The Glider National Aerobatic Championships - 2008

The cloud base remained stubbornly static until the afternoon when the sun broke through and allowed a split programme albeit with some irritating delays to allow patches of rogue cumulus to pass through the box.
Thanks to the cooperative spirit which is always about at the Nationals, getting the aircraft onto the launch grid before briefing reaped dividends and Jim Duthie in his 15th and last year as launch point controller ensured that pilots were strapped into the correct glider and in the right order, no mean feat with 10 pilots sharing the same K21.We will miss you Jim.

Congratulations to the new National Unlimited Champion Mike Newman, Paul Barker who took the honours in the first glider advanced contest in the U.K. Brendan O'Brien in the intermediate, Matt Plumridge Sports, and the three beginners with Jonny Mak just pipping Emeric Massaut by 0.23% with John Firth in third place. Their scores of 77.31, 77.08% and 75.23% ... remarkable standard or what?

My thanks to all at Saltby led by the irrepressibly cheerful and optimistic Les Merritt, to the judges and their scribes, and to the competitors. Now where do I find a launch point controller who can move cu-nims to one side by will power...?

Sam Mummery
Contest Director