Thank you to all competitors and the Devon and Somerset Gliding Club for another successful Competition Enterprise.
The 50th anniversary of the competition saw 29 entrants take 98 launches in four competition days and cover a total of 11,413km including flights as far East as Sussex and as far North as Denbighshire.
Chris Gill was the overall winner with Mike Armstrong second and Rodney Witter third. The full results are available on our results page
The Philip Wills Enterprise Challenge Trophy was awarded to Chris Gill. The citation reads as follows:
"Well before December, most glider pilots in the UK have packed up for the winter or headed off to warmer climes. Not so this year’s winner, Chris Gill, who is gaining a reputation for declaring, and sometimes achieving, the most enterprising of flights.In mid October, he declared a 300 km flight in North Wales which he completed at a mere 209 kph.
But it’s not for that flight that he is being awarded the Philip Wills Enterprise Trophy for 2023.
On 16 December, close to the shortest day of the year, Chris declared an 820 km flight. The flight was to start at Ruthin in North Wales with a climb to take him 100 km across the sea to more wave in the Lake District and on to his first turning point at Lockerbie in Scotland. From there, the plan was to fly south using Pennine wave to Wetherby, back up to Lockerbie and back south again to land at Burn. After an aerotow at sunrise a battle to climb to 21,000 feet and a delay in getting an airways crossing for the trip across the sea meant that getting to Lockerbie and completing the flight in daylight was not likely to happen so Chris turned Carlisle instead, 40 km short of Lockerbie. From the top of the climb in Wales, Chris had flown 190 km without turning! For most of the flight, Chris was flying in a 50 knot westerly wind. Having abandoned the original task, Chris roared south from Carlisle to Garforth at over 120 kph, back up to Bradbury at about 135 kph before landing at Burn where the trailer arrived within minutes to take him and his companion for the trip, Mike Cursons, back to base in time for the Lleweni Christmas party! Chris had achieved over 550 km around his turning points and 620 km OLC on a day when the next longest flight o the BGA ladder was 165 km.
A most Enterprising flight.
The 50th anniversary of the competition saw 29 entrants take 98 launches in four competition days and cover a total of 11,413km including flights as far East as Sussex and as far North as Denbighshire.
Chris Gill was the overall winner with Mike Armstrong second and Rodney Witter third. The full results are available on our results page
The Philip Wills Enterprise Challenge Trophy was awarded to Chris Gill. The citation reads as follows:
"Well before December, most glider pilots in the UK have packed up for the winter or headed off to warmer climes. Not so this year’s winner, Chris Gill, who is gaining a reputation for declaring, and sometimes achieving, the most enterprising of flights.In mid October, he declared a 300 km flight in North Wales which he completed at a mere 209 kph.
But it’s not for that flight that he is being awarded the Philip Wills Enterprise Trophy for 2023.
On 16 December, close to the shortest day of the year, Chris declared an 820 km flight. The flight was to start at Ruthin in North Wales with a climb to take him 100 km across the sea to more wave in the Lake District and on to his first turning point at Lockerbie in Scotland. From there, the plan was to fly south using Pennine wave to Wetherby, back up to Lockerbie and back south again to land at Burn. After an aerotow at sunrise a battle to climb to 21,000 feet and a delay in getting an airways crossing for the trip across the sea meant that getting to Lockerbie and completing the flight in daylight was not likely to happen so Chris turned Carlisle instead, 40 km short of Lockerbie. From the top of the climb in Wales, Chris had flown 190 km without turning! For most of the flight, Chris was flying in a 50 knot westerly wind. Having abandoned the original task, Chris roared south from Carlisle to Garforth at over 120 kph, back up to Bradbury at about 135 kph before landing at Burn where the trailer arrived within minutes to take him and his companion for the trip, Mike Cursons, back to base in time for the Lleweni Christmas party! Chris had achieved over 550 km around his turning points and 620 km OLC on a day when the next longest flight o the BGA ladder was 165 km.
A most Enterprising flight.
