It is not unusual for an aerobatic aeroplane to go `tech` just as it is about to be called upon to earn its keep. Unfortunately the undercarriage problems afflicting the Extra 200 of Adrian Willis had a large impact on the  substantial entry for this event. Despite that we still had 13 pilots on the day and a nice mix of people and aeroplanes.

There were no weather issues, not even any wind to speak of. We did have some gliders straying into the box, but they were almost expected. Chief Judge John Royce and resident pilot Phill Massetti kept the competitors informed and major disruptions were avoided.

The first flight was cleared into the box at 10.30 am having had a warm up off airfield and over the next 2.5 hours a steady stream followed. Predictably the 270deg turn at the start of the sequence caused a few positioning issues, but on balance we saw a very respectable set of first attempts. When we broke for lunch David Farley led the pack in his Skybolt.

A short break for sustenance and the second flights began, this time with no off field warm up. The real test is to see if mistakes made in the morning can be banished and improvement found. Fortunately for the competitors advice and encouragement was on hand from Charlie Kimbell and Alan Cassidy between their turns sharing the front seat in G-ODDS. Almost everybody made a useful improvement in the afternoon and the standard of flying was good. The only big looser was David Farley, weight of expectation? too relaxed? Who knows, but I am sure we can all sympathise. Staying in front is always hard.

At the close of play our top three were all notable for entirely different reasons. David Munro took the top step with an immaculate flight, head and shoulders above the rest. He was the biggest improver, seeing his score increase by some 20%! Second was Jamie Townes in his Bulldog, notable because he had not even arrived in time to fly the morning sequence. He  was humble enough to admit that his illustrious safety pilot gave him some advice while airborne, but a very commendable flight none the less. In third was Olivia Arsene, notable for her consistency having been third in the morning flight with an almost identical score.

A big well done to all the pilots, we hope you are now infected with the aerobatic disease and will find many of your waking hours taken up with scheming how to  find the time and money to immerse yourselves more deeply into this most rewarding / infuriating / delightful / challenging and intriguing sporting arena.

Being competitive at Standard level is not a giant leap from where you are now!

Thanks as ever to our host Mark Jeffries for use of his lovely airfield and facilities. To Jen for doing all the hard work and John Royce for keeping fellow judge Phill Massetti on the ball!