80mph Combat action at the 2010 Chehalis Cup. Gene Pape photo.
By Buzz Wilson
After running the Chehalis Cup 80mph Combat series for two seasons, it is time to make some rules changes.
When the rules were originally drawn up, they were based on Vintage Diesel Combat. Over the past two seasons, it became obvious that if you went down, it was virtually impossible to win a match. Going back to D-bat, you could pit the plane and get it back in the air in less time than the value of a cut. This is not the case with glow engines, shutoffs, pilots starting their own engines and slow fat people running for airplanes. A second issue is that some flyers are using “Big Iron” that does not get the fuel mileage of the 15's; not to mention the inability to get a good setting or hot restart.
To overcome these shortcomings the rules committee in a secret meeting has made the following changes for the 2011 season.
There will be no down time or up time clock. Each time the plane is down a one-cut penalty will be accessed. This includes not being airborne at the end of the one-minute starting period.
Each match will have a one-minute starting period. If the engine is not started and the plane launched within the starting period a one-cut penalty will be accessed. A match will consist of the one-minute starting period and three minutes of combat.
A contest will consist of no more than five rounds of combat. The winners will be determined by the contestants with the most cuts less down time cut deductions.
If there are an odd number of contestants, the contestant with the fewest cuts will fly an additional match. At the conclusion of match, flying the flyer with the most cuts less down time will receive first place. In the event of a tie, individual matches will be compared to see how the flyers did against each other or common opponents. If a decision cannot be reached, the flyers may elect to fly an additional match or decide the winner via a coin toss.
The winner of the C-Cup will be decided based on total cuts for the four contests that make up the C-Cup.
Dates for the 2011 series will be posted in Where the Action is.
See the complete 2011 C-Cup rules below: Click here to download rules as a pdf document.
This page was upated Dec. 8, 2010