December 2 2022 - Read Warren Day's welcome message HERE for the start of the 2023 F5J Tour season!

The F5J USA Tour is a recognition and awards program that consolidates season scores for pilots that participate in one or more qualifying F5J contest events. Pilot rankings will be web-published throughout the season and awards will be given at the end of the contest season. The year-end results will be promoted in the RC soaring community with the goal of increasing F5J awareness.

The purpose of the F5J USA Tour program is:

To establish a competitive series of regional F5J contests
To provide a promotional platform that enables F5J contest growth in the USA
To provide an F5J contest series suitable for preparation to compete in F5J World Championship events

Current Calendar and Pilot Standings

Registering your F5J event - Clubs and contest groups wanting to host an event can submit an online application. Registration is currently OPEN for the 2024 contest season!

Note that registration opens on November 1 and closes on August 15.

RC Groups - An active thread is available for Tour announcements, contest info, and general Tour discussion:

Celebrating 7 Years!

Organization

Warren Day, Chairman

Tour Advisory Group - This group is responsible for helping manage the Tour. It includes the following key supporters and pioneers of USA-based F5J:

Oleg Golovidov
Lenny Keer
Jim McCarthy
Jim Monaco

John Armstrong
Tom Kiesling
Ed Dumas
Chris Bajorek

Thanks to our volunteers for helping to make USA F5J the best it can be.

For a financial declaration statement regarding the Tour's collection and use of fees please click here.

Support the F5J USA Tour - Shop at our online store!

2022 F5J USA Tour Awards

In addition to the posting of pilot standings throughout the year, there will also be award "hardware" given to the top 10 season finishers. These awards are either handed out at the first event of the Tour season in early December in Arizona or they will be mailed out. Note that individual contest event awards are still handled by the local clubs. Here are the winners from last year.

2022 F5J USA Tour Awards Ceremony Pictures

2022 Awards ceremony at F5J in the Desert, Maricopa AZ, Dec 3 2022 - Top L to R: #1 Jim McCarthy, #2 Brady Baggs, #3 Steve Willcox, #4 Ed Dumas, #5 John Butler - Bottom L to R: #6 Tom Kiesling, #7 Chip Hyde, #8 Joshua Freund, #9 Randy West, #10 Tim Traver - Photo credits: Warren Day

F5J Q&A

Q: Why should I register my club's F5J contest with the F5J USA Tour?
A: Because being on the Tour will probably encourage more pilots to travel to your event.

Q: Are there any fees to clubs or pilots?
A: Yes, for clubs. When you submit your F5J Tour event scores, for every pilot that has flown the minimum number of rounds you are also asked to include a $4.00/pilot fee (a PayPal link will be provided to CDs). This fee will be used to purchase end-of-season awards, other related expenses, and an annual contribution to the USA F5J World Championship team.

The F5J USA Tour reserves the right to update its rules and guidelines without notice.