2013 Brian Langley - The Weather Played the Game!

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Category: Past Events and Results

Published on Sunday, 19 May 2013 05:37

Written by David Cranna

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2013 Brian Langley Memorial Aerobatic Competition

North Shore Airfield, Sunday 12 May, 2013

Well, who would have thought it? Sandwiched between two weekends of rubbish Auckland autumnal weather, the 2013 Brian Langley Memorial Aerobatic Competition was held in ideal conditions; not a cloud in the sky and only enough wind to push the inattentive pilot out of the box. The Brian Langley is a North Shore Aero Club event held in cooperation with the New Zealand Aerobatic Club in memory of the eponymous North Shore instructor and avid aerobatic pilot. What makes this event special and so much fun is that pilots from all categories compete with each other on an equal footing. The highest overall percentage score is the winner on the day whether that person is flying Primary or Unlimited.

The competition was ably organised by NZAC Immediate Past President and long-time NSAC member, Paul Marshall. Paul has won this event more times than anyone cares to remember competing in the Advanced category in Pitts S2S, ZK-WIZ. The sad demise of WIZ earlier in the year and Paul’s lack of CAA medical saw him compete this year in an NSAC Robin in the Sports category with son (and instructor) Tim along for the ride. In fact, it was a bit of a Marshall affair with other son and Cathay pilot, Simon, also competing in the Robin. The excellent lunch was organised by Paul’s wife and long-time NZAC supporter, Barbara. We flew the IAC 2013 sequences with, for the first time, some local modifications to the Sports and Intermediate routines. These are the same sequences to be used at the 2014 Nationals so a great chance to come to grips with the new requirements. We were lucky to have the services of seasoned Judge, Simon Fitz-Gerald, to assess our abilities. Many thanks Simon for giving up your Sunday to gaze skywards while, at times, keeping a straight face.

Eleven pilots entered the event in categories ranging from Primary to Advanced. The pilot travelling the furthest prize (if there had been one) was won by Russell Bell who flew his yellow Giles from Wellington the previous day. Coming in second place in that category was long-time supporter Darrell Brown who flew his little Pitts S1 from New Plymouth the same morning. The range of aircraft included Giles, Pitts, Zlin, Furio, RV, Robin and CT4. The standard of flying was variable but the scores on average were a little higher than we usually see at this event.

When the flying was over and Simon settled in to read the results, he commented that he had almost awarded a pilot a 10 for a manoeuvre before deciding this would be a precedent that he didn’t want to set; said manoeuvre, a pull-pull-pull humpty was eventually scored a 9.5. The pilot flying that manoeuvre was the eventual winner and 2013 Brian Langley Champion, Grant Benns. Grant won by piloting the Furio beautifully through the Sports sequence to score 78.615% which is historically one of the highest scores in any NZ competition. Well done to our NZAC President. Second place was taken by Russell Bell (71.526%) flying Advanced in his Giles; he narrowly edged out Dave Cranna who was third (71.171%) flying Intermediate in his Zlin.

All-in-all the 2013 Brian Langley was an excellent competition run safely and in a spirit of fun. A big thank-you to the North Shore Aero Club for letting us use their facilities and to their Members who went out of their way (literally) to stay clear of the Box. Thanks also to the Marshall family for their organisational support, Simon (no Judge, no competition) and to all the pilots who supported the event. See you at the BL next year.