CD Ben Ellis and Chief Judge Steve Todd are old hands at running this show now, and the briefing was as usual both thorough and comprehensive. Each pilot was duly appointed an experienced 'mentor' to fill-in any knowledge gaps and iron out the nerves, and at 1030 first-up Paul in his Bulldog followed Corinne's best advice by flying a respectable set of figures to post a shade under 60% for the rest to aim at. In short order John Smith put in a very smooth flight to head the field with a score of nearly 67%, followed by Clare's venerable C152 and late-comer Charles' nippy home-built Tempete - both within a percent or so of Paul.

After a spot of early lunch another somewhat briefer briefing kicked the second part of the show into life, but this time, despite another very sensible sequence, John's luck didn't run quite so true and the others all made up lost ground. How unfair! Clare's win was an extremely popular affair, and as you can see the smile says it all. The other three certainly all tried their best and, more importantly in Paul's case, learned for the first time just how rewarding a BAeA aerobatic event can be.

A warm vote of thanks to Leicester Aero Club's most hospitable establishment, the CD, Judges and mentors, our commiserations to the three who didn't win - but the next Classic Event at Breighton in just five weeks does present another golden opportunity.

Nick B