throw-out round. We will discuss dropping a round at the pilots meeting.
• Flights will be Man-On-Man with a pre-generated flight matrix. The number of groups will be determined each day based on the number of competitors. Flight scores will be normalized to 1,000 points and landing points will be added after normalizing.
• The landing tapes are ten meters long with 5 points per meter, for a maximum of 50 landing points.
• There will be an interval of at least 5 minutes between group flights.
• Safety zones will be announced at the pilot's meeting and models that infringe on those zones will score zero points.
• A model that comes to rest with its nose over 75 meters away from the pilot's landing target will score zero points for the round. (6.7.1) we’ll have a laser range finder available and markers will be placed on the field to aid in deciding whether a measurement is needed. When in doubt, pilots will be entitled to measurements with the rangefinder.
• Launch positions and landing tapes will not be assigned. You can launch from any tape that's not already taken, but for landing points you must land at the same tape that you launched from.
• The launch window will be started and ended by buzzer sounds from a P.A. system. There will be a 10-second window from the beginning of the first buzzer to the beginning of the second buzzer during which you must launch (7.2.3). If you miss that window then please don't launch at all, just take your plane off of the field.
• All pilots will launch in the direction specified. Pilots may redirect their flight path during launch provided this is done in a safe manner and does not interfere with the other launching pilots. A collision or other significant disturbance to another launching plane due to a pilot redirecting his flight path will result in zero points for the offending pilot for that round. (7.2.9)
• You are encouraged to coordinate with the pilots next to you before the launch to avoid launching at the same time.
• Time will start when the model aircraft has left the hands of the competitor or helper. The model aircraft must leave the hands of the competitor or helper with the motor running. (7.2.10)
• Fractions of a second shall be dropped when entering flight times. (This is known as the “truncated” time.) (7.1.3).
• No downwind landings. If approaching from upwind you must pass the flight line, turn, and land heading upwind. Do not fly low over the landing zone.
• If you hit yourself or your timer (6.5.4), land inverted (6.5.3), or shed parts on landing (6.5.2); you'll get zero landing points.
• If you hit someone else (6.5.4), violate the safety rules for landing, land out of bounds, or exceed one minute over the task time (7.1.4), you'll get zero points for the round.
• Restarting your motor (7.2.12) or handing off your transmitter (2.6.2.1) also mean zero points for the round, but is sometimes necessary.
• Variometers and other telemetry devices are permitted. (2.10.1) Flight stabilization systems or devices are not permitted (2.10.2).

I'm in

1. Scott K

going to try to make both days

I think I can be there both days. No conflicts at the moment.

Roster:
1. Tom B
2. Scott K
3. Steve B
4. Mike G

Our neighbors at the BMX track and the County folks have been having issues. We are required to keep our front gate "closed" at all times. There will be signage to indicate that we have a contest and to close gate after entry. We appreciate our visitors helping us with this!

1. Tom B
2. Scott K
3. Steve B
4. Mike G
5. John K

I am hoping to join you on Saturday. Will the field be available on Friday afternoon for practice? Thanks. Ron

1. Tom B
2. Scott K
3. Steve B
4. Mike G
5. John K
6. Ron S

1. Tom B
2. Scott K
3. Steve B
4. Mike G
5. John K
6. Ron S
7. Cory S

I would like to propose a mixed launch for this event

It will be ALES only. It's been scheduled this way for sometime, but more importantly our field cannot support winch launch at this time. Will be a while before we can again use the "north" area of the field for those types of events.

1. Tom B
2. Scott K
3. Steve B
4. Mike G
5. John K
6. Ron S
7. Cory S
8. Allan E

"I am hoping to join you on Saturday. Will the field be available on Friday afternoon for practice? Thanks. Ron"

Ron, I will PM you with my contact number for field access Friday; Thanks for signing up.
John K

Thanks John

I'm in for Saturday, maybe on Sunday

Saturday for me also
I have the "award tags".