I wonder what odds Ladbrokes, (others are available) would have given me, at almost any time during the ‘summer’ of 2012, that over the last weekend of September, we would complete 6 aerobatic programmes from a Dorset hilltop? I think I could have got a pretty good price!

That’s right, you read it correctly, 6 programmes! The previous 2 attempts to run events at Compton Abbas this year were well and truly weathered off. With the Advanced Nationals at Sywell suffering the same fate, we had a lot of un-awarded trophies, medals and cheques, not to mention the lack of an Advanced Champion. So in a last roll of the dice and with the generosity of the Compton management in giving us yet another weekend to play with, it was back to the South West once more to try and salvage something. But all 6 programmes?

With dozens of flood warnings still in place and a front lying diagonally across England, getting there was going to be the first challenge. So I delayed the Friday briefing to allow the maximum time for pilots to arrive. By 1400hrs it was clear that we had everybody who was going to make it so, briefing complete, sky looking less iffy, pilot one strapped on an S’bach and the Adv ‘Q’ was underway. Now, probably like you, I have heard several stories of what an S’bach is like to fly. And, probably like you, I’ve never flown one, but the impression I gather is that they’re not easy and would require a good deal more than 5 practice flights before most of us would even contemplate competing in one. Alan didn’t have this luxury and his 6th aero flight scored almost 71% and good enough for 3rd place in the known. Phil Burgess bagged 2nd with David Jenkins in 1st place. So by 1715hrs we had the ‘Q’ in the can.


Programme 1 of 6 complete.

Saturday dawned as forecast, beautiful clear blue sky and light wind but the ground was wet, soaking wet and all that water had to go somewhere and I feared it would choose up as it’s departure route. Briefing was to be held before the airfield opened to airborne arrivals so intermediate pilots had also arrived on the Friday and were now arriving from their chosen accommodation. In the case of the Little Gransden team, they were arriving from their tents, Phil Massetti swearing, “never again”.

0840hrs and the ground moisture on the hill to the North West of the field chose up, aided greatly by a now strengthening north westerly wind. How often does low scud spoil the first few hours of an event? However, not this time. By 0910hrs, it had lost it’s energy, probably to the increasing wind, and we had blue sky again. Adv ‘free’, the Don Henry Trophy, was off and running with the S’bach as wind dummy again, sorry Alan. Chief judge Ben Ellis and team of judges and assistants, didn’t need to be told that there was a strong ‘on judge’ wind but a few flights had them falling backwards off their chairs. This round was very close with half a percent covering 2nd – 5th  with David Jenkins winning the Don Henry, David Thomson in 2nd in his new Cap 232 and Alan Cassidy in bronze, but the combined results remained unchanged.

Programme 2 of 6 complete.

Intermediate free was to be a straight shootout for the medals. Some very tidy flying in a windy box placed Patrick Caruth in his Eagle in 3rd. It would have been so poetic to have given the gold to Peter Rounce on his 40th Birthday but it was not to be and silver was his gong. The gold medal went to a very disbelieving Farrell McGee who actually took me to one side to ask if this was some sort of elaborate wind-up. No Farrell, you won it.

Programme 3 of 6 complete.


Advanced unknown was again to prove another tussle between Phil, Alan and David Thomson in the mid field. Phil was back in 2nd but this time David T pulled out 3% on Alan and that proved to be enough for 3rd overall and bronze in the Nats. Phil Burgess took silver but it was the unthreatened David Jenkins who took the gold and is the 2012 Advanced National Aerobatic Champion. Well done David.

4 of 6 complete.

Lunch and Apprentices/Masters briefing complete and the fully thawed judging teams were again wrapped up and sent out to judge one of the hardest sequences of all to judge. Intermediate pilots had now been joined by Richard Goodwin and Advanced were down to just two. So with smoke tanks full, blue sky and a good crowd, the final battle of the year began. Lots of smoke, flicks, tumbles and oohs and aahs from the crowd and we were eventually treated to the last flight of the 2012 season – our Chairman with his freestyle head on in an S’bach. What a way to end the year and I think Alan was happy too, taking the gold for that Masters flight. Bill Hall from the Air Squadron had kindly come along to present cheques to the top 3 pilots in Apprentices and of course the medals. Steve Hipwell got a bronze for his very flicky routine in his beautiful Lazer. Farrell picked up another gong, silver this time, but the Air Squadron Trophy, gold medal and a cheque for £300 was presented to Richard Goodwin.


6 of 6 programmes completed!

A huge thank you to everybody who helped make this competition a great success. Who says Compton Abbas is not a good place for a contest!

See you all next year.