CD's
Report
Stewart, Hunt, Senna, Schumacher, Hamilton. All legends in the world
of Formula One racing, all winners at Silverstone and all contributors to
the rich motor sport heritage that makes Silverstone recognised as a
 premier
sporting venue throughout the world. When Silverstone agreed to host the
2008 Unlimited British National Aerobatic Championships it promised to be an
exciting and memorable occasion.
This was the first time that an aerobatic competition had been held at
Silverstone and the contest served as a test event ahead of the World
Aerobatic Championships (WAC)
 that
will be held at Silverstone during August 2009. The British National
Championships gave Silverstone and the WAC organisers the chance to see how
a contest fitted into the normal operation of the racing circuit, to lay-out
the aerobatic box and to test out the various judging positions required for
an international contest.
Aircraft problems, bad weather en route
and work demands reduced the entry list to four pilots flying to win the
Neil Williams Trophy, and together with it the title of British National
Champion. Three sequences were to be flown, the “Q” programme, a Free
Programme and an Unknown. The results of the Q programme were to be included
in the final standings, so it was important for the pilots to put in a good
first flight at the same time as familiarising themselves to the layout of
the box – something which proved quite a challenge!
The Q programme, a technically challenging
sequence of aerobatic figures, is published at the start of the contest
season, so that the pilots are able to practice flying the sequence ahead of
the contest. Tom Cassells posted an excellent
 score
of 75% to win the Q programme in his Cap 232, almost 20% ahead of his
nearest rival Mark Jefferies in his soon to be upgraded Extra 300S. Aidan
Grimley put in a solid flight in his Cap 231EX, with Nick Wakefield in
fourth place .... valiantly campaigning his Pitts S1T at Unlimited level.
Tom had thrown the gauntlet to the other three pilots. On to the Free
Programme.
The Free Programme is a sequence designed
by each pilot to suit their own flying style and the capabilities of their
aircraft. The sequence must be designed to include particular types of
aerobatic manoeuvres so that each routine demonstrates the same level of
versatility and technical difficulty, but the pilot has freedom to assemble
these components into their own aerobatic sequence. This is another sequence
that pilots practice ahead of the contest – although delivering an accurate
flight, under competition pressure, at an unfamiliar venue can be very
difficult to achieve.
Mark Jefferies flew the best Free
Programme, scored 65% and closed the gap on the leader - largely because
 Tom
Cassells zeroed one of his figures – an expensive mistake. So it was on to
the final sequence with everything to play for.
The Unknown sequence is designed from a
selection of aerobatic figures submitted by each competing pilot. The
competitors are not allowed to fly the sequence before the contest. All they
can do to prepare for the flight is to go to a quiet place and think through
what they are going to do when they get in the aeroplane – pilots can often
be seen “walking through” their sequences, doing a convoluted dance on the
ground as they rehearse their flight and visualise what they will do and see
in the cockpit. Tom Cassells put in a strong performance in the Unknown to
win both this sequence and the National title. In the overall standings Mark
Jefferies won silver and Nick Wakefield bronze medals.
The David Perrin Trophy is awarded for the
best Four Minute Free flight, a style of flying similar to airshow
performances where each pilot has complete freedom to design an aerobatic
sequence that will wow the judges, display technical mastery of the aircraft
and present a well choreographed flow of figures. Three
 pilots
flew the Four Minute Free programme. Aidan Grimley came third and Mark
Jefferies was narrowly beaten by Tom Cassells, who added the David Perrin
Trophy to his growing collection of aerobatic victories.
In the "grateful thanks" department,
Silverstone proved to be a great venue and our thanks go to Alex Lacey,
Graham Lake-Grange and all their colleagues for providing us with excellent
facilities and first class support for the contest. Permissions from the
local landowners to access their land and mark those parts of the contest
box outside the Silverstone circuit area also contributed to the success of
the chosen layout. Mazda Motors provided support for the contest and are
sponsoring the World Aerobatic Championships and we thank them for their
involvement and look forward to working with Mazda in 2009. Flying Aces
filmed the contest and broadcast live coverage of the second day of flying
on the airsports.tv website, an exciting development for British aerobatics
that will help to bring the sport to a wider audience.
Many people put a huge amount of work into
making this contest a success, before, during and after the
 event
and I thank everyone for their hard work and support. The Judging and Line
Judging teams worked especially hard, with the full CIVA line judging
procedures being used during the contest. This proved to be a great success
and everyone enjoyed the experience and camaraderie of being initiated into
the mysteries of line judging. Special thanks are due to Stephen Madle and
Julian Murfitt who flew as warm up and cool down pilots for the contest (by
virtue of the fact they were flying the same aircraft!).
The National Championships have opened a
new chapter in the story of British aerobatics. In the future Silverstone’s
sporting heritage will include both racing and flying Champions. Stewart,
Hunt, Senna, Schumacher, Hamilton, Cassells. We look forward to meeting
again at Silverstone in 2009 for the World Aerobatic Championships.
Steve Green
BAeA Contest Director |
