Club Class Nationals

I have finally arrived back in Aberdeen after 9 hours on the road.


Thank you for all the supportive messages recieved throughout the comp.

It was a fantastic week of flying - 7 competition days is almost unheard of within the UK. The weather has allowed almost 1,500km of racing, 30 airborne hours, 5 finishes and 2 landouts.

Day 6 was the highlight, with a handicapped 90kph around a 335km racing task.

The final Day 7 started with a low scrape almost immediately after making a start, however the air mass was very unstable with strong convection under stormy looking clouds. There was only so much rain dodging to be done, and the Cirrus doesnt fly too nicely with wet wings. After rounding the second TP, it looked like I would be landing as by 800ft I had not found any lift. However, under a particularly black looking cloud I found a 9knot average which ran me a good distance down track before landing in a field, but enough to take the day win.

The field on the other hand was not so fun. Due to all the rain in England, the crop is not yet cut - I do not exaggerate when I say Scotland has more landable fields at present! After a 10km search for something suitable, I selected a green field which turned out to be 'Sugar Beet' - John Mc will know what that is?!

I aimed for a tractor rut and made a smooth landing, however the ensuing groundloop was inevitable. Luckily no damage has been done and the farmer towed me out by tractor, kept happy by some beer tokens. An interesting end to a tricky day and tiring week.

The comp didnt start off in the best way however; we had a midair collision resulting in one of the pilots parachuting out. Whilst both only suffered minor injuries, it was a wake up call to everyone at the competition. Please next time you fly, rehearse what you need to do to jettison your canopy and remember that every glider is different.

I have uploaded some photos of my comp, which can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/80594325@N08/

Cross country / competitive flying is particularly rewarding and I would strongly encourage anyone to pursue it. There are a number of members at Aboyne which can help with lead-and-follow exercises or provide advice on the subject. The Pocklington 2-seater comp is a great introduction to comps and usually attending by the Capstan syndicate.

Anyway, the wings wont even be dry before the next comp - I am competing in the Junior Championships in 2 weeks...!