MFW April 2013 | Page 34

As Sarah and I drove down to Carterton an anticyclone descended on the Wairarapa and stayed for the contest duration. When it was all over old timers were heard to say they had not had such superb freeflight weather since the 1950, s. It was dry, but not as dry as the central North Island. A fire ban was in place and all the crops were in. The farm had a groomed look about it and the surface was smooth. Alternative entertainment could be had at the Harvest Festival running concurrently. The previous weekend Golden Shears had been the place to be. The breeze stayed predominantly in the E to N quadrant but wandered all over the rose under thermal influence. Doldrum conditions made towing difficult at times.

On Friday morning a frisky southerly lasted until start time then firmed to NE. Only a few people had appeared by the 8am start time and this trend continued for the next 2 days. By 10 o’ clock 15 cars had appeared, it was warm, and a blue sky stretched from horizon to horizon. Open Power, Open Rubber, and Combined Nos, got under way smartly. The combined HLG / Cat / Tip Launch devolved into a Cat event when no other types appeared. Simple Open Glider had 8 entries first time up and seemed to attract it, s target market of older straight tow gliders flown by even older fliers. They tended to wait until the afternoon to fly and it was 3.30pm before the last of them quit the field.

Nostalgia Duration Combined produced 2 full houses. Devon Sutcliffe came prepared with 3 identical Hatscheks and flew early without a d / t. Paul Squires flew a Reich Max Maker with 50gm of rubber as per the original. Devon doesn’ t do flyoffs now so Paul flew for first the next morning. Open Rubber produced an RD / T, d flyoff flight. Linc Vincent and Rosie Douglas maxed out and in the flyoff next morning Linc cruised away in a nice patch of air. Rosie caught her plane on her head at launch and it flipped to the ground. Seeing this Linc called over to enquire if Rosie would fly again. Given the negative he pressed the button and terminated his flight just on the property boundary.

Saturday was cloudy all day and cooler. Vintage Duration Combined had a dozen entries and was soon in full swing. The sight of Paul Squires Joe Elgin 1941, Antony Koerbins Lanzo Duplex 1937, and my own Korda 1939 all climbing together in fairly close order to excellent height will see me back next year. Classic Duration Combined produced a mixed bag and a clear win for Terry Tank. Kiwi Power was closely contested. Rex Bain tried to add 2 more maxes for a record attempt but came unstuck on his 5th flight at 104 secs. The F1 classes were poorly supported and this year will be their swan song at this contest.

Vintage Precision attracted 5 entries and got away promptly on Sunday morning in a keen NE breeze. Competition was close, with Bernard Scott’ s Shadow 1937 just edging out Chris Murphy’ s Warring Cabin 1948.

Individual mini events were only moderately supported. In P30 Paul Squires maxed out and Allan Douglas put up a token flight to ensure Paul got a bottle of wine for first place.

By lunchtime the wind had died and it was hot. Getting packed and home suddenly became important and by close of play at 2pm only 2 people remained to collect awards.

Next year the contest will be held on the second weekend of March to the same format. Book now to avoid the full-up sign some people experienced this year by enquiring too late.

A / 1 1 T Tank 2 C Murphy 3 B Scott 4 M Vincent 5 P Wilson

Classic Duration Combined 1 T Tank 288 2 = R Bain 180 2 = R Anderson 180 3 M Vincent 179

F1A 1 A Koerbin 540

½ A Power 1 R Anderson 289 2 R Bain 277 3 J Selby 130