Thursday, August 21, 2008

A Long Wednesday

I spent 6 hours out on the deck filming spot landings, something I've never done before and will probably never do again. Surprisingly it was really very entertaining and I plan to put the films on You-Tube when I can work out how to do it. 56 aircraft made 2 engine off and 1 powered spot landing, starting at 2:00 pm and finishing at 8:00 pm. The general standard was very high indeed. Of the engine off landings 65 out of 112 (just under 60%) scored the maximum 250 points, with many more only missing by a whisker. This meant that the task was won on stopping distances and some were spectacularly short. 21 of the flexwing landings were of less than 30 metres with 6 less than 20 metres. Robbie Keene stopped his Quik GT450 in an amazing 22 metres. The biscuit, however, goes to Richard Rawes who put his Chaser down in a mere 18 metres. Pace it out when you get a moment and then imagine landing and stopping in that distance! There were loads of nice aircraft flying but of the flexwings the 3 GT450s with their distinctive winglets really stood out. I couldn't find a decent photo of Robbie's trike so I've used on of Stever Slade's shots from Over (thanks Steve).

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