The Pilots Ball, 2023

It followed torrential rain and dreadful conditions for many, but what a beautiful day unfolded for those who could make it to Knettishall.

Clear, bright, mild and the light breeze straight down the runway. Bliss.

As predicted, the final challenges proved to be aircraft destroying high jinks. Carnage ensued, just two survived – Brian Ball and Steve Tarrant had fully operational (ie foam flying in close formation to a motor and control surfaces) as the curtain came down.

The Balloon bursting event resulted in some destruction, but not of balloons. James Ladell and son Alex gave us a vigorous demonstration of balloon bursting prowess afterwards, with James succeeding in the challenge by grasping the string, dragging the whole rig into the air and diving for a successful ‘bang’ in the long grass. Sadly they had both failed to enter with Hanky Planky’s, so nil points.

Brian deserves special mention for a spectacular and consistent demonstration of ‘touch and goes’ in the vicinity of breadsticks. To the point where it was a mystery how he had so successfully avoided contacting any.

Steve Tarrant had an exceptional day. He passed his ‘A’ certificate in the morning and scooped not 1, but 2 short breadsticks worth 10 points each to win the Hanky Planky Wacky Races trophy 2023. Congratulations to Steve. 

Special thanks to the two Ronnies for more superb organisation and devotion to a good, club, cause. The grub was great.

I will update the relevant pages as the photographs and video become available. Meanwhile, below is a brief gallery of images taken before the competitions got underway (I was too busy taking part to catch the events on camera).

Click on an image to enlarge and to scroll through the images: