The Hayward Air Rally is the longest continually held proficiency flying event in North America. Having grown out of a personal challenge between Hayward city officials in 1965, the rally has now been flying for 58 years!

The 59th Annual Hayward Air Rally

was held May 19-20, 2023

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Congratulations to Race 77, Shawn Britton, for winning the 59th Annual Hayward Air Rally! As a first time racer!!

Full 2023 Course information here.

Full historical rally results here.

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The Hayward Air Rally Ray Hazel Memorial Scholarship

We are pleased to announce two winners of the inaugural Ray Hazel Memorial Scholarship for 2023:

Congratulations to Tram Do and Ashley Lin! Both are in the San Jose State University aviation program, and will each receive an award of $1000 towards their educational expenses. We wish them success in their endeavors!

We plan to post details regarding the 2024 scholarship later this fall. Please subscribe here for email updates.

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Download and post the rally flyer!

For 2023, we are significantly changing the event format to allow for greater participation. Instead of a long-weekend destination, this year's rally will be a 1 leg event originating at Hayward and returning to Livermore. Other than a mandatory course and safety briefing Friday afternoon, all rally events will occur on Saturday.

A tentative schedule of events will be as follows:

Registration for the 2023 Hayward Air Rally has closed. Thank you for your interest and we hope you're able to join us next year!

Sign up for email updates!

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What is the Hayward Air Rally?

The rally means different things to different pilots, but for all it's a combination of competition, challenge, and camaraderie. The event is open to all pilots (student and recreational pilots must be accompanied by a suitable pilot in command) and most piston-powered GA aircraft (including LSAs and experimentals).

Competition

The specifics of the rally course are released at the rally briefing. Participants flight plan for the course and produce flight time and fuel consumption estimates for each leg of the rally. Scoring is based upon the performance of the accomplished flight against the pre-flight estimates, course checkpoint identification, and navigation equipment used. Details on the competition structure may be found via the About links above.

Challenge

While competition rules allow for the use of GPS navigation (and even digital fuel totalizers), many participants elect to use the scoring system that allows only "traditional" radio-based navigation aids - even if their aircraft are GPS equipped. As a proficiency rally, the course is designed to exercise cross-country navigation and pilotage skills. Enroute checkpoints have included identification of such items as bridges, distinctive buildings, and unimproved (think emergency) landing strips.

Camaraderie

Not everyone who flies in the rally is in it for the competition. For some, the rally is simply a weekend getaway with a group of great fellow aviation enthusiasts. The rally provisions a "hospitality suite" at the destination hotel where participants can gather to socialize, hangar fly, and boast or commiserate over competition performance. There is ample free time to explore local points of interest prior to the awards banquet.

Whichever reasons appeal to you, we hope you'll join us at the starting line for this year's Hayward Air Rally! Entry information may be found here.

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Read the

September 2017 AOPA Pilot Feature Article

"Racing Against The Plan" by Mike Collins

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The Rally awards much more than just 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. You can see some of the other fun awards for 2015 here.

Please use the links on the menu bar above to learn more about this annual event.

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