British Air Racing Champions
(Jubilee Trophy)
As with motor racing, points are awarded according to each aircraft’s race position at the finish. Points are accumulated throughout a racing season to derive the Champion.
Racing season
A typical handicapped air racing season comprises 8 venues and 16 races. The maximum points available for a win in each race is 100, awarded on a sliding scale.
The winner of this cumulative championship is known as the British Air Racing Champion and they receive the Jubilee Trophy. This silver cup was originally presented in 1952. The runner-up is awarded the Brian McBride Trophy, a silver bowl on a wooden plinth.
Championship History
The British Air Racing Championship was developed in the early 1980s with the reformation of the former Royal Aero Club Competition Committee into the Royal Aero Club Records Racing and Rally Association (3Rs).
As soon as aircraft could stay airborne for predictable amount of time pilots started to pit their skills and aircraft against each other in personal, national, and international races.
The earliest air races soon gained an international audience. Large cash prizes were offered for the winners. Perhaps the epitome of air racing is the Schneider Trophy.
As aircraft design diversified and became more specialised, handicapping was adopted in Britain to level an otherwise unfair race field. The first handicapped race was in 1922 and was sponsored by King George V. The King’s Cup remains the only air race to receive royal patronage.
In 1931 the race rules were updated to allow amateur pilots to compete in standard production aircraft. These rules still apply today albeit with some minor modifications in the interests of safety and fairness.
Although handicapped air racing was initially a British phenomenon the concept has been adopted to stage air races worldwide.In the early 1980s the British Air Racing Championship was developed with the reformation of the Royal Aero Club Competition Committee into the Royal Aero Club Records Racing and Rally Association, allocating points according to position in the field at the finish of each air race, accumulating throughout a racing season.
Racing season
A typical handicapped air racing season comprises 8 venues and 16 races. The maximum points available for a win in each race is 100, awarded on a sliding scale.
The winner of this cumulative championship is known as the British Air Racing Champion and they receive the Jubilee Trophy. This silver cup was originally presented in 1952. The runner-up is awarded the Brian McBride Trophy, a silver bowl on a wooden plinth.
Championship History
The British Air Racing Championship was developed in the early 1980s with the reformation of the former Royal Aero Club Competition Committee into the Royal Aero Club Records Racing and Rally Association (3Rs).
As soon as aircraft could stay airborne for predictable amount of time pilots started to pit their skills and aircraft against each other in personal, national, and international races.
The earliest air races soon gained an international audience. Large cash prizes were offered for the winners. Perhaps the epitome of air racing is the Schneider Trophy.
As aircraft design diversified and became more specialised, handicapping was adopted in Britain to level an otherwise unfair race field. The first handicapped race was in 1922 and was sponsored by King George V. The King’s Cup remains the only air race to receive royal patronage.
In 1931 the race rules were updated to allow amateur pilots to compete in standard production aircraft. These rules still apply today albeit with some minor modifications in the interests of safety and fairness.
Although handicapped air racing was initially a British phenomenon the concept has been adopted to stage air races worldwide.In the early 1980s the British Air Racing Championship was developed with the reformation of the Royal Aero Club Competition Committee into the Royal Aero Club Records Racing and Rally Association, allocating points according to position in the field at the finish of each air race, accumulating throughout a racing season.
Jubilee Trophy Winners
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