The Medal Tally

The results came out just before the closing ceremony which ended at 4.00 pm on Sunday and since then we've been on the road home with no decent wi-fi. I'm now back at Lilac Cottage and here at last is the tally.

I'm delighted to report that we won a record of 3 gold medals, one in each of the qualifying classes. As expected, Paul Dewhurst & David Hadley took the dual 3-axis gold by a comfortable margin. Rob Grimwood & Chris Saysell won the gold in the biggest class, dual flexwing, and were also the highest scoring crew of the competition. The nail-biter was the solo flexwing task, won by Richard Rawes. At one time he was only 2 points ahead, although the eventual margin was a little higher. And as a bonus, Robbie & Timmy Keene won the dual flexwing bronze. Chris & Claire Wills came a very creditable 4th in the dual 3-axis class. Finally I had my moment of glory when we took the team bronze.

The competition ended as it started, with rain, so the closing ceremony was inside. As is often the case in Eastern Europe, many dignitaries including a junior minister, were there. They had the pleasure of hearing the British national anthem three times and were proud to join in lustily. It brought a real lump to the throat.

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).