
These photos were taken from the Marina Green in San Francisco, CA 10/07/08
Rules & Regulations:
THE RACE:
Each race consists of four sessions – two Qualifying rounds, Round 1 and Round 2.
RACE TRACK
The Race Track is approximately 1.4km in length and consists of a series of inflatable gates.
Pilots must complete one full circuit of the race track in each of the three rounds.
They must pass between the inflatable gates - called a gate crossing - several times in a predetermined order and in a predetermined way. They must make either a horizontal crossing or a vertical crossing, which is also known as a knife-edge crossing.
The pilots must also complete a series of predetermined maneuvers between gate crossings.
The inflatable gates consist of two cones made from an ultra-light spinnaker material that rips if it is touched by a plane. The gates stand 18m high and there is 10-14m between each cone. If a plane hits a gate, then the cone collapses immediately. It presents no danger to the pilot and can be inflated again in a matter of minutes. The Quadro is a gate made from four cones.