Competitor FAQ

Short answer: Four steps. Register once, enter each OTS, qualify by flying one scheduled run per Trial on SFL servers, and compete if you finish in the top eight.

1. Register. Create your SFL competitor account at pilots.the-sfl.com, then verify your email, Discord and DCS identity.
2. Enter. When the League opens an OTS cycle, enter from your pilot home. When you click Enter, SFL presents the SFL Pilot Terms and Conditions, and you accept them.
3. Qualify. Practice, then book and fly one qualification run for each Trial (SPEED, PRECISION and ACCURACY) on SFL servers during the published qualification window.
4. Compete. The top eight in the Trials ranking advance to the Dogfight Phase, the live eight-competitor bracket.

Source: Appendix B §B.2.2 (open the Appendix B tab) · How the OTS works · SFL Pilot Terms and Conditions, §1.2

Short answer: Fill in the single registration form at pilots.the-sfl.com and accept the five registration documents. Your email address becomes your SFL identity.

1. Choose Register to Compete on the-sfl.com, or go straight to pilots.the-sfl.com.
2. Complete the form, including your callsign, your Discord details and your date of birth. If you are under 18, you also give a parent or guardian's name and a working email for them.
3. Read and accept the five registration documents: the SFL Code of Conduct (CONDUCT-1.0), the SFL Fair Play Agreement (FAIRPLAY-1.0), the SFL Media Release (MEDIA-1.0), the SFL Registration Data Notice (DATA-NOTICE-1.0) and the SFL Accuracy Confirmation (ACCURACY-1.0).
4. If you are under 18, the Accuracy Confirmation has you confirm that your parent or guardian's details are correct and that they know about your registration. Their own consent is a separate document (see Is there a minimum age?).
5. Confirm your email from the link SFL sends you, then finish verification (see Verify).

If you registered before these documents existed, you accept them on your account page at your next visit. Registering opens your pilot home, where you verify, enter, download the mission files and the kit, and book qualification runs.

Source: Registration form · the five documents above · Appendix B §B.2.2 (Appendix B tab)

Short answer: No. You register once, ever. For each new OTS you enter.

Your account carries across every OTS cycle. Registration never closes and is not tied to any one edition. If you registered for an earlier OTS, you are already registered.

Source: How the OTS works · Appendix B §B.2.2 (Appendix B tab)

Short answer: Yes. SFL does not register anyone under 13. If you are under 18 or have no date of birth on file, you can register now. You cannot fly practice, qualify or enter OTS-3 until a parent or guardian consent form exists. We will email you when it does.

• Your date of birth is required at registration.
• If you are under 18, your parent or guardian must be named on your account with a working email address.
• The parent or guardian consent is signed by your parent or guardian, not by you.
• SFL publishes nothing in which you appear or can be identified until it has verified that you are 18 or older, or, if you are under 18, until your parent or guardian has signed. That includes any time SFL has no date of birth on file for you, and it covers clips from practice. SFL may still capture, score and run your sessions meanwhile.

Source: SFL Pilot Terms and Conditions, §2.3 and §6.7 · SFL Media Release, §6 · SFL Privacy Notice, section 11

Short answer: Three checks from your pilot home: email, Discord, then your DCS UCID. You cannot enter an OTS until all three are done.

1. Email. Click the confirmation link SFL emails you.
2. Discord. Paste your Discord User ID on your pilot home (the page shows how to copy it from Discord), join the SFL Discord, then confirm with the verify message.
3. DCS UCID. Choose Verify my DCS UCID and run the UCID-Verify Tool (see What does the UCID-Verify Tool do?).

Your pilot home shows each check as done or open, and it is where you pick up a step you have not finished.

Source: Your pilot home · Appendix B §B.2.3 (Appendix B tab)

Short answer: It is a small Windows tool from SFL that links the DCS account you fly with to your SFL registration. It takes about two minutes and runs once.

1. Update DCS first. New to DCS? Launch it once, sign in with your Eagle Dynamics account and reach the main menu.
2. On your pilot home, choose Verify my DCS UCID, then Get my code.
3. Download the verification tool, run it and type in the code. If Windows warns about an unrecognized app, choose More info, then Run anyway.
4. Leave it alone. It starts DCS, joins SFL's verification server for a moment, and closes DCS again. Being turned away by that server straight after joining is expected.
5. The page shows Verified. The tool closes DCS and tidies up on its own.

• Cannot run the tool? The page shows how to join by hand with your code instead.
• Not verified within a minute? Get a fresh code and try once more, or ask in #sfl-support on the SFL Discord.

The SFL Virtual Pilot Kit (VPK) is a different program; see Downloads and tools.

Source: Verify your DCS pilot ID · Appendix B §B.2.3 and §B.10 (Appendix B tab)

Short answer: The one you will practice and compete with. Your UCID is permanent to your Eagle Dynamics (or Steam) account, and once checked it is locked to your entry until finals.

• Whatever account DCS is signed in as when you run the tool is the one that gets linked. Sign in with the account you fly every SFL run on before you start.
• Reinstalling DCS does not change your UCID, but a second Eagle Dynamics or Steam account has a different one.
• Your DCS account is checked at verification and locked to your entry until finals. Run the tool again to re-verify only if SFL asks you to.

Source: Verify your DCS pilot ID · Appendix B §B.2.3 (Appendix B tab) · SFL Privacy Notice

Short answer: Sign in to your pilot home. It shows which check is still open, with a button to finish it.

• Discord: use Verify my Discord on your pilot home.
• Email: if the confirmation link did not work, reset your password. Completing the reset verifies your email address.
• DCS UCID: use Verify my DCS UCID, get a fresh code and run the tool again.

Source: Your pilot home · Appendix B §B.2.3 (Appendix B tab)

Short answer: When entry is open, press Enter OTS-N on your pilot home and accept the SFL Pilot Terms and Conditions. It is one step, once per OTS.

1. Finish verification: email, Discord and DCS UCID. SFL verifies your DCS UCID before you can enter.
2. Set your primary airframe in your profile (Account and settings, then Profile). That is the aircraft you enter with.
3. When entry is open, press the Enter button on your pilot home. It names the current OTS. If a step is unfinished, the page lists it with a link to fix it.
4. SFL presents the SFL Pilot Terms and Conditions. Read the full text and accept it. If you have already accepted this version, you are not asked again.
5. The page confirms that you are entered.

The Terms include the terms for the SFL Virtual Pilot Kit (Section 8). You can practice on SFL servers before you enter. Entering, and accepting the Terms, is what lets you book qualification runs.

Source: Your pilot home · SFL Pilot Terms and Conditions, §1.2 and §8 · Appendix B §B.2.2 (Appendix B tab)

Short answer: The F/A-18C Hornet or the F-16C Fighting Falcon. Set it as the primary airframe in your profile before you enter; entry records it for that cycle.

Aircraft are not equalized. Knowing your jet's strengths and limits is part of the competition.

Source: Appendix B §B.4.2 (Appendix B tab) · Charter §3.5.6 · each Trial's SPINS, Admin tab (SPEED)

Short answer: Yes. The League may pull a competitor from the previous OTS straight into the next one without qualifying, but that pilot still enters the cycle.

A pilot pulled forward is exempt from qualification. They still select their aircraft and complete the League paperwork at entry. The League decides who is pulled forward.

Source: Charter §6.2.7

Short answer: Two ways. Fly the official missions at home whenever you like, and fly practice runs on SFL servers during the practice window once your account is verified and you are 18 or older. You don't need to enter first.

• At home: download the mission files from your pilot home and fly them in DCS. See How do I install the mission files?.
• On SFL servers: practice is open to verified pilots aged 18 or older who have accepted the current registration documents, whether or not they have entered. It runs first-come, first-served, against a published per-pilot practice allowance. Practice continues in parallel with the qualification window, and qualification runs take priority when the two compete for server time. To book a qualification run, you enter and accept the SFL Pilot Terms and Conditions.
• Practice on SFL servers is recorded. SFL clips practice sessions and posts them to its channels, identifying you by callsign. The publication rule for pilots under 18 or not yet verified as 18 or older still applies (see Is there a minimum age?).

Source: Appendix B §B.2.4 and §B.9.1 (Appendix B tab) · SFL Media Release, §5

Short answer: No. Practice runs on SFL servers are scored so you can see how you did, but no practice run counts toward qualification. Flights at home are not scored at all.

• Practice scores on SFL servers are visible to you. They are not official scores.
• SFL does not score ACMI files you record at home. Official and ranked scoring happens only on SFL servers.

Source: Appendix B §B.2.4 (Appendix B tab) · the README.txt inside the mission files

Short answer: Book one qualification slot per Trial through the pilot portal, then fly each run in its slot on SFL servers during the published qualification window. Those three runs are your official scores.

1. Be entered in the current OTS, with your email, Discord and DCS UCID verified and the SFL Virtual Pilot Kit installed on the PC you fly from.
2. In the pilot portal, book a qualification slot for each Trial: SPEED, PRECISION and ACCURACY. Slots are first-come, first-served and slot times are not guaranteed, so book early.
3. Booking does not ask you to sign anything at present. When SFL publishes the Qualification Release, you sign it at Enter or at your next qualification booking, whichever comes first.
4. Report for each slot with your rig ready and the official mission files and mods installed. Connect through the VPK, which joins you to the SFL server and your assigned slot.
5. Fly the run from the League-defined start condition, following that Trial's SPINS. The SFL server starts the run, records it and scores it.

All results are scored, normalized, added up across the three Trials and ranked. The top eight qualify for the tournament.

Source: Charter §6.2 · Appendix B §B.2.5, §B.7 and §B.9.1 (Appendix B tab)

Short answer: One qualification run per Trial. That run is your official score for the Trial. There is no picking a best run afterward.

• Only a run flown in its scheduled slot produces an official score.
• A reset or re-fly is not automatic. The League may grant one when a disruption came from SFL's servers or another official condition.
• Once your run has started, a problem on your side, such as DCS crashing on your PC, normally stands as your run.
• If an integrity flag is raised on a run, the League may require you to fly it again. A flag does not mean anyone suspects misconduct.

Source: Charter §6.2, §6.2.2 and §6.2.5 · Appendix B §B.6.6 (Appendix B tab) · How the OTS works

Short answer: Book another slot. A pilot who misses a qualification slot can reschedule, first-come, first-served, against the slots still available.

• Slot times are not guaranteed, which is why the League advises booking early in the window.
• The rescheduled run is still flown in a scheduled slot inside the published qualification window.

Source: Appendix B §B.7.1 and §B.9.1 (Appendix B tab)

Short answer: The League announces each window. This FAQ does not carry dates, so check the published pages and your pilot account.

What the published rules fix:

• The practice window comes first, then the qualification window. Practice continues in parallel with qualification.
• The League releases the official SPINS at least two weeks before the qualification window.
• Qualification runs happen only in scheduled slots inside the published qualification window.

Source: Charter §6.2.2 and §6.2.3 · Appendix B §B.2.4 (Appendix B tab)

Short answer: Yes, before the qualification window only. The League may adjust the published scoring anchors and clamps, and it publishes any adjusted values before the window opens.

Read each Trial's SPINS again before you fly your qualification runs.

Source: Charter §6.2.3

Short answer: Five documents when you register and the SFL Pilot Terms and Conditions when you enter. When SFL publishes the Qualification Release, you sign it at Enter or at your next qualification booking, whichever comes first.

• Register: the SFL Code of Conduct (CONDUCT-1.0), the SFL Fair Play Agreement (FAIRPLAY-1.0), the SFL Media Release (MEDIA-1.0), the SFL Registration Data Notice (DATA-NOTICE-1.0) and the SFL Accuracy Confirmation (ACCURACY-1.0). If you registered before these documents existed, you accept them on your account page at your next visit.
• Enter: the SFL Pilot Terms and Conditions, presented when you click Enter, before your first session on SFL servers.
• Qualification Release: a separate short signing step, presented at Enter or at your next qualification booking, whichever comes first, once SFL publishes it. It covers prize payment eligibility and tax documentation and a sanctions screening certification (re-certified at payout). It also acknowledges that the broadcast face camera is a condition of competing in the live bracket. Qualification runs do not use a face camera.
• If you are under 18 or have no date of birth on file, you can register now. You cannot fly practice, qualify or enter OTS-3 until a parent or guardian consent form exists. We will email you when it does.
• SFL may also ask for proof of identity and age before confirming your eligibility or releasing a prize.

Source: SFL Pilot Terms and Conditions, §1.2, §1.3, §2.3 and §2.4 · the five registration documents (see How do I register?)

Short answer: The top eight pilots in the Trials ranking. They advance to the Dogfight Phase, the live eight-competitor bracket.

If a place needs filling, the League selects alternates in rank order. The Dogfight Phase is not a Trial and has no qualification run of its own.

Source: Charter §6.2.1 and §6.2.6 · Appendix A (Appendix A tab) · Appendix B §B.2.2 (Appendix B tab)

Short answer: Eight competitors, single elimination, seeded by the Trials ranking: 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5. The winner of each matchup advances.

• Each matchup is a three-set series. Set 1 is an abeam setup with an altitude split (the higher seed starts high). Set 2 reverses the roles. Set 3 is a traditional abeam setup at the same altitude.
• After each round, the remaining competitors are re-paired by seed: highest remaining seed against lowest, second-highest against second-lowest, and so on. Your place on the published bracket can change from round to round.
• Trials results give you your seed and nothing more. They do not carry into dogfight outcomes.
• How a set and a matchup are won, including tie-breaks, is in the DOGFIGHT Phase SPINS.

Source: Charter §3.3.3 and §3.3.4 · DOGFIGHT Phase SPINS

Short answer: You report on the SFL Discord, check in on the event voice channel, and the VPK brings you into the SFL server. Competition Control, callsign CLASSIC, runs everything from there.

1. Watch for your call on the SFL Discord and move to the event channels when called.
2. Join the event voice channel for a communications check. The check window is at T-5, and the no-show cutoff is also T-5.
3. Be "Up and Ready" by T-2.
4. The VPK pulls you into the SFL server and your assigned slot. The League initializes the setup.
5. CLASSIC introduces the set and gives start authorization. In a dogfight, you fight only on CLASSIC's "Fight's On".
6. After your set, return to the ready channel on Discord.

CLASSIC directs the tempo on the day, so follow CLASSIC's calls over any timeline.

Source: Appendix B §B.3, §B.8 and §B.9.2 (Appendix B tab)

Short answer: CLASSIC is the callsign of SFL Competition Control, the only authority that directs you during live competition.

CLASSIC marshals the event, introduces each set, authorizes the start, controls execution and gives immediate technical direction. Comply promptly. If you lose required communications before start authorization, do not start unless CLASSIC directs you to.

Source: Appendix B §B.3.2 and §B.3.3 (Appendix B tab)

Short answer: Being a visible part of the broadcast. Competitors in the live bracket must be available for interviews, debriefs and on-camera segments, with working audio and video.

• Be available for pre-event and post-event interviews as the League directs.
• Be available for performance analysis and debriefs.
• Take part in on-camera segments, under the face-camera consent you signed at qualification. During live OTS broadcast events, the VPK can stream your webcam to the SFL broadcast.
• Keep a working microphone and audio on Discord, plus video suitable for broadcast.

None of this applies during qualification.

Source: Charter §6.5 · Appendix B §B.3.3 and §B.5.2 (Appendix B tab)

Short answer: It depends on when it happens and whose side it came from. Before start authorization, the normal answer is hold, reset or reinitialize. After it, a failure on your side normally stands.

• Before you reach the start setup: you may be brought back in when directed, if the event flow allows.
• After the setup but before start authorization: the normal disposition is hold, reset or reinitialize where possible.
• After start authorization: the run or set is yours. A DCS crash on your PC normally stands, unless there is evidence the server caused it.
• Fault on SFL's side: CLASSIC may direct a reset, restart or re-fly.
• Discord voice fails: before start authorization, do not start until CLASSIC directs. After it, in an event that needs active communications, CLASSIC stops the run until voice is back.

Source: Appendix B §B.6.6 and §B.8.2 (Appendix B tab)

Short answer: DCS World on the League's version, the Nevada map, your aircraft, the SFL mission files and gate mod, the SFL Virtual Pilot Kit, and Discord with a working microphone.

• Windows 10 or Windows 11. The VPK needs it.
• DCS World, signed in at least once. Run the version the League sets: by default, the most up-to-date DCS version available at 0000 UTC on execution day.
• The Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) map. Each Trial's SPINS names the operating area.
• The F/A-18C Hornet or F-16C Fighting Falcon, whichever you enter with.
• The SFL mission files and the SFLGates gate mod the missions need, from your pilot home (see How do I install the mission files?). Install them as published and never alter or swap the official mods or missions.
• The UCID-Verify Tool, once, during verification.
• The SFL Virtual Pilot Kit (VPK), required to fly on SFL servers.
• Discord with a working microphone and audible receive.
• A webcam, for the broadcast during live OTS events.

Your rig is your responsibility: client stability, internet, audio, controls and bindings, and display setup are all part of readiness.

Source: Appendix B §B.4.2, §B.4.3 and §B.5 (Appendix B tab) · each Trial's SPINS, Tac Admin tab (SPEED) · Your pilot home

Short answer: Download the mission files from your pilot home and run the installer on the PC you fly from. It installs the missions and the SFLGates gate mod they need.

1. Start DCS once first, so it creates its Saved Games folder.
2. Download the mission files from your pilot home. Any registered pilot can download them; you do not need to be entered.
3. If the download is an .exe, run it; there is nothing to unzip. If it is a .zip, extract the whole zip somewhere outside Saved Games, then run RUN-ME-FIRST-install.bat.
4. The installer copies the missions to Saved Games\DCS\Missions and the gate mod to Saved Games\DCS\Mods\tech. It removes older versions of the gate mod first.
5. When a newer version appears on the portal, download it and run it again. Missions and mod ship together because an older mod will not load newer missions.

To install by hand, copy Missions\*.miz to Saved Games\DCS\Missions\ and Mods\tech\SFLGates to Saved Games\DCS\Mods\tech\SFLGates.

Source: the README.txt inside the mission files · Appendix B §B.2.4 and §B.4.2 (Appendix B tab)

Short answer: Start DCS and open the mission from Mission Editor > Missions. At-home flights are practice and are not scored.

The mission files hold the SPEED, PRECISION and ACCURACY Trial missions and the dogfight setups, flown in the F/A-18C or F-16C on the Nevada map. Each Trial's SPINS explains the course, the rules of the run and how it is scored.

Source: the README.txt inside the mission files · SPEED, PRECISION, ACCURACY and DOGFIGHT SPINS

Short answer: The League's competition software for your PC, a custom Windows application. You must run the current VPK to fly on SFL servers.

It does four jobs:

• Event execution. It joins your DCS to the SFL server for your scheduled slot, seats you in the correct mission slot and aircraft, and brings you into your next scheduled event. VR and standard monitors both work.
• Event integrity. It checks DCS telemetry, DCS state and installed mods. It never reads passwords or account names.
• Network baseline. It runs a speed test to the SFL servers.
• Broadcast. During live OTS broadcast events, it can stream a low-rate feed from your webcam to the SFL broadcast, under the consents you signed.

The VPK changes your DCS setup while it runs. When you quit DCS and the kit, your previous DCS configuration is restored. Its terms are part of the SFL Pilot Terms and Conditions (Section 8).

Source: Appendix B §B.5.2 (Appendix B tab)

Short answer: Download the kit from your pilot home.

1. Before you first open the kit, install DCS World and sign in to it at least once.
2. Run the installer. If Windows shows "Windows protected your PC", choose More info, then Run anyway (or Run).
3. The kit installs to C:\SFL\PilotKit and adds a Desktop shortcut and a Start-menu shortcut, both named SFL Virtual Pilot Kit. It needs no administrator rights.
4. To update, run the newer installer. It stops any running kit session and installs over the old one.
5. If Windows or your antivirus blocks the installer, ask in #sfl-support on the SFL Discord. SFL can provide a staged zip instead.
6. To remove it, go to Settings > Apps > SFL Virtual Pilot Kit > Uninstall, or use the uninstall entry in the Start menu.

Source: Your pilot home · Appendix B §B.5.2 (Appendix B tab)

Short answer: Open the kit, follow its prompts, and launch DCS from the kit. The kit joins you to the SFL server for your slot and seats you in the correct mission slot and aircraft.

1. Open SFL Virtual Pilot Kit from the Desktop or Start menu before your slot.
2. Read and accept any agreement the kit shows. Declining stops the kit, and it offers a retry.
3. Follow the kit's prompts. When it reports you are ready, launch DCS from the kit.
4. The kit joins you to the SFL server for your slot and seats you in the correct mission slot and aircraft.
5. Fly the slot. When it ends, SFL's servers remove you. If another slot follows, the kit brings you into it.
6. When you are finished, quit DCS and close the kit. DCS returns to its previous configuration.

To stop in a hurry, quit DCS or press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+K.

Source: Appendix B §B.5.2 and §B.7.2 (Appendix B tab)

Short answer: Most problems have a fixed first step, and each installer writes a log file you can send to SFL if asked.

• "Windows protected your PC": choose More info, then Run anyway.
• Antivirus blocks the VPK installer: use the staged zip (see How do I install, update or remove the VPK?).
• The VPK install fails: the installer writes %TEMP%\sfl-pilotkit-install.log. You may send that file to SFL.
• The kit flashes and closes, or will not start: it writes C:\SFL\PilotKit\start-here.log. Send that file to SFL.
• DCS never starts, joins or seats you: confirm DCS is installed and you have signed in to it at least once. Quit DCS, close the kit and retry.
• No webcam on a broadcast event: close other applications using the camera, then retry.
• The mission files install fails: each run writes a line to Saved Games\SFL\competitor-install.log. Send that file. It holds no account codes or sign-in secrets.
• Something breaks during a live run: report it to CLASSIC on the event voice channel.

For where to send a log, see Who do I talk to?.

Source: Appendix B §B.5.2 (Appendix B tab) · the README.txt inside the mission files

Short answer: Anything the League has not published. No mods, export scripts, overlays, plugins or other add-ons, and no macro, scripted, automated or AI-enabled assistance.

• Run only the official League-published mods and mission files, unaltered.
• No scripted, macro-driven or automated execution aid.
• No AI-enabled assistance tools.
• No background process or hardware-and-software combination that automates flying the aircraft or substitutes machine help for your own inputs.

Source: Appendix B §B.2.5, §B.5.3 and §B.5.4 (Appendix B tab)

Short answer: Each Trial is a timed run scored from telemetry on SFL servers. Mistakes turn into time or penalty, and the run becomes a single score where higher wins.

• No judges. Outcomes come from telemetry, the published scoring logic and repeatable conditions.
• Each Trial converts your execution into time or equivalent penalties, then into a score for ranking.
• The SFL server records every official run. That server-recorded ACMI file is the authoritative record for scoring, verification and any dispute.
• Each Trial's SPINS has the full scoring tab, with every term, value and edge case.

Source: Charter §3.3.2, §3.5 and §6.2.4 · SPEED, PRECISION and ACCURACY SPINS, Scoring tab

Short answer: SPEED rewards how fast and how far you fly the course. PRECISION rewards an accurate, efficient attack run. ACCURACY rewards marksmanship at pace against aerial targets.

• SPEED. Your score combines how fast you flew the course and how far along it you got, so a partial run still earns points. Gates are flown in numerical order, and each missed or crashed gate adds a time penalty. The clock starts when you cross the Start Gate.
• PRECISION. Your run time plus penalties: missed gates, time spent above the altitude ceiling, unused ordnance, cannon misses and unfired rounds, and bomb and rocket miss distance. The total is normalized to a 0–100 score.
• ACCURACY. Your run time plus penalties for missed gates and for every target still flying, minus a saved-rounds bonus when all targets are splashed (see How does the saved-rounds bonus work?). The total is normalized to a 0–100 score.

Exact penalty values and anchors are on each SPINS Scoring tab. They can be adjusted before the qualification window (see Can the scoring change before I qualify?).

Source: SPEED, PRECISION and ACCURACY SPINS, Scoring tab · Charter §1.3.1

Short answer: Splash all three targets and you earn up to 10 seconds off your Total Score Time, in proportion to the rounds you have left. Leave any target flying and there is no bonus, however many rounds you saved.

• The bonus in seconds = 10 × (rounds left at the end of your run ÷ rounds at the start).
• Rounds at the start are fixed per jet: F/A-18C 462, F-16C 460. In practice, every 46 rounds saved is worth about 1 second.
• The bonus comes off your Total Score Time: raw time + 60 s per missed gate + 90 s per missed target − bonus.
• Each second off your Total Score Time adds 0.4 to your 0–100 ACCURACY score, so the bonus is worth up to 4 points.
• Example: you splash all three targets and finish with 231 of your 462 rounds left. The bonus is 10 × 231 ÷ 462 = 5 seconds, about 2 points.

Source: ACCURACY Trial SPINS (Scoring and TacAdmin)

Short answer: Your three Trial scores add up to your Total Trials Score. The field is ranked from highest to lowest, and the top eight advance.

• The three Trials are weighted equally, so no single Trial can carry you.
• Ties are broken by the fastest PRECISION Trial performance, then by the fewest total penalties across all Trials.
• The ranking sets the Dogfight seeding: first against eighth, second against seventh, and so on.

Source: Appendix A (Appendix A tab) · Charter §3.3.2 and §3.3.3

Short answer: In Impact Seconds, under the Unified Impact Score (UIS). Everything you do in a set converts to seconds, and if there is no kill, the UIS alone decides the set. There is no judging.

• Impact Seconds come from things like time on offense and in the control zone, pursuit, rounds on target, defeating weapons, forcing an overshoot, and a kill.
• A set in which scoring does not activate within the published merge window is stopped by CLASSIC and recorded 0-0.
• Every scored term, the set time limit and the tie-breaks are on the DOGFIGHT Phase SPINS Scoring tab.

Source: DOGFIGHT Phase SPINS, Scoring tab · Appendix B §B.8.2 (Appendix B tab)

Short answer: On the-sfl.com. The Charter page holds the Charter and both appendices; each Trial and the Dogfight Phase has its own SPINS page.

• Charter and Appendices. Appendix A (Phase Scoring) and Appendix B (TechAdmin SOP) are tabs on that page.
• SPEED Trial SPINS
• PRECISION Trial SPINS
• ACCURACY Trial SPINS
• DOGFIGHT Phase SPINS
• Competition Framework Master board, which lists every governing document with its current version.
• Competition overview, which links all of the above.

Each page shows its version and the date it is current as of. Check them before you fly.

Source: Competition overview · Competition Framework Master board

Short answer: The Charter governs. For anything specific to one Trial or the Dogfight Phase, that event's SPINS control.

• Charter: the League's controlling governance document. SPINS are published as official appendices to it.
• SPINS: control event-specific setup, mission construction, scoring mechanics and tactical administration.
• Appendix A: how Trial results combine into the ranking and the bracket.
• Appendix B: the technical standard from registration through live execution.
• This FAQ: a guide only. Where it and a published page differ, the published page is right.

Source: Charter §3.4 and §7.1 · Appendix A §A.1 (Appendix A tab) · Appendix B §B.1 (Appendix B tab)

Short answer: To appeal a decision SFL makes under the Code of Conduct, email thereadyroom@strikefighterleague.com within 7 days after SFL tells you. For rule feedback, the Charter describes a Rules and SPINS Feedback System.

• Appeals. SFL tells you the breach it found and the sanction. You may appeal within 7 days, by email to thereadyroom@strikefighterleague.com; say which decision you are appealing and why. An SFL official, or the appeal body the Charter names, who was not involved in the original decision decides it. That decision is final within SFL.
• Rule feedback. Gripes report a rule ambiguity or a scoring or outcome impact. SPINS changes recommend a change to an event's SPINS. Proposals suggest new rules, Charter changes or events. The Standing Rules Committee (SRC) triages them. The published pages give no link for submitting them.
• Disciplinary rulings. The Competition Disciplinary Panel rules on violations, and appeals of its rulings go to the SRC.

To ask a rules question, open a ticket in #sfl-support on the SFL Discord (see Who do I talk to?).

Source: SFL Code of Conduct, §6 · Charter §4.4 and §4.8

Short answer: Open a ticket in #sfl-support on the SFL Discord. The SFL Discord is linked from the-sfl.com and from the pilot portal.

• Verification, your account, the kit and the downloads: a ticket in #sfl-support.
• A verified detail is wrong: a ticket in #sfl-support.
• Appealing a Code of Conduct decision: email thereadyroom@strikefighterleague.com within 7 days after SFL tells you of it (see How do I raise a rules question or challenge a ruling?).
• During a live run: CLASSIC, on the event voice channel.
• Privacy and your personal data: the privacy contact named in the SFL Privacy Notice, thereadyroom@strikefighterleague.com.

Source: Pilot portal footer and pilot home · SFL Code of Conduct, §6 · SFL Privacy Notice, section 2 · Appendix B §B.5.2 (Appendix B tab)