Certificates of Proficiency

There are three FAI Rotorcraft Certificates of Proficiency: Bronze, Silver and Gold (see Sporting Code, Section 9, Chapter 7).
The levels of pilot experience achieved throughout the scheme are recognised by the award of the appropriate Certificate when the minimum requirements are met or exceeded. The form and the colour of the badges are valid internationally.

How to order a Certificate of Proficiency

• Information and Order web page

Requirements for Certificates of Proficiency

The following licences are to be submitted and experience to be proved :

Bronze Certificate of Proficiency

• A Private Pilot's Licence, valid for rotorcraft, issued according to the regulations of ICAO and by a country member of FAI.
• A restricted Radio Telephony Licence in English Language.
• A minimum of 150 hours total flight time, at least 100 hours as a pilot-in-command.

In addition one of the following requirements must be met:

• Landing above 500 meters
• Licence rating on 2 different types of Rotorcraft
• Water crossing exceeding 10 minutes
• Flight Examiner rating
• IFR rating
• Instructor rating
• Night rating
• Participation at one Category 1 event
• Continuous flight exceeding one hour

Silver Certificate of Proficiency

• A minimum of 300 hours total flight time, 200 of which as a pilot-in-command.

In addition three of the following requirements must be met:

• Landing above 1 000 meters
• Licence rating on 3 different types of Rotorcraft
• Water crossing exceeding 10 minutes
• Flight Examiner rating
• IFR rating
• Instructor rating
• Multi-engine rating
• Night rating
• Participation at two Category 1 events
• Continous flight exceeding one and a half hours
• Holder of the Bronze Proficiency Certificate

Gold Certificate of Proficiency

• A minimum of 600 hours total flight time, 400 of which as PIC.

In addition four of the following requirements must be met:

• Landing above 1 500 meters
• Licence rating on 4 different types of Rotorcraft
• Flight Examiner rating
• IFR rating
• Instructor rating
• Multi-engine rating
• Night rating
• Participation at three Category 1 events
• Continous flight exceeding two hours
• Holder of Bronze and Silver Proficiency Certificates

Pilot lists

The FAI keeps a list of the names of all pilots holding Certificates of Proficiency.

(under construction)

CIG Meeting Registration

Online registration for the FAI Rotocraf Commissions Plenary Meeting 2017 is now closed.

If you wish to participate and have not yet registered, please contact FAI Assistant Sports Manager: Annick Hauser

The suggested hotels are:

Hotel Aulac *** - within 10 minutes bus journey from the meeting venue.
To book your hotel room, download the hotel Aulac booking form and send it directly to the Hotel Aulac.

Further hotels to suit all needs

FAI On-line Helicopter Competition

Introduction

In 2011 the FAI Rotorcraft Commission (CIG) approved the concept of an inter crew competition using the internet, to encourage helicopter crews to issue challenges across the world with each crew participating in their own country but on an agreed date.

How to participate

A crew (pilot and single bucket operator) can issue a challenge by internet or direct email to another crew outside the challenger’s country.

If the challenge is accepted the crews must agree on a date for the challenge to take place.

The challenge must be observed and ratified by an independent expert on FAI/CIG International Judge.

The full details plus photographic evidence will be sent by each crew to FAI/CIG-Official Judge and to the crew challenged.

The Judge having approved the results will ensure that they are published on the FAI CIG Webpage.
He may request further evidence.

There is no limit in the number of challenges that a crew can make in the course of a calendar year.

Award

At the end of the year the FAI Rotorcraft Commission (CIG) will decide on the overall winner. An annual trophy will be presented.

• FAI On-line Helicopter Competition - Rules and Information

Freestyle

The pilot flies alone for the freestyle competition performing skilful manoeuvres demonstrating the unique properties of the helicopter to music and sometimes with smoke canisters. Other than the pilot’s ability, the only limits are the display area in which the event is performed and the flying time which should last for at least 3 minutes and 45 seconds but must not exceed 4 minutes.

Media Events

Perhaps the greatest addition to the flying events has been the media events as they give the crowd a spectacle to watch and make the competition worthy of been screened on television. Each event is flown against the clock but because there are two helicopters on the course at the same time it created a perfect race! This adds to the pressure for the pilots and co-pilots

Parallel Slalom

The parallel slalom is a race against the clock. Two helicopters set off on parallel slalom courses complete with a bucket of water. The object of the game is to negotiate the six gates, passing each one metre gate twice in the correct order and to keep as much water in your bucket as possible. Communication between the pilot and co-pilot must be excellent to ensure the bucket is skilfully flown through the course still with the water inside it. To complete the race the bucket is placed on a 30 centimetre target table, the best time along with the least penalties wins.

Parallel Fender

Each crew has one course, one boat fender on a rope of varying lengths from 4 to 8 metres and three large containers half a metre in diameter. The object of the parallel slalom is to place the boat fender in each of the three containers. Once past the entrance gate for each container, the fender is skilfully manoeuvred in to each container then the rope is extended to the length required for placing in to the next container before it is lifted out to carry on the course. The pilot cannot see the fender as it below the helicopter and relies on his co-pilot to guide him successfully through the course and avoid such penalties as touching the side of the bucket or the ground. Time stops when the last fender is successfully placed in the last container. The time for the event is two minutes and fifteen seconds.

Slalom

Nothing challenges the crews’ ability to communicate more!

A bucket full of water is held on a 5 metre rope by the crewman out of site of the pilot, the object is to fly the bucket through a course 185 metres long by 50 metres wide containing 11 gates in total. The gates are 2 metres high by 1 metre wide. The 11 gates are flown consecutively and the pilot should avoid hitting the gates to ensure there are no penalties. The direction the pilot flies through the gates is released the day before the event. The pilot is allowed numerous attempts to pass the gate, should the bucket miss the gate this will incur penalties. After flying all 11 gates, the co-pilot extends the rope attached to the bucket to eleven metres to approach the target table. The aim of the crew is to get the bucket as close to the centre of the table and the timing stops when the rope is released by the co-pilot.

Penalties are incurred for missing or hitting the gates, losing water from the bucket, inaccurate placement on the table and not completing the course in the time of 2 minutes and 15 seconds.

Fender

Fender rigging involves accurate flying whilst manoeuvring a boat fender through a course to place the fender in a pre-determined series of containers half a metre wide.

The fender is deployed on a rope with handling aids at 4, 6 and 8 metres. The event begins with the pilot flying the helicopter through a start gate to the first container with the fender at a 4 metre length and placing the fender in the container. Before the fender is lifted the rope is extended to the 6 metre length by the co-pilot and it is then flown to the next container via another gate. When the fender is in this container the rope is now extended to the remaining length before it is removed and flown to the third and final container. The event timing stops when the third fender is placed in the last container and the co-pilot releases the rope. The time to complete the competition before penalties is 50 seconds.

Precision

The precision event tests the skill of the pilot to fly a low level course with manoeuvres. For this event two ropes with chains are attached to the under-carriage of the helicopter where they cannot be seen by the pilot nor the co-pilot.

One rope is two metres long and must not touch the ground; the other is three metres long and must not leave the ground. The pilot sets off on a course marked by two parallel lines forming a corridor with an en route distance of two hundred metres. 

The pilots will also be required to make two turns at designated corners drawn randomly, both turns are 360° but one is clockwise and the other is anti-clockwise. The event is ended with the helicopter landing on the landing line. The pilot will already have placed a marker tape on the skid of the helicopter prior to the event starting and he will now be measured to see how far he is from the landing line, this measurement is made in centimetres. The time to fly the course is 135 seconds. The penalties are accumulated for height and corridor violation and inaccuracies on the landing line.

Navigation Exercise

The most taxing of all the events which calls on all the skills of rotary wing control -airmanship, navigation, and communication.

With 5 minutes to prepare prior to departure, the crews are given the task to plot turning points which form part of the course (ranging from 70 to 90 kilometres) on a 1:250,000 map. Upon departure, the requirements en route are to identify 10 3 metre x 2 metre orange & black ground placed symbols within a search box of dimensions  5-25 Km long x 2-5 Km wide at a nominal height of 250 metres and a further 3 symbols to be overflown at 50 metres  sited at turning points; complete a target drop on to two 5 metre circles 100 metres apart which require hitting with 1 Kg rice filled bags from a height of not less than 10 metres;  and pass overhead timed gates marked on the ground by 35m long X 1m wide white lines collecting penalties for errors of each 10th of a second early or late.

The event concludes with a timed arrival to a line which is to be crossed at a given time followed by a flight manoeuvre comprising of three 90 degree turns to form a square to be completed in 60 seconds whilst descending to arrive at a finish line at the correct height to allow a skittle attached to a 7 metre rope to be deployed without striking the ground and then discharged into a 400mm square hole sited in a dog house roof.

Like all helicopter events you start with a full score and as you discover the penalties so the score will decrease!

Gallery

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