<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div>While reading up on the new FAI rules I came upon the following paragraphs regarding flight time:</div><div><br></div>from Section 5.1.11<br><div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; ">If there is a frequency conflict, the competitor must be allowed a maximum of one </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; ">minute for a radio check before the start of the 3 minute starting time. The timer will audibly notify </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; ">the competitor when the minute is finished and immediately start timing the 3-minutes starting time. </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; "><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; ">The starting time ceases when the model aircraft commences its take-off roll. The timing device is re-started when </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; ">the model aircraft commences its take-off roll, and time will stop when the model aircraft first </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; ">touches the runway after completion of the flight. The total flight time allowed is 8 minutes. </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><br></span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; ">from Section 5.1.12</span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; "><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; "> The competitor has eight minutes to complete the flight; timing to start when the flight line </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; ">official gives the signal to the competitor to start his model aircraft and ending when the model </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; ">aircraft first touches the runway after completing the flight.<b> </b></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; "><b><br></b></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">5.1.11 seems to say that the competitor gets 8 minutes from the time the TO roll starts. 5.1.12 says the competitor gets 8 minutes from the time s/he is told to start the model aircraft. </span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><br></span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">If it is 8 minutes total that seems short to me because someone could spend 3 minutes of the time getting the engine started and only have 5 for the flight. I know sequences are shorter now, but, we've had pilots exceed 10 minutes at the Nats so I would think 2 fewer minutes would make even the shortest sequences tough to do. </span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><br></span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">Any rules gurus out there want to comment? Perhaps electric fliers are getting a break after losing out on the batteries-as-fuel issue. </span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><br></span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">Jeff Hill</span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><br></span></font></div></div></div></div></body></html>