Not only Racing, but Romance as well!
During the weekend, one of the competitors asked me, “does Alderney have a winter?” I didn’t want to disillusion him, but with three fabulous days of weather, he could be forgiven for having stars in his eyes.
What good weather does of course is to ensure a full compliment of both race aircraft and spectators and even with one aircraft from Ireland failing to appear, 23 racing aircraft arrived, making it the largest race entry ever for Alderney.
The popularity of an event can often be judged by how far people will travel to watch. With race aircraft arriving from France, Ireland and Majorca, and spectators coming from France and Germany, the event is obviously gaining a good reputation.
The Alderney Races are the last of the season and usually determine the British Air Racing Champion. This year was no exception, with three pilots in contention for the much coveted title.
Saturday morning is given over to the serious business of making sure that both pilot and navigator were totally familiar with the circuit, as nobody is allowed to race unless they have actually flown the course. During this period, all racers also have to fly what is known as the ‘Octagon’ which is recorded on an onboard GPS, downloaded and used as the basis for the handicap time applied to each aircraft. With aircraft flying at speeds between 100 and 240 mph, the job of the handicappers is not an easy one.
The afternoon saw the first actual race of the weekend, which is in reality, two races held concurrently. Single engine aircraft race for the 'Eagle Airways' Cup, whilst the multi-engine aircraft were competing for the ‘Flightline’ Cup. The Cessna 150 was the first away, with all of the others joining the race at intervals pre-determined by the handicappers, with the fastest aircraft having to wait 28 minutes before it could join in.
The winner of the ‘Eagle Airways’ Cup was Roderick Morton flying a Slingsby T67M-200 Firefly, with the ‘Flightline’ Cup, being won by Peter Earp in the very fast Beechcraft B58 Baron.
With the mobile canteen run by Krys Kelley-Page still in action, nobody was in any hurry to leave the airfield. However nobody stayed too long as most realised that a little ‘rest and recuperation’ was needed if they were going to be ‘on the ball’ for the next day’s racing.
The Sunday race for the ‘Aurigny Air Services’ Trophy, is the most important race of the season as it is here on Alderney that both the British and the European Air Racing Champion are crowned. Going into the last race, there were three pilots who could have lifted the award. Just nine points separated Craig Beevers and Geoffrey Boot, with Neil Cooper waiting in the wings as the ‘dark horse’. If both Craig and Geoffrey did badly and Neil finished ahead of them, he could upset everything and sneak the championship from under their noses. In the event it half happened. Craig maintained his lead position, but Neil managed to slip in ‘under the wire’ so to speak, thereby becoming the Championship runner up, pushing Geoffrey into third place.
As the main sponsor of the ‘Island Air Races’ we always look forward to meeting Malcolm Hart, the Managing Director of Aurigny Air Services, who always presents the ‘Aurigny Air Services’ Trophy to the winner. Unfortunately, because of a serious computer crash, it took a long time to publish the results and as Malcolm had to leave, it befell upon me to do the honours and return the trophy to last year’s winner Craig Beevers.
Jeff Roff of Reynards Jewellers was then invited to join the presentation party. Jeff has always been a keen supporter of private aviation in general and the ‘Island Air Races’ in particular. The ‘Reynards Special Awards’ are presented to the three pilots who gained the highest aggregate points in both races. This year the winning pilots were Roderick Moreton, Jonathan Willis and Craig Beevers.
Being presented for the first time was the ‘Les Casquets Plate’, generously donated by AEL Avgas. This award is unique because it gives new race pilots an opportunity to receive an award in recognition of their efforts. It is presented to the pilot who has the best aggregate point score over the two races, but and it is a big but, to qualify for consideration for this plate, the pilot must only have a maximum of two consecutive year’s race experience, the second of those two years being the current season. The winner of this award was Mark Turner in a Van’s RV6 who received the plate from Moira Brooks-Effard – AvGas Manager
As always, our thanks must go to all who helped make the event such a success. This includes our own members and friends who did all the pushing, shoving, lifting and moving, the marshallers from Guernsey and Krys Kelley-Page for the hangar catering facility. To all of those who sponsored the cups and trophies, Moira and her team from AEL Avgas for a great refuelling job and of course, Alderney Airport ATC and Fire Service. Special thanks must go to both Frank McMeiken, Manager ATC Guernsey, for organising all of the necessary paperwork and Colin Le Ray, Airport Director. As we all know, it is becoming more and more difficult to hold an event like this and still be able to have public presence in the hangar. Thanks to the co-operation and understanding and help of both Customs & Immigration and Special Branch. Last, but certainly not least, to the States of Alderney, whose support ensured that the event could take place.
To allow these races to happen, it is necessary to close the airport for certain periods over the weekend. We are therefore indebted to both Aurigny Air Services and Blue Islands, who make adjustments to their schedules and agree to these closures. Without this co-operation we wouldn’t have an airfield from which to operate.
The ’Island Air Races’ are organised by the Royal Aero Club Records, Racing and Rally Association and run jointly by both them and the Alderney Flying Club. To see the full results and information on air racing, log on to www.airraceuk.co.uk
That’s the Racing Report, but what about the Romance?
For some years now, the Chief Handicapper, Su Lloyd and the official race photographer and navigator for race 15, Glynn Farrar have been together. Although in June 2008, Su took the plunge and moved from Gloucester to Worksop so that they could be together, somehow Glynn never got around to ‘popping the question’.
Well, on Friday, at the usual Royal Aero Club dinner at the Georgian, Su took the ‘bull by the horns’ and went for it. After a short but impassioned few words, the lady got down on one knee and proposed to Glynn.
I (and everyone else present) am pleased to report that the proposal was accepted and duly celebrated by the opening of a bottle of Champagne.
Who said that romance was dead?
Gabriel's Diary
Every year, an Air Traffic Controller from Palma, Gabriel Gomila, makes the long journey to Alderney in his Cap 10 to compete in the 'Island Air Races'
Click here to view his video diary.
Ralph Burridge
