CABLE HEAD — Tom Corcoran of Braintree, Massachusetts, and a summer resident of Pownal, finished first in landing accuracy in a test of pilot skills last weekend.
Corcoran, who flies a Beechcraft Sundowner four-seat aircraft, made the most precise landing at the Cable Head Airpark on Saturday. Al Dunphy of Greenvale was last year’s top winner.
Twenty-two pilots and over a dozen airplanes from as far away as Florida and Quebec assembled at Cable Head for the annual Prince Edward Island Flying Skills Contest. Many are based for the summer on P.E.I. while some flew in just for the event.
Jim Ewing of Stratford proved to be most accurate in the message drop, which simulates a pilot giving aid in a remote area.
Ewing manoeuvred his Piper Cherokee in strong wind conditions but managed to drop his message squarely on the centre of the circular two-metre target. The aircraft needed to be in full flight at treetop height for the drop to count.
Chief judge for the events was Jeff MacRae of West Royalty.
MacRae arrived in his personal helicopter with local real estate agent David Corrigan giving assistance. Arlie Jay of Brackley gave demonstrations of helicopter flying with his Robinson 22 copter.
Ground events for pilots and non-pilots included a paper plane folding and toss for accuracy. This was won by Arlie Jay. Also, Mike Whitty of Fort Myers, Florida, won the aviation map-folding contest which is based on speed. Map folding in a small airplane cabin requires certain skill and agility.
About two dozen family members participated in the ground events.
Jim Ewing was given the award for aerial observation. He answered the most questions correctly out of 30 as he flew from Charlottetown to Cable Head Airpark.
The questions are based on observing things on the ground while in flight such as: “How many skylights on the blueberry warehouse in Mount Stewart?” (12).
The event was held under the auspices of the Prince Edward Island Flying Association headquartered in Charlottetown. The organization’s special events group, headed by club past president Barry Martin of Stratford, provided oversight for flying within the club’s rules and regulations. Georgetown businessman Brian Pound is president of the flying club.
Roy Ramsay of Summerside received the Pilot of the Year award for aviation skills.
The flying association singles out only a few individuals for this honour.
The results have been entered into the records of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association in Frederick, Maryland, and into the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association journals in Ottawa.
Plans are already underway for the next annual event to be held in the summer of 2011.
