The RTWR Executive Committee are pleased to make the following announcements. We should also like to make a request for the teams to select members to the Racing Committee.

 

1. Appointments.

 

First, Austin Davis has graciously accepted a position on the Executive Committee. Second, we are absolutely delighted that Eamonn Watson has volunteered to take on the role of Communications and Technology Officer for the race.

 

2. Race site.

 

Eamonn has set up the race site for RTWR 2013 here: http://www.fsrtwrace.net/ .

 

3. Expanded governance.

 

For RTWR 2013 and possibly going forward, we should like to announce an expanded governing structure for the Race.

 

Race Management Group.

Call the overall structure the Race Management Group. It includes three committees, the Executive Committee, the Racing Committee, and the Resources Committee.

 

Executive Committee.

The Executive Committee remains in place. Its small membership works by consensus to find common ground. The Executive Committee makes final decisions about the overall features in the race. It also designs special requirements and the race course. During the race, it provides elaborations on and interpretations of the rules. Members take a secondary role in the leadership of the teams and refrain from building the teams' strategic flight plans.

 

Racing Committee.

The Racing Committee consists of three to six members, with at least one and a maximum of two selected from each team for a renewable term, to cover the current race. The Racing Committee has overall authority and responsibility for managing the day-to-day running of the race. From their number, they select a daily Race Master who exercises executive authority over the daily operations. The Race Master organizes the Duty Officer roster – to be staffed by members of the Racing Committee, the Executive Committee, and the Resources Committee.

 

The Racing Committee also serves as the primary appeals institution. For controversial or difficult decisions, or in response to participants appeals, the Race Master forms an Appeals Board consisting of three members. Whenever practicable, these members come from the Racing Committee and one member comes from each of the teams. The Appeals Board establishes the facts, consults with the Executive Committee about rules interpretations, and deliberates over the outcomes. Their majority decision is final. (Rarely, and only when fundamental issues are at stake, the Executive Committee will hear a secondary appeal.)

 

Resources Committee.

The Resources Committee is made up of volunteers appointed by the Executive Committee to execute specific functional operations. For example, we expect a Communications and Technology Officer and an Aeronautics and Aircraft Eligibility Board. (These are constituted in bare bones form for this year.) While serving, the members of this Committee are full-fledged members of the Race Management Group.

 

Deliberations and Race Participation.

Whenever possible and practicable, the entire Race Management Group will deliberate over decisions. The primary decision-making responsibilities vary, of course. But good decisions reflect an open sharing of expertise and judgment. The Executive Committee retains ultimate responsibility for making the race a fun and fair event for all.

 

All members of the Race Management Group participate in the Race. While Executive Committee members limit their team-specific leadership and planning functions, other Group members are encouraged to play as vigorous a role as they wish. It is important that the members be directly involved so as to understand what pilots think and want – people often have different ideas about what makes for a good event. The goal of race governance is to provide a challenging and enjoyable experience that reflects the views of all participants.

 

4. Selection of Racing Committee Members.

 

We ask that the veterans on each team develop a process and then select one or two Racing Committee members to serve for the 2013 Race. The selection of two members (rather than one) reduces the burden of service for any single pilot. We ask teams to pick volunteers who are race-savvy enthusiastic participants and who are willing to give some time and effort to the overall community. A February 1^st deadline makes sense so that the Racing Committee members can participate in the final stages of the race setup.

Little Bits, courtesy of Big Bird:

 

A small announcement of content

 

Rob Ibey,

for the Executive Committee

Happy days Thanks for the heads up Rob

RTWR 2013 Rules Draft v0.90 Release

 

The Executive Committee is releasing a final draft of the Round-the-World Race rules for 2013. This draft has been through a number of revisions and should be in nearly final form. The only major component missing is the "Routing" information that will be released in the week before the actual event.

 

We may have to make minor corrections and clarifications between now and the final official release. That said, we expect that this draft should be very close to the actual rules governing the race.

 

The draft release may be found here:

https://dl.dropbox.c..._2013 v0.90.zip

 

--M

Thanks! This will be an interesting read!

A Trijet White List for RTWR 2013

 

After listening to the membership, we have decided to institute a Trijet White List.

 

Such an explicit White List has the following virtues: it (a) clarifies eligibility ahead-of-time, ( B) limits the search effort dedicated to finding advantage in flight dynamics, and © eliminates the last-second surprise aircraft.

 

If you have any additions that you dearly want to fly, please let us know over the weekend and we shall take a look. (Expanding the list is a matter both of the normal eligibility criteria and maintaining competitive balance in the racing fleet.)

 

At the URL below is a document outlining the relevant sections of the revised Special Rules.

https://dl.dropbox.c...13 (2-9-13).pdf

RTWR 2013 Official Rules Released

 

The Official Rules have been released. You can find them here:

 

http://www.fsrtwrace.net/rules.php

 

These are very similar to the "Draft v0.90" that you may have seen.

 

Main changes in the Rules since the draft released a week ago.

 

1. The Routing Information is Included.

(Special Rule 3.)

Planners might find this section useful.

 

2. Trijet Whitelist.

(Special Rule 4 and Appendix B.)

When flying jets on wildcards and continental jet legs, pilots may choose from the Trijet White List in Appendix B. Note that the pilot and team are responsible for selecting, and documenting, choices from this list. (The type, model, and modeler must be correct. The Duenna must confirm the Mmo/Vne speed limits.) Pilots should be cautious about "repaints" or "conversions" that change the Mmo/Vne parameters.

 

3. The need for documentation on the pilot's aircraft is emphasized.

(Special Rule 5 and General Rule 7a.)

Upon taking the baton, the pilot should announce his aircraft's type, model, and modeler. Good form says he does this immediately so that everyone knows his aircraft to be legal. However, if he forgets, he has a deadline one hour after releasing the baton to make that declaration. Teammates may post this information as well. A failure to declare the aircraft in a timely manner incurs a documentation penalty of five (5) minutes. (This rule is repeated in both the General Rules, where it fits nicely, and in the Special Rules, where it originated. In the future, we'll trim the language.)

 

4. Number of Thoroughbred legs is clarified as limited to ten (10) instances.

(Special Rule 10 and Appendix C.)

This was the intent all along. (There was a typographical mistake in the White List documentation.)

 

5. Communications.

(Special Rule 15.)

Note these additions:

 

The Official Race Site is here:

Flight Simulator Around the World Race (www.fsrtwrace.net)

NOTAMS will be published on the Official Site.

Immediate notifications by a Duty Officer or committee member may be posted on the FSRTWR Forums here. (There may be delays moving from the forum posting to the formal website posting.)

Communication with the Duty Officer is accomplished via a posting on the special "Duty Officer" forum on the FSRTWR Forums here. (The Duty Officer will frequently check that forum for new messages.)

You may send a private email to the Executive Committee [email protected]. This email will be checked only occasionally. It is not your main contact point.

 

These notices merely collect information available elsewhere and highlight the availability of two-way communications between the pilots and committees.