Hayward Air Rally

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2023 - 59th Annual Hayward Air Rally - Course Information

2023 T-Shirt Art


The 2023 Hayward Air Rally was held May 20, 2023.  This year's event was a single day, single leg course ending in Livermore.

Congratulations to our 2023 Winner, a first time racer who flew solo:

Race 77  Shawn Britton

Race 77

Special Awards:

  • Masters Class - Race 11
  • Adversity Award - Race 00 (Did not start due to fuel sump leak)
  • Long Distance Participant - Race 74 (Home Base CGF, Cleveland, OH, 1875nm from HWD)
    • On top of that, they were Beijing residents on a general aviation tour of the US!
  • Tail End Charlie - Race 6
  • Best Fuel Score - Race 3 (0.1 gallon error)
  • Best Time Score - Race 9 (1 second)
  • Best Rookie - Race 77
Rally statistics (21 competing aircraft):
  • Course length - 225.2nm to timing line Hazel, 249.9nm to LVK

  • Fastest on the course (to timing line Hazel) - Race 69, Cozy, 1:26:16, average speed 156.6 kts
  • Slowest on the course (to timing line Hazel) - Race 9, C-182, 2:35:01, average speed 87.2 kts
  • Total flight time (to timing line Hazel) - 40:39:11
  • Total distance flown (to timing line Hazel) - 4729.2 nm
  • Average speed (to timing line Hazel) - 116.3 kts

  • Least fuel used - Race 66, Vans RV-6, 13.9 gallons, 18.0 nm/gal
  • Most fuel used - Race 9, C-182, 36.7 gallons, 6.8 nm/gal
  • Total AvGas pumped - 530.9 gallons
  • Total distance flown (to LVK) - 5247.9 nm
  • Average fuel efficiency - 9.9 nm/gal
PDFs of the official results and rally materials are available below:

Here's the 2023 Photo Gallery

This year's rally course included:

  • 1 Start Point (HWD)
  • 3 Mandatory Checkpoints
  • 1 Optional Bonus Checkpoint
  • 2 Optional Bonus Timing points
  • 1 Mandatory Timing Point
  • 1 End Point (LVK)

The checkpoints, and therefore the course, change every year.  The required checkpoints which define the course are announced the day before the race (see the race schedule) at the briefing and are documented in the race book provided to each team.  The exact course flown is chosen by the pilot of each aircraft.  Remember, this is not a speed race, it is a proficiency event; accuracy counts.

So that prospective racers can get better idea of the materials provided during the briefing, a PDF copy of the 2023 Race Book is available for download here.

Checkpoints are to be overflown by Rally aircraft. Each checkpoint can be adequately identified from the air and a multiple choice question must be answered to prove that you properly identified each checkpoint. The answers to the 2023 checkpoint questions are here.

The mandatory airborne timing point at Checkpoint Hazel is overflown and Rally officials on the ground record the time overhead the timing line.  In 2023 we used custom built ADS-B data loggers (we call it the RallyAware, based on the PiAware project) to more precise calculate timing line crossings based on aircraft-generated position reports.

The 2023 course is described here to provide an example only, the 2024 course will be different, and will not be announced until shortly before the race during the briefing.

The 2023 course included the following checkpoints and stops:

  • Hayward (HWD) - Race Start
  • Antioch (N 37º 58.77' W 121º 44.83')
  • Bonus Timing - Linden VOR
  • Football Field (intersection of the LIN 046 radial and the HNW 157 radial)
  • Chicken Ranch Casino (N 37º 55.58' W 120º 26.87')
  • Oakdale (O27)
  • Flying M (CA03)
  • Bonus Timing - El Nido VOR
  • Obstruction (charted 3nm NE of KLSN)
  • Checkpoint Hazel Timing at New Jerusalem (1Q4)
  • Livermore (LVK) -  Land, Fuel

The planned 2023 course:
2023


Actual routes flown by the racers:
(missing data for some tracks at south end of course)
2023 Tracks

2022 Logo