HOW DO I BECOME A RACER?

Coming to a race as a spectator or a member is exciting enough for many of us, but if you want to race as a pilot or navigator then here’s what you need to do.

Check that you and your aircraft are eligible to race

RACE PILOTS

Only a pilot with at least 100 hours P1 experience (with 10 hrs on type if < 500 hrs PIC and 5 hrs if > 500 hrs) and a valid FAI competitor’s licence may compete in air racing.

AIRCRAFT

Any aircraft can race, providing it is capable of doing at least 100mph for the duration of the race, either flat out or with an approved throttle stop fitted. It must have good visibility forward of the lateral axis and above, forward of the normal axis. The stewards reserve the right to refuse an aircraft on safety grounds if it does not meet this requirement.

NAVIGATORS

Any adult or child with a reasonable level of maturity can participate in air racing as a navigator. Navigators assist the pilot with locating turn points, looking out for other aircraft and any other duties the pilot might agree with them and assign to them. There may only be one navigator per race aircraft.

Self-brief

Download and study the Air Racing Handbook and Air Racing Rules from the briefing room and familiarise yourself with them.

Assessment Flight

Get in touch with us to be connected with an approved check pilot who will carry out an assessment flight and familiarise you with race techniques, accurate flying, and turning - the flight content is in the Air Race Handbook and will need some practice before the check flight. Successful completion will allow you to race under supervision.

Supervised Racing

For your first few races you will need to be supervised by an experienced race pilot or navigator who is approved by the association, but don't let this put you off! They are all nice people and won't extend the requirement any longer than necessary for safety. If you are unable to fly with others for some reason e.g. you only have a single seat aircraft then please contact us to discuss your circumstances.

Membership

You must be a member of the Royal Aero Club Records, Racing and Rally Association to race in the British Air Racing Championship. Membership fees are subject to change annually and there are different categories of membership available.

Membership fees

IS AIR RACING SAFE?

All motorsport can be dangerous and Air Racing is not an exception. However, safety is the primary focus for the 3Rs using a Safety Management System (SMS), Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), a simple Pilot Assessment Syllabus (described above) and course design procedures to make Handicapped Air Racing a fun yet safe pursuit.

The SMS document and SOPs can be found in the members area of the website, which all current members have access to. You will see it is 3R's policy to operate a just safety culture where safety reporting is strongly encouraged and de-identified after submission. The follow up actions are transparent by the posting of processed de-identified safety reports.

Air racing has been taking place since before 1922 involving hundreds of races and hundreds of pilots and in that context the sport has a very good safety record.