Scale Day May 24, 2008

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Originally scheduled for Saturday, May 17 the Scale Day was cancelled on the Friday evening due to forecast rain and thuderstorms. Some members of the
North West Aero Modellers (NWAM) club were going to attend only if the weather was favourable. Never easy to know how to call it the night before, the CD
decided that due to the uncertainty it would be better to can it. History now shows that the day was not as forecast and it was magnificent weather and there
were a few disappointed fliers. However CD Andrew McEntyre rescheduled to the May 24 and he did a bit of praying that the weather gods would be kind to him.

Well it worked and Saturday, May 24 was ideal. A cool day with a light breeze and relatively clear sky for most of the day. What a great day it was with our best
turnout for a while. The weeks delay and a favourable forecast assured the NWAM members would make the long trek to Symmons Plains. The day would turn
out to be a biplane bonanza. Chris Klimeck presented his 1/3rd scale Fly Baby which won "Best Take Off of the Day". Alongside he had his "Jaguar" Stamp
finished in solartex and an appropriate British racing green colour scheme. Kevin Hay and his duo of the "Rothmans" Stamp and the reliable Skybolt.
Merv Cameron brought out the brushcutter powered Jabberwocky, although he had some electrical niggles that kept the mechanics busy during the day.
Terry Pearson flew his Liberty Sport which sounded beautiful with the new OS 81 Alpha motor. That rounded out the LMAC members with biplanes.

Not to be outdone, the NWAM modellers brought their own biplanes. Derril Kay with a nicely finished and flown Tiger Moth and John Madden with a lovely
SE5a which one "Best Landing of the Day". That completed the biplane turnout. Also from the North West, Robin Day flew his P51 Mustang, complete
with retracts and it looked impressive in the air and it's nice to see the the clean lines that retracts afford these models when flying. Robin was one of
a few pilots choosing 2.4gHz to control their models. Derril Kay had the most unusual model of the day; an autogyro. Whilst not in the Scale comp it did
draw quite a bit of attention when it took to the skies, the best part watching Chris Klimeck do a 50m sprint to launch the model. Once in the air Derril
showed some impressive skills to keep the model flying true.

Other LMAC members were, Greg Robertson with his electric powered Fournier or "Fournicator" as some of the cheekier observers have nicknamed it.
This was the only electric scale model on the day. Craig Homan had his L3 "Grasshopper" Piper Cub and also brought along his Sig Rascal that doesn't
look unlike the big brother to the Phoenix Rainbow. Andrew McEntyre had his IC propped Phantom. Dave Jacobs had a couple of scratch built models;
the Auster and the Stosser. Both were initially flown by Terry Pearson who seems only too willing to help which is nice to see. Geoff Hays brought along
his Jodel and it flew very well, however on it's second flight, what appeared to be radio failure resulted in a major crash into a paddock a long way away.
A very long walk for Geoff to retrieve the model but at least he had Kerry (my wife) to assist in picking up the pieces. This was the only incident of the day
and a very forlorn looking Geoff was a bit lost for words. Never nice to see at anytime especially as Geoff had the model flying very well.

Our latest member, Peter Riall brought along his son, Michael and grandson, Matthew. The look on Matthew's face said it all. It reminded us all of when
we first got interested in model aircraft. To see these models take to the air and dart about the sky kept Matthew spellbound. When I invited Matthew
into the pits to observe the models close at hand he couldn't believe his luck. His grandfather Peter said "You've really made his day!". Isn't that what we
like to hear. Not enough yougsters get exposed to this wonderful hobby and it's great to see them get some outdoor enjoyment. We won't tell them about how
it can take care of any spare cash you have for the rest of your life! Small sacrifice for all the enjoyment one gets.

A great barbecue lunch was prepared by the ladies and that coupled with a hot drink kept everyone fed and watered.
By 3:15pm the Autumn sun was getting lower and temperatures a little cooler so it was time to call it a day. CD Andrew McEntyre, presented an array of
prizes. Only two prizes were awarded; Best Scale Landing to John Madden's SE-5A and Best Scale Take Off to Chris Klimeck's Sky Baby. All the other
prizes were drawn from a barrell (box) and so I don't think anyone went away empty handed. Best hat of the day should have gone to Dave Jacobs who
had a WATTYL branded hat he embellished by adding a few words "WATTYL I WIN NEXT". Always a trooper our Dave!

I'll finish by thanking my assistant photographer for the day, the very well mannered Taylor Hay. Taylor's pictures are shown on Page 4.
At 10yo Taylor did a great job of organizing the participants for photo shoots and even doing some interviews. It won't be long and I can retire from the role!
I hope you enjoy the photos. (as usual, if anyone wants a copy suitable for printing, let me know and I'll forward the file to them).
Cheers, George

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