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pilots on the second scoring day, Cambridge made
up for day one and won the Varsity match with a
score of '''814 vs Oxford’s 802'''!
== 2016 ==
This year Gliding Varsity was hosted by Cambridge at their home airfield, Gransden Lodge. As it proved difficult to find a date that was suitable for as many pilots from Cambridge and O*ford as possible during summer, the event had to be postponed to late November. Usually the competition is based on cumulative height gain, but as there are few thermals this time of the year, both teams agreed to do spot landings instead.
The rules for this event were decided upon beforehand as follows: A line would be set up on the ground, visible to all pilots approaching for landing. The pilot would then have to touch down after the line, but come to a halt as close to the line as possible. The distance between the position where the glider stops and the line would be used to determine the score – since a smaller distance equals more piloting skill, it was decided to evaluate the score as 10,000 times the inverse of the distance in meters. In other words, the smaller the stopping distance, the better.
For some, the events of that day started earlier than for others. The O*ford team had to leave the other place at 6:30am whereas most of the Cambridge team members decided to start off the day with an unhurried breakfast to gather strength and be prepared to face the gruesome challenges of competition day. All pilots met at the airfield at 9:00am. After every pilot had a chance to introduce himself, the aircraft were removed from the hangar and transported to the launch point. Andrew Watson, CUGC’s experienced instructor, did check flights with the O*ford pilots to make sure they were fit to fly solo. After all preparatory actions were taken, the match was ready to begin.
Chris Barrott, a CUGC fresher with a solid background in gliding, started off the match by scoring a phenomenal 73.2m in the PZL Junior, the shortest distance achieved that day in the Junior. Considering that this aircraft does not have wheel brakes, a significant handicap, this was all the more impressive. But CUGC was yet to make use of its most fierce weapon, experienced Polish glider pilot Tomasz Cebo. Flying the K21, he scored an incredible 54.1m, the shortest distance achieved during the entire competition. O*ford’s hearts sank in despair.
Next in line was Bonan Zhu, long-time CUGC member, who scored a respectable 82.6m in the Junior, despite the lack of wheel brakes. Bonan was followed by Nathanael West, CUGC’s captain, who, in light of his team mates’ successes, was determined to deliver a top score as well. He was able to compensate his lack in piloting skill by utilising his arm strength to pull back extra hard on the wheel brakes, thereby scoring 54.9m, less than a meter behind Polish weapon Tomasz.
Next was Vikram Giri, CUGC’s president, who made an ambitious effort in the K21, however unfortunately during review of the video footage it was determined that he touched down a couple of feet before the line, thus invalidating his otherwise flawless attempt. German mathematician Matthis ‘the brain’ Lehmkühler concluded the match for CUGC with the most ambitious attempt of the day, pushing his glider to the absolute limit. However his landing suffered from the same problem as Vikram’s, he as well touched down a bit too early.
To summarise, CUGC managed to deliver an impressive overall performance, achieving a total score of '''625 points vs Oxford’s 496'''.
{| class="wikitable"
! Team !! Pilot !! Aircraft !! Distance !! Score !! Total
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="6" | Cambridge
| Chris Barrott
| Junior
| 73.2
| 136.6
| rowspan="6" | 625
|-
| Tomasz Cebo
| K21
| 54.1
| 184.8
|-
| Bonan Zhu
| Junior
| 82.6
| 121.1
|-
| Nat West
| K21
| 54.9
| 182.1
|-
| Matthis Lehmkuhler
| K21
| Under-shoot
| 0
|-
| Vikram Giri
| K21
| Under-shoot
| 0
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="6" | Oxford
| Charlie
| K21
| 73.3
| 136.4
| rowspan="6" | 496
|-
| Elliot
| Puchacz
| 209.7
| 47.7
|-
| Anthony
| K21
| 75.2
| 133.0
|-
| Julie
| Puchacz
| 230.3
| 43.4
|-
| Dinant
| Junior
| 74.0
| 135.1
|-
| Cecilia
| K21
| Under-shoot
| 0
|-
|}
== 2014 ==