UK National Championships 1996 (Standard & Intermediate)

[Gareth Roberts]

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BAeA Standard and Intermediate National Aerobatic Championships
Wickenby, 16 & 17 August 1996
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Once again the Standard and Intermediate levels have had their big day(s)
of the year at Wickenby Airport in Lincolnshire, where we all met to
decide
who is to be National Champion for 1996 in these two intensely
competitive
classes.Twenty Standard and ten Intermediate pilots came to do their
best,
through the usual 'known' and two 'unknown' sequences at Standard and
the 'known', an 'unknown' and a programme-2 'free-style' for the
Intermediates.

For once in an indifferent weather year it looked quite good, but that
just
was a feet-on-the-ground view. Hazy high pressure in the aftermath of a
weak front gave the pilots about five to eight miles viz below 2,700 ft,
above
which the usual CAVOK came with a flat no-features horizon. Well " it
sorts
those who can from those who can't", and that's what this is all about.

Tim Hall in venerable Stampe G-ASHS kicked off the Standard class at
1300 hrs on Friday, as usual setting an impressive marker for others to
beat.
Pitts S1's in various guises, an S2A and an S2B, a lovely Fournier RF4,
a Robin, a CAP-20, a Tipsy Nipper, a Starduster, a Yak-50 and brace
of 52's - all joined in to do fair battle. It was Martin Sandford's
CAP-20
G-BIPO at the front after the 'known' sequences were all done, by a
whisker from Gary Clemens-Gibbon's S2B.

The Intermediate 'known' followed immediately afterwards, 1995's
standard champion Tim Shears continuing to show everyone the way
in his S1 with Nick Bloom's Stampe (fresh from winning the Coupe d'Anjou
- at last!)
snapping at the tiny Pitts'es heels. Pitts S1's dominated here, the only
monoplanes being James Allisons rumbling Yak-50 and the Laser of
RAF Tucano instructor Steve Griffiths spoiling the waspish biplane party
of Pitts'es, Nick's Stampe and Itai Dinnerman's Christen (Jewish?) Eagle.

Saturday looked just as good as the previous day, and CD Eric marsh had
the show up and running again by a spritely 0900 hrs. The standard first
'unknown'
started the previous evening was quickly despatched, now with Gary C-G
and
Chris Malkin pushing Martin hard to stay in with a chance. The pace was
beginning to tell - regular high scorer Kester Scrope threw a stall-turn
away
with an impressive sort of up-pitch-rotate-down manoeuvre quite hard to
describe, and a few other pilots clearly wished that they had practiced
rather
more than they obviously had. Back with the Intermediate crowd the
group-2's
put some of the load back onto the Judging line, particularly when Itai's
Eagle
added an extra 180 to the two turn inverted spin and blithely carried on
throughout
the rest in the wrong direction. Everyone commiserated - we have all
been there
once or twice.

Eric's fine direction and catering - and Carol Evan's deft marshalling -
got the
whole thing completed in record time, and the results were out and
published in
the time honoured way before 5 o'clock. Not without a problem or two -
the trusty
BAeA computer threw a "memory full" wobbly at TBL so good old cumulative
raw
scores determined the results just like they used to. A truly delighted
Martin
Sandford bagged the Flyer Magazine Standard level Trophy by
three-hundredths
of a percent from Gary's S2B, the first four all within a single
percentage point,
while at Intermediate Tim Shears ran away with his second national
championship
in as many years. Fine flying, excellent competition, worthy winners.

Chief Judge Ben Ellis drove Tony Lloyd, Brian Webberly, Gareth Roberts,
Annabel Wakefield, Nick Buckenham, Charles Kirk and Bob Oliver on the
judging line,
lots of good people assisted them, Jen and Mel Buckenham registered
pilots and
whizzed the judging papers into the computer, Carol Evans cracked the
marshallers
whip and Eric Marsh ably directed the show. Next stop is the new 'bash'
at Peterborough
and then the Advanced and Unlimited nationals at Sywell will close the
season.
Where on earth has it all gone - it seems we only started at Old Warden a
few weeks
ago . . . . it must be true what they say, time does fly when you're
enjoying yourself.

Report from Nick Buckenham (chai...@aerobatics.org.uk)

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RESULTS

STANDARD LEVEL - The Flyer Trophy

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Total Percent Pos

Martin Sandford 7,013.0 6,061.5 6,619.0 19,693.5 78.59% 1
Gary Clemens-Gibbon 7,008.0 6,202.5 6,475.5 19,686.0 78.56% 2
Chris Malkin 6,859.0 6,180.5 6,527.5 19,567.0 78.08% 3
Tim Hall 6,882.5 6,079.5 6,526.5 19,488.5 77.77% 4
Gary Ferriman 6,396.0 6,190.5 6,002.0 18,588.5 74.18% 5
Andy Shuttleworth 6,896.0 6,270.5 5,312.5 18,479.0 73.74% 6
Tony Budd 6,476.0 5,960.5 5,761.0 18,197.5 72.62% 7
Martin Beasley 6,217.5 5,959.0 5,834.0 18,010.5 71.87% 8
Kester Scrope 6,823.5 5,717.5 5,305.5 17,846.5 71.22% 9
David Eggleton 6,401.0 5,383.0 5,643.0 17,427.0 69.54% 10
Patrick Caruth 6,386.0 5,209.0 5,572.0 17,167.0 68.50% 11
Roger Andrews 6,001.0 5,476.0 5,604.5 17,081.5 68.16% 12
Ian Scott 6,070.0 5,340.0 5,611.5 17,021.5 67.92% 13
Richard Bower 5,888.5 5,090.5 5,667.0 16,646.0 66.42% 14
Simon Catlin 5,830.0 5,624.5 5,176.0 16,630.5 66.36% 15
John Vize 6,171.5 5,307.5 4,647.0 16,126.0 64.35% 16
Patrick Rushmore 5,138.5 4,916.5 5,978.0 16,033.0 63.98% 17
Simon Johnson 5,731.0 5,565.0 4,707.0 16,003.0 63.86% 18
Steve Gibbins 4,879.5 5,274.0 5,159.5 15,313.0 61.11% 19
John Swinnerton 4,784.5 3,948.0 5,011.0 13,743.5 54.84% 20


Max. Poss 8,750.0 8,120.0 8,190.0 25,060.0

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL - The BAeA Intermediate Championship Plate

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Total Percent Pos

Tim Shears 11,163.0 8,838.5 9,859.0 29,860.5 78.85% 1
Nick Bloom 10,792.0 8,716.5 9,520.0 29,028.5 76.65% 2
James Allison 9,948.5 8,687.0 9,798.5 28,434.0 75.08% 3
Steve Griffiths 10,635.0 8,353.0 9,423.0 28,411.0 75.02% 4
Ron Allan 10,728.5 8,254.0 9,412.0 28,394.5 74.98% 5
Jeff Mortimer 10,374.5 8,136.0 9,334.0 27,844.5 73.53% 6
Mark Janney 9,982.0 8,396.5 9,375.5 27,754.0 73.29% 7
Steve Green 10,115.5 7,959.0 6,798.0 24,872.5 65.68% 8
Cas Smith 9,318.5 6,688.5 8,708.5 24,715.5 65.26% 9
Itai Dinnerman 3,218.0 5,619.5 9,186.5 18,024.0 47.59% 10

Max Poss 13,930.0 11,200.0 12,740.0 37,870.0
--

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