Local pilot wins national aerobatics competition aged 67

At the tender age of 67, Tom Cassells has become the oldest pilot to win at the top level of UK aerobatics.

Mr Cassells recently won the Neil Williams Aerobatics Championship trophy, the pinnacle of British aerobatics competitions.

Mr Cassells, who previously worked at Reed Boardall in Boroughbridge and is about to move to Upper Dunsforth, has been flying since 1983.

It isn’t the first time he has won the top title — he’s actually won it four times, firstly back in 2002.

The competition consists of two parts, a pre-programme of around 11 figures and then two unknown programmes.

He told the Stray Ferret that the aim is to demonstrate the pilots total control of the plane:

“The G spectrum to +9 to -6, so quite a lot of the flight is inverted.  The moves involve positive spins, inverted spins, snap rolls positive and negative and rolling loops.

“It also involves tail slides where the aircraft is going backwards”.

Mr Cassells, who is an aerobatics instructor and leads an aerobatics display team called the Starlings, flew solo in an Extra NG aircraft for the competition.

To compete and win at this level means looking after yourself:

“I run everyday, I watch what I eat, I’ve not drunk since 2013 and I quit smoking at the same time. You need to be fairly fit to do it.

“I’m 67 – the oldest person to win it. The guy who came second was in his 30s, young enough to be my son! ”

Mr Cassells said aerobatics is unrated for its ability to improve a pilot and make them safer . If you can control a plane in all directions, even upside down, he said, it’s an important way of making flying safer.

Asked if he finds it all an adrenalin rush, he says not:

“It’s not an adrenalin rush.  Because when you are flying in the competition, it’s a series of moves in the right direction.

“When you are doing a vertical roll it has to be perfect. You’ve got to thoroughly know the programme in great detail and you’ve got to deal with wind which is moving the plane sideways. You’ve got to also really master your nerves – there are various tricky moves where incorrect handling will make a 0 [no points].

“You’ve got to visualise where you are and really 85% is mental and 15% is muscle memory from practice.

“When you are training to do this you become in the zone and a good flight is quite surreal.

“It’s a very intense experience. There’s pressure and then the relief of completing and not making an error.. it’s euphoric.”

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