All runways are different, but Elvington’s is especially different, in that it is threequarters the length of Heathrow’s and 10 metres wider, plus it has a same length 30 metre wide taxiway and 3000 square metre pan. But that is all it has: no lounge, no reception, no catering, no toilets, not even electricity But who cares? It has Airfield Manager Carl to provide comfortable shelter in a portacabin with power from his generator, and a clean portaloo from A64 toilets, whilst Martin and Joyce arrive before everyone with his vast tanker full of avgas and her chuck wagon full of bacon butties.

First briefing was at 1000 hrs on Friday, which Contest Director Eric Marsh prefaced with a few moments’ silence and a few words of condolence in remembrance of friend and fellow pilot David Jenkins, who tragically had died in his plane two days before.

Alas only 6 pilots had entered at Advanced level, and they were briefed so that their first two programmes (Known Q and Unknown 1 [BAeA]) were completed by mid afternoon. There then followed the time-consuming process of compiling the Unknown 2 (Free), for study and revision by pilots and officials. Brian McCartney, as Head of Contest Organisation, formally invited comment of participating pilots on this labour-intensive tradition in anticipation of future Nationals, and although there was much discussion, with numerous permutations of options, no major conclusion was apparent.      

Briefing at 0900 on Saturday included the only two Intermediate pilots. Judge Peter MacIntosh gave his typically well sourced met briefing, which included a possibility of weather deterioration during the day. This notwithstanding, pilots and officials agreed that, with such a low entry, completion in the day would be the target. But then the first pilot reported low cloud, so that the first contest flight was not until around noon, and then the forecast unflyable weather appeared around 1600, so that was that for the day.

Briefing was set for a lazy Sunday 1000hrs, when we were greeted by wall-to-wall blue skies, albeit with single figure temps and northerly wind: it’s still winter in UK. First flight was just before 1100, by the Intermediate pilot whom the weather prevented flying on Saturday, then everyone had one more flight, all finishing before 1300.

As sponsor of The Cavendish Hotel Trophy, Contest Director Eric Marsh presumed to present the awards to the winners, listed elsewhere. Thankyou’s followed, to all who contributed to the success of the event, including Joyce, Carl and Martin of Elvington, Chief Judge Ian Scott and his team of fellow judges and their scribes, Registrar and Scoring Director Jen Buckenham (who suffered a major gremlin in her computer just when everything else was going wrong on Saturday afternoon), and, most importantly, to the pilots, who pay vast sums and suffer major discomfort only to be mercilessly criticised by a group of, allegedly, myopic muppets who cannot even agree with each other!