What about this idea:Each team gets $100 dollars and the team that reaches the furthest distance wins. Fuel needs to be bought at actual prices, using airnav.com. Screenshots indicate the amount of fuel used. Landings made after at least 50 miles are flown are awarded $10.This type of race would not require constant forum monitoring since time is not relevant. You might even wait a few hours at an airport to get favourable winds. Engine management becomes more important to keep the fuel flow low.Any comments?

Sure! I'll put $5 worth of gas into a winch, pocket the rest & use my ASW28 glider ;-)LPXP

I think it would be a neat idea, but can we trust each other to be honest. I just flew the 177RG last night, I had the performance charts out and noticed if you bring the power back to 19" / 2100 rpm, you can cruise faster than a 172, but get the fuel economy of a 152.

Please join the mailing list I've set up for planning discussions so we can get started. The idea sounds good.mailto: [email protected] with subject "subscribe raceplanning"

Ok, I'm on the list now.

This sounds like a interesting race idea. We must fly efficiently and conserve fuel wisely in order to succeed. Would there any sort of limitation on aircraft type? I think a Piper Cub would be good for this sort of thing. Put a gallons in and she will go for miles on end and if you get a little tight on fuel, turn off the engine and glide downward for a few min LOL.

>This sounds like a interesting race idea. We must fly >efficiently and conserve fuel wisely in order to succeed. >Would there any sort of limitation on aircraft type? This is relevant to a question I asked in this forum some time ago and got no replies.The question is "How do air races work"? Obviously you can fly fast , expensive fuel guzzling machines or slow , cheap(er) economical ones . So do air races incorporate some kind of handicap system?Currently here in Australia every year, we have a big solar powered vehicle race -- the object is to see who can get from point A to point B the fastest in a solar powered vehicle. Trouble is that these vehicles are not very realistic in terms of normal, everyday use - so I don't really see the point of the race. Better for it to have some stricter qualifications. I guess it is helping to develop the solar technology .Barry

Usually the originator of the race sets certain rules for the race. For example, the rules for the recent RTW Challenge stated that all airplanes must be prop-driven and single- or twin-engined, and all flights must last no more than 2 hours with the possible exception of long over-water flights (South America to Africa, for example...). Beyond that, it's up to the competitors.The originator could specify other rules that limit the aircraft further. For example, only use aircraft with a Vmax of 175 or less. Aircraft that have fixed gear. MSFS Default aircraft only. umm... :) You get the picture.So, no, there's not really a handicap system other than whatever is specified by the creator. As long as an aircraft fits the rules, it's okay to fly.

Yes, and the stricter the rules re equipment type the more cunning the competitors have to be in things like route planning, fuel planning etc. to get the last ounce of performance and endurance out of their machines.Just look at Formula 1 racing (both on land and water), or the specialty racing competitions that are limited to non-modified vehicles of one particular type.