Sherburn Aero Club will be hosting Royal Aero Club Air Races for the first time in over 50 years.
This is a handicapped air race open to a wide range of aeroplanes over several laps of a 30 mile course.
All visiting aircraft must read this leaflet and all members please read this one.
What are the plans for the weekend ?
There will be a Saturday race for the Paul Walker Trophy and the Sunday race for our own Ginger Lacey Trophy. There are details of the weekend in this leaflet.
The competition aircraft will be arriving from 9am on Saturday 8th. There is a race practise between 11:45am and 1:45pm. At 2:45pm approximately there will be a fly past by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster. The Paul Walker Trophy Race will start at 3:30pm and last for about an hour.
From 7pm there will be a Air Race Buffet and Dance at the club - all welcome.
On Sunday 9th there will be a reserve practice session from 10am with the Sherburn Aero Club Ginger Lacey Trophy Race starting at midday. After the race there will be the presentation of trophies.
What happens in the race ?
The course for the race is shown on this leaflet.
The race starts and finishes at Sherburn. The course leaves Sherburn and routes via Eggborough and Drax to Breighton before heading back to Sherburn.
Aircraft leave Sherburn at staggered intervals depending on the handicapping and fly around the course four times at a height of about 700'. During the race you will see aircraft making steep turns and overtaking each other as they race for the finish. The final spectacular dive for the finish line often means that a number of aeroplanes close the line almost together.
An evening buffet
The Royal Aero Club will be holding an evening buffet and dance at the club from 7pm on Saturday 8th May. All members are invited, tickets will be on sale later but you can book now with the flight desk.
What is handicapped Air Racing ?
The Royal Aero Club air races are run all around the UK and in Europe over the spring and summer for famous trophies like the Schneider Trophy. Handicapped air races are open to any aircraft capable
of 100 mph in level flight - rules that have remained unchanged since the 1920's. This means that a very wide variety of aircraft compete in any race. The aircraft set off at timed intervals with the aim being that the first across the finish line is therefore the winner.
With steep turns, fast low level flight, and a final dash for the line it is quite a different experiance from the "Red Bull" type competition. Of course, the fact that all the pilots are doing this for fun adds a delightfully informal air to the weekend as well.
The Royal Aero Club website contains some very interesting further details.
