Hangar Talk – June 2022

The last HT was dedicated to our long time member Tim Sydes and his relocation to a care facility and the need for him to leave behind his beloved workshop and many models. I have spoken to Tim’s friend Graeme and hopefully soon we will have a date for anyone to go and view his models that are for sale.

This month we’re back with the usual fare, including catching up on April Club day news. Unfortunately for me, the damp conditions make the pit area not very wheelchair friendly. Hopefully we can make the area more accessible in the future and I can make these reports more regular. As always, if members have any projects or other interesting anecdotes that will interest the members, drop me a line or give me a call.

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Club Day – April 9

Weather as always continues to determine whether the club day BBQ is on or not. Originally scheduled for April 2, club day was postponed in the hope that the following week would be better. As it eventuated, no problem on April 9. A great turnout with 17 members in attendance. Greg R, Max W, Michael L, Danny N, Russell W, Chris J, Mark H, Hayward B, Kieran C, Fred W, Kevin H, Vince B, Peter S, Kevin S, Adrian H, Alan J and Meilin H. The weather was perfect and there were quite a few varying models on display. Meilin again put on a barbecue lunch for everyone and we thank her again for doing this.

Unfortunately as I wasn’t able to get to the field, I am unable to share a lot of detail on the models but I did manage to get some detail from Vince on his Zero. This was an old partial kit he obtained from Darrell Beachy.

• Model: Mitsubishi AM6 “Zero” fighter.
• Manufacture: JP Models
• Wingspan: 2.4m
• Fuselage: Fibreglass
• Electric Retracts
• Engine: Saito FG 60R3

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Photos from the field (thanks to Mark Holman)

Click on the first image to enlarge and skip through the album.

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AGM

The club AGM was held on a bitterly cold night on Monday, June 6 at the usual venue, the Kings Meadows Community Health Centre. We certainly felt the cold as we had to wait outside for about 15 minutes for the security company to arrive and provide the code required to let us in. The cold obviously kept many away as only 10 members (minimum for a quorum) attended. Mick G, George C, Meilin H, Adrian H, Chris J, Russell W, Mark H, Kevin S, Peter D and Hayward B.

Notwithstanding the $5 increase in the TMAA component of our fees to $15pa, club fees were held at $190, of which $85 is the club component. The balance of $90 being the MAAA fee. Renewals can be completed by filling in the online form (login first), and preferably paying your fee by EFT. Details are here

As usual the election of office bearers took place with a few more vacancies than first anticipated. Rodney K had decided not to continue on the committee for another 2 year term. This is understandable, given he lives at George Town and we thank Rodney for his valuable contribution over the past 2 years.

Vice President Mike Hope also decided to stand down, citing his limited availability at the field and Mike wanted to see a new face on the committee that regularly attends the club. Mike has spent the past 9 years on the committee, including 3 years as President and 5 years as Vice President, not to mention his many years doing the maintenance and mowing. On behalf of the club, I’d like to thank Mike for his contribution over all those years.

Fortunately two members have stepped up to replace Rodney and Mike. Peter Daniel has decided to spend more time at Symmons Plains and was elected to the committee. Peter has been on the committee before, many years ago holding the positions of president and secretary. Peter’s past experience will be an asset on the committee. I look forward to seeing Peter at the field on a more regular basis. Another well known member has also stepped up; Danny Nelson. As many will know Danny has been an active member of the mowing and maintenance team, along with Max. Danny will now be able to bring first hand experience of any issues at the field to the committee. Mick was re-elected president and also elected to continue in the role of secretary.

Last but certainly not least, with Mike’s resignation, we had to find a new Vice President and we are very pleased to see that Meilin was elected into this role.

Welcome to our new committee members, and we look forward to some healthy discussion over the next 12 months.

For those that were unable to attend, the President’s and Treasurer reports are online as is Mick’s report from the TMAA meeting held at Campbell Town. See here (You will need to login first)

Thanks again to Kerry for providing the supper on the night.

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Ceiling Height

We are required to renew our Area Approval issued by CASA. This may take some time to process. In the meantime, we are required to maintain a maximum ceiling of 400′. Please make sure you observe this limitation until the approval is renewed.

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Vale Garth Wilmot

It was very sad to hear of the passing of Hobart Model Aero Club stalwart, Garth Wilmot. For many years Garth ran a thriving hobby shop from the bottom floor of his house in Lenah Valley.
I knew Garth for many years, buying my first radio from him in 1981, when I lived in Oatlands. He was the go to guy for all the gear back then and he would supply the Oatlands newsagent with all the essential building gear to stock in his newsagency. Athol Dove was the newsagent and it was Athol that taught me to fly. RIP Garth.

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Geoff Hays

For those that are unaware, Geoff suffered a stroke in late April. I spoke with him on May 5 and he was in hospital and had been for about 2 weeks. From what I understand, his mobility was not affected however his speech was. He had quite a bit of difficulty talking. I spoke to him again recently and his speech has improved, although he tells me there are still lingering issues. For Geoff the stroke has now meant he can no longer stay at home and he has now moved into a care facility at Woombye Residential Care on the Sunshine Coast. Geoff has a number of challenges ahead but his medical advice is that he may well make a full recovery from the stroke. In the meantime, the lack of independence he feels especially as he is no longer allowed to drive, is frustrating. This has been a dramatic and sudden change for a man who spent so many years as our secretary and doing maintenance etc. at the field. On behalf of the club, I wished Geoff well and hope his recovery comes sooner rather than later.

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Hobbyking closes their Australian warehouse

Hobbyking is closing their Moruya warehouse and once the existing stock is sold it will be closed permanently. Hobbyking stated – “We understand the importance of servicing customers locally, but market pressures and rising costs have made operating an Australian-based warehouse untenable.” Whilst the economics that forced the closure are understandable, I guess our decisions to buy from overseas rather than locally brought about the demise of our local hobby shops. There are still some items for sale on their website, so if you are interested, you had better get in quick. Freight limitations from overseas mean that we can no longer buy batteries or even glue from HK’s Global warehouse. I tried to order some CA glue etc. and was met with this message –

Sorry, we currently do not have any available shipping options that can include items classified as Dangerous Goods (DG) to your respective country or region. Please review your cart, and remove items that are potentially classified as DG such as batteries, adhesives or airsoft-related products and try again. We again apologize for the inconvenience.

What used to cost less than $5 for a 1.7oz of CA from HK, now costs just under $A15 for 1oz locally (I bought from the Art Supply shop at 61 Invermay Rd). I guess we better keep supporting local otherwise we may run out of options! Let me know if anyone has any other sources.

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Perimeter Fence

Work is nearing completion, with the end panels remaining to be done. We can’t thank Ron enough for his efforts – all carried out in his out of work hours time.

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Well that’s it for this month. I know I keep banging on about it, but all of you have models in your hangar, why not send me some pictures of your pride and joy, and I’ll put them in HT. I am confident that most of you will already have pictures that you can send. Please….

Don’t Forget – Put a Spark in your life and fly electric!
George