Free Flight & Old Timer August, 2008

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Saturday August 16 saw the second of our Free Flight and Old Timer events and whilst there was no rain, the wind presented a problem for some models and in particular the early morning breeze was challenging for the free flighters! Notwithstanding the breeze, we had what would be the largest turnout for a long time. The car park was full and it was standing room only in the club house! The day was a great indication that the Old Timer event and the low key competition that goes with it, attracts a lot of flyers that would otherwise not participate in a competition. Not only was there a good turnout from our members but we also enjoyed the company of a number of visitors from Hobart and also the NWAM. Thank you to those for making the long drive to share a great day with us.

In addition to the Free Flight and Old Timer event, the Hobart boys put on a display of pylon racing with their electric wings which was a lot of fun. Many thanks to Terry Pearson, an avid pylon racer of years gone by, for constructing and painting the required third pylon pole! The previous one destroyed years ago by a model that misjudged the turn and crashed into the pole. Whilst a few foamies hit the pole, they were a little worse for wear this time rather than the pole. One of the Hobart visitors (whose name I didn't get) had a trailer for his models that had the most sophisticated on board charging station I've seen. Not only did the trailer carry quite a number of models but there were 3 chargers and balancers all hard wired into a very neat charging compartment on the side of the trailer (see photos).

The Free Flight event was won by Tony Gray from Hobart, followed by Taylor Hay (ably assisted by dad Kevin and "Paggeboy" builder Merv Cameron) with third John de Groot. Thanks to Max Wiggins for supplying the photos from that event.

The Old Timer event was well supported. Entrants were Gerry de Groot (model?), Kevin Hay "Powerhouse", Peter Daniel, Jacques Wakae "Buzzard Bombshell", Tony Grey (HMAC) "Miss America", Derril Kay (NWAM) "Zephyr" and George Carnie "Playboy". Conditions were ideal early but the wind increased and a few of the lighter models remained grounded. The winner was Kevin Hay, followed by Derril Kay who excelled in the "touch and go" event, with Jacques Wakae third.

The highlight of the day (probably the year!) was Gavin Hallam with his "Hot Spot" turbine jet. For those that witnessed the two flights they saw a side of aeromodelling that was as close to the real thing as you can get. This truly was not a model but a miniature aircraft. The sound, the smell, the speed were nothing short of awesome! It had everyone in awe. Gavin did a marvellous job considering it was his first flight at Symmons Plains and he did say he didn't fly at full speed as he was not used to the site. You could have fooled us Gavin! It was a spectacle not to be missed. After the first flight Derril Kay and John Madden were about to make the trek back north until they found out another flight was on the cards and Derril declared "I'm not going home yet!" Many thanks to Gavin for putting on the display and for those that missed out, let's hope Gavin pays us another visit. Unfortunately the photos here don't do justice to what we actually saw but for an idea here is a link to the a video of a Hot Spot being flown. Some details of the model are as follows -

Model: Hot Spot (Germany)

Power: "Black Mamba" turbine jet engine

Weight: 20lb

Thrust: 30lb

Speed: 300kph+

Fuel: JetA

Tank: 2.2L Coke Bottle

Fuel Consumption: 2 minutes at full throttle, 5-6 minutes with throttle management

Andrew McEntyre flew his new "Ultimate" ARF biplane and it's amazing that the model alone can be purchased for less than $90! No wonder kits seem to be so hard to find these days. Andrew had a very nervous but successful flight, but I must take him to task for not replacing the divot he put in the strip when he landed (check out the photos).

Don't forget, put a SPARK in your life and fly electric! George

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