2018 South African Open - Pre PWC

1.           ENTRY

1.1.        The Championship is open to all Member and Associated Member countries of the FAI who may enter any number of competitors not exceeding 125.

2.           GENERAL COMPETITION RULES

2.1.        REGISTRATION
On arrival, all pilots shall report to the Registration Office to have their documents checked and to receive supplementary regulations and information. The end of the official Registration period is considered to be the official start of the championship. The following are required:

2.1.1.    Pilot qualifications

2.1.2.    Evidence of competitor's nationality

2.1.3.    Pilot's valid FAI Sporting Licence

2.1.4.    Receipt for payment of entry fees by the closing date.

2.1.5.    Satisfactory evidence of glider airworthiness

2.1.6.    Certificate of Insurance as detailed on Entry Form

2.2.        The Registration office will be open from 16:00 to 19:00 on Saturday 08 December 2018 and again on the morning of 09 December 2018 between 07:00 and 08:00. The closure of Registration is considered as the official start of the competition.

2.3.        There will be a Pilot Briefing at the Meet Centre at 20:00 on Saturday 8 December 2018.

2.4.        ALL pilots need to complete a competition indemnity before permission to access the Take Off area can be granted.

3.           REST DAYS
There will be no official rest days.

4.           COMPLAINTS AND PROTESTS
Pilots are invited to first settle any disputes with fellow pilots before lodging a complaint.
Should the dispute not be settled, a complaint may be made to the Meet Director or his deputy, by any pilot, in writing, to request a correction. It should be made with the minimum delay and it will be dealt with expeditiously.
If the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome the pilot may make a protest in writing to the Meet Director or his deputy.
The time limit for protests is 4 hours after the publication of the provisional task results or the results of the complaint, except that after the last contest task it is 1 hour. The protest fee is R500. It will be returned if the protest is upheld.

5.           TAKE-OFF METHODS

5.1.        Foot Launch from hill site. Take-off site is Pampoenfontein and back up site is Dasklip. Details can be found on the Map.

6.           RADIO TRANSCEIVERS.
There are only 2 frequencies that can be used during the competition.  The first is the Flying and Safety frequency of 141.600MHz and the second will be the Retrieve and Coordinating frequency of 141.625MHz.  There will be no “team frequencies” and pilots are not allowed to receive information or assistance via any communication.  Radio frequencies are meant to be kept open for communication.  Only frequencies allocated by the organisers may be used.  

7.           RETAKE-OFF
A competitor will be allowed a second re-launch to attempt the task within the stated take-off period. A failed take-off attempt or safety problem arising immediately after take-off which results in a landing will not count as one of the permitted number of take-off attempts.  However, the pilot's take-off time will be taken from the time of the first take-off attempt if a ground start is specified.  A re-launch pilot will not take priority over other pilots who have not yet launched at all.  All pilots wishing to use the retake-off must land in the official “Turkey patch”.  The official transport will leave “turkey” 45 minutes before the close of the window.

8.           TASK PERIOD.
Times of the window open for take-off and times for the closing of the window, turn points and last landing will be displayed on the Taskboard on take-off. Any window extension policy will also be displayed on the Taskboard. The minimum period of time that the launch window will remain open for the day to be considered valid is 1 minute per pilot.  Launch Window Extension Time will be announced at the task briefing and may only be used when the launch has been closed for safety reasons.

9.           WIND SPEED
The maximum wind speed in which a task shall be at the discretion of the Meet director and the advice of the Safety committee.

10.      SCORING

10.1.      FS Software by FAI will be used with GAP latest scoring formula.  Leadout Points and Drop task will be used as well as Arrival Time points.

10.2.      It is the Pilot's responsibility to ensure that their tracklogs are submitted to LiveTrack24.com.  Instruments/Trackers/Smartphones should be configured to transmit to LiveTrack24.com

10.3.      In the event that there was an error in the transmission of the tracklog, it is the Pilot’s responsibility to download his/her tracklog in IGC format (with a valid G-Record) from their own flight instrument and upload it to the relevant task on LiveTrack24.com.

10.4.      Pilots should ensure that they keep a copy of their tracklog in IGC format with a valid G-Record should the organisers request a copy for validation.  Preferably this should be kept on your flight instrument but a downloaded copy would be acceptable as long as it contains a valid G-Record.

10.5.      Team per country Scoring – Teams per country must be announced before the first task and consist of 5 pilots maximum, with the 2nd and 3rd pilot scoring per day for the team. More than one team per country can be entered.

10.6.      For the scoring purpose, guest pilots are counted as competing pilots.

10.7.      Scoring a stopped task.  When a task is stopped, the pilot’s scores will be determined from their GPS track log position 5 minutes before the time that the task was stopped.  The Altitude of the pilot at this time will also be used in the calculations of the final points.

10.8.      The map datum used will be WGS84 and the format for coordinates will be 
ddd mm.mmm'

10.9.      Scoring will be done according to the FS Software scoring programme, the version  using the GAP 2015 scoring formula. GAP parameters will be discussed and decided at the Pilot Briefing.  The following parameters are a guideline and must be voited in at the first briefing before task 1.

• Proposed Nominal distance  =  50 kilometers
• Nominal time = 2 hour
• Number of pilots expected and goal = 20% of pilots that took off
• Goal score is calculated by time difference

11.      THERMALLING
All pilots must read and understand Chapter 16, Thermalling Rules and Procedures of the FAI Sporting Code Section 7B

12.      GLIDER RULES

12.1.                Only certified gliders are allowed up to EN 926 or LTF 91/09. It is not permitted to modify the glider in any way, except for the length of the brake main-line. Open class gliders are permitted, but cannot win a class, a day or the competition.

12.2.                The pilot must fly in the homologated weight range.

12.3.                Uncertified sizes of a certified model that was available for sale earlier than 1st November 2011 will be permitted.

12.3.1.         Registration database:  On registration, pilots have to specify the model, size and the serial number of the glider to be flown during the competition.

12.4.                Gliders will be checked after a complaint. In addition, the MD or TD can request that any pilot is checked. Every pilot must give his glider to the organisation for checking or comparing immediately upon any such request.

12.5.                Checking methods:

12.5.1.          Comparison with other gliders of the same model and size.

12.5.2.         Verification from manufacturer in regards to line configuration

12.6.                The TD will nominate a skilled person to check.

12.7.                Two levels of Penalties may be applied:

12.7.1.         1st offence: Zero in the task.

12.7.2.         2nd offence: Disqualification from the competition.

13.      WEIGHT CONTROL

13.1.         Pilots should specify their weight on the website as well as the glider weight range. This weight can be checked at the event registration by the staff and corrected in the database.

13.2.         Pilots may volunteer to check their weight (at registration or on take-off) and adjust their weight (before task briefing).

13.3.         The pilots may be checked before taking off or after landing. If there is any doubt, their nominal weight will be checked again immediately.

13.4.         If their all-up weight is out of their glider’s weight range, they will be penalised without tolerance on the measurement.

13.5.         If they are carrying over 33 kg of equipment, including ballast, they will be penalised without tolerance on the measurement.

13.6.         Penalties for weight infringement:  1st offence: Zero in the task, 2nd  offence: Disqualification from the event.

14.      PENALTIES

14.1.         Cloud flying:
1st offence - zero for the day;  2nd offence - expelled from the competition

14.2.         Wrong turn direction:
1st offence – warning;  2nd offence – 100 points then doubling for every offence after that.

14.3.         Dangerous and aggressive flying
1st offence – warning;  2nd offence – 100 points then doubling for every offence after that.

14.4.         Aerobatics after reaching the goal line:
1st offence – warning;  2nd offence – 100 points then doubling for every offence after that.

14.5.         Top Landing after the launch window is open
1st offence – 100 points then doubling for every offence after that.

14.6.         Failure to report back:  Responsible for the costs of search and rescue.

14.7.         Too much ballast:
1st offence – 100 points;  2nd offence – zero points for the task;  3rd offence – expulsion from the competition

14.8.         Glider modification
1st offence - zero in the task;  2nd offence - disqualification from the competition

14.9.         Weight infringement
1st offence - zero in the task;  2nd offence - disqualification from the competition.