rvmills
Well Known Member
This is a call out to European RV-4, -6, -7 and -8 owners and/or pilots that may be interested in participating in a new international pylon race series being created by a group of pilots and businessmen headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal. The event series is known as the Air Race Championship, or ARC, and the website for our group is: www.airrace.pro
Our group did an inaugural proof of concept race in July, 2014, and has spent the past year preparing for the 2016 race season. In 2014 we ran two classes of aircraft in a multi-event, weekend-long show that included both circuit racing around pylons and a match-race slalom event. Between race events were airshow acts and 100th anniversary events for the Portuguese Air Force. Pilots from various countries in Europe, and several Reno Air Race pilots from the Sport Class and Jet Class also participated, as instructors, pace pilots and race pilots. The performance on Sunday was viewed by an estimated 200,000+ spectators at Cascais Bay, a beautiful seaside resort community west of Lisbon.
The two classes we ran in 2014 were the Extreme Class (Extra 300s and 330s), and the Vintage Class (Yak 50s and 52s, plus one Pitts). For 2016, in addition to Extreme and Vintage, we are working to develop a third class, to be called Sport Class, which at this point is proposed to be an all-RV class! I have been asked to reach out to the European/International RV community to invite owners and pilots to become a part of this fun and exciting event series.
The season will begin in January 2016 with a Pylon Race Training Course (PRTC) conducted in Ponte de Sor, Portugal. PRTC is similar in nature to the Reno Pylon Racing Seminar, and will include formation flying evaluation and training, basic aerobatic flying evaluation and training, and both pylon circuit race training and pylon slalom race training. Aircraft will be provided for this training.
The racing takes place over water, around inflatable pylons, yet is not at all a copy of the well-known air race series many are familiar with. It is, in fact, side by side racing of up to 8 aircraft. The circuit racing takes place on an oval course slightly larger than the Reno Formula/Biplane course, and the slalom event includes multiple passes up and down a straight 3-pylon course, with half cuban 8 reversals. During the actual racing events, the slalom course will be run by two aircraft, side by side, in a match-race elimination format. PRTC will include both over-land and over-water training, and will be conducted by a team of veteran racers, both from the Reno Sport and Jet classes, and ARC racers from Europe.
The main event in the race series will be the Lisbon race on 2-3 July 2016. Other race series events are being created now, with possible locations including the Valencia and Alicante area in Spain and potential locations on the South Coasts of France and England. The final schedule of events is in development now.
For those that participate, there will be a registration fee for PRTC, which will be refunded if the pilot continues on and participates in actual races. For pilots and owners that participate in racing, the following expenses will be paid:
- Aircraft ferry expenses from European home airport
- All fuel expenses while training and/or racing
- Hotel expenses while at the training or racing venues
- Meal expenses
In addition, prize money and media revenue sharing will also be paid.
At this point, we are reaching out to European RV pilots and owners to make invitations and gauge the level of interest in helping us form the Sport Class (RV class) for these races. Requirements and contact information follow:
Aircraft requirements are:
RV-4, 6, 7, or 8, in excellent mechanical condition, with airworthiness/operation certificates appropriate to be flown in the host countries. Engine sizes up to and including IO-360 are allowed, and larger displacement engines (IO-375/390) will be considered. The aircraft must pass a technical inspection prior to racing. Owners will be requested to make space available on the aircraft for sponsor logo placement, though this is negotiable in the financial arrangements with the promoters. RV owners that are not interested in racing, but would be willing to lease their aircraft to ARC for training and/or racing are also welcome to become involved. In fact, we are currently seeking RV aircraft for PRTC in January.
Pilot experience requirements are:
1000 hours minimum total time (waivable to 500 hours with specific experience background)
25 hours time in type (all RV time counts toward this time)
Basic aerobatic competence required
Low-level aerobatic competence desired
Formation flying competence desired
All applications will be considered, and evaluated for appropriate experience and background, so we encourage all interested pilots to apply.
I anticipate possible interest from U.S. and other non-European RV pilots as well, and the ARC board will welcome these applicants, with the following stipulations: RV aircraft from outside Europe are not desired at this time, due to the expense and risk involved in shipping the aircraft. If a non-European pilot has access to a European RV, and has, or is willing to obtain, an EASA pilot certificate, and wishes to race in ARC, expenses for the pilot and plane will be paid, as listed above, but only from the European base for the aircraft. Expenses a pilot pays to the aircraft owner for the pilot?s use of the aircraft (lease, etc), and expenses for the non-European pilot to transit from their home to the aircraft location, will be the responsibility of the pilot.
If you are an RV owner and/or pilot, and are interested in participating in ARC, please contact our primary point of contact for questions and applications, who is our Director of Training, Fernando Marinho Pereira (he goes by Marinho, pronounced Marine-yo). His e-mail address is [email protected].
I am also happy to answer any questions you might have, so please feel free to contact me via PM, or via e-mail at [email protected]. Please also visit our website at www.airrace.pro for additional information. We look forward to working with RV owners and pilots as we create an exciting and unique international air race series!
Cheers,
Bob
A few photos from the 2014 Cascais ARC:
Our group did an inaugural proof of concept race in July, 2014, and has spent the past year preparing for the 2016 race season. In 2014 we ran two classes of aircraft in a multi-event, weekend-long show that included both circuit racing around pylons and a match-race slalom event. Between race events were airshow acts and 100th anniversary events for the Portuguese Air Force. Pilots from various countries in Europe, and several Reno Air Race pilots from the Sport Class and Jet Class also participated, as instructors, pace pilots and race pilots. The performance on Sunday was viewed by an estimated 200,000+ spectators at Cascais Bay, a beautiful seaside resort community west of Lisbon.
The two classes we ran in 2014 were the Extreme Class (Extra 300s and 330s), and the Vintage Class (Yak 50s and 52s, plus one Pitts). For 2016, in addition to Extreme and Vintage, we are working to develop a third class, to be called Sport Class, which at this point is proposed to be an all-RV class! I have been asked to reach out to the European/International RV community to invite owners and pilots to become a part of this fun and exciting event series.
The season will begin in January 2016 with a Pylon Race Training Course (PRTC) conducted in Ponte de Sor, Portugal. PRTC is similar in nature to the Reno Pylon Racing Seminar, and will include formation flying evaluation and training, basic aerobatic flying evaluation and training, and both pylon circuit race training and pylon slalom race training. Aircraft will be provided for this training.
The racing takes place over water, around inflatable pylons, yet is not at all a copy of the well-known air race series many are familiar with. It is, in fact, side by side racing of up to 8 aircraft. The circuit racing takes place on an oval course slightly larger than the Reno Formula/Biplane course, and the slalom event includes multiple passes up and down a straight 3-pylon course, with half cuban 8 reversals. During the actual racing events, the slalom course will be run by two aircraft, side by side, in a match-race elimination format. PRTC will include both over-land and over-water training, and will be conducted by a team of veteran racers, both from the Reno Sport and Jet classes, and ARC racers from Europe.
The main event in the race series will be the Lisbon race on 2-3 July 2016. Other race series events are being created now, with possible locations including the Valencia and Alicante area in Spain and potential locations on the South Coasts of France and England. The final schedule of events is in development now.
For those that participate, there will be a registration fee for PRTC, which will be refunded if the pilot continues on and participates in actual races. For pilots and owners that participate in racing, the following expenses will be paid:
- Aircraft ferry expenses from European home airport
- All fuel expenses while training and/or racing
- Hotel expenses while at the training or racing venues
- Meal expenses
In addition, prize money and media revenue sharing will also be paid.
At this point, we are reaching out to European RV pilots and owners to make invitations and gauge the level of interest in helping us form the Sport Class (RV class) for these races. Requirements and contact information follow:
Aircraft requirements are:
RV-4, 6, 7, or 8, in excellent mechanical condition, with airworthiness/operation certificates appropriate to be flown in the host countries. Engine sizes up to and including IO-360 are allowed, and larger displacement engines (IO-375/390) will be considered. The aircraft must pass a technical inspection prior to racing. Owners will be requested to make space available on the aircraft for sponsor logo placement, though this is negotiable in the financial arrangements with the promoters. RV owners that are not interested in racing, but would be willing to lease their aircraft to ARC for training and/or racing are also welcome to become involved. In fact, we are currently seeking RV aircraft for PRTC in January.
Pilot experience requirements are:
1000 hours minimum total time (waivable to 500 hours with specific experience background)
25 hours time in type (all RV time counts toward this time)
Basic aerobatic competence required
Low-level aerobatic competence desired
Formation flying competence desired
All applications will be considered, and evaluated for appropriate experience and background, so we encourage all interested pilots to apply.
I anticipate possible interest from U.S. and other non-European RV pilots as well, and the ARC board will welcome these applicants, with the following stipulations: RV aircraft from outside Europe are not desired at this time, due to the expense and risk involved in shipping the aircraft. If a non-European pilot has access to a European RV, and has, or is willing to obtain, an EASA pilot certificate, and wishes to race in ARC, expenses for the pilot and plane will be paid, as listed above, but only from the European base for the aircraft. Expenses a pilot pays to the aircraft owner for the pilot?s use of the aircraft (lease, etc), and expenses for the non-European pilot to transit from their home to the aircraft location, will be the responsibility of the pilot.
If you are an RV owner and/or pilot, and are interested in participating in ARC, please contact our primary point of contact for questions and applications, who is our Director of Training, Fernando Marinho Pereira (he goes by Marinho, pronounced Marine-yo). His e-mail address is [email protected].
I am also happy to answer any questions you might have, so please feel free to contact me via PM, or via e-mail at [email protected]. Please also visit our website at www.airrace.pro for additional information. We look forward to working with RV owners and pilots as we create an exciting and unique international air race series!
Cheers,
Bob
A few photos from the 2014 Cascais ARC:
