A quick turnaround this month and a new Hangar Talk, just a few days after the last, and unfortunately I have to start with some very sad news.
Vale – Alice Robertson 24/11/1935 – 07/05/2024
On Tuesday, May 7, Alice Robertson passed away. Needless to say Greg and his family are deeply saddened by this news as I am sure many of our members are. Whilst I am sure many of you would have attended her funeral, Greg has advised me that there will be a private family event to remember Alice.
For those that did not know Alice very well, I first met Alice in 1994 and soon discovered she was the “matriarch” of LMAC. Alice ran the canteen and the clubhouse like a well oiled machine. Never a spoon out of place and always there to ensure the members were well fed on club and competition days and that members behaved themselves! When a working bee was on, Alice was always there early to organise the teams, making sure everything was completed to perfection. You daren’t step out of line or Alice would pull you up quickly. As she was sweeping up, the usual cheeky remark was that Alice was sweeping with her normal mode of transport “a broom”! It was all in good fun and Alice would soon bite back with an equally cheeky remark – or chase you with the broom!
There was a time when the mowing was organised into teams and for a number of years, Kerry and myself would accompany Greg and Alice every month when it was our turn. I was on the ride-on, Greg on the push mower, Kerry on the whipper snipper and Alice in the clubhouse cleaning. Then followed a few flights and a natter over lunch and a cuppa. Fond memories…
Many of you would recall the trips to Greg’s “workshop”, where Alice would hold court and often supply a cup of coffee or tea and a biscuit. Whilst we haven’t seen Alice at the field for some time due to her declining health, there will be many of you who will recall her devotion to the club over so, so many years. It is people like Alice who devote so much time to the club that we owe a deep debt of gratitude and Alice was one of the best. Rest in Peace Alice – Sadly missed by all…
(Click on an image to enlarge and scroll through)
First it was a Fun-Fly, then a Club-Day but it turned out to be a “Fun-Day”!
With all the best of intentions, and due to the intended absence of 3 committee members for reasons beyond their control, it was decided to cancel the Fun Fly Day and make it just a Club day. However after sending out the text seeking a yes or no for attending the Club Day, the response was an overwhelming YES! Add to this, that I received a call from John Bowden from the North West Aeromodellers, that John and 4 of his colleagues were coming for a Club day, Fun Fly or whatever was on – the title was not important. Once I collated the numbers, it looked like 25 and upwards were coming.
Kerry then spent Friday making burgers and coleslaw and I thought that I needed to make the effort to join her at the field on Saturday. No flying but I’ll arm myself with my camera and take a few shots on the day. No excuse for not having any material for Hangar Talk if I did that!
The “Fun Day” – May 4
A great turnout of members, that was complimented by 4 visitors from NWAM namely, Derril Kaye, John Bowden, Dave Winchester and Anthony Di Chilie. It was also nice to see our Associate member, Alex Porter and his wife Leigh join us. LMAC members in attendance were, Alan J, Daniel H, Fred W, George & Kerry C, Greg R, Jo, Ray & Micah G, Jacques W, Kevin H, Liam & Phillip E, Mark H, Max W, Meilin H, Peter D, Rodney K and Vince B. A welcome surprise was to see Dave & Tony Jacobs. Tony brought his Dad out for the day, and for those that didn’t know, Dave is a founding member of the club and will turn 94 on the 30th of this month. Happy birthday in advance Dave!
There was plenty of action in the air, with models of all shapes and sizes filling the skies at once – warriors, gliders and foamies all safely negotiating the airspace. Only one “out” and that was Fred’s model. Fred lost it in the sun and handed the controls to Kevin, but unfortunately not in enough time for Kev to recover it. I asked Fred some detail on the model and he replied –
Hi George
Unfortunately it was a Hustler Mk 3 built by my long deceased friend, Alby Higgins from Castlemaine VIC. He built two of them for me. I have two more kits. One is a laser cut and the other I’ve cut out myself. I should now have motivation to start building one.
Cheers
Fred
Mark H took some nice shots of the Hustler before it’s demise –
The only other mishap for the day was Jacques with his flying wing. Try as he might to launch the model, he failed to gain any height before eventually breaking the prop. Turns out, the “pusher” prop was on backwards!
Our friends from the North West brought along some nice models too. John Bowden brought along a beautiful Corsair. John managed one flight with the Corsair but ran into some issues with servos playing up, but fortunately he managed to land the model safely. The model was a Black Horse ARF and has a wingspan of 2280mm (89.7″) and weighs in at 12.5kg. John has powered it with a SAITO FG-60R3 60CC 3-CYLINDER PETROL RADIAL with a Biela 22×10″ propellor. Here is John with the Corsair, showing it’s impressive size and I really like the weathered finish!
A look inside the Corsair shows a very complicated set up for controlling the aircraft, including batteries for the fuel pump, retracts, ignition etc. Crikey, he has more batteries in his petrol powered model than I have in my electric powered models!
With the Corsair grounded due to technical issues, luckily John also brought along his scratch built “Skybolt”. The Skybolt is powered by a 35cc DLE petrol engine.
It was nice to receive a compliment from the North West boys, with Derril saying it was the best day they had in recent times and they look forward to coming back again. I told Derril and the lads – don’t wait for an invitation, they are welcome any time!
A shoutout to Kerry for a nice lunch and to Max and Peter D for picking up the tools and cooking the barbecue. There were also plenty of helpers to clean up in the kitchen at the end of the day.
Max brought along his “modified” Sportster. I say modified, because he had Greg R build ailerons into this version. We think he should receive a handicap when we next run a “Tomboy” event. Here is Max with his Sportster and just to remind you how successful this genre of models was, I have included a few of shots from previous “Tomboy” events. These events were always well supported by our friends from down South namely, HMAC and the Roaring Forties Aero Modellers. Time for another “Tomboy” event? What do you think – leave a comment below. (Click on an image to enlarge)
Another thing that caught my eye on Club day was Mark’s engine test bench. If anyone is looking for an ideal design, look no further than what Mark has built. Solid and well laid out. Here he is testing his new RCGF “Stinger” 40cc petrol twin cylinder engine.
A few short video clips from the day’s activities.
Below is a collection of shots taken on the day and thanks also to Mark H who supplied many fine in-flight shots.
UPDATE: Micah Green gains his SILVER Wings
Last month I reported that Micah had gained his Bronze Wings. This was incorrect. Due to an administrative error, the MAAA had registered Micah as a Bronze wing recipient. This has now been corrected and Micah has been elevated to Silver wings.
Mick Green
Mick has returned home after surgery in Hobart and we all wish him a speedy recovery.
Update on MAAA FPV policy
We have been waiting some time for an update on the MAAA policy for FPV flying at approved sites. We currently have a prospective member (Matthew Stephens), who some of you will have met and Matthew is keen to join however like ourselves, Matthew wants clarification on what is required to allow FPV flying at our site. The wording of the existing policy, MOP066 First Person View (FVP) & Self Guided Model Aircraft (SGMA), is somewhat confusing and in early December last year we sought clarification from the MAAA. It turns out we were not the only ones that had enquired about the policy. The latest update is that the MAAA have approached CASA seeking some guidance but are still awaiting answers from them.
AGM
Another reminder, the date for our AGM will be Monday, June 3, commencing at 7:30pm. The venue is at our usual location, the Kings Meadows Community Health Centre, 22 McHugh Street, Kings Meadows.
Annual Dinner
The committee has decided that the Annual Dinner will be held on Saturday, September 21 this year. Details can be found here (The form has been loaded now).
From the WWW
Are you confused by some of the LiPo battery brands offered by sites like Hobbyking? I found this article here that describes those offered by Hobbyking and it might be of help. It was for me.
I also found this article on the Model Airplane News site that I found interesting, especially as it is about repairing foam models, of which there are a few flying around these days.
Fast-Foam-FixesSTOP PRESS!!!
I almost forgot. Jacques Wakae has donated a “Portable Oscilloscope”. If you know how to use one, or are willing to learn, this unit will get you started. The unit is in excellent condition and is valued at over $US300 (see an offer here) Based on that valuation, make an offer to buy it. The funds will be donated to the club and the club has not set a minimum yet but please no silly low offers for a quality piece of equipment.
Well that’s it for another month, and sadly this was one where we lost a long time volunteer and valued member of the LMAC family.
Don’t Forget – Put a Spark in your life and fly electric!
George
So sad to hear about Alice, she surely was a big influence to the club. Our condolences to Greg and family.