Classic B Team Race
Flushed with the outstanding success of the new Vintage A racing class, a small group of Victorian enthusiasts felt the time was right to re-introduce Class B team race based on the halcyon days of the sixties. So Classic B was born in Australia with five teams rolling up for the first ‘modern day’ race at Knox on February 7th, 1993.
Since that memorable day, the Class has gone from strength to strength and is now flown in all states. Numbers are now rivalling popular racing events like Vintage A, F2C and Goodyear at major meets.
Classic B is based on Class B team racing that has been flown competitively worldwide since the early 1950’s. Model specifications have changed very little since them. In the 1960’s it had a tremendous following in Australia with huge entry numbers.
At the end of a Nationals, the Advertiser Trophy for Class B was flown with the top teams from all States competing. It was the highlight of a Nats!
Classic B is also currently flown in the United States and Canada although the engine rules are slightly different over there. British Barton B racing is also very similar except for the engine rules. This event is now all the rage in England with participation exceeding everyone’s expectations.
There are many reasons why Classic B enjoys its popularity. Probably first is the ease of flying. These bigger racers with powerful 5cc glow engines handle the wind much better than smaller A Class models. Having bigger wheels, they take off better on long grass and flying on longer 60’ lines means the pilots have it easier in the middle.
Suitable engines are readily available. The range of OS, FP, Thunder Tiger, Brodak and Norvel plain bearing .25’s are the engines of choice. The rules allow modifications.
The huge choice of models to build is another attraction of Classic B. You can design your own or there is a long list of available plans that date from to the early 50’s to the present day. The top designs come from Australia, America and England.
The classic era from the sixties arguably produced the best looking team racers of all time. These superb models are still flying today. You will see them race whenever a Classic B event is on your local control line contest calendar
Rules
| 4.18 |
CLASSIC B TEAM RACE |
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| REGULATIONS & RULES for AUSTRALIA for year 2000 onwards (Based on 1965 USA Rules)
OBJECTIVE. It is the purpose of team racing to fly semi-scale realistic airplanes in direct competition through a series of heat races and a final.Original model designs that can be documented to have been designed, constructed and actually flown in competition prior to January 1, 1966 are eligible to compete in this event. Any other model can be built, but must conform to all the specifications of the 1965 rules. |
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| 4.18.1 | MODEL SPECIFICATIONS: | |
| (a) | Engine shall be as listed below. It shall be completely cowled with only glow plug, needle valve stem, cut-off lever, (if fitted) fill-vent tubes, or exhaust permitted to protrude through the cowling.An air intake & small access hole for choking is permissible.Allowable engines: Any engine (max. .30 cid) manufactured for commercial sales prior to January 1, 1961. Any “modern” (max. .30 cid) plain bearing engine. Any of the following modern ball race engines are allowed: OS FX .25 GMS .25 Enya SS.25 BB (diesel or glow) Thunder Tiger PRO 25 BB Rothwell R320BR Irvine .25 ASP .25 Glowplug engines in the above list of modern ball race engines must use a 1/4 “ x 32TPI standard thread glow plug. No Nelson plugs, Turbo plugs or button heads are permitted in the modern ball race glowplug engines listed above. No tuned pipes are allowed. No metal engine mounting pans are permitted. |
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| (b) | Model shall have a cockpit or cabin containing a dummy pilot’s head with both being in proportion to the model. The dummy pilot must have direct forward vision to the outside of the model. The minimum height of the fuselage, including the canopy/cockpit profile, shall be 3-3/4” and the minimum fuselage width shall be 2”, both height and width to be measured at the longitudinal position where the dummy pilot’s head is located. Model shall have a minimum effective wing area of 125 square inches. | |
| (c) | Model landing gear shall be of the two wheel, side-by-side type. The minimum wheel diameter is two inches (50mm sizes are acceptable) with a 1/16th (1.5mm) negative tolerance. | |
| (d) | Fuel used will be the contestant’s choice. Any substance banned by the MAAA will not be permitted. | |
| (e) | Fuel tank, including filler line and fuel line from tank to needle valve, shall hold no more than 30 cubic centimetres. Fuel systems shall be subject to measurement at any time. Refueling shall be by squeeze bottle only. No multifunction valves may be used. The overflow can be either a pipe or a schraeder valve. Engine shutoffs are recommended but are not compulsory. If fitted they must not be used in flight during a race. The penalty for this is 30 seconds added to the race time. Shutoffs may be used during the warm up and after completion of race. | |
| (f) | Model shall have the contestants AUS number on top of a wing panel. | |
| (g) | Strengthening is permitted, including the use of glass fibre for covering. The use of any carbon fibre or kevlar is not permitted. | |
| (h) | Team Racers shall not be acceptable if they are pod-and-boom, flush cockpit, fibreglass or carbon fibre shell, single wheel, or flying wing designs. | |
| 4.18.2 | MODEL SAFETY REQUIREMENTS: | |
| (a) | All models must pass a general safety inspection by the Contest Director or his nominated assistant. | |
| (b) | Line length, measured from centre line of the model to face of hand grip of control handle, must not be less than 18.3m, or longer than 18.45m. | |
| (c) | Two line systems are required and each line shall have a minimum diameter of .015”. No internal line hook-ups are allowed. | |
| (d) | The lines and model control mechanism shall withstand a 20G pull test at the handle. | |
| 4.18.3 | FIELD SAFETY REQUIREMENTS: | |
| The following changes in field layout and racing safety requirements are based on the FAI Sporting Code for F2C Team Racing. Dimensions, figures and methods stated here must always be in agreement with the current FAI Sporting Code in the future. | ||
| (a) | Pilots must stay near the centre of a 3metre radius “centre” circle and walk around the centre while flying. | |
| (b) | Pilots must move to the edge of the “centre” circle to land for refuelling or at the finish of a race. Pilots must keep one foot inside the “centre” circle during the start of the race and during pit stops. | |
| (c) | During a race, any pilot not flying (unable to continue or having finished), must take a sitting or kneeling position outside the “centre” circle and keep out of the way of other pilots. He, or she, may not leave the Racing Zone until the finish of the race. | |
| (d) | Pilots should be crouching, straddling the “centre” circle for the start of the race and for take-off after refuelling during a race and move back to the centre of the circle as quickly as possible when racer becomes airborne. | |
| (e) | The “Pitting” or “Flying” circle shall be a radius of 22.1m from the centre of the flying area with six equally spaced pitting segments. Crew members must keep themselves and their equipment outside the “Pitting” circle during the race. | |
| (f) | Mechanic(s) must not at any time enter the flight circle without the consent of the Contest Director, and then must enter radially to retrieve models. | |
| 4.18.4 | ENTRY AND QUALIFICATION: | |
| (a) | The individual team shall consist of one pilot and not more than two crew members. | |
| (b) | While the entrant need not necessarily be the pilot, he, or she, must be a member of the team. | |
| (c) | A team may enter two models. | |
| 4.18.5 | RACES: | |
| (a) | Heats will be flown over 70 laps with one compulsory refuelling stop. The final will be over 140 laps and will consist of teams who have flown the 3 fastest heats. | |
| (b) | A two-minute preparation period consisting of a 90 second warmup and a 30 second cool down will apply. Towards the end of the cool down “10 seconds” will be announced with a loud countdown of the last 5 seconds ending with a sharp, clear “GO” signal. | |
| (c) | At that moment the crew members must be standing upright close to their model and the pilots must be crouching on the border of the “centre” circle with the control handle near the ground below the knees. | |
| 4.18.6 | RACING ETIQUETTE: | |
| (a) | Pilots must keep their controlling hand and the model on a plane perpendicular to a line joining their shoulders and passing through the centre line of their body, pilots must also keep their controlling hand on the vertical line between the middle of the chest and the top of the forehead, except when passing, taking off and landing when an exception of three laps is allowed. | |
| (b) | Models must fly at a normal height of between 2 and 3 metres, except for passing, take-off or landing. | |
| (c) | Passing must be done by overflying, and the pilot must warn his fellow competitors of his intention to overtake them. | |
| (d) | The model is not in any case allowed to fly over 6 metres high when passing a competitor. | |
| (e) | The pilot should always find himself on an imaginary line between the centre spot of the circle and the model. | |
| (f) | The model is allowed to fly a maximum of two laps without the motor running. | |
| (g) | Landings take place inside the “Pitting” circle. | |
| (h) | The model must touch the ground with it’s motor stopped before the mechanic is allowed to catch it. | |
| (i) | After the mechanic has caught the model, he must be to the pitting area at (or immediately behind) the point at which the model was stopped. If that pitting area is already occupied, he must go to the next pitting area ahead of his stopping point. A pitting area is occupied if a mechanic is standing at such an area, even if his team’s model is still in the air. | |
| (j) | Should the model stop between two pitting areas, the mechanic must go to the nearest free pitting area. | |
| (k) | After the mechanic has caught the model, but only then, the pilot is allowed to put one foot outside the “centre” circle. | |
| (l) | During the refuelling and the restart of the motor, and until the time when he releases the model, the mechanic must keep the model in contact with the ground by at lease one point and with the centre line outside the “pitting” circle. During that time the pilot must be crouching (*) straddling the “centre” circle. He keeps his handle and his lines near the ground below the knees until the model starts again. | |
| (m) | The model completing the race in the shortest time shall be declared the first place winner with others following in order of race completion times. After all models have completed the race, pilots should land and clear the area for the next race. | |
| (n) | Any conduct or flight manoeuvre by a pilot that endangers, or results in damage to any other participating pilot or his model will constitute a foul and cause immediate disqualification from the race in which it occurs. Pilots will be warned for whipping, walking the back of the circle, pivoting or blocking. A team will be allowed two warnings during a race. A third offence will mean disqualification. As with Vintage A Team Race, interpretations of the Classic B Rules should be relaxed with only blatant offences resulting in disqualifications. | |
| 4.18.7 | SUPPLEMENT TO 2000 “B” T/R RULES | |
| Due to the fact that old racing engines are not readily available, are expensive and those who have or can get them don’t always want to use them in competition, a modern engine group has been included with the old engines as allowable power. | ||
