From Geoffrey Boot, prospective MHK candidate Glenfaba, AOPA IoM Regional Chairman  
13.09.06

Geoffrey & Suzie Boot compete in the 75th Anniversary Schneider Trophy Air Race

This year marked the 75^th Anniversary of the world-famous Schneider Trophy Air Race.  Isle of Man air racing champions Geoffrey and Suzie Boot carried the Manx banner to compete on the Isle of Wight over the weekend of 2 and 3 September.  Geoffrey and Suzie are internationally known for their air race successes, having in the past won the European Air Racing Championship and the Olympic Tribute Trophy in 2004 as well as the Manx Air Derby.  

The Schneider Trophy also has Isle of Man connections as it was staged most recently in 1996 on the Island;  in addition to this, Isle of Man resident Howard Pixton (deceased) actually won the Trophy flying a Sopwith Tabloid aeroplane in 1914.  

The weekend proved very challenging weather wise.  In fact, Geoffrey was minded to comment that it was more like the Isle of Man than the south of England .  The 50 aircraft arrived on the Friday in poor weather conditions for scrutiny and speed checking.  Geoffrey found after three rigorous improvised checks that his aircraft performance was down by a considerable margin that left him concerned for the race itself.  

Saturday dawned with low cloud and very high winds.  Racers managed to practise the course but the qualifying race scheduled for Saturday afternoon was cancelled.  Bad weather continued overnight and it was not until 2 30 pm on the Sunday afternoon that the race was able to go ahead without a qualifying heat.  The very challenging conditions resulted in several aircraft not starting and a very straggled finish.  The first prize of £3,500 was eventually awarded to Martin Kellett along with the very prestigious replica of the Schneider Trophy.  Geoffrey and Suzie managed fifth due, according to Geoffrey, to the degraded performance of his aircraft and the conditions, not his flying!  The race did not pass without incident as one competitor had an engine failure and had to land on the beach, fortunately without injury.  

The final races of the season take place on the island of Alderney on 23 and 24 September.  

Geoffrey and Suzie were flying their ex-military Siai-Marchetti SF260 which they term a smaller, modern version of a Spitfire, which coincidentally was developed in the 1930s from a Schneider Trophy winning aircraft.  

Geoffrey Boot is prospective MHK candidate for Glenfaba.

                                                   Geoffrey & Suzie in their Siai-Marchetti SF260W  

For further information :            www.airraceuk.org