St Albans Open Vintage Day, 2nd June 2007

What a great day!  Who could have hoped, after the rain of the previous fortnight, that we could get enough fine weather to dry the ground, followed on the day by perfect conditions for Vintage flying.  I think Michael was looking down from above and arranged it for us!

About thirty people flew, two thirds of them visitors, coming from places as far a field as Norfolk, Kent and Dorset. All the usual competitions were flown, although entries, except the Tomboy Threes, were rather sparse. The Tomboy class was the only one to need a fly-off. All six models climbed away in a group towards the area where there had been strong lift a little earlier, and I expected some good times. Wrong! The lift had disappeared, and all were down quite quickly. Nevertheless, it was interesting, as only 14 secs separated 1st and 3rd place.

A new event this year was the Electric Precision, a combination of duration and precision flying, intended to give a reasonable chance of success to any type of electric powered Vintage model. It attracted a fair amount of interest, but only two entries this time. With Electric power gaining popularity, we hope for more entries next year. It is interesting to note that Mervyn Tilbury’s winning model was a scale “Taylorcraft”, while Mike Conrad’s in 2^nd place was a “Stomper” contest design.

Selecting a Concurs winner for the St Albans Challenge Cup is easy when one model stands out from all the rest and leaves no real doubt. This year, however, there were several possibilities. I canvassed views from three or four people whose opinions I respect, and got the same number of different answers! I finally selected on the “Gas Buggy” built by James Perry from Dorset, a very pretty model and an excellent flyer.

Two models landed in the rape seed field, but both were successfully recovered. I think the only other untoward incident was David Boddington cutting his thump – on his Mills .75!  I had a moment of amusement when Richard Henderson asked me to hold his “Southerner” upside down while he started the inverted diesel. This accomplished, I was about to turn the model the right way up when a small spider appeared from the back of the cowling, looked around, didn’t like what he saw, and went back in again, presumably to enjoy the flight!

We were delighted the Theresa Barton could join us to see the first airing of the Club’s fine new marquees, which were purchased with Michael’s legacy. It is much bigger and give far better protection from the weather than the gazebos’ we used to use, and it will be a great asset to the Club and a fitting memorial to Michael. Theresa also presented the prizes, including the new “Michael Barton Trophy”, a most beautiful and unusual piece of glassware, awarded for the best model by a St Albans MAC member. This went to Brian Rapier for his handsome “Elf Biplane”. In the course of the day we managed to find good homes for the last of Michael’s models and engines. The only significant item remaining is his Arden .199, a real collector’s engine. Anyone interested please contact Alan Blunt.

Finally, my thanks to Gerald, Colin (the BBQ man) and all the others who did the hard work that makes the event possible, both in advance and one the day, so I was left with the easy part. Thank you also to the ‘modern majority’ of members who gave up use of the field for the day. Several visiting flyers came to me as they were leaving to say that our Rally is their favourite event of the year, so we must be getting it right.

WINNERS         Flying Threes               Mervyn Tilbury

                        Handicap Duration       Tony Tomlin

                        Tomboy Threes            Stephen Powell

                        Spot Landing               Tony Tomlin

                        Electric Precision          Mervyn Tilbury

                        Concours                     James Parry