Hi everyone,The 2005 Round the World Race is now two weeks away. It will begin at 1700Z on Sunday, February 20, 2005.The Official Rules will be published 24 hours before the Race Time. There will be modest changes in the rules, eliminating some loopholes, but the main routines will remain much the same. There will, however, be an interesting surprise or two.The exception to releasing the Official Rules on Race Weekend is posted below. Several designers are currently producing aircraft that they expect to release about Race Time. It will be useful for those designers to understand the parameters under which the Race will be run.-------------------------------Aircraft Requirements.Aircraft eligible for flight in the race are production aircraft of which at least 10 flying examples have been produced and placed in service, with realistic .air files, and which fit at least one of the following criteria:A) Piston-powered fixed-wing aircraft.:( Turboprop-powered, fixed-wing aircraft of two engines or fewer.C) Rotorcraft.Additionally, the Flight Simulator aircraft files used must be conspicuous in their description and must be widely available to the general public, either as payware or freeware, at least one week before the race commences. The aircraft may not be equipped with non-certified ferrying tanks or engine tweaks. (Aircraft with limited drop tanks, properly modeled and certified by the appropriate governing agency, are eligible.) The only modifications you may make to your aircraft are avionics and repaints. If there is any question as to whether or not an aircraft is to be considered eligible, please contact the Rules and Administration Committee (see below).-------------------------------For current notes and commentary, go to [A HREF=http://www.unc.edu/~mackuen/RTWR/notes.htm]Notes and Commentary[/A].Best to all,Matt SmithIan DaleMike MacKuen

So that you can recognize these scoundrels, note that the "Forum Names" of the organizing committe are:Matt Smith (vcaptmattsmith)Ian Dale (TornadoWilkes)Mike MacKuen (MM);-)And don't forget John Mueller's wonderful Duenna. We need beta testers. And everyone wants to get experience with it before the race begins. See his announcement and distribution system at:http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...sg_id=555&page=