RACE OBJECTIVE

There will be pilot/race observers at each turn point along with Ham Radio operators who will be in touch with Race Control back at Ridgeland.  Make sure you fly your aircraft to and over the designated turnpoint at each airport on the race route, before turning on course for the next point.  You will be docked time if you fail to do so.

Objective: A fun, safe, low effort, but challenging race. Participants are encouraged to carefully evaluate the weather, flying conditions, and the fitness of their aircraft and themselves before entering.

All piston powered, single engine light aircraft are welcome to participate (normal category, experimental, ultra-light, etc.). The race gate will open at Ridgeland Airport (3J1) at 9:00 am EST and close at 10:30 am EST (no exceptions). All participating aircraft are to be “on-course” between those times. The course is 127.7 nm in length. All aircraft should be able to complete the course in less than an hour and a half.

Participating aircraft will be indexed according to the manufacturers handbook stated maximum sea level speed for each aircraft. Aircraft will race only against their own performance index- anyone can win!

How to Participate :

If you would like to participate in the 2012 Race to Ridgeland, please contact Lee Logan via email at: leeloganster@gmail.com to give us some idea of participation level and to coordinate your race “handicap index” with you. We have the maximum speeds for most light aircraft, but if yours is unusual, rare, or has been significantly modified, we will have to “negotiate” an index in your case. There is no absolute requirement to pre-arrange an index, but it will be helpful in most cases. If you are confident you know your manufacturer’s stated sea level maximum speed (and that we have it right too!), then by all means, just run the race and turn in your time.

You are very unlikely, absent extraordinary wind effects, to exceed your maximum speed index. The Race to Ridgeland is run within a narrow time constraint. This years course is a round-robin with legs on all points of the compass.

This will have the effect of canceling any positive wind effects in a relatively short race such as this. Pilots therefore, will generally have to depend upon accurate navigation, smooth flying, careful turn planning and coordination, and management of what wind effects are still available for exploitation, rather than resorting to excessive power to reach their indexes.

Though the race is on the honor system, we will naturally be sceptical of elapsed times which exceed or even closely approach any aircraft’s index. Even a very skilled pilot will have a hard time equaling his index in a five turn race at low altitudes unless he can find particularly smooth air or a co-pilot who is indifferent to low altitude turbulence! Remember, the rules require you to return to 1,000’ over each turn point. With three legs of just 30 nm or less, there will not be much advantage to be gained by climbing to significantly higher altitudes between turn points unless there is a considerable low level wind gradient at work.