Fly-In - Combat Rules

Special Rules: the following changes to AMA combat rules will be used.

Airplane:

Any plane or fuel system may be used. Sport 40 plain bearing engines such as the Brodak 40, LA 40 etc. may be used. The fuel system must be fixed in the air.  Swing carbs, trick venturis, or any other tricks to beat the speed limit will not be allowed.

Speed Limit:

7.3 seconds for 2 laps.  The planes may be timed at any time they are airborne for the match.  Initially the planes will be timed after takeoff, before the signal to begin combat is given.  We expect to see 2 lap times of around 8 sec or more when the plane is towing a full streamer.  The planes must maintain normal level flight above 15 feet. If a plane is too fast, the pilot will have to land and slow it down. The pilot will lose all airtime scored to that point.  There are no restrictions on handle position or walking the circle, but flying below15 feet, stepping outside the pilot's circle to slow the plane down, or landing to avoid being timed will result in forfeit of the match.

Sportsman Category:

The judges will assign flyers to this category, for the Sportsman trophy, according to their assessment of the flyer's experience and skill level before the contest starts.  Any flyer in the Sportsman category can ask to be moved to the open category if they wish.

Matching:

Random draw first round. The judges will randomly seed less experienced pilots with more experienced flyers for safety reasons. Pairings will be based on scores in following rounds, 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, etc.  In case of rematches, the next lower score will be matched- 5-7 and 6-8 instead of 5-6, 7-8.  Some rematches amongst the lower scoring flyers will probably occur.

Match Scoring:

Strictly AMA rules for all scoring, penalties, and match procedure, except the cutting the string is a zero(0) score.

Clean Match Bonus:

If the pilots complete the match without a midair collision, cutaway, or line tangle/crash, both pilots will receive a 200 pt. bonus.  A midair collision will be counted if one or both planes land/crash as a result of contact  between planes or planes and
lines. A line tangle/crash will be counted if one or both planes land/crash with the lines wrapped at least one full turn.

Contest Scoring:

Final placings will be determined by total scores, including any match bonuses.  Flyoffs will only be used to break ties.

All other AMA Combat rules apply.