Saturday 7th was the final day of the comp and the scorers wanted everyone back early. So the task was a number of turning points to the north east and south east of Aston Down. Scores were awarded 1point / Km for distance to each completed TP and each TP earned a 10 point bonus - but you could only claim the bonus points once per TP. The overriding clause was that you only had three hrs from starting the task to end of scoring.
We launched and the thermals were very scrappy and we had a job to climb above 2000 ft! We headed south and after a monumental struggle we turned Tetbury, Calne W and headed SE for Pewsey. As we went further south the thermals got stronger and we turned Pewsey with 4000 ft and headed for Rivar Hill and Newbury S. We calculated that we would get back to Pewsey from Newbury S within the three hours which would give us a respectable distance and 50 bonus points.
We arrived back at Pewsey at 4000 ft with about 19 minutes to spare and I handed over to Malcolm to fly us home. After we had been gliding for about 5 minutes without turning I noticed that the Oudie was saying we were 200 ft over glide and 14km from Calne W, and Malcolm confirmed that we still had 14 minutes of scoring. If we could average more than 60kph and conserve enough height to find a field when we arrived we were in with a chance!
We selected Calne W and set off. It was a race against the clock but we were smoking along at a blistering 45 kts and milking every bit of energy along the way! With 8km to go we were 800 ft over glide and had 8.5 minutes remaining! We needed a margin of height as we didn’t really want to land at the TP as it was in the town! 3km, 3.5 minutes and 1000ft over glide - now we're cooking!
We spotted a suitable field on the way in to the finish that we could reach with about 500 ft and put the speed on to make really sure we got there within the time. Just as the Oudie said we’d arrived, with five hundred ft and one minute to spare we hit a 4 kt thermal and climbed away! We haven’t laughed as much in years! Malcolm was convinced the old Eagle was keen to get to Calne because she could smell the Harris’ bacon factory!
The scoring distance was about 160 km and with our handicap of 68 we were 15th for the Day and 17th out of 38 overall for the week.
A huge THANK YOU to Nick, Stirling and Steph for retrieving us from so many fields.
 |
| Eagle Trophies (Nick Jones) |
The John Cadman Trophy for the most outstanding flight of the competition - JP & JB to Weymouth, over the sea and back to Mere.
Blunt Nails Trophy for best overall performance of a ‘old’ glider throughout the comp, and Jura Whisky because like the old Eagle, it’s the best! - JB
