On Saturday 28th January 2012 at 1100 hours a fleet of approx. 30 aircraft will launch on the start of the annual Great Northern Air Race. Traditionally started from North Shore Airfield the air race event has been run for the past 20 years. This year the race will consist of multiple leg flights flown over three days during Auckland Anniversary weekend in January. The legs are flown between airfields that are separated by various turning and photograph points and cover approximately 180 nautical miles each.

2012 route is:

Day 1 Sat 28th Jan:        North Shore – Hamilton - Taupo
Day 2 Sun 29th Jan:       Taupo – Whakatane – Whitianga
Day 3 Mon 30th Jan:       Whitianga – North Shore

The North Shore Aero Club would like to invite you to enter again in the 2012 Air BP Great Northern Air Race. The format is just like previous years, and again costumes and themes are encouraged, with great prizes for those who can bring the most interesting and extravagant teams to the event.

There are two classes for pilots to enter: RACING and CRUISING.

RACING consists of the pilot nominating the aircraft’s maximum continuous power and true airspeed, and then endeavouring to fly the route in the fastest time possible, while still accurately navigating and getting the required photographs of the turning points to maximise their score.

CRUISING consists of the pilot nominating 75% power and the flight time for each leg, and then flies the most accurate course from start to finish incorporating the turning and photograph points en-route aiming to cross the finish line with an elapsed time matching the flight-planned time.

Crews may be made up in any format, but those trying to race single-handed have quite a challenge. For example in the Cessna 172 or Piper Cherokee types the crews usually consist of three people.  A pilot, a navigator/right hand side observer/photographer and usually the rear seat occupant acts as a scribe/left hand side photographer. This does not mean that only one pilot may fly in the race, but only one pilot may be Pilot in Command per leg. If you have two or three pilots on board they may alternate roles and duties throughout the race. Also for those who wish to have a more experienced pilot along side or who do not hold a current pilot licence, having an instructor along as the Pilot in Command is an option. In both classes aircraft are racing against themselves and the clock effectively, so there is no advantage in having a fast aircraft.

Prizes are awarded in each class for each of the six legs as well as overall winners based over all four legs. Additional prizes are also awarded based on the fastest aircraft overall, sportsmanship and sponsorship prizes.  A formal prize giving is traditionally held at the North Shore Aero Club in mid to late February to announce the winners.