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Tiger Trophy - 2012 |
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CD's Report
For
a change in 2012, the morning of an aerobatic
competition dawned clear and bright with a forecast to
stay that way all day. With
cold clear air, perfect for engines and airframes
alike
and an entry list like a young Ronnie Corbett (small
but perfectly formed) we
had the luxury of near perfect conditions and no time
pressure. I
winged it through the briefing (enjoy yourselves,
don’t
crash, don’t annoy the locals and pay your bills) only
to be caught out with
searching questions like ‘what’s the wind?’ Chief
Judge, Steve Todd was properly
prepared and gave the sort of professional briefing
more normally seen at BAeA
contests. With
the contest set to start at 10am, the pre-flight
preparations were interrupted by an impromptu game of
‘pin the tail on the box’
an hilarious game for any number of players involving
a small room crammed with
bemused pilots while random officials and contestants
tried to locate the
judging position with the aid of an interactive
whiteboard, Google Earth and a
slow internet connection. It was such good fun I’m
thinking of pitching it to
Endemol…you see, it’ll be on C4 for the Christmas
non-celebrity Big Brother! The
contest wind was chosen for the convenience of the
judges rather than the pilots. This was driven by
pragmatism rather than
malice, but that was minor compensation for the brisk
cross-box off-judge wind. For future contests
at Sherburn we should
endeavour to secure operations and a box location that
would allow the use of
the Southern judging position (and therefore an
East-West main axis). As
it happened, the structure of the sequence meant that
the
cross wind wasn’t a major impediment. We
all enjoyed the glorious weather. Well I say all, I
mean
the pilots and spectators…the un-seasonally warm
weather meant that the judges
had the benefit of avoiding the traditional
Tiger-induced hypothermia but had
it replaced by complexions streaked with sun-baked
lines formed by squinting
like a Japanese sniper into the sun for 3 hours! The
Southern judging location
would protect the judges from premature retinal
degradation as well as being
more acceptable to the pilots….win-win! So
after a relaxed and (for me at least) enjoyable 3
hours
flying we all convened for tea and medals. The results
are all here for
scrutiny. We were treated to a really nice collection
of flights in some of the
world’s most desirable aeroplanes. Congratulations to
all the category
medallists and special congratulations to Gerald
Cooper who gave a
demonstration of his extraordinary talent by turning
up in a borrowed aeroplane
without any practise and taking the Tiger trophy
home….very well done indeed. The
relatively early finish allowed an unhurried departure
for those pilots with longer transits or other
commitments leaving a handful of
pilots electing to fly a non-competition second
unknown sequence. And so we
spent the day in the Northern sunshine and friendly
hospitality of Sherburn
Aero Club. My
final duty as CD is a pleasurable one ,That tis to
recognise the dedication and hard work of all those
volunteers who made this
happen. Without you we wouldn’t have a contest. A
sincere thank you to you all.
Aidan Grimley
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