The other good news was that Michael passed his Bronze Wings test with James so well done Michael!
Monday, 17 December 2012
15th December 2012
It's been a long time between drinks but Anthony sent me these photos of his new Matt Hall MSX-R which had a successful maiden.
The other good news was that Michael passed his Bronze Wings test with James so well done Michael!
The other good news was that Michael passed his Bronze Wings test with James so well done Michael!
Sunday, 11 November 2012
10th of November 2012
Finally the weather was kind to us with a much weaker crosswind than recent weeks & even better, by late afternoon we had complete still over the farm which had planes in the air until well after 5pm.
We didn't have it all our way however as Terry had arranged a series of challenges consisting of grass that was missing, along with piles of pallets that threatened to destroy any aircraft that wandered off its landing course!
We had a good turn out of members & many aircraft made it into the air over the day.
James brought out the 'Old Girl'.
I brought along the Saratoga & the Stuka whilst Paul brought out the mighty Bulldog.
Anthony's hangar.
Curtis' hangar with the all important esky!
Also pictured is Michael getting some help from James to sort out his Katana & welcome back to Stu who brought out his Zephyr for a blast.
Brendon put on a show with his Tiger Sports by taking off with his ailerons reversed which led to some amazing 3D moves followed by his best ever landing!
He also had his PC-21 with him that James put through her paces after Paul sorted the engine issues.
Pilots box with obstacle course in the background!
We didn't have it all our way however as Terry had arranged a series of challenges consisting of grass that was missing, along with piles of pallets that threatened to destroy any aircraft that wandered off its landing course!
We had a good turn out of members & many aircraft made it into the air over the day.
James brought out the 'Old Girl'.
I brought along the Saratoga & the Stuka whilst Paul brought out the mighty Bulldog.
Anthony's hangar.
Curtis' hangar with the all important esky!
Also pictured is Michael getting some help from James to sort out his Katana & welcome back to Stu who brought out his Zephyr for a blast.
Brendon put on a show with his Tiger Sports by taking off with his ailerons reversed which led to some amazing 3D moves followed by his best ever landing!
He also had his PC-21 with him that James put through her paces after Paul sorted the engine issues.
Pilots box with obstacle course in the background!
Waiting in the start-up area - James' Edge 540.
Only one mishap which I think Anthony actually wanted to happen so he could buy a new one!
Dennis & Bob both flew a number of electric foamies whilst Paul flew the wings off that big Pitts!
Thanks to James & Paul who coached me through my first solo take-off with the Stuka & also helping to sort out the flap/elevator settings.
The last landing with full flaps was beautiful to watch!
Here's a couple of snaps from a video of a low pass with James at the controls.
The bar was opened late & because of the excellent conditions the last of us didn't leave until after 6pm.
See you next week.
Cheers, Rob.
Sunday, 4 November 2012
3rd of November 2012
Yesterday at the turf farm started with nice light winds but by around 11:30am that gusting, swirling wind that we've been putting up with for weeks was back! (Getting damn hot too)!
It didn't stop quite a few members coming out for a fly & we had a few laughs along the way.
Apologies to everybody that most photos from yesterday are of Stuka Mark II but I guess that was the main focus of my attention for the day - I'll do better next week I promise.
Anyway, here is the new improved Mark II which flew very nicely after some expert trimming from test pilot Greg W.
Another massive thanks to Paul Dixon who again put in many hours with me to get this bird into the air, including resurrecting my YS FZ-140 Limited which had some major issues after arriving from the USA.
When I grow up I wanna be just like my Dad! (Anthony's JU-87G in winter camo).
Paul's 55 powered PC-9 met an unfortunate end after a radio glitch on approach.
Dennis showed off the foot-operated bungee launcher which was expertly designed & built by Graeme - what a piece of engineering!
It didn't stop quite a few members coming out for a fly & we had a few laughs along the way.
Apologies to everybody that most photos from yesterday are of Stuka Mark II but I guess that was the main focus of my attention for the day - I'll do better next week I promise.
Anyway, here is the new improved Mark II which flew very nicely after some expert trimming from test pilot Greg W.
Another massive thanks to Paul Dixon who again put in many hours with me to get this bird into the air, including resurrecting my YS FZ-140 Limited which had some major issues after arriving from the USA.
When I grow up I wanna be just like my Dad! (Anthony's JU-87G in winter camo).
Paul's 55 powered PC-9 met an unfortunate end after a radio glitch on approach.
Dennis showed off the foot-operated bungee launcher which was expertly designed & built by Graeme - what a piece of engineering!
Also in attendance but not mentioned above were Bill x 2, Peter, Michael, Curtis & Bob.
We opened the bar late & had a few beers & a few more laughs.
Again we hope for better weather next week.
Cheers, Rob
Sunday, 28 October 2012
27th of October 2012
Come flying they said, it would be fun they said.....
With the BOM promising the best flying weather you could wish for we headed out to the farm with high hopes.....
What we found was the worst winds ever encountered around Tropical Lawns!
Some decided to have a beer & forget about flying; for those who tried their luck in the air the results were sometimes spectacular!
Graeme debuted his new aerobatic machine but gave up on flying early in the day - at least she flew & went home in one piece....
Greg W had a few decent flights with his Edge including an amazing harrier landing following a dead stick!
His Mini Beast was not so lucky!
The "Nutta F**ker" made an appearance for old times sake!
Unfortunately she had her first & only flight post Mareeba competition which ended in disaster.......
The next photos should give you an indication of how the day panned out for others....
Anthony's MX2 after a rough landing.
Bill's Extra.
And very sadly James' Falcon which appeared to lose an aileron mid-flight.
The post mortem is conducted.
All in all a day to forget!
See you next week.
Cheers, Rob
With the BOM promising the best flying weather you could wish for we headed out to the farm with high hopes.....
What we found was the worst winds ever encountered around Tropical Lawns!
Some decided to have a beer & forget about flying; for those who tried their luck in the air the results were sometimes spectacular!
Graeme debuted his new aerobatic machine but gave up on flying early in the day - at least she flew & went home in one piece....
Greg W had a few decent flights with his Edge including an amazing harrier landing following a dead stick!
His Mini Beast was not so lucky!
The "Nutta F**ker" made an appearance for old times sake!
Unfortunately she had her first & only flight post Mareeba competition which ended in disaster.......
The next photos should give you an indication of how the day panned out for others....
Anthony's MX2 after a rough landing.
Bill's Extra.
And very sadly James' Falcon which appeared to lose an aileron mid-flight.
The post mortem is conducted.
All in all a day to forget!
See you next week.
Cheers, Rob
Saturday, 20 October 2012
Sunday, 14 October 2012
13th of October 2012 - Mareeba Fun Fly
There may have been some members who flew at the turf farm yesterday, but the legend that was born at Mareeba yesterday afternoon will never die! (Much more on that later)!
CMAC members who went up to support MASCOTNQ were as follows:
Me, Anthony, Paul, James, Greg W, Michael (& Rachel) & Brendon who holds dual citizenship as a member of both clubs but, in what turned out to be a a clever decision, was wearing his CMAC shirt on the day.
Here's some photos of our tent city & aircraft.
Alright, so on to the flying. Unfortunately it was a grey sky with a very strong crosswind that greeted us in Mareeba but it didn't stop Michael & Greg W from spending time sorting out Michael's new Hangar 9 Katana & she looked good!
Everybody had a few flights including my Saratoga, James' Edge & Fly Baby, Paul's Bulldog, Anthony's MX2, Tango & Trojan, Greg's profile Sukhoi & Brendon's collection of trainers.
All this was soon forgotten however when the story unfolded which will forever be known as "The Legend of The Nutta F**cker"!
Mark & the MASCOTNQ guys decided to run a competition that pitted the skills of the three clubs that were in attendance against each other: Mareeba vs. Cairns vs. Townsville.
Each club was given a polystyrene fruit box that was filled with all the raw materials needed to construct an electric aircraft, we then had the rest of the afternoon to design & construct the craft prior to a fly-off to the death!
Here's the Cairns crew talking through some initial design concepts.
It was then left basically to James, Anthony & Paul to put words into action & to create the actual machine!
The completed aircraft priot to final markings being applied.
As always there was plenty of sledging that went on & the general consensus from the MASCOTNQ guys was that they had the winning design that was clearly based on a tried & tested club design known as the 'Nutta'; we were told that our design was a POS & that it would not fly.
Here's some interclub banter going down!
The final designs on display from the three clubs, note the CMAC entry with hand drawn flames!
So, there was nothing left to do but get this party started - it was to be last man standing with the aircraft that stayed in the air the longest to be delared the champion.
The CMAC entry was piloted by our James & the MASCOTNQ entry by their young James - youth vs. experience!
The three craft were hand launched & it was obvious that the Townsville craft would not last long as it was almost uncontrollable & crashed shortly after takeoff.
The other two climbed quickly & sat into the wind - clearly the CMAC entry looked more stable & with those side force generators appeared to be on rails as it cut through the strong wind!
The height achieved was incredible!
Here's the pilots locked in a battle of wills!
In the end young James had used too much power trying to stay into the wind with his inferior design & also performing aeros for the crowd: he started to lose throttle & then height, & then to the dismay of his MASCOTNQ team mates he sunk back to earth.......
With a few snap rolls & loops for the crowd, CMAC James brought the victorious craft in for a landing with thunderous applause from the impressed onlookers!
The plane had been in the air almost 25 minutes!
Townsville's entry was never recovered from the surrounding bush land but they still wanted to be in the photo!
First there was the Nutta, but nobody counted on the Nutta F**ker!!
Here's our Prez Anthony & pilot James with first prize!
Well done to Mark & the crew from MASCOTNQ for putting on a great day & we look forward to doing it all again soon.
The "Nutta F**cker" will be on display next Saurday afternoon at our regular club day at the turf farm.
Cheers, Rob
CMAC members who went up to support MASCOTNQ were as follows:
Me, Anthony, Paul, James, Greg W, Michael (& Rachel) & Brendon who holds dual citizenship as a member of both clubs but, in what turned out to be a a clever decision, was wearing his CMAC shirt on the day.
Here's some photos of our tent city & aircraft.
Alright, so on to the flying. Unfortunately it was a grey sky with a very strong crosswind that greeted us in Mareeba but it didn't stop Michael & Greg W from spending time sorting out Michael's new Hangar 9 Katana & she looked good!
Everybody had a few flights including my Saratoga, James' Edge & Fly Baby, Paul's Bulldog, Anthony's MX2, Tango & Trojan, Greg's profile Sukhoi & Brendon's collection of trainers.
All this was soon forgotten however when the story unfolded which will forever be known as "The Legend of The Nutta F**cker"!
Mark & the MASCOTNQ guys decided to run a competition that pitted the skills of the three clubs that were in attendance against each other: Mareeba vs. Cairns vs. Townsville.
Each club was given a polystyrene fruit box that was filled with all the raw materials needed to construct an electric aircraft, we then had the rest of the afternoon to design & construct the craft prior to a fly-off to the death!
Here's the Cairns crew talking through some initial design concepts.
It was then left basically to James, Anthony & Paul to put words into action & to create the actual machine!
The completed aircraft priot to final markings being applied.
As always there was plenty of sledging that went on & the general consensus from the MASCOTNQ guys was that they had the winning design that was clearly based on a tried & tested club design known as the 'Nutta'; we were told that our design was a POS & that it would not fly.
Here's some interclub banter going down!
The final designs on display from the three clubs, note the CMAC entry with hand drawn flames!
So, there was nothing left to do but get this party started - it was to be last man standing with the aircraft that stayed in the air the longest to be delared the champion.
The CMAC entry was piloted by our James & the MASCOTNQ entry by their young James - youth vs. experience!
The three craft were hand launched & it was obvious that the Townsville craft would not last long as it was almost uncontrollable & crashed shortly after takeoff.
The other two climbed quickly & sat into the wind - clearly the CMAC entry looked more stable & with those side force generators appeared to be on rails as it cut through the strong wind!
The height achieved was incredible!
Here's the pilots locked in a battle of wills!
In the end young James had used too much power trying to stay into the wind with his inferior design & also performing aeros for the crowd: he started to lose throttle & then height, & then to the dismay of his MASCOTNQ team mates he sunk back to earth.......
With a few snap rolls & loops for the crowd, CMAC James brought the victorious craft in for a landing with thunderous applause from the impressed onlookers!
The plane had been in the air almost 25 minutes!
Townsville's entry was never recovered from the surrounding bush land but they still wanted to be in the photo!
First there was the Nutta, but nobody counted on the Nutta F**ker!!
Here's our Prez Anthony & pilot James with first prize!
Well done to Mark & the crew from MASCOTNQ for putting on a great day & we look forward to doing it all again soon.
The "Nutta F**cker" will be on display next Saurday afternoon at our regular club day at the turf farm.
Cheers, Rob
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