The first task was an instrument less circuit, from take off to landing. The take offs and climb out were very good, it just meant keep it straight, a little bit of back pressure on the control column and the aircraft will tell you when it is ready to fly. Climb out speeds were very close to the mark, however, the judging of heights was not so good with only one getting close to the correct heights for the complete circuit. Turns left after take off were made anywhere between 800 ft. and 1000 ft. with down wind legs being flown any where up to 1600ft. Turns on to final varied from 700ft. to 1000ft., but most were able to have the approach speed very close to correct.

The second task was a flapless circuit and landing and as a whole these were not too bad. It is important when flying circuits to properly assess the wind speed and direction, not only to determine which runway to use, but also to gauge the strength of the wind to see if the circuit needs to be modified to keep the right proportions and to get the final approach correct. On Sunday there was no significant wind, and thus no headwind on final, so it was advisable to extend down wind a little to compensate, otherwise, as some did, they found themselves too high on final. We need a little more speed on final with a flapless approach, but not too much (70 knots is plenty) and of course the approach is much flatter than a flapped approach, which in turn means less change of attitude on round out. Once you have rounded out and got the required nose up attitude let the aircraft settle on the main wheels, be careful not to overdo the nose up attitude as it is possible in a Cessna to touch the tail in a flapless landing.

The instrument climb was a little harder this time as we had no artificial horizon but on the whole it was not too badly flown.

The emergency landing caught a few out, as without any significant headwind on final, most were too high on their approach. Once you have made your base turn you should, from the perspective of the runway, be able to judge whether you are high or low and you have time at this point to adjust the approach. If you are too high (as most were) angle out the base leg, apply flap a little earlier, and if you are still too high, "s" turns can be used as a last resort. We all know that it is better to be too high than too low but the fence at the end of the paddock can also cause problems!

On the other hand if we are too low at the base turn cut the corner and angle towards the runway and delay flap until you are certain you can make it. Checks were ok but always remember that the main thing in any emergency situation is to fly the aeroplane and don't devote so much attention to your checks that you forget to fly the aeroplane! Really the only things that the pilot can do anything about are fuel, carby ice, mixture and ignition, if there are conrods and pistons hanging out of the engine cowls, there is not much the pilot can do to rectify the situation! So the procedure the pilot should adopt when the engine fails is firstly, to use up any extra speed to gain additional height and establish the aircraft at the best glide speed, at the same time he can be applying carby heat, electric fuel pump on, check mixture is rich, change to another fuel tank and checking that the magneto switches are still on. (Tony Howard once had a passenger in the Navajo sitting in the co pilot's seat who wanted to go to the toilet at the rear of the aircraft and in getting out of his seat put his hand on the overhead panel, where the magneto switches are, and accidentally turned them off.)

Once these checks are done, and the problem is not solved, select your field and plan the approach. Should time allow, and your main focus now is on flying the aeroplane and closely monitoring the plan you are following, come back and do a more comprehensive check, try another fuel tank, if there is one, try alternative magnetos (if one has failed it may be interfering with the other and by isolating the bad one you may at least restore partial power, then if time is still available, try for a restart). If the problem is still there give a May Day call and brief your passengers. Your final check before touching down should be to switch everything off (master switch only after flaps have been lowered) mixture lean and fuel. And don't forget to clear the engine every 500 ft. of descent whilst practicing emergency landings. Remember Aviate, Navigate, Communicate in that order.

The questionnaire on the weather forecast showed most had some understanding of the weather but the main problem area was being able to convert U. T. C. to local time. This led to errors in the time frame of the weather changes.

Congratulations to Glen Thompson who was the winner this time on 62.5 points with Ed Collins on 61.5 in second place and David Bull third with 59 points.

Jerry Trevor-Jones