Autumn Aerobatic Activity
Saturday September 25th dawned bright and clear, if more than a little cool. Autumn was definitely in the air as the aerobatic community gathered for the last competition of the year after a long but rewarding season.
Eleven pilots turned up to fly at the Brinny site of the Cork Model Aero Club. The site was in excellent condition, the state of the runway being commented on favourably by all who flew. Well done to Matt Quinn and the other members of the Cork club for their work.
Six entered tier 1 of the F3A competition. A further three pilots entered Tier 2. Jim Howard decided to fly in Masters and your scribe, after a four-year gap in competition, decided to have a go at this level as well.
Pilot briefing at ten was followed by the first round of Masters. It fell to yours truly to get the show on the road but a misjudged landing and a broken undercarriage would put an end to my flying for the day. Jim Howard flew his rounds smoothly in any case and was the deserved winner.
Tier 2 of F3A was competitive. Dave King flew well, but the real fight was between Les Cowpar and Noel Barrett. Les stared the day well, winning the first two rounds. Noel Barrett, however, is no easy man to beat and he came storming back in the afternoon, winning both rounds. As the best three out of four count in went to each of the pilot's third round. Les won out here and duly claimed the prize.
Tier 1 is the premier competition and Angus Balfour ruled the skies. His smooth, accurate flying was of superb quality taking all four rounds. Of course Angus has been very successful this year, not only on the Irish scene, but also internationally making the semi-finals of the European Championships last month. Well-done Angus.
John Martin chased Angus all the way taking second place. Ray Keane came third with Niall O Sullivan, Brian Carolan and Gordon James also acquitting themselves well throughout the day.
The weather remained on the cool side all day with a northerly wind blowing across the line. All were therefore very grateful when master chef Sean Hourigan fired up the barbecue. Sean, aided by son Jamie (also a club member) and Philip O Brien fed the hungry masses. Their burgers, assorted biscuits tea and coffee went down very well indeed.
Dave Duff, aided again by Sean, spent the day on the computer collating and entering scores, making sure that results were up to date at all times. A thankless job this, yet without people to take on this task, no competition could take place.
All four rounds were completed by 5.30 and club treasurer Dave Duff presented the prizes.
On my own behalf, and on behalf of the club I would like to thank all who travelled to the event to fly, to judge, or to help out in any way. We look forward to seeing you all again next Summer.
| Pilot | Class | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Final Score | Place |
| Angus Balfour | F3A Tier 1 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 | 3000 | 1st |
| John Martin | F3A Tier 1 | 0 | 996 | 972 | 984 | 2952 | 2nd |
| Ray Keane | F3A Tier 1 | 844 | 931 | 919 | 931 | 2781 | 3rd |
| Niall O'Sullivan | F3A Tier 1 | 0 | 900 | 896 | 938 | 2374 | 4th |
| Brian Carolan | F3A Tier 1 | 151 | 934 | 857 | 945 | 2736 | 5th |
| Gordon James | F3A Tier 1 | 796 | 833 | 863 | 876 | 2572 | 6th |
| Les Cowpar | F3A Tier 2 | 1000 | 1000 | 971 | 719 | 2971 | 1st |
| Noel Barrett | F3A Tier 2 | 932 | 913 | 1000 | 1000 | 2932 | 2nd |
| Dave King | F3A Tier 2 | 716 | 817 | 919 | 871 | 2607 | 3rd |
| Jim Howard | Masters | 1000 | 1000 | 2000 | 1st | ||
| Eoin O'Callaghan | Masters | 1000 | 0 | 1000 | 2nd |