AUSTRALIAN RULES -
course change:
We in Australia are very much aligned with the FAI Sporting Code. This is possibly because we were the country that submitted the FAI rules that were first adopted, so that World Championship could be conducted under the umbrella of FAI.
With this is mind we thought that we had a stable set of rules that would be the basis of all our other classes. So we just referred back to the FAI Sporting code for the OPERATION OF THE RACE , SCORING RULES and GENERAL RULES.
This seemed a good idea at the time - but when at the last CIAM conference rules were changed it resulted in a need to have the course 85 meters longer that we require at present - it was no longer a good idea.
This rule change that was forced upon us resulted in us in Australia - losing most our current flying sites - (Because our fields were not long enough)
This is the reason why Australia was so put out about the forced Pylon Rules Changes - and why we kicked up such a fuss.
There was no alternative but to produce our own set of Pylon Rules - that would suit our National Body (MAAA) and also the requirements of our Insurance company.
On examining the rules we found that there was no protection for the Starter who is situated - exposed out on the start line. This gave us the ammunition to make changes on a legitimate Safety Basis.
So as Chairman of the Technical Subcommittee for Pylon in Australia I was able to redraft all the Pylon Rules we have for our four classes . Australian Formula (Modified F3D) - Quarter Midget - F400 - Half A. This took me ages!
These rules were drafted with no back reference to the Sporting Code. (Click Here to get the Rules - That is if you can stand the noise!!)
In February 2002 I attended the Australian Council Conference - where all the leaders of Aeromodelling Annually meet to discuss Aeromodelling issues - and presented these redrafted Australian Pylon Rules.
These rules - much to my relief - were accepted unconditionally by all in attendance. So we now have our own Australian Pylon Rules.
THE DIAGRAM BELOW IS THE COURSE FOR THE AUSTRALIAN FORMULA(1) CLASS.
The Course was shortened 85 meters:
The Far Pylon cut judge WAS Totally ineffective at a remote distance.
We have now provided safety for the Starter.
We have eliminated the need for an extra helper - as the starter has a dual role (Also a Pylon Cut Judge).
We have now enhanced the possibility of a competitor being penalized - If he Does Cut - the far pylon .
The only alteration we have made is to reassign the duties of the starter and relocated the far pylon judge.
We have increased the side line from 45 to 60 meters (Better Safety)
We have an additional safety barrier made from Nylon Golf netting for the far pylon cage - that will contain the Starter / No2 Judge.
The pilots can no longer cheat No2 pylon - they must go around it!
In conclusion - this system does work and has definite advantages over the existing F3Drules as It provide a more accurate and safer situation to run our pylon meets - it also retains some of the flying skills that were lost with the current F3D rules!
It should be mentioned that we run an electronic clock. Which after the one minute count down, starts the race by automatically activating the cut lights at one second intervals - one color at a time. In this way the starter was able to do the radio checks - start the count down clock and then he has a minute to slowly walk over to the cage to become cut judge - safely housed in a very well protected cage.