RE: 150 meter rule.
Here is what the rules say about distance. I would say most judges don't downgrade for flying beyond 200 meters unless the judge can't see the plane well or the plane is moving in and out and not maintaining consistent distance from the flight line. In my experience, a pilot that maintains a consistent distance from the flight line even if it is at 250 m would score well.
14. Flight pattern and maneuvering area: The maneuver schedules of all classes must be executed in the order in which they are listed during an uninterrupted flight within a maneuvering area or ―box‖ bounded by lines 60 degrees each side of center. The vertical height shall not exceed 60 degrees from the horizontal. The boundaries of the maneuvering area shall be marked by the placement of surface lines of white or contrasting color originating at the contestant's position and, where possible depending on local conditions and topography, the placement of vertical poles at the center position and 60 degrees right and left on a line approximately 150 meters in front of the contestant. The judges shall be seated not more than 10 meters behind the contestant’s position (the apex of the 60 degree lines) and within an area described by the extension of the 60 degree lines to the rear of the contestant. Maneuvers must be performed where they can be clearly seen by the judges. Center maneuvers should be performed centered in the maneuvering area in a plane exactly perpendicular to the judges’ line of sight to the model. Scored turnaround maneuvers should not exceed the 60 degree right and left limits of the maneuvering area. Maneuvers should be performed along a line of flight approximately 150 to 175 meters from the judges, with the main criteria being visibility. Infractions of any of the above rules are cause for downgrading in addition to those downgrades listed in the Description of Maneuvers section. Unscored turnarounds in any class may exit the maneuvering area. Calling of box entry must be done so there is a minimum of a 15 meter straight line before the first maneuver. Judging of the maneuver will begin at that point (lines into and out of maneuvers are part of the maneuver and are always judged).
d. Size. Flying so far out as to make evaluation of a maneuver difficult should be severely downgraded. The main criterion here is visibility. For a large, highly visible model, a line of flight approximately 175 meters in front of the contestant may be appropriate, while a smaller and less visible model might have to be flown at 140 to 150 meters. Maneuvers performed on a line approximately 175 to 200 meters in front of the contestant should be
RCA-13
downgraded one (1) point, from 200-250 meters downgraded 2 points and over 250 meters downgraded 3 points. Since the size of the maneuvering area varies proportionally with the distance from the judges to the model’s line of flight, the size of the maneuvers will vary as well. In addition, maneuvers should be proportioned relative to the size of the other maneuvers in the flight. In other words, absolute maneuver size is of little importance; maneuver size relative to the available maneuvering area and other maneuvers in the flight is paramount.
Large maneuvers placed close in will suffer downgrading for exceeding the vertical 60 degree maneuvering area limit, and small maneuvers placed far out will suffer downgrading for appearing to hide the maneuver.
In all classes, the judge should be careful to judge only the skill with which the maneuver is flown and presented, not the performance of the aircraft. A slow flying model, flown closer to the judges and flying proportionally smaller maneuvers may present the same ―pace‖ and appearance as a faster flying model flown at a greater distance with proportionally larger maneuvers.