NSW Pattern State Championships 26/27 November 2011.

As the final event on the calendar of pattern events for 2011 the State Championships were hosted by the Charles Kingsford Smith Model Aircraft Club over the weekend of 26/27 November. With heavy rain in the week proceeding, and more forecast for Saturday morning there was some concern that the contest may not take place as a few years ago we had a pattern contest cancelled when the access road to the field was impassable.  It looked like we may have a repeat as it was bucketing down as pattern pilots from across NSW, Queensland and the ACT converged on Pitt Town.  The local club members, and some trying to get in a last practice flight, had a soggy time on Friday setting up the flight lines but constant light rain prevented any flying.  On Saturday the rain was not light, torrential is the technical term I believe, and the CD Tom Collinge positioned himself at the field gate to prevent anyone trying to drive in as it seemed likely the facility was going to submerge.

A decision was taken to bring forward the inaugural meeting of New South Wales Pattern Flyers Inc which was scheduled to be held at the completion of the first days flying.  Richard Knox managed to secure a venue, the word spread, and the group assembled at the Hawkesbury Race Club Motel.  The AGM was completed and right on cue the rain stopped and the sun shone through.  Tom was confident that the field would be usable so just before midday we gingerly drove into a surprisingly dry field which was rapidly getting dryer under the influence of a warm 30k/hr westerly wind.

Due to the previous days preparations we were able to get the first planes in the air just after 1pm and using two flight lines managed to complete two rounds for the 25 competitors spread over the four classes.  Throughout the afternoon the wind remained blustery and conditions tested the pilot’s abilities.

On Sunday the weather remained the same, sunny and warm, and although the westerly had backed around slightly reducing the crosswind it remained quite brisk throughout.  We managed a 9am start and after another two rounds the decision was taken to fly the remaining two to make a six round contest. Dave Tiernan left early as the rising flood waters in the Gunnedah area had him concerned about making it home. As with the whole weekend the participants kept the event flowing and the six rounds were completed just before 4pm a great effort.

Sportsman

Four Sportsman pilots took up the challenge.  Michael Towell and Michael Cavan have competed in the last few contests of the series and Ryan Anderson made another of his fleeting appearances between study commitments. Brian McGowan was competing for the first time. While the conditions played a part, it’s an outdoor pursuit after all, all four made it into a contest and not a survival exercise.  A look at the results shows a reasonable spread but to me it looked closer than the scores suggest.  Ryan wound up taking the win but only after conceding two rounds to Michael Towell and just managed (by 0.02%) to pick up his second promotion point. Michael Cavan’s flying showed the benefit of a few contests and Brian produced an excellent result for a first time in front of the judges.

Advanced

The Advanced class has been the most competitive all year and it was fitting that the trend continued through to the final event.  Dean Erby made the trip down from Taree to demonstrate he is a bit of a wind master taking 3 rounds when conditions were at their worst and hanging on for a clear win. Richard Knox, Vincent Parrett and Joe Costa were only separated by 29 normalised points for the minor places. Felix Nieuwenhuizen was flying the smallest plane in the contest, a Sebart Angel 30, which made it a bit of struggle especially landing and Dave Tiernan posted some good scores with the Ex-Prosser model but as mentioned previously had to depart the scene early.  This class should once again be the one to watch next year with the new schedule and everyone pushing for promotion points.

Expert

Another trend which unfortunately continued at this contest was the low turnout in the Expert class.  The only entry was Dave Carkeek, the APA secretary, who made the trip down from Tin Can Bay in Queensland. Dave flew well and would have been at the pointy end of any Expert field so it was a shame that no New South Welshmen were to up the challenge. I think he enjoyed himself anyway so we should see him back next year.

F3A

F3A entries have been good all year and with 13 it was the biggest class at this championship and was flown as one group.  The results pretty much followed the form guide with David McFarlane clearly ahead of Richard Hirst then a gap back to the rest with Shane Austin overcoming some technical problems to sneak into third. Consistency in the conditions was the big test and from the results it is clear some did not like the wind strength while others struggled with its direction. 

It was good to see John Payne all the way from Yeppoon (look at it on a map its long way), and also Tony Gill from Newcastle back in the fold and starting to show some of the old skills that had him near the top of the tree some years ago. Doug Tebbitt only flew on the Saturday due to other commitments.

Conclusion

This year’s State Championship was a fitting end to another big year of pattern contests in NSW and is now in the history books.  After a shaky start weather wise it turned into another great event.  A big thanks to CKSMAC for the use of their amazing facility, it just gets better every time we go there.  To CD Tom Collinge and his band of helpers congratulations on a job well done and to all the participants who pitched in with all the tasks required for a smooth running event a big thank you.  Also a special thank you to the management of the Hawkesbury Race Club Motel for the last minute use of the meeting room.

So now we have two months to practice flying, and learning to judge the new schedules, or refine the old one if you are in sportsman before it all starts again.

See you all in the New Year.

BD