Contest Director's Report
 A
couple of years ago Barry Tempest and Nigel Arthur suggested that there were
a number of pilots who enjoyed flying aerobatics but felt unable to join in
our competitions for one reason or another. One of the reasons given was
that even at the basic levels, it was perceived that you needed
high-performance modern machinery with inverted systems etc.. They suggested
that we ought to run a competition to cater for this group of people.
Thus the Classic Event was conceived. The
birth took a little while; a suitable venue had to be chosen, space found in
the calendar and enough officials press-ganged to make it viable.
The entry qualifications were modified to
make it as easy as possible for people to enter; entries were taken on the
day, for a modest increase in the already very low entry fee. No membership
subscription was required and the sequence to be flown was carefully
designed for very modest power and performance characteristics.
A low number of pre-entries caused doubt
in some people's minds about the potential success of the venture, but I was
determined to press ahead anyway, mostly because everyone I had spoken to
who was considering entering was so enthusiastic and positive about the
concept.
An eventual field of 12 pilots was just
the right number for the planned operation of the event. Chief Judge Steve
Todd gave a superbly detailed briefing, pitched at just the right level for
first-timers. It was decided to follow a system whereby the next pilot to
fly in the programme would wait at the hold, on the ground and not take off
until the final, final wing-rocks had been observed. In this way, the pilot
flying would be able to take any number of breaks without feeling pressured
by the potential for another aircraft to come chasing into the box, thinking
they had finished. This also allowed time for another important aspect of
the event. As each pilot landed, they were met by one of a team of 3 very
experienced pilots/judges, Graham Hill, Nick Buckenham and Steve Green, who
gave them detailed feedback and advice. Thus it was hoped that each pilot
would show improvement when they flew the same sequence, after the lunch
break. Each pilot also received the usual judging sheet feedback from the 5
judges who sweated it out in the hot sun all day. In this game, you either
freeze or fry - there never seems to be a happy medium.
The results show the diverse range of
types entered, which is very heartening. It's also interesting to note
 that
the aircraft that came 2nd, by a narrow margin, had only a 1/5th of the
available power of the winner. You don't need loads of horses at this level.
What the results don't show, though, is that 2 of the pilots are too young
to yet be able to have a licence. Naturally, they had to fly Hors de
Concours, with their mentors on board. Hopefully we will see more of these
two chaps once they've gained their wings.
For those of us 'old hands' who came along
to make it work, it was a most rewarding experience; the satisfaction of a
good job, well done. For the pilots, they all expressed delight at being
able to join in a fun occasion which was instructive, too. The quite
considerable crowd gathered outside the clubhouse at Leicester for the
prize-giving were able to give vent to their partisan feelings as a huge
cheer went up when local pilot Mark 'Lofty' Simpson was handed the Loop
Magazine trophy. Congratulations to him, but also to all the other pilots
who took the plunge. We hope to see more of all of them, at some of our
other competitions.
Ben Ellis, CD
Chief Judge: Steve Todd. Judges: Ian
Scott, Peter Macintosh, Lynne Westnage, Neil Bigrigg, Phil Atley. |
