Contest Directors report
Compton Abbas 2023

The weather is probably the most talked about subject in the UK. Forecasters are quickly blamed for the slightest inaccuracy, but they have an almost impossible task on their hands as things change constantly in this green and pleasant land. For the layman, there are now a string of apps that can be used to help predict what the weather might be doing on a given day, but they don’t come with a guarantee. Assessing whether things will be good enough to hold an aerobatic flying competition is a big responsibility.

Just a few hours before setting off for the Nationals, Paul Brice was involved in a car accident, so he missed the competition. Paul had volunteered to be the Contest Director for our Compton Abbas event and was well into his preparations when he asked if I would step into his shoes for the event to allow him to compete, as he’d missed the Nationals. I readily agreed, especially as he offered to complete his preparations and I would turn the wheel at the competition. Fortunately, Paul is a very keen amateur meteorologist and provided us all with daily weather updates as the forecasts were published, then they changed of course. The conclusion was that the first day, Friday, might be flyable but with a strong front moving through on Friday night/Saturday morning, the moist air and strong winds it would leave in its wake would knock out Saturday as a competition day and it was highly likely that competitors would get stuck in Dorset with no safe path home. Some felt the weather was too marginal for a safe transit so decided to stay at home, but 8 pilots found a way through and parked their aircraft on the grass where the public would have a great view of them.

Compton Abbas airfield has undergone extensive renovations since it changed ownership recently. This includes a much larger outside area for the public to enjoy the activities of the day. Visiting families gathered to see what we were up to, but the answer to that was nothing. The cloud base required was just too low. Sorry folks, best just hurry up and wait, it might happen. And eventually it did. Alan George took off in his newly cleaned Pitts (pigeon poo is so difficult to remove), declared the weather as good enough and flew his Sports sequence. The visiting families were finally rewarded for their patience. Charlie Coode was next up but reported cloud at 2,000ft. So, he landed. The visiting families were now disappointed.

And so, we drank coffee and waited for another 2 hours before Martin Luton took our video operator Dom Gleave for a flight. Charlie Coode strapped in. Martin reported the cloud base at 2,700ft. Charlie Coode unstrapped. As it approached 15:00hrs, things looked a little better, so Charlie Coode went back to the Waltham Pitts to strap in again but discovered a broken tailwheel chain. Charlie Coode didn’t strap in. Next on the list was Isabel Rutland who was as keen to fly as her puppy Maggie was to bite whatever was in front of her. Isabel reported a base of 2,800ft. We were off again! Julian Murfitt borrowed some tools and locking wire and fixed the tailwheel spring on the Pitts very quickly. Charlie Coode strapped in. The visiting families now didn’t believe for a minute that he was actually going to fly, but he did, his first solo competition flight too. The visiting families were delighted.

Throughout the flights, Julian Murfitt was commentating on the airfield P.A. system, keeping the visiting families informed about what they were watching. It was a very welcome addition to the proceedings. 4 Sports flights, 3 Intermediate and 1 Advanced in the bag by 16:15. Not at all bad, given the weather on the day. A video review session followed to confirm some hard zero claims, a blur of fingers from our scorer Rod and we were ready for the trophy presentation at 17:00hrs. Bryher Grimes, nee Golding Barrett, came along to watch and kindly agreed to present the trophies. At Sports, Charlie Coode not only took the bronze, but was awarded the virtual prize for most strapped-in pilot of the day. Martin Luton was in silver, but it was Maggie’s mum Isabel Rutland who got the gold and was awarded the Golding Barrett trophy. At Intermediate, the fight for 2nd and 3^rd was a very close run thing, with only 0.4% splitting the places but it was to be Jez Burgoin who had to settle for the bronze medal with Andy McKee taking the Silver, but way out in front by almost 15% was Gary Ferriman who gets to keep the Roy Legg trophy for a year, although he couldn’t fit it in his DR107 so he’ll receive it some time in the future. 3 pilots entered the Advanced class but only one got through the weather, so it was our met guru Paul Brice who won at Advanced with a very impressive score of 76.9%. Well done everyone.

We owe a huge thank you to Compton Abbas airfield management who took the unprecedented decision to close their airfield to visiting aircraft for the day, putting safety before revenue. We worked together during our competition flights to ensure their resident aircraft were able to come and go safely and it all worked without a hitch. Their catering staff also looked after us, keeping the pilots fed and watered but also preparing lunch for the judging teams in advance which enabled us to crack on with things when the weather allowed. Martin Sandford and his judging team did a great job in their new judging position. Rod Herve on the keys produced the results in a very short time, thanks Rod. But the biggest thank you must go to the pilots. Very professional flying, and no complaints. Nice one!

One lovely surprise was the appearance of our friend Jan Nijhof and his wife. Jan competed many times in his Pitts, which he’d fly from the Netherlands. I’d like to say he came over just to be at the competition, but it was in fact a complete but really lovely coincidence. Come and see us again Jan.

So, that weather forecast. Was it right? Was Paul’s interpretation of the various apps correct? Well, he said we might get to fly on the Friday, and we did. I live only 17mls from Compton Abbas. I’m writing this on Saturday afternoon. It’s 14:30 and it’s raining. Has been for most of the morning with clear spells in between. Would we have flown today? Would our pilots not have got home? I’ll leave you to decide. What I do know is that it was a great day. I think the visiting families would agree.

Brian McCartney