The UK National XC League

RULES For the submission of Cross Country Flights

Purpose The UK National XC League aims to encourage competition by enabling pilots to compete nationally against all comers in a manner that is fun whilst, at the same time, promoting safe and responsible flying.

Eligibility

• Only flights that originate* within the geographic boundaries of the United Kingdom of Great Britain will be accepted. Provided that, at no time during a flight are the rules governing controlled and/or restricted airspace contravened and local rules regarding access and use of takeoff and landing sites are not infringed.*Note: All Flights originating in N. Ireland which may end in Ireland must be submitted with waypoint data expressed in UK OSGrid Refs - We have NOT incorporated the Irish Grid into our database.
• Pilots MUST be suitably qualified and experienced. It is a requirement that pilots only attempt Cross Country flights after obtaining their Pilot rating (or equivalent). It is, and will always remain, the responsibility of every pilot flying Cross Country to be aware of other air users and of any controlled or restricted airspace along their likely track. If, during a flight, a pilot is in any doubt at any time they should land.

Competition Season Flying seasons run from 1st November to 31st October the following year with a winter season ending on the last day of Feb each year

Composition of League Tables Complete Results are only published on our website at http://www.uknxcl.org.uk, a subset of the results are forwarded to Skywings, monthly, for publication at their discretion. There are a multitude of different league tables for you to look at. Some qualify for trophies at the end of each season; others are there just for your information and interest.

• Individual League Tables
  • Separate league tables are compiled for Class 1 and Class 5 Hang Gliders and Paragliders, but for convenience and comparison they are displayed together
  • Each entry in a league table is compiled from a pilots best six flights in the appropriate category.
  • For six flights to count in our Main, (and Ladies), League table a pilot MUST submit at least one Open Distance flight AND one Defined flight along with any four other flights
• Club League Table
  • The Club League table is compiled from the best six flights from a Clubs top four scoring pilots. For the Club League no distinction is made between Class 1, Class 5 or PG flights, ALL submitted flights are used in compiling this league regardless of the class of HG/PG used.
• Home Nations League
  • The Home Nations League table is compiled from the best six flights from a Home Nations (ENG, SCO, WAL, NI) top ten scoring pilots. For the Home Nations League no distinction is made between HG Class 1, Class 5 or PG flights, ALL submitted flights, from pilots who have declared their Home Nation, are used in compiling this league regardless of the class of HG/PG used.
• Winter League Tables - Are essentially a snapshot of the above taken on the last day of Feb in any given season

Prizes

Prizes for League winners and various categories of flight are awarded by, and at the discretion of, the BHPAs Hang Gliding Competitions Panel

Categories of Flights ANY Flight, Open Distance, Goal, Out and Return and Triangle, may now be submitted with a MAXIMUM of 4 Waypoints, that is, Start, Finish and, up to two, intermediate Waypoints. Any flight submitted with more than 4 waypoints will be rejected

a) Open Distance Flights

1. From any start point to any finish point with up to two intermediate turn points.
2. Distance scored will be distance flown between waypoints.

b) Goal Flights

1. From any (pre)Declared start point to any (pre)Declared finish with up to two (pre)Declared intermediate turn points
2. A completed Goal Flight will score 1.25 times the distance flown
3. An incomplete Goal Flight will score Open Distance (see above)

c) Out and Return Flights

1. From any start point and back with at least one turn point or optionally 2 turn points.
2. A completed Out and Return will score 2.0 times the distance flown.
3. An incomplete Out and Return will score Open Distance (see above).
4. A Defined Out and Return will score 2.5 time the distance flown

d) Triangle flights

1. From any start point via 2, or 3, turn points and back to the start point.
2. Note: For the purpose of recording your flight in the NXCL database, only submit the coordinates of the 3 corners of your completed triangle plus the coordinate of the first corner again (i.e. a total of 4 waypoints)
3. For a flight to be recorded as a Triangle it must be complete and satisfy the FAI's 28% Rule, (shortest side must be greater than, or equal to, 28% of the distance flown).
4. A completed Triangle that satisfies 28% rule will score 2.5 times the distance flown.
5. A completed Triangle that does NOT satisfy 28% rule will score as Out and Return (see above).
6. An incomplete Triangle will score Open Distance (see above)
7. A Defined Triangle will score 3.0 times the distance flown

e) Defined Flight

A defined flight is a Goal, Out and Return or Triangle that was declared no more than 24 hours before takeoff and where such declaration was recorded and witnessed.

Ridge Lift

Regardless of the above, a flight will only be eligible for any bonus score if at least 60% of the distance flown is out of ridge lift

Minimum Flight Distances All Types of XC Flights are accepted subject to a minimum distance flown, as follows...

• Open Distance - 10km
• Goal - 10km
• Out and Return - 10km
• Triangle - 10 km

Tow Launched Flights

A flight which began with a tow launch will only be accepted if the pilot released from the tow at a height of 2000ft AGL or less.

Special Cases

There are none, All flights from both competitors in other competitions and from the free flying community will be treated in an identical manner

Submitting Flights

• ALL Flight entries must be submitted through the online form provided on our website and should be submitted within 28 Days of the date of the flight
• The latest version (2010) accepts flights of all types
• We initially accept all flights submitted on trust so they may be entered into the database and published on the website as soon as possible.

Verification of Flights after Submission The UK NXCL competition is run on trust. Pilots submitting Flights are responsible for the accuracy of information submitted. The competition is policed by your peers. In the event of any dispute over a particular flight entry, it will be deleted from the results until such time as the submitting Pilot is able to provide irrefutable evidence in support of any claim they make. To include

• Witness statements
• Time stamped Photographs
• GPS Track-log data

General Information

Contact

Email us on All issues relating to the UK NXCL through our contact form

Information and announcements will be made on our Notes page

Entry Fees

For 2010 entry of flights into the UK NXCL Competition is FREE OF CHARGE

Seasons For the purposes of our league tables, a season runs from 1st Nov to 31st Oct in the following year. Our winter season runs from 1st Nov to 28/29th Feb in the following year. You do not have to make separate submissions for winter and full seasons, submit each flight once only, our database handles the rest

Season 'All' or 'All Time' Where you see a reference to seasons 'All' or 'All Time' we are referring to the period from season 1991 to date. Prior to 1991 computerised flight records where not kept, as far as we know

Update frequency Updating this website with the latest information is an automated process; we envisage running this process weekly unless, during any week, no flights have been submitted for inclusion.

League tables, explanatory notes It is mostly self explanatory which flights are included in which league tables. However, flights included in the Main and Ladies League tables are constrained as follows: For the maximum (6 from 2004 onwards) number of flights to count one MUST be an Open Distance flight, one MUST be a Defined flight.

Nations League Introduced in 2007, requires Pilots to have declared their Home Country, (Eng, Sco, Wal, NIR), to be included. The league is compiled from combining the scores of the Top 10 Pilots declaring from each nation

Flight Bonus Scores Triangle, Out and Return and Goal flights can earn a bonus, as described in the rules. Over the years these bonus factors have been adjusted. So, for the record here's what they were at various times:

• 1980
  • Out and Return - X2.00
  • Triangle - X3.00
• 1998
  • Goal - X1.50
  • Out and Return - X2.00
  • Triangle - X3.00
• 1999
  • Goal - X1.25
  • Out and Return - X2.00
  • Triangle - X3.00
• 2004
  • Goal - X1.25
  • Out and Return - X2.00
  • Defined Out and Return - X2.50
  • Triangle - X2.50
  • Defined Triangle - X3.00

Distances and Waypoints We derive your flights score by calculating the distance between your submitted waypoints and then applying any relevant bonus. The purpose of recording waypoint data in the UK NXCL database is to allow us to generate flight track plots. You may submit your flights through our online form When you submit a flight

• Waypoint Coordinates These may now (Dec 2009) be entered as Decimal degrees, OS Grid References, to various resolutions, or be selected by clicking a map. Instructions on entering Waypoint Coordinates are available on the Flight Submission Form

A growing number of pilots are using GPS's to record their flight tracks. We can now accept GPS Track log data, in support of a flight, in IGC data format, provided datum used for your positional information is WGS84 (or WGS-1984). Information supplied in attached .igc files is only used to create a visual representation of flight tracks using Google Earth and Google maps. Currently, we do NOT optimise your flight from information contained in your .igc file