LOOP TFI Fly-In

THE first ever LOOP Friday fly-in was warmly received by the GA community at the end of last month, with 71 aircraft flying in to Compton Abbas for the LOOP beginners'aerobatic competition.

Clive Davidson hangars his Tiger Moth at the Dorset airfield and is also an aerobatics instructor. He said, "It was certainly very busy for a Friday. We had beautiful weather and it's a lovely site so it acts as a great magnet.
"It was great to see everyone having a go and because there were a few practices, the crowd got to see the actual flying."

The star of the show was aircraft engineer Joe Volke 23, a PPL student learning at Goodwood. He had only flown about 22 hours of the PPL course but stunned everyone with his ability.
Joe told LOOP, "It was a bit intimidating but once it got underway, it was good fun. The fact that it was a beginners' competition gave me peace of mind and I wasn't too focused on the competition but just wanted to give it a go."

James Lewis, who flies from Enstone, learned plenty from the aerobatic coaching session with LOOP contributor Phil O'Donoghue in his CAP10C. James explained, "The first time I did aeros it was a case of mind over matter. Now that I've had some instruction, I can build on it. Taking part in the competition gave a purpose to flying the manoeuvres."

Simon Janvrin also provided coaching in his Slingsby T67 and there was a display from Compton Abbas-based display team the Yakovlevs, led by Jez Hopkinson. Justyn Gorman gave the crowd a thrill in his Extra, while an unexpected flypast from a Jaguar certainly woke up anyone hoping to laze in the sunshine! A trio of Luscombes also made it across in the afternoon.

It was cause for a double celebration back at the office, however, with LOOP director Sam Spurdens winning the comp and our new chief reporter Dan Tye stealing second place.

Yes, we think it's a tad suspicious too but judge Steve Green was wowed by all the pilots' aerobatic skill. He told LOOP, "These pilots could easily compete. There was some fantastic flying."

So, there's even more of an incentive to take part in the next competition on 8 September at Sherburn-in-Elmet, so you can give the LOOP boys a run for their money, if nothing else!

W: www.abbasair.com 

Words: Kirsten Corrigan