British Open Championship & 1st Round of the British Open Series 2009
| Main League | Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five | Cumulative |
| Sports Class | Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five | Cumulative |
The Venue:
Crickhowell, Powys.
The venue for this meet is now confirmed
The competition headquarters will be in the Old Market Hall, Crickhowell; this is in the centre of Crickhowell opposite the war memorial.
As well as being a standalone comp in the British Open Series and counting for the overall 2008 Series scores, we aim to run a Sport Class competition for pilots of lower experience. A BHPA rating of Pilot will still be the minimum entry requirement but the tasks will be simpler, a retrieve system will be in place plus other benefits to assist pilots who wish to have their first taste of national level competition without any pressure to have the latest wings or equipment. More details on this will be published in Skywings and this site will be updated as the information becomes available.
Programme
This will be a five day competition based in Crickhowell. Waypoint upload and registration will be in the Vine Tree during the evening of Thursday 30th April and briefing in the village car park (behind the Fire Station) at 9:30 a.m. on Friday 1st May ; latecomers can also register at this time. Tasks will be set (weather permitting) from Friday 1st May through until, and including, Tuesday 5th May.
Saturday onward we will aim for the following routine:
- 09:30 Provisional results available
- De-brief previous days task
- Met brief for the day
- Announcements
- Site for the day decided
- TBN Task briefing on site.
Other Info
The cost will be £50 for those who have not already entered the whole series and payment should be sent (with a cheque payable to BHPA Hang Gliding Competitions) to John Aldridge at the address given on the entry form. All pilots should be prepared to present their BHPA card at registration and this is essential for any pilot who has not flown in the series so far this year. It is hoped that your entry fee will include a meal - usually arranged in the Britannia Inn on Monday evening.
A number of South East Wales sites will be available for the competition including the following:
- Nant-y-Moel (SW)
- Rhigos (N)
- Merthyr (W)
- Abertysswg (NW)
- Pontlottyn (NE)
- Pandy (E)
- Blorenge (SE, NE, NW)
- Forest Farm
The SE Wales club web site guide is at www.sewhgpgc.co.uk/
Essential maps are the latest Southern England and Wales half mil air chart (latest edition), plus OS Travelmaster 7, Wales & West Midlands. Appropriate OS 1:50,000 maps of the area may also be useful.
The competition panel members responsible for this competition are:
Local Organiser: Bruce Kavanagh, mobile (07525) 147348
Meet Director: Pete Coad
FAI Sanction
As well as being a standalone comp in the British Open Series and counting for the overall 2009 Series scores, this is a FAI Category 2 competition for both Class 1 (flexwing) and Class 5 (rigids). This means that if you have a current FAI Sporting Licence you can earn World Pilot Ranking Scheme (WPRS) points and you may also meet the entry requirements for a Category 1 (World or continental championship) if you place in the top 2/3rds of this meet. A minimum of 2 tasks are required to validate a Category 2 competition and there is also a minimum number of competing pilots; this is 15 for the flexwing comp (not a problem) and 6 for the rigids - and we do not always get this number.
Accommodation Info
Those seeking accommodation may find the following links useful or lists can be obtained from the Tourist Information and National Park Centre in Abergavenny (01873) 857588 :
http://www.bedandbreakfast-directory.co.uk/default.htm
http://www.smoothhound.co.uk/
http://www.crickhowell.org.uk/intro.htm
http://members.aol.com/redhartbandb/
http://www.britinfo.net/bed-and-breakfasts/TAYCS10000.htm
http://www.oakview-cottages.co.uk/index.php
http://www.pyscodlyncaravanpark.com/
http://www.selfcatering-directory.co.uk/
http://www.sewhgpgc.co.uk/
http://www.abergavenny.co.uk/
http://www.staying-in-wales.com/_pages/contact.html
Pilot List
| No | Pilot | Glider | Class | Club | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grant Crossingham | Moyes Litespeed RS | 1 | Skysurfers | Yes |
| 2 | Gordon Rigg | ||||
| 3 | Dave Matthews | Moyes Litespeed S | 1 | Southern | Yes |
| 4 | Gary Wirdnam | Wills Wing T2C | 1 | NHPC | Yes |
| 5 | Bruce Kavanagh | Wills Wing T2 | 1 | Skysurfers | Yes |
| 6 | Richard Lovelace | ||||
| 7 | Graham Phipps | Wills Wing T2 | 1 | Kernow | Yes |
| 8 | Malcolm Brown | ||||
| 9 | Tony Stephens | Aeros Combat L | 1 | Skysurfers | Yes |
| 10 | Justin Needham | Moyes Litespeed | 1 | SE Wales | Yes |
| 11 | Craig Dolwin | Wills Wing T2 | 1 | SE Wales | Yes |
| 12 | Steve Penfold | Airborne C4 | 1 | Joint Services | Yes |
| 13 | Steve Green | Aeros Combat | 1 | Skysurfers | Yes |
| 14 | Ron Richardson | ||||
| 15 | Nigel Bray | ||||
| 16 | Malcolm Beard | ||||
| 17 | Brett Wright | Moyes Litespeed RS | 1 | D&S Condors | Yes |
| 18 | Trevor Birkbeck | Wills Wing T2 | 1 | Dales | Yes |
| 19 | Geoff Brook | ||||
| 20 | Steve Gale | ||||
| 21 | Nick Pain | ||||
| 22 | Wayne Thompson | Aeros Combat L | 1 | DSC | Yes |
| 23 | Ben Hull-Bailey | ||||
| 24 | Markus Kinch | Moyes Litespeed S | 1 | Dunstable | Yes |
| 25 | Jimbo Seward | Moyes Litespeed | 1 | North Wales | Yes |
| 26 | Bob Little | ||||
| 27 | Clive Belbin | Airborne C4 | 1 | Southern | Yes |
| 28 | Tim King | Litebuster | 1/5 | Sky Surfers | Yes |
| 29 | Jason Brown | ||||
| 30 | Martin Colclough | Airborne C4 | 1 | Joint Services | Yes |
| 31 | Jamie Hanlon | ||||
| 32 | Ollie Kynaston | ||||
| 33 | Myles Kynaston | ||||
| 34 | Jenny Buck | Airborne C4 | 1 | Joint Services | Yes |
| 35 | Steve Kynaston | ||||
| 36 | Mark Phillips | ||||
| 37 | Dave Shields | Moyes Litespeed | 1 | North Wales | Yes |
| 38 | Craig Ennis | Avian Cheetah Evo | 1 | DSC | Yes |
| 39 | Stewart Reid | Icaro Laminar Zero7 | 1 | Lanark & Lothian | Yes |
| 40 | John Cheale | Wills Wing Sport | Sport | Avon | Yes |
| 41 | James Roy | Aeros Discus | Sport | Skysurfers | Yes |
| 42 | Barry Woodhead | Avian Cheetah | 1 | DSC | Yes |
| 43 | Paul Whatley | WW Sport II | Sport | Avon | Yes |
| 44 | Mark Stewart | Moyes Litespeed | 1 | Mid Wales | Yes |
| 45 | Murray Brown | Aeros Combat L | 1 | Dunstable | Yes |
| 46 | Robin Rhodes | Moyes Litespeed | 1 | Dunstable | Yes |
| 47 | James Hogan | Icaro Laminar | 1 | DSC | Yes |
| 48 | Mike Armstrong | Aeros Combat L | 1 | Lanark & Lothian | Yes |
| 49 | Kris Holland | Moyes Litespeed | Sport | Southern | Yes |
| 50 | Marek Pisarek | Avian Cheetah Evo | 1 | DSC | Yes |
| 51 | Dave Cooper | Moyes Litespeed | 1 | DSC | Yes |
| 52 | Andrew Hurst | Airwave Magic 3 | Sport | DSC | Yes |
| 53 | David Moore | Will Wing U2 | Sport | DSC | Yes |
| 54 | Paul Harvey | Aeros Phantom | 5 | Southern | Yes |
| 55 | Jamie Cannon | Moyes Litespeed | 1 | Skysurfers | Yes |
| 56 | Tony Moore | Airborne C4 | 1 | Avon | Yes |
| 57 | David Tyrer | Wills Wing T2 | 1 | Avon | Yes |
| 58 | Bill Bell | Wills Wing T2C | 1 | Dunstable | Yes |
| 59 | Neil Atkinson | Hilite Tsunami | 5 | Avon | Yes |
| 70 | Richard Lever | Airborne C2 | 1 | Southern | Yes |
from Skywings /July 2009
South East Wales
Based at Crickhowell, Round 1 got underway at Merthyr. A front was due to arrive in the afternoon and time was of the essence. The wind on arrival was strong and a bit off to the south but still flyable. A 60km open-distance “race to anywhere” was set for classes 1 and 5, and a similar 30km task for the Sports Class.
Most were keen to get airborne, and conditions on take-off caught a few people out in ground-handling incidents. Conditions strengthened after the first handful of pilots got airborne and some opted not to fly, but after about an hour the majority had found their climb out over the back.
Grant Crossingham thought he had won the day, landing at Hereford racecourse after 57km, with Tony Stephens making 45.8km and Dave Matthews 45.4km. Some were sure that all three had infringed airspace by flying through a Danger Area, but this was not confirmed until all the flight logs had been downloaded. These showed Tony and Dave missing by 500m and Grant infringing, giving Tony the task win with Dave second and Phippsy third. No one in the Sports class got away, and by about 2pm the rain ahead arrived and those left on the ridge had all landed.
Day 2
Dawned sunny and bright with light winds from the west. Back to Merthyr, this time the west take-off. Conditions were forecast to be good with light winds. For classes 1 and 5 a 68.8km race to goal was set to Raglan Castle via a turnpoint at Hay Bluff. The Sports class task was a 33km open-distance task.
The lead gaggle left the hill at 13.30 with about six pilots. Amongst them was Grant Crossingham who went on to win the day, landing at goal an hour ahead of his nearest rival Dave Matthews. Tony Stephens finished third, landing just short of goal at 63.8km. The Sports class produced some superb results and a string of personal bests. Craig Ennis won the task, flying 30.1km on his Avian Cheetah Evo. Andrew Hurst made 26.7km on a vintage K3 and Alan James 24.2km on a Wills Wing T2.
Day 3
Saw a forecast of a 13 - 14mph from the north-west with a good unstable airmass and bases at 4,500ft. At Abertysswg conditions were brisk and the sky was a bit more overcast than expected, but it was forecast to clear during the day. A 73.2km race to goal at Sherston was set, via a turnpoint at the M48 roundabout just before the Severn Bridge.
Although many were keen to get away early, others decided to hold back for the forecast improvement. Patience was the order of the day for those that left with the first start gate. Grant Crossingham and Justin Needham pushed on quickly under less than great looking skies. The more cautious pace of Dave Matthews and others paid off as Justin and Grant landed around at 18 and 28km. The task was won by Dave Matthews with Ron Richardson second and Craig Dolwin third.
Nine pilots made goal and Tony Stephens landed tantalisingly close at 72.4km having relied on his instruments to judge the final glide into goal. At 700m short this cost him some vital points. Neil Atkinson waited for the better-looking sky, taking a 3pm start and landing in goal at around 6pm.
Four pilots in the Sports class got away on a 42.6km race to goal at Chepstow Racecourse. Sergey Kataev flew 31.9km on his Aeros Discus ahead of Craig Ennis in second, and Kris Holland third on his first XC.
The next two days
Were lost to the weather. The final results in Class 1 gave Dave Matthews the meeting win and the British Open title by 409 points over Tony Stephens and Craig Dolwin. Craig Ennis won the Sports class from Sergey Kataev with Andrew Hurst third. The Sports class pilots had found the competition extremely rewarding, so much so that the Competitions Panel agreed to run the class for the remainder of the series.
