CD's Report
A reduced field at Sports and no Beginners, coupled with an excellent
weather forecast meant that there was every chance that all the planned
flights at this year's Glider Aerobatic National Championships would take
place. This indeed proved to be the case, with an extra flight included for
the Intermediate field.Buckminster
Gliding Club were as ever very welcoming as the glider aerobatic community
descended on them, though I suspect many of their regular members 'went to
ground'. Les Merritt and the tug pilots gave full support not only during
the 4 days of the competition, but also to those who took advantage of the
fine weather and flew in the days leading up to the competition itself.
Danny was also very helpful flying the Venture as an alternative to towing a
glider through the box to give the judges check heights. One of the
difficulties highlighted is the problem some of the latest slippery ships
have being towed straight & level, so a motor glider to hand is very useful.
A decision was taken, with so many
potential rounds to fly off, to rotate the order of flight around, so each
pilot would take it in turns to fly first, a bit like that cycling thing at
the Olympics (well you get the idea, I'm sure). Thursday saw the completion
of the Unlimited and Advanced Known #1 and Free
 programmes. On the Friday,
the four Sports pilots were added to the mix, their 1st & 2nd Knowns being
interleaved with the Unlimited and Intermediate 1st and 2nd Unknowns.
That left just one flight each, for Sport
and Intermediate and two flights for Unlimited, including the new concept of
the Unknown Free, to be flown off on Saturday. Potentially, prize-giving
would then be the focal point for the Saturday night barbecue laid on by our
hosts.
A word about the new Unknown Free. A list
of figures is chosen, initially in the same way as a regular Unknown, and
each pilot can then design their own sequence to fly them how they wish,
with their own linking figures. This I think has potential to add an
interesting diversion from the norm - maybe it will migrate to power
competitions, too.
Of course, the weather intervened.
Although Saturday became severe blue, it also brought strong SE winds, with
much turbulence. One sports pilot rejected the tow due to the rough air
exceeding the limits of the Puchaz and another - the Lunak - had a
technical problem which necessitated a re-fly anyway. The decision was made
to re-convene at 1800 local, when the friendly Met person at a local
military aerodrome said we could expect an abatement in the wind. When we
re-assembled, there was varied opinion as to the actual conditions aloft. As
the forecast for the Sunday morning was very much better and there appeared
to be every chance we would finish then, an overnight delay was called. One
of the problems this highlighted is the lack of tools with which to make an
objective decision. On the one hand, too prescriptive a set of rules might
inhibit progress in flyable conditions, but on the other measurable criteria
will produce a result that will stand the test of time. There is more work
to do, here.
Anyhow, flying on the Sunday wrapped up in
good order at around 1330 local. The vice-president of the host club, his
grace the Duke of Rutland, took time off from a heavy schedule to present
the trophies with the hangar as a backdrop. His only regret was that his
filming commitments on the day meant that he had been unable to have a ride
in the Fox - hopefully a wrong that will be righted at our next meeting.
There are really too many people to thank
to list them all here, I think we managed to catch most of them during the
prize-giving. However, special thanks go to Cindy Copsey, who had to leave
before the end. Get Well Soon!
One last point. I rang the Met Office at
Exeter on Saturday afternoon to obtain the forecast for the 5,000' wind on
the Sunday morning, around 18 hours later. I was told that I would have to
pay £17 for this single piece of information! Needless to say I politely
refused this offer, as we had simultaneously obtained the info from another
source (thanks, Paul). If 18-hour TAFs are available free to the end user,
why isn't the upper wind forecast ?
Ben Ellis |
