It’s still coming - I’ve been unexpectedly busy over these last few weeks, and it’s showing no signs of letting up for at least a couple more weeks.
Round 3 is still happening, you needn’t worry - it’s just the timeline is a bit messy at the moment. Thank you all for your patience! 
Thanks for the update. This is one of my favorite challenges, and I was afraid it was forgotten. Glad to hear that you are still working on it, thank you for your diligence.
This challenge will return in three weeks, more to follow.
but… it’s UE4 update time by that point?
may i suggest either moving it either forward or delaying until UE4?
Who told you UE4 was coming out in three weeks?
it’s not. but the overhead though?
entry open - entry closing, probable delay, time to crunch the numbers and write the reviews etc, etc.
i mean he may have some problems if the UE4 comes along while he is doing that.
Even if it were to come in the next three weeks - and it won’t - they always run at least 2-4 weeks of open beta, which would give more than enough time to run the challenge.
Yeah, based on the last Dev update they’re running about a month behind their original plan right now, so it won’t be until the end of April before we see the new version.
Beyond that, unless I can find away to clone myself, I just have too much on my plate to make this happen any time during the next three weeks.
We can wait, and this time I am actually entering 
This looks like fun.
OK, so with Round 3 close at hand (probably going to post it tomorrow or Thursday), it would be a good time to review some of the overall rules and guidelines for the challenge, found in the first two posts in this thread. Also, I have answered a number of questions as the challenges have run, and it might be a good idea to review those as well!
#Round Three - Two-Place Trainer Aircraft
After a long delay, the third round of the challenge launches with a back-to-basics type challenge, the highly competitive two-place training aircraft:
Automation Aero Challenge - Round Three Design Brief PDF
##Submission Guidelines
Please completely fill out a copy of the Aero Challenge Powerplant Calculator - FOUND HERE - and download a PDF or save a screenshot of it…I need this information in order for my flight model to work!
Once you are satisfied with your engine, use the Export function in Automation to export your engine family and variant files, then send the ZIP file along with the PDF or screenshot of your Powerplant Calculator results to me via PM. The submission deadline for this contest is 2359 GMT on Thursday, April 20th (7:59 PM Eastern Time, 0059 CET on Friday, April 21st).
Please submit your entries named as follows:
Engine Family Name: “AAC R3 (Your Username)”
Engine Variant Name: Your Choice
Good luck to everyone!
Too bad we don’t have Wankel engines yet, that Diamond DA20 is sexy!
As I’m completely new to this, is there anything I need to know? Any tips you people could give me?
there’s no change for the rules from before, right?
98 ron fuel & race intakes
no cats?
The rules are totally unchanged from the last time - 98 RON fuel, race intakes and no cats.
Certainly!
First of all, engine size is very important here; you want to make an engine large enough that it can make the power you need without running big cam settings or very high RPMs (which means you’d need a larger, heavier and more expensive reduction gearbox), but not so large that the engine is too heavy and (for future multi-engine challenges) with a needlessly large frontal area, which will affect the drag that the engine produces. Cost is very important too - if you are running a large displacement, low-revving engine, you can probably do away with a lot of the whiz-bang parts and fancy valvetrains…as an example, the last two challenges were dominated by pushrod engines, often with cast parts.
Apart from that, big, slow-turning propellers are the most efficient, so try to strive for that. This is in contrast to the previous two challenges where the blocking effect of the fuselage (for single-engine aircraft) or the engine nacelle (for multis) is now modeled. Also, even a very small flat-rating (where the engine is capable of producing more power than the propeller and gearbox can handle) can have huge performance benefits.
I suspect I still can’t build props to save my life, but my entry is sent.
I’ve only had a couple of entries so far, and with the deadline coming up tomorrow, I’ve decided to extend it through Monday night now.
Hope to see you guys enter!
I keep forgetting to submit, damn it. It’ll come tomorrow morning, I promise!
Same.
