CD's Report
After non-direction of a non-contest over a wasted weekend in wet Wales, one wonders if it is all worthwhile. Then, in Northamptonshire, God favours us with His haze free sun and, because He perceives pilots as
fledgling angels, He adds a cooling breeze straight down the runway. Suddenly it's all worthwhile. It was my 39th contest as CD, to which add about the same number as contestant, and I do not recall a better event.
"Success" I say to my kids ("ad nauseam" they say to me) "is proportionate to effort", and that certainly applies to Steve Green, BAeA's Mister Judge. It was he who recruited international stars Graham Hill and L.G. Arvidsson, plus several other unlimited level judges, each provided with their own assistant, caller and
(a real feat) chair. Graham distributed before, and collected after, a complete set of box markers (a first in my memory), and Ian Trask made a video recording of every single flight to prevent a repeat of the misfortune of the National Champion last year. Indeed TV was prominent in the event. Following "Diana, The Movie" a few years ago, this year we had two TV channels scouring for
talent and, evidently desperate, signed up Tom Cassells and Mark Jefferies. The first broadcast went out
on Friday at lunchtime, and the performance was watched on TV by one of the judges in his Mercedes: soft zero.....
 Sywell's new airfield manager Tony Rowland delegated to a very busy team of Den, Sal and Mick, and
Northampton School of Flying's Lucy Kimble delegated to her CFI Frank McClurg and his equally busy team. Even the Aviator
Hotel - with which I had previously dissented following its past poor standards of management and service - had improved notably, making it an ideal venue for any aviation event.
Those pilots' guardian angels had a busy time too, preserving at least two pilots to fly another day: Cas in his S2B reported "feeling funny" and landed line abreast with a formation of fire trucks looking "something between pale white and pale green". ("The consequence of abstaining last night!" said someone), and Simon in his
Yak-55M suffered the dreaded control restriction in mid sequence and eventually discovered a (UK) coin fouling the pulleys. ("Lucky to get out of a Yak with any money!" said the eventual winner).
Sally Traffic finally presented the BAeA Advanced Level salver to Gerald Cooper, the Freestyle David Perrin Trophy to Alan Cassidy, and the Unlimited National Championship Neil Williams Trophy also to
Alan Cassidy, all of whom then flew off into the setting sun, albeit in the wrong direction for most of them. Except Sally Traffic, who cycled into the rising sun, a local pub frequented by men in lycra cycling pants.
Eric Marsh
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