Pi

Pied

Pi is an irrational number, 3.14159265358979323846…. that assists in the calculation of such things as volume, area, circumference and even frequency. Things like the cubic capacity of an engine, the circumference of a loop, and even the volume of a smoke oil tank.

On the afternoon of the 14^th of November Pam and I did a lot of number crunching. Nothing so complex that we needed Pi but I did need her tablet. Multiplication and division on factors of 13 and 26 are beyond my lazy brain. We were collating the score cards of 12 aerobatic competitors, from multiple judges, with about 10 manoeuvres per page. Around 360 computations. The results were crucial to our ongoing admittance within the New Zealand aerobatic circles.

Pam Collings, Russell Bell, Richard Collett and Grant Benns had spent the morning staring at gyrating spots in the sky, firing off numbers and comments for us scribes to record, hopefully in line next to the right squiggle, on the appropriate competitor’s sheet. There was a whole new lingo to learn, pinches, flats, pushovers and eggs.

The reason for all this showing off and points scoring was a gathering of Pitts Specials (S1, S1E, S1S, S2A, S2S,) and their friends. Also in attendance were, an Acrosport, a Giles, a Harmon Rocket, a Laser, a Nanchang, a Robin, a Yak, and a couple of RVs. Andrew Love had the all-encompassing idea of a weekend in the aviation centre of New Zealand, Omaka, to celebrate the 70^th anniversary of Curtis Pitts’s iconic aeroplane.

The Pitts Special is a petite, perky, performer. It’s cute squat stature belies its ability to stamp a power inducing grin on your dial. The erratic flight, pug nose and rounded body bring to my mind the New Zealand fantail, the Piwakawaka. The cheeky little insect gobblers/bug smashers that always seem pleased to see you.

Seven examples of these flirty aeroplanes were in attendance. EES, FRJ, PEG, PIG, PIT and UFX (briefly flitted in and out). EEU being in restoration mode, was residing in the hangar. The new owners were delighted when the original builder, Keith Trillo, made a guest appearance to observe progress on the project. Full circle so to speak.

After staring at spots in the sky, scribbling, calculating and a bit of skylarking we adjourned to the bar. The lovely evening meal was catered for by Marlborough Aeroclub. This was followed with tales from Pam Collings on her adventures circling the globe with her beloved Pitts, PAC. The icing on the cake being the video footage from the early 1980s of Pam doing aerobatics in the Mount Cook basin.

The Canterbury boys took out the top awards. Yes Pam and I did the adding up, and I know it looks suss but the score sheets are with Andy, oops another Cantabrian. Sadly the weather was forecast to take a turn for the worse resulting in a number of attendees running for home late on Saturday afternoon. On the up side, leaving more brandy snaps for me.