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The Queens Cup, and
the Don Henry, Duxford and |
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CD's Report My expectations were high – the forecast was looking fine (ish) – I was looking forward to visiting Compton Abbas as CD having had a forced break for a year through recovering from a new metal knee and a little bit of  sciatica – this would be my 4th time as
Contest Director at CA of which only one had been flown! The weather of
course having proved rather temperamental on the other occasions as is the
want of Compton …. It was going to be busy with a possible 4 trophies and
some medals to win.Friday was a quiet day with just one beginner – Amelie Windel - who flew a good sequence (in what appeared to be her Jim Jams) in an Extra 200 with Adrian Willis as safety Pilot – a score of 69.80% - I’m sure we will see more of her in competitions to come. The rest of the day saw pilots gradually flying in and they were dutifully ticked off the list by Jen B, as usual doing a sterling job. We won’t ponder on Saturday – many briefings – poor weather and just the Hughes sisters, the beautiful Emma and Laura, to entertain us and Margaret of  course controlling the cooking – the sun came out at 18.30 and raised a finger at us for the early evening; but we
smiled and knew that Sunday would be our day.Sunday – yes it was glorious – and so was the flying. Proceedings were opened up with the Speed Q for The Queen’s Cup – a carry over from the cancelled Duxford event. David Jenkins flew first and the pilots whipped through the flights – 8 flights, one disqualification for low flying and much amusement in the crowd at the effect of speed on performance. Alan C appeared to miss a figure out; maybe he calculated the lost time would be gained by omission – will we ever know? In the end after the scores were calculated by Bob and Nick, Phil Burgess in his DR107 G-RIHN was the winner of the Cup followed by Clive Butler (Extra 230) and Gary Ferriman (Extra 230). John Calverley opened up the Air Squadron sponsored Apprentices. This was after some rather lively debate on what you could and could not do as embellishments – 12 Pilots, a few Judges and some other interested  parties
produced many views – but we agreed in the end (well pigs do fly don’t they)
a way forward. We had smoke, a
 lot of giggles and laughs from the spectator
stand, quite a few multiple spins, some intentional and some clearly not so
intentional embellishments and ….. another disqualification for a low. The
Compton hill perspective was taking it’s toll …… I’m happy to say the lows
were purely technical lows with aircraft in control and not affecting flight
safety. The scores arrived towards the end of the day, Ed Cyster in his
Pitts S-1T N-666BM coming in with a clear win and 77.84% with the opener John Calverley (Yak-52) in 2nd place
and Peter Rounce (Pitts S-1T) a very close
3rd. So - well done to Ed for taking the gold and the coveted Aladdin
Air Squadron Trophy.The Judges needed some refreshment and a stretch – Margaret’s baguettes were just the ticket and early in the afternoon we moved on with the advanced team into the Unknown to battle out for the Don Henry  Trophy. We had some beautiful flying and much
enthusiasm from the Pilots. The weather was excellent and everybody was in
good form – many people wanting to fly a 3rd sequence which certainly looked
like it was on the cards. The final positioning was Alan Cassidy in a clear
lead with 76.58% in his Pitts S-1T (N-666BM) followed by Gary Ferriman, 3rd place to Richard Buchan in his
CAP-231.By this time, with Sunday being a day of rest and a few noise complaints coming in, it was decided that the play should stop at around 17.00 which left perfect timing for the 12 Pilots to complete the Intermediate Free. The scores ranged from 56.92% to a winning 79.03% and the podium saw Peter Rounce a deserved  winner with Steuart (correct spelling) Walton 2nd and Ed Cyster 3rd. Many happy smiling faces – what a little bit of sun can do!Thanks needs to be given to Bob Oliver, as chief Judge, and his troupe of judges, scribes and callers – a rather hot job on the day as well as the Hughes family. Margaret presented the various medals and Trophies and we were also honoured with Lord James Baring’s attendance to present the Air Squadron trophy and the cheques to the winners. We were lucky enough to have a few members of the club attend on the Saturday and Sunday and their support is much appreciated. Oh I forgot to mention - Nick (Buckenham) has been given a new name by Clive Hughes- not “Nick the Greek” but “Nick the Pain” …… no not for that reason ….. but nearly falling out or rather through a pane of glass during one of the briefings – Health and Safety reared it’s head and as well as the risk assessment some of us got to see Emma clearing up in her Wellingtons. Roll on next year …….. Oh and if you go to Compton in the near future take some spare cash and contribute to Charity – you get a Compton calendar …… with 3 pictures of Emma (including page 3) … well worth the Tenner!  Patrick Rushmore Contest Director |
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