CD's Report
Day 1 Friday
 Briefing
was held off until 12:30 to allow the Little Gransden contingent to
arrive; they were acceptably delayed due to a late Eurostar train
bringing over our Belgian contestant Alex van den Broeck. With three
beginners and six Intermediate pilots raring to go and a steady wind
from the North, the judges took up residence at the westerly point
but it quickly became clear that the cloud base was not high enough.
Is this March or April? Could we be
 doing
the Icicle? You would certainly think so based on the temperature,
supported further by seeing Eric retuning from the field in what
looked like a polar expedition immersion suit.
Sometime well
past 14:00 the clouds finally crept above 2,800ft allowing the first
Intermediate pilot Chris Brook to launch. Soon enough the air was
filled with the sounds of Pitts, Lasers, an Extra 200 and the One
Design. By the end of the first sequence the cloud base had gone up
enough to allow us to run straight into the beginners. This was
particularly exciting for me as it would be the first time I ever
saw a Tipsy Nipper take to the sky in a competition. Sadly the
Cessna 150A had to withdraw as this would have also been a first for
me.
 A
short break was declared after Neil Spooner had flown a fine
sequence in his immaculate Tipsy Nipper to allow the T67M to be
turned around for Nick Heard to enter the box. Inevitably in those
critical 10 minutes while the judges enjoyed a rest, demon clouds
drifted into the box forcing Nick to make several passes before
being able to start his sequence.
Two sequences done and
Chris is back in the box straight after the last Beginners sequence,
swiftly followed by Lauren Richardson. Soon after she took off Ray
in the tower burst into life with a flurry of radio calls. G-DR
orbit to the east – Break Break - G-EK remain at the hold. Lancaster
474 the box is clear. Clear fly past! Yes we were blessed with a
100ft low pass of the Avro Lancaster straight down the runway, and I
could see the smile on Lauren’s face from the ground as the
Lancaster passed under her with the crew waving at her as they past.
How tempting would it have been to roll in for a clear shot.
 Excitement
over and back to business: the Intermediate free was all done. Like
a flash the judges poured back from the Siberian Judging point. “But
it’s not 6 O’clock yet chaps, the pilots are up for a third flight
if you can bear the cold”. Who knows what it will be like tomorrow!
After a warm up break and time for the pilots to learn the first
Unknown it looked like we could motor though the third intermediate
sequence of the afternoon and with the club house filling up for the
evenings' BBQ, beer and food were in our sights. This gave us the
opportunity to present the winner of the Beginners event, won by
Neil Spooner flying his VW powered Tipsy Nipper with a very
respectable 82%. By 19:00 we were done and the judges certainly were
now resembling penguins at the pole.
Day 2 Saturday
Briefing at 08:00
... well it would have been if the CD and CJ were not delayed behind
a very slow tractor. What can I say; crap all day; tea tea and more
tea; damn fine burgers Katy makes though.
 At
16:00 we decided to call it a day and close the Intermediate
competition, having flown three flights on Friday (thank goodness)
allowing them an early departure. David Kean had a smile from ear to
ear when we finally decided that the weather wasn’t going to play
ball, as he had been in the lead since the competition started.
Lauren in second place and Chris in third place had been gradually
catching him. Perhaps they were also relieved that they hadn’t
needed to risk their medals with a fourth sequence, or were they
just fed up after drinking pints of tea.
Day 3 Sunday
Sadly we lost three
Standard pilots due to the extension of the competition to Sunday,
leaving a field of seven and a civilised brief at 10:00. The MET
lied of course and the forecast 3,000-4,000ft cloud base turned out
to be 1,500ft in Lincolnshire. Having been born in the county, it is
best not say anything too disparaging. While the seven remaining
pilots tried to stay focused we eagerly checked every arriving
aircraft for an accurate cloud base. It’s between 1,500 and 2,000
one said. That’s not accurate! Then suddenly while in the tower I
take a phone call: “Have you had a call from Dakota 99”. Humm Dakota
what?. “We lost radio contact
 and
he’s coming your way” Ray in the tower says “I think that’s him”.
Did he read the NOTAM. Lucky we didn’t have anyone in the box as the
Dakota flew along the runway downwind at very low feet. It
looked great but very luckily there was no one in the circuit.
After a quick weather check in the T67 (thanks Cas for the ride,
my first trip in this machine and my respect for those T67 pilots
just hit the roof) we finally managed to reach 2,800ft ... albeit
with very poor viz. The Standard guys were operating as efficiently
as the Intermediate's on Friday, so we trucked through all seven in
just over an hour despite the extra three free figures they needed
to fly. By now the temperature resembled a typical May weekend so an
ice-cream treat for the judges was arranged. Sub-zero on Friday,
rain and low cloud Saturday and pleasant warm day on Sunday.
 The
standard Unknown went off in good order, though I think all the
pilots would have preferred a longer gap to learn the sequence -
which of course they would have had if I hadn’t sent the
Intermediate pilots home! Mind you, despite the forecast, the
conditions on Sunday were not as good as expected and it was just as
well we only had 14 flights to do. By 16:00 it was all over,
resulting in an exciting battle of the Pitts drivers in 4th and 5th
but a sound win for Ian Scott in his Cap10 returning from a three
year layoff. Paul Elvidge took the silver and Aidan Smith the
bronze.
Well done to all the pilots in attendance and thank
you for making the effort to stay for Sunday. Fenland is a great
venue and Ray in the tower makes life very relaxed and manageable
for all concerned.
|
 |
| Beginners Final Results - Final |
|
Fenland & McAully Trophies, Fenland, 17 - 19 May |
|
Ranked by scores
|
|
Rank |
Pilot |
Aeroplane |
Registration |
Known |
Totals |
O/all % |
| 1 |
Neil Spooner |
Tipsy Nipper |
G-ONCS |
569.11 |
569.11 |
82.480 |
2 |
Martin Bromiley |
Slingsby T-67M |
G-BNSP |
461.32 |
461.32 |
66.858 |
3 |
Nick Heard |
Slingsby T-67M |
G-BNSP |
435.78 |
435.78 |
63.156 |
 |
| Contest Director: Julian Murfitt, Contest Chief Judge: David Jenkins, Scoring Director: Jen Buckenham. Judges: David Jenkins, Nick Wakefield, John Royce, Eric Marsh. Judges Assistants: Sarah Hardy, Adrian Willis, John Scott, Ian Scott. |
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FairPlay System |
Aerobatic Contest Results Organiser, Version 3.2 Build 10-05-13, with FairPlay Scoring System |
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| The Fenland Trophy |
|
Fenland & McAully Trophies, Fenland, 17 - 19 May |
|
Ranked by scores
|
| Rank |
Pilot |
Aeroplane |
Registration |
Known
|
Free
|
Unk'n #1
|
Totals |
O/all % |
| 1 |
David Kean |
DR-107 |
G-IIID |
1517.52 |
1543.56 |
1379.21 |
4440.29 |
75.902 |
2 |
Lauren Richardson |
Pitts S-1S |
G-BKDR |
1368.83 |
1556.83 |
1411.40 |
4337.06 |
74.138 |
3 |
Chris Brook |
Pitts S-2A |
G-BTTR |
1395.16 |
1458.52 |
1431.19 |
4284.87 |
73.246 |
4 |
Alexander van den Broeck |
Extra 200 |
OO-TTT |
1402.94 |
1429.98 |
1144.90 |
3977.82 |
67.997 |
5 |
Phillip Massetti |
Laser 200 |
G-CBHR |
1387.84 |
1387.06 |
1152.16 |
3927.06 |
67.129 |
6 |
David Cowden |
Laser Z200 |
G-VILL |
1312.73 |
1302.23 |
|
2614.96 |
44.700 |
|
| Contest Director: Julian Murfitt, Contest Chief Judge: David Jenkins, Scoring Director: Jen Buckenham. Judges: David Jenkins, Nick Wakefield, Ian Scott, Eric Marsh. Judges Assistants: Sarah Hardy, John Royce, Adrian Willis, John Scott. |
|
|
FairPlay System |
Aerobatic Contest Results Organiser, Version 3.2 Build 10-05-13, with FairPlay Scoring System |
|
|
|
| The McAully Trophy |
|
Fenland & McAully Trophies, Fenland, 17 - 19 May |
|
Ranked by scores
|
|
Rank |
Pilot |
Aeroplane |
Registration |
McAknwn
|
McAfree
|
Unknown
|
Totals |
O/all % |
| 1 |
Ian Scott |
CAP-10B |
G-BXRC |
1071.10 |
375.99 |
986.57 |
2433.66 |
80.055 |
2 |
Paul Elvidge |
T-67M |
G-BKTZ |
1064.91 |
341.98 |
982.20 |
2389.09 |
78.588 |
3 |
Aidan Smith |
Slingsby T-67M |
G-BUUK |
1064.87 |
366.55 |
937.55 |
2368.98 |
77.927 |
4 |
Jonathan Taylor |
Pitts S-1S |
G-WAZZ |
1032.12 |
350.28 |
956.50 |
2338.90 |
76.937 |
5 |
Neil Parkinson |
Pitts S-1S |
G-FORZ |
1040.67 |
365.92 |
914.98 |
2321.57 |
76.367 |
6 |
Alex Cartwright |
Slingsby T-67M |
G-BUUK |
889.87 |
346.25 |
779.11 |
2015.24 |
66.291 |
7 |
Victoria Wicks |
Slingsby T-67M |
G-BNSO |
651.78 |
242.70 |
789.18 |
1683.66 |
55.383 |
|
|
| Contest Director: Julian Murfitt, Contest Chief Judge: David Jenkins, Scoring Director: Jen Buckenham. Judges: David Jenkins, Eric Marsh, Nick Buckenham. Judges Assistants: Julie Wood, David Cowden, Rachael Taylor. |
|
|
FairPlay System |
Aerobatic Contest Results Organiser, Version 3.2 Build 10-05-13, with FairPlay Scoring System |
|
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