Pentecost does well in national gliding championships at Aston Down (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Pentecost does well in national gliding championships at Aston Down

ROY Pentecost, from Malmesbury, flying an LS8 in the National Standard Class Gliding Championship at Aston Down last Saturday, finished second in the 352.2km race round Radstock, Ilsley, Berks, Bulling-ton, Hants and Buckingham before returning to base.

Of the 42 competitors, 39 completed the task and Pentecost, with 4,000 hours flying hours in gliders to his credit, was 1.7kph slower than the winner.

A project manager at Rolls- Royce in Bristol, Pentecost had flown consistently on the first difficult days of this nine-day contest, climbing the order to stand eighth overall.

On Sunday, the route was 318km race to Hereford, Newport Pagnell, Oxford and Chipping Norton and back to Aston Down.

Despite wonderful conditions at base, the task-setter's nightmare came true and all pilots landed away in poor soaring conditions near Oxford.

Pentecost, who holds a BGA 750km Diploma no 19, flew 240km and, because distance points counted high, he lost his position to finish 12th at the end.

Roy and his wife Alex share the LS8 and they have flown in Austria, Spain and Australia.

The eventual winner was Junior World Standard Class Champion Jez Hood, who had built up a commanding lead.

A champion both of the UK and World Standard Class, he is an exciting prospect at just 25 years of age.

Final top results after six contest days (44 entries) are as follows: 1 Jez Hood (LS8) 5366; 2 Derren Francis (LS8) 4982; 3 Mike Young (Discus 2) 4909.