2023 Nathaniel Alony and Duxford Trophies CD report

This year again we combined two contests for Advanced and Unlimited pilots (competing for the Duxford and Nathaniel Alony Trophies, respectively) with the Get into Aeros event. Ruth Scott, our GiA guru, tells us more about that side of the weekend elsewhere.

It started with a hiss, our Chief Judge Nick Buckenham suffering a flat tyre (BMW Run-Flat!) on Friday morning. Then Friday afternoon the word spread that Sleap had not received its normal delivery and was consequently out of aviation fuel. Fortunately all these little inconveniences were sorted in time, the whole judging team and some AVGAS were on site by Saturday morning first briefing at 10am.

Bad weather was certainly not the usual suspect to blame, we had blue skies over Sleap as soon as morning dew had evaporated. However some contestants (in each of the two different levels) who elected to fly in from the East in the morning could only join us by midday.

I had planned (and stuck to it) to start with competition flights first, if only to inspire the GiA chicks before they got their own taster “non-standard PPL” flight. Waiting for late competitors gave all time to have breakfast, and GiA pilots got acquainted with their respective instructors (once the last one also managed to fly in). With patience already tested and temperature rising, all were eager to get going.

With the edge of the current aerobatic box virtually above the runway and a “hard deck” at 500 ft for Advanced and Unlimited flights (BAeA/CAA rules), Sleap decided to close their airspace to all other GA traffic during competition flights. Consequently, to try accommodating everyone’s needs (don’t try this at home) I negotiated 25 min windows with Sleap controllers to allow competitors to take off and perform their sequences (and land back) two by two (not together obviously), with 15 min gaps in between. Here I have to salute Sleap controllers and competitors who kept to the timetable we agreed, with wheels up on the dot.

One issue was the sudden surge of traffic on the ground when the airspace reopened, with local flights supplemented with our GIA pilots flying out or coming back from local training areas. Some food for thought before our Senior Nationals in Sleap’s new aerobatic box later this year.

The flying had its usual ups and downs. I didn’t have much time to watch but the results talk for themselves. No safety penalties so well done for that everyone.

At Advanced level a solid performance again from Maciej Kulaszewski (last year's Intermediate World Champion) who had the highest scores in 3 out of 4 programs and bagged the Duxford Trophy. David Heard felt the pressure, losing a few more points throughout each program but maintained his head high and secured silver. Adrian Willis suffered a few HZ’s and finished in third place. Steven Bakhtiari had a moment in his Free Known but eventually managed to beat the World Champion in the last program (helped by not getting any HZ in that one).

At Unlimited Chris Brook kept above the crowd in all three programs. The magnificent Nathaniel Alony Trophy couldn’t fit in the cockpit of the Extra 330SC (manufacturers of these machines should think about a Trophy compartment). Nick Wakefield and Phil Burgess battled for second place, but in the end Phil suffered more HZ’s and had to be content with the bronze. David Nichols made a good first appearance at Unlimited with very few HZ’s, just needs more practice (who’s talking !).

There’s a theory that equilibrium emerges from chaos. I felt like that towards the end of this weekend. A bit like going through a figure not having total control despite trying, yet coming out wings level and on axis. Some competitors were not that lucky, but that is what’s so exciting about aerobatics. And GiA pilots also showed their potential, no doubt some have caught the bug.

First-hand feedback suggests all had a good weekend. Big thanks to the now crispy judging team and our scorer Jen and Sleap staff for their efforts to keep us in the air. Looking forward to seeing you all again soon. Keep flying safely!

Rodolphe Hervé, CD