A Special Day
Photos from this event can be viewed in the gallery -- click here.
Some say the best way is to fly for fun, others who muse the only way to go is the scale fly in, and then there are those for whom competition is your only man. It was certainly the latter case with the Laois Scale Championships which drew a good turnout of scale pilots despite some very mixed weather forecasts for Saturday.
There was depending upon which forecast service you turned or tuned into, anything from rain with occasional sunny spells to cloudy with rain spreading from the west, followed by showers and dry spells with freshening winds. Luckily, the weather picked up after an early morning low cloud base and localised precipitation. The weather fortune cookies have been with us this year.
It was most encouraging to have three pilots in novice class, and all of whom are scale enthusiasts with a natural flair and keen interest in the sport. This augurs well for scale into the future, and I sincerely hope they enjoyed their day and that we will all see a great more of Joe O‘Sullivan, Ger Brahan and Graham Dwyer into the future.
The entry of new aircraft by experienced pilots is also a bonus for scale, and well worthy of mention is a Republic, P-47D Thunderbolt which our own Mick Murphy flew in Clubmans. The P-47D really looks the part and other war birds beware - Mick is in town.
The scores in Clubman are tight, and to the wire were Melvyn Inwood, Kieran McEvoy and Martin Sweeney, with Martin leading in the first round, but then overtaken by Melvyn and Kieran in the second round, and ultimately Melvyn winning first place by 2.5 points over Kieran who came in second place, and Martin following in third place. A great set piece and all pilots in this class set a high standard and example of how enjoyable it is to compete and participate whatever the final result.
In F4C were two entries, Dave O’Flaherty and you Scale Secretary who fought the skies over three rounds, and while the scores were below the high standard in Clubmans, the competing pilots put in a spirited performance and thoroughly enjoyed their day.
At the end of each flight, it is your best effort and enjoyment of the sport that counts, and while it is true to say the winner takes all, it is also the case that the determined and chivalrous pilot who gives it his best shot and smiles through whatever the score, is in the real sense a winner. His dedication to the sport, irrespective of the odds and or adversary pitted against him will provide a stimulus for those on the fringe who are contemplating scale competition.
It is understated the key role of the scorekeeper, a demanding assignment of reading score sheets, checking, computation, scrutiny, compilation and transfer of data to result sheets for the perusal of the competition pilot. You don’t have room for error, and a very big thanks to Denis Lowry for taking this job and doing it all with a laugh and a smile.
The thanks of the scale community must also go to Martin Sweeney who was our CD for the competition, a first for Martin, who supervised and managed with efficiency the running of this the Laois Scale Championships.
A change of catering arrangements for this event with the unavailability of our chefess Aoife, her delicious food much missed, and outside caterers were brought in to feed the scale crews. A large van arrived with steel containers, fold down tables, monster burgers and sausages, salad, coleslaw and salad. The food was much enjoyed with lashings of tea and biscuits.
A big thank you again to our unsung heroes, Seamus Foy who had our runways in pristine condition, Ciaran Elster who organised the smooth running of all flying slots, and to all who gave of their time freely to get the field in shape - we salute you.
Some of you may wonder why this article is entitled a - ‘A Special Day’. Well, it was just that, an assembly of friendly, good humoured and talented scale enthusiasts, who got on with their flying in an altogether relaxed and informal way, flew with determination on the line, and always and most importantly had a word with each other and shared their experience. Now that is Special.
Our next event is the big one, the Nationals which take place on the week-end of Saturday the 18th and Sunday the 19th September 2010, and which we all know and hope will bring together the several clubs and scale pilots who are looking for a great day out. Make it your priority date and see you there.
| Pilot | Class | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Static | Final Score | Place |
| Paul Fetherstonhaugh | F4C | 1405.00 | 1565.00 | 1224.00 | 156 | 1641.00 | 1st |
| Dave O'Flaherty | F4C | 825.50 | 858.50 | 1151.50 | 0 | 1005.00 | 2nd |
| Melvyn Inwood | Clubman | 1547.50 | 1717.00 | 1468.00 | 1632.25 | 1st | |
| Kieran McEvoy | Clubman | 1550.00 | 1673.50 | 1586.00 | 1629.75 | 2nd | |
| Martin Sweeney | Clubman | 1579.00 | 1616.50 | 1580.50 | 1598.50 | 3rd | |
| Steve Elster | Clubman | 1511.50 | 1640.50 | 1487.50 | 1576.00 | 4th | |
| Mick Murphy | Clubman | 1220.00 | 1453.00 | 1572.00 | 1512.50 | 5th | |
| Fergus O'Reilly | Clubman | 1360.50 | 1531.50 | 1371.00 | 1451.25 | 6th | |
| Ger Braham | Novice | 1339.00 | 1571.50 | 1512.00 | 1541.75 | 1st | |
| Joe O'Sullivan | Novice | 1312.00 | 1414.00 | 1528.00 | 1471.00 | 2nd | |
| Graham Dwyer | Novice | 703.00 | 512.50 | 0.00 | 607.75 | 3rd |