The Nathaniel Alony, Cavendish Hotel
   and Roy Legg Trophies - 2011

Historically the function of Contest Director was undertaken by the previous year’s winner which, pilots being renowned for their organisational incompetence, led to some fiascos. There was then a spell when the winner, spared the prospect of organising the contest, was required to write a report after it. This led to one famous submission “Turned up, won, went home”.

So now the CD writes a report, which used to go to the BAeA periodic Newsletter with a deadline of several weeks, but now goes on the Internet with a target “same day” deadline.

CDs’ styles of reporting vary: some relate a blow-by-blow account of the contest in the tradition of a professional sports writer, whilst others favour more conversational copy and let the results speak for themselves. There is too a rumour that some use the same material time after time and just change the names and weather!

For it is the weather which has the greatest influence in our operations, and Elvington was no exception: first flight on the Friday was by Tom Cassells (the sole Unlimited entrant, of which more later), immediately followed by nine of the 24 Advanced pilots, all below a shallow cirrus. Alas by noonish cumulus was arriving on a strengthening nor-easterly from the nearby oggin, which facilitated a three hour intermission-with-lunch. Expeditious movements by most pilots then completed the Advanced Q group by 1600 and ten of the Advanced First Unknown by the strict 1800 Friday curfew.

Advanced pilots than congregated to compile (with much reference to rule books and complex technical debate) the second Unknown, albeit likely that time (aka weather) would prevent its ever being flown.

0800 hours Saturday saw a happy combination of 13 Intermediate pilots and a gin-clear blue sky, so that by soon after 0900 the four left-over-from-yesterday Advanced pilots were finishing their first Unknown and by 1000 Dave Cowden was starting the Intermediate Known, followed by TC’s single Unlimited flight, and lunch in an ongoing bright but cold and windy sunshine.

As a CD one is reluctant to cancel any part of a contest until necessary, but with 27 Advanced/Intermediate flights to complete before 1800 it was obvious the second Unknown, so laboriously compiled the previous night, was impossible, so that having been announced pilots and their judges returned to their respective tasks. The latter had commented that whilst the pilot flow-rate was good from the ground, many pilots were then taking a leisurely tour of the York countryside before eventually homing on The Box: 50 flights each adding a potentially wasteful two minutes totals more than an hour and a half, which is a lot of time in a busy flying weekend. It seems the comment had the desired effect, for the last flight, Tom’s Unknown, landed just before 1800.

Elvington might be flat and isolated, but for the CD this has the advantage of keeping everyone together: there is nowhere for pilots to ‘hide’, making the convening of briefings quick and easy. Excess briefings are undesirable, and at Elvington over two days we had two formal “first” briefings, one informal update, and the final debrief. The CD and CJ follow a strict schedule of what BAeA rules stipulate must be communicated to contestants, most if not all of it based on a concern for safety.

At the final briefing Eric Marsh as CD thanked all who had contributed to the success of the event, from Airfield Manager Steve Roper, caterers Martin and Joyce, Scorer Jen Buckenham, and the judging team under CJ Nick Buckenham (which included many selfless volunteers of whom some where, notably, off duty competing pilots), and finally the pilots themselves: of those, special mention was made of Tom Cassells who had sportingly entered knowing that he could not win anything (or lose! from the CJ).

 

By fortuitous coincidence Eric Marsh, Contest Director, was also present as Eric Marsh Sponsor of The Cavendish Hotel Trophy, so invited himself to make the presentations, The Cavendish Hotel to Advanced winner Alan Cassidy, the Roy Legg to Intermediate winner Emily Todd, and medals to those listed below.

Eric Marsh,
Contest Director