Rules

See: www.fai.org/gliding/SGPRules

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 Local Procedures

for the

South African Qualifying

Sailplane Grand Prix

                      New Tempe Airfield

Bloemfontein South Africa .

3^rd to 9^th December 2006.

A         TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

1                    Scrutineering

            Scrutineering will take place in the Bloemfontein Gliding Club Hangar prior to the 3^rd December.  The pilots are required to be present with all their equipment and papers for the glider.

2          Instruments that must be removed from the sailplane

The following instruments may not be fitted:

- Bohli, Schanz, KTI or other gimballed compass

- Turn indicator

- Artificial Horizon

3          Procedures for checking aircraft mass

Initial Weighing

            The organizer will initially provide the following weighing operation. The results of this operation will be recorded and made available to the pilot concerned:

a)       glider empty, i.e. without pilot and parachute but including loose items such as thermos, drinks, tie-down equipment, additional clothing, water ballast (if applicable) etc.;

b)      Pilot with parachute;

c)       Glider ballasted to meet the common wing loading requirement, see annex A.

d)      Compute reference “main wheel weight” in “towing out” configuration with all removable equipment on board to conform to common wing loading requirement.

Take-Off mass

A check of the glider mass is intended to verify that the take-off mass will not exceed the mass required to meet the common wing loading requirement.

            Regular weighing

a)       During the official practice period, scales and officials will be available at the weighing points every day at 9am. All pilots will be weighed separately. The organizers will not take responsibility for the results of weighing.

b)      On all championship days all gliders will be weighed in their “towing out” configuration with all removable equipment on board at the weighing point on their way to the grid. The main wheel weight determined by the scrutineers will be used as the reference weight. Gliders exceeding their reference weight must discharge water ballast to achieve their reference weight at the weighing point without incurring penalties.

c)       A mass check will be required after re-lighting (re-launch) for another championship launch if water ballast is added. Re-ballasting the aircraft must be performed at the parking area. The competitor must be prepared for the time delay this check may cause.

B         GENERAL  FLYING  PROCEDURE

1          Units of measurement

            Units of measurement used on the pilot briefing sheet: unless otherwise stated distances will be expressed in kilometres and altitudes in feet or flight levels where appropriate

2          Radio frequencies to be used during championship

Transmissions may only be made on the frequencies prescribed by the organizers.

            The frequency for the Launch, Finishes and Landing will be 124.8

            The frequency for the Start will be 124.8.

            The frequency in the Bloemfontein Glider Window 124.8

The common radio frequency that shall always be used by competitors for flight safety shall be 123.40

No additional frequencies will be specified for the teams.

3               Carriage of GNSS data transmitters for public displays

The organizers require competition sailplanes to carry data transmitters to enable the public display of GNSS flight records during competition flights. The actual position of the sailplanes shall be displayed without a time delay. The units are of small size, easy to install, and do not interfere with the usual instrumentation. The pilot does not have to switch them on or off. Any interference to prevent them from working is prohibited

Lots will be drawn to nominate the pilots carrying tracking units for the first day. Afterwards the units will be allocated every day to the leading pilots in the overall ranking after the previous day.

C       GRIDDING

1               The launch grid

Gliders will be gridded in line on runway 01/19. Prior to gridding, gliders will be parked on the western edge of this runway in their grid order.

Lots to be drawn at the first team captains’ briefing shall determine the grid order.

The grid will be rotated by 1/7the of the entry on a daily basis.

The grid order will be displayed every morning at 9am on the official board in the briefing tent.

2                    Requirements for discharging of water ballast on the grid

Water ballast may be discharged on the grid. If refilling of the tail tank is intended, the whole procedure of discharging and refilling of the tail tank has to be observed by the Competition Director.

D        LAUNCH   PROCEDURES

1                    Launch procedure for motor gliders

            Motor gliders shall launch by aero tow only.

2                    Release areas.

5 to 10 km north of New Tempe

3                    Maximum tow altitude

The maximum tow altitude will be 600m AGL.

4                    Release

Pilots shall not release until after the tow pilot has rocked the wings of the tow-plane. Pull-ups before releasing are prohibited.

5          Re-lights (re-launch)

A glider may be re-launched provided it has landed within the boundaries of the airfield.

The glider will be re-launched as soon as possible.

If several pilots need a re-launch they shall be re-launched in the same order as they landed back.

Gliders requiring re-ballasting will have to be reweighed outside the grid. The competitor must be prepared for the appropriate time delay. 

E        START PROCEDURES

1           Opening of the start line

The Start Line shall normally be opened 20 minutes after the take-off of the last sailplane, which was in its specified grid position on time, but may be extended to allow all gliders to climb to the specified start height.

For a valid start  pilots must be in the Start Area, defined as the all the designated airspace south of the extended start line in the New Tempe Glider Window, below the Start Altitude given at the briefing, for at least 2 minutes before their start.

Once the Start Line is open the pilots must start by crossing the Start Line in the direction of the first Turn Point..

2           Radio Procedures

The Organizers will make the following radio messages on 124.8:

-          After the last launch: "The Start Line will be opened at ‘y time’ and the maximum start altitude is ‘z ft " (altitude expressed in QNH).

-          Every 5 minutes before the start time “The Start Line will be opened in yy minutes, the maximum start altitude is z ft.

-          At 3 minutes before the Start:  "The Start Line will be opened in 3 minutes".

-          At 2 minutes before the start:  "The Start Line will be opened in 2 minutes, pilots must now be below the maximum start altitude".

-          1 minute before the start:  "The Start Line will be opened in 1 minute".

-          10 seconds before the start: "Start in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO!"

3          Delaying or cancelling the opening of the start line

The Competition Director may delay or cancel the opening of the Start Line if:

(i)          Pilots are unable to reach the specified start altitude.

(ii)         He considers that the conditions are not suitable for the task to be flown safely. 

(iii)                It is dangerous to continue launching or the weather deteriorates so that the task may not reasonably be attempted.

F           FINISH AND LANDING PROCEDURES

1          Arrival announcement

Competitors shall announce their arrival on the finish line frequency (124.8) by giving their contest number at the distance 10 km before the Finish Line. The acceptance reply will be the contest number.

2               Mandatory reporting points

At the end of all tasks the pilots will have to pass through a mandatory reporting point at Peilkop, The reporting point has a radius of 2km.

When arriving at this point competitors shall indicate if they will make a direct landing or a speed finish on the finish line frequency (124.8) by giving their contest number and their intent. The acceptance will be the contest number and the wind speed

3               Direct landings

Direct landings will be made on the western side of the airfield, using the runways and taxiways designated on the airfield layout. Gliders with the least energy should position themselves to use the most westerly landing strips

4.                   Speed Finishes

Speed finishes will be made to the East of the landing strips designated for Direct Landings. After crossing the finish line gliders will pull up and join a left hand down wind for runways 36 or 31, or 18 grass in the event of a southerly wind. Dangerous flying will be penalised.

5.         Final Glide.

Gliders flying below the level of any ground objects on their approach path within 10km of the finish line will be regarded as flying dangerously and may be penalised accordingly. Gliders on the same flight path should not dive below fellow competitors.

G         OUTLANDING

            A pilot who lands out must call the competition control within a reasonable time to provide the Organisers with the following information:

(a)                The pilot’s safety (injuries if any)

(b)                Glider condition (i.e. damage if any)

(c)                Any damage to third party property

(d)                Contact telephone number

(e)                Location co-ordinates (GPS)

(f)                 Location name and nearest main feature

(g)                Number of turn points rounded.

(h)                Arrangements for recovery / retrieve

The pilot’s retrieve crew shall inform Control before departure from New Tempe to collect their pilot and glider.

H         SCORING

1          Handling of flight documents

All flight documentation, including GNSS recorders and outlanding certificates shall be handed in by the pilot or the team captain at the competition office within 30 minutes of the glider’s landing time at the contest site even if the task was cancelled and the competitor did not make a valid start. In the case of an outlanding the flight documentation must be handed into the competition office immediately the glider returns to the contest site. The organizers may also require back-up documentation. This must be delivered to the competition office within 2hrs of the pilot or team captain being notified that the backup logger is required. Non-compliance may be penalized.

Instead of handing in GNSS recorders it is allowed to hand in downloaded flight documentation as an IGC-file on diskette, USB-stick, CF- or SD-card. In this case the original flight documentation on GNSS recorder must be made available to the organizers, if required by them.

I           PROTESTS

1          The value of the protest fee

            The amount of the protest fee is EUR 100.  The protest fee shall be returned if the protest is upheld, or is withdrawn prior to the hearing by the Referee.

J          General.

1          Cooperation with the media.                                                                              

The SAQGP is a media event and pilots are required to make themselves available to the media when required to give interviews or to be photographed.

2          Dress Code.

Pilots are required to wear the flying suits that have been provided to them for all official functions, briefings, during gridding and for prize giving. The objective is that the pilots should be easy to recognise and have a clear identity.

Annex A

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