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CD's Report
I was 64 last week and regularly
complain that I am too old. At Shobdon I was out-aged by both the local
organiser and the leading pilot, each in their seventies…
Bob Bowden is clearly Shobdon’s Action Man,
for he initiated communications with BAeA over two months
 before
the contest. Numerous e-mails and telecons followed, so that on the day most
of the work seemed already to be done. He had
even sourced a crystal clear p.a. system: the
first time I encountered that was at Duxford in the 1980’s when Brendan
O’Brien commentated (I recall the mike had to be forcibly moved from his
grip before he would stop!).
Bob started his broadcasts with the Beginners
contest at 1500 on Friday. Six novices had been given a comprehensive
briefing by Bob as airfield representative, by Steve Todd as Chief Judge and
by yours truly as Contest Director. Local John Gordon’s subsequent
questioning showed the benefit of doing so, for a couple of hours later
scorer Lynn Westnage presented him with the winners headstone.
At the request of Bob, Ben Ellis gave a talk
to Shobdon’s curious on the affairs of sporting aerobatics, whilst the CJ,
CD and a couple of pilots investigated ales at
 the
local inn (The Bateman, within walking distance of the airfield and
excellent standards).
Saturday’s forecast indicated marginal
weather, literally, in that Shobdon was just on the join butting the good
weather to to the bad. We lost.
One of the functions of Contest Director is
to plan contingencies. Timing their execution is less easy. Devise and
implement a flat sequence too soon and the cloud will rise perversely; leave
it too late and pilots and crew will have got fed up and want to go home.
Fortuitously our august Chairman was present unofficially and devised a
bespoke unknown which would be safe under a 2000 foot cloud base. The first
two Standard pilots tried but failed, so Advanced were despatched and
succeeded, starting at 1500 and finished by 1640. Standard then tried again
at 1700, by which time the cloud had risen, so by 1830 we had completed
 both
contests, albeit with only one flight each.
Septuagenarian Action Man Bowden meanwhile
kept his audience informed by regular extended announcements and chat on his
p.a., which included interviews with Uncle Alan and others. With some
previous experience of aerobatic commentating I too provided some input. (My
opening line is usually to the effect that if I was up to the the standard
of today’s aces I would be up there doing it instead of down here talking
about it). As chance would have it I was invited to talk through the flight
of another septuagenarian, pilot John Wicks, and commented on how precisely
accurate it was flown. It was gratifying therefore to be able to ask Bob
Bowden later to present to John Wicks the John Mclean Trophy.
As ever thanks are due to to all these who
contributed to the success of the day, including the personnel of BAeA and
of Shobdon airfield, and of course all those ace pilots listed below in
order of aceness.
Eric Marsh
Contest Director |
