Issue No. 54 AUSTRALIAN MODEL NEWSbrcac.asn.au/storage/amn/54_October2018.pdf · 2018. 10. 9. · Issue No. 54. Australian Model News 2 Contents 3. TONY FARNAN 1929 - 2018 6. BENDIGO

AUSTRALIAN MODEL NEWS

October 2018

Issue No. 54

2 Australian Model News

Contents 3. TONY FARNAN 1929 - 2018 6. BENDIGO LARGE SCALE RACING 8. DAFFODIL DAY AT GMAC 10. PETER HEWSON’S “SOUTHERN CROSS” 11. “ADRIAN BRYANT FIELD” DEVELOPMENT 13. INDOOR AVIATION JOHN BIRD MEMORIAL TROPHY 14. RUBBER POWER AT DONCASTER 15. SHEPPARTON MAMMOTH SCALE

FLY-IN 2018 26. SAM 600 AT ECHUCA 28. DAVID BALFOUR’S VICKERS 61 “VULCAN” 29. “TWINS AND MORE” AT NFG 33. LINCOLNSHIRE AVIATION MUSEUM 35. VARMS 50TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

COMING EVENTS

ANNUAL AUCTION AT SUNBURY MAC

“MASTERS GAMES“ AT ALICE SPRINGS

NATIONAL AIR RACE CHAMPIONSHIPS AT NAAS CANBERRA

TRAWALLA FLY-IN AT BALLARAT RMFC

WINGS OVER WEST WYALONG

FOAMIE FLY-IN AT MITCHELL FWAC

DAWN PATROL AT SOUTH HUMMOCKS MAC

SCRATCH AND KIT BUILT SCALE RALLY AT P&DARCS

INVITATIONAL SCALE CLASSIC DOWNUNDER AT COOTAMUNDRA

CLASSIC AIRPLANE DAY AT TWIN CITIES MAC

This newsletter is published bi-monthly to feature model aircraft building and flying and to report on aeromodelling events in Australia and New Zealand. Contributing material and requests for inclusion on the distri-bution list may be forwarded to — John Lamont Unit 5, 1326 Main Road, Eltham, 3095 Ph: 03 9431 0044 Mob: 0415 384 823 E-mail: [email protected] Visit our website at - https://sites.google.com/sites/australianmodelnews/

I’m late again! After a miserable winter for flying the weather has improved and aeromodelling is once again on the move. This is all good but it made the preparation of this issue of AMN quite difficult with little happening in August and early September then everything firing up in the last weeks of September. To add to my problems I was away from home for the last week of September and all of this is my excuse for being so tardy with this issue. I will try to do better! Aeromodelling lost another of its older devotees with the passing of Tony Farnan early in August. Many people would only know Tony as the owner of the very successful “Model Engines” business but in earlier days Tony was a leading control line and radio flyer, pioneering both forms of our hob-by and introducing modellers to OS engines and ARF mod-els. His absence will be felt by those who knew him over his many years of involvement in our hobby. John Lamont

On the Cover. Corinne Pellatt’s 1/2 scale Piper Cub ready to take off at the

Shepparton Mammoth Scale Fly-In

From the Editor


Tony Farnan’s passing in August, a short time after the sale of his Model Engines importing and sales business, marked the end of a career in aeromodelling and toy and hobby sales that lasted for al-most eighty years.

Tony’s interest in aircraft and aeromodelling commenced at the age of ten years when he built a billy cart with wings and aircraft controls and careered down the hill in a nearby street intent on taking to the air. The failure of this attempt did not hold him back and he soon took up aeromodelling to satisfy his interest in flight, becoming a member of the Eastern Suburbs Model Aeroplane Club and an early exponent of the new model craze — control line flying. He became very proficient in this form of modelling winning numerous events at both State and National level in stunt, team racing and speed.

When the early radio control equipment appeared Tony was quick to embrace this new challenge and became a founding member of the MARCS, the first aeromodelling club devoted solely to radio control flying.

Ever the entrepreneur, Tony’s first entry into the business world was a milk bar in an eastern suburb of Melbourne where he also sold model-ling supplies and equipment. He obtained the Australian agency for

OS engines and despite resistance to Japanese products being sold in this country so soon after WWII his persistence, coupled with the fine performance of these engines, finally won through and OS be-came the engine of choice for all types of model aircraft.

The success of his OS engines agency lead Tony to move on in the hobby world and he took a position with The Model Dockyard in their aeromodelling department. A subsequent move to the Myer Em-porium toy department saw Tony move quickly up the ladder until he was appointed as the youngest director of this famous Melbourne retailer.

Tony left Myer to set up his own business once again and established Model Engines in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond as an importer and wholesaler to the hobby trade. Tony’s younger son Michael joined the business and as the sales volume increased further moves were made, first to Oakleigh and finally to Noble Park. In this period Tony saw the potential of the first ARF models and despite some criticism by traditional model builders he persisted with the development and improvement of ARF models until they became widely accepted and now form the largest part of the aeromodelling scene.

In addition to his aeromodelling talents Tony was also a very capable musician and enjoyed playing the piano and ukulele with his children and grandchildren, many of whom are also musicians.

Tony, with his unbounded enthusiasm for the hobby, will be missed by his many friends as will his generosity in supporting aeromodelling events over many years.

John Anthony

Farnan 10th June 1929-5th August 2018




This was the thirteenth consecutive year that we have conducted the Bendigo Large Scale Racing event and only once in all that time have we had to cancel the races because of the weather. On that occasion the field was flooded and the races were rescheduled, but this year we thought that we would only be a little restrained by the forecast we were given — ‘a shower or two, and a cold wind’. Unfortunately nature threw everything at us. Starting with mild sunshine on Saturday morning the cool wind turned into an even colder wind followed by rain and finally hail. This did in the end prevent any chance of completing the event. On Saturday morning we got a couple of hours of racing and almost completed two full rounds before nature curtailed our activities. Start-ing at 10:00am we had a very short welcome and briefing and then went straight into racing with no time for a group photo shoot. With thirty two entries spread over the four classes of AT-6 Tex-an, Redbull 20/30, F2 Nemesis 35 and F1 Goodyear, this is enough for a two day event allowing us to fly six or seven rounds and finish, weather permitting, early on Sunday afternoon. By this time the light marshals have had enough of being stuck in the protection cage for hours, likewise for the flight line starter and our computer scoring op-erator. It also allows Victorian competitors to arrive home by tea time, and interstate people a chance to get home before midnight. AT-6 Texans are the first class to race so with everything right and the wind straight down the course line the Texans were off and racing in round one. The models and pilots were handling the conditions quite well until there was a mid-air between two yellow Texans. One aircraft exploded into pieces and the other managed to land on the runway, neither could be flown again that day although I'm told that the one that landed on the runway will be repaired and back in the air very soon. Next class to race was the Redbulls and this year, for the first time, we had an electric powered model competing. James Manny wanted try racing his MSX–R with the 30cc IC powered aircraft for some race experience and performance comparison and although times were down against the IC flyers I think James’ times will improve as he

learns how to fly around the race course from the outside - off the course style. The Nemesis F2 class is the entry level. In this class all aircraft are close to the same speeds no matter what brand of engine they use. The difference in the times is governed by the pilots’ skill and it may only be one or two sloppy turns that separate them on the score sheet. Goodyear F1 is the fastest event and this is where everybody stops to watch as the speed and sound of these aircraft is exciting. It’s a pity that the weather turned nasty and put a stop to this power plus racing. Flying ended at 2:00pm on the Saturday and never resumed again for the rest of the weekend. RESULTS (with almost two rounds completed) AT-6 Texan 1. Jeremy Randle 2. Leigh Kellock 3. Andrew Ward Redbull 20/30 1. Reece Hewitson 1. Jeremy Randle 2. Steve Davis Nemesis F2 1. Leigh Kellock 2. Les Sawyer 3. Riley Sills Goodyear F1 1. Paul Hewitson 2. Jeremy Randle 3. Byron Simpson


Thanks go to the Bendigo club members who gave up their weekend to help us run the wonderful event of Large Scale Racing and to the competitors who travelled long distances to be there. The club appre-ciates your commitment to our racing event and we hope that you enjoyed the small amount of racing that you did get. Nature is what nature is, but nature wasn't on our side this time around. Thanks also to the businesses that supported our races — DL Engines Australia, Model Engines Sydney and Aero Aviation Hob-bies Bendigo. Steve Davis

Leigh Kellock’s “Nemesis”, placed first in Nemisis 35 F2.

The Redbull starting line. Steve Davis’ model placed third in Redbull.

AT-6 “Texan” raced by Riley Sills. Riley Sills’ Goodyear F1 “Nemesis”.

The AT-6 “Texan” line up at the starting pegs.


G M A C

DAFFODIL DAY

The Greensborough MAC annual Daffodil Day Fly-In was held on Friday 24th August 2018 to raise funds for Cancer Re-search. The perfect weather drew a large number of flyers with many aircraft sporting yellow colours and reflecting the theme of the day. Lunch was available from the GMAC barbeque with gold coin donations going to the Daffodil Day Fund. $175 was raised on the day and GMAC will match this amount for a total of $350. All at GMAC look forward to helping in raising funds again in 2019.

John Byrden’s model from a Sig kit was a variation on the standard Piper Cub paintwork.

Stephen Axford’s MXS-R aerobatic model..

GMAC secretary Vaughan Humphries’ MXS aerobatic model.


Bob Stewart’s “Ultimate Bipe”

Alan Devlin’s “Super Skybolt”

Stephen Axford’s electric fan model.

Ken Wallace’s DH “ Tiger Moth” foamie .

Graeme Anderson’s electric glider. Club president Graeme Dyer’s car fitted in well with the theme of the day.

The fine weather brought out a lot of the GMAC members and the BBQ was popular.


Peter Hewson’s

Fokker F.VII/3bm

“Southern Cross” Peter Hewson has been working on his 1/6th scale “Southern Cross” model for 3½ years and it is now finished and has flown. The model represents the aircraft as it was when Charles Kingsford-Smith made a Trans Tasman crossing from Australia to New Zealand in 1934. Powered by three DLE petrol engines the model spans 3.6m, has a

length of 2.4m, and weighs 22kg. Peter has forwarded these photo-graphs of the first flight and a video is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7NyIXFdRgU Looking at the video the model appeared to be tail heavy and the first flight was short. A CG correction should see it flying well.


Hard Surface for the AB Field A great man once said, “Give us the tools and we will get the job done” What has our little band of enthusiastic modellers achieved in the four years that we have owned the AB field at West Wyalong? Our aim was, and still is, to have a field that is multi-discipline. Yes, Free Flight is the most important discipline to us, but we do realise that we need modellers from all disciplines along with all types of mod-els to make a true “Model Aviation Park” as the Bland Shire Council has called the field, and that is what we hope it will be. What did we start with? We had acquired 700 acres of land (1900m x 1200m) with good fences, a mixture of sheds - two large sheds and a number of dilapidated smaller sheds, a very run down and uninhabita-ble 70 year old home and 70 years of accumulated rubbish. The property had potential, but it needed to be worked on, long and hard, before we could really use it. Where did we start? Being free flighters a few trees had to go and this happened in a very short time. In fact the ink wasn’t even dry on the contract when some fell over. With the multi-discipline theme in mind we soon asked the Council to grade the main r/c strip. We installed a steel shade shelter 6m wide X 12m long and a weather proof room close to the strip.

The estate agent found a sheep farmer who liked our paddock and has been running his sheep there ever since. His lease has been re-newed which shows we are getting along very well together. The house was un-rentable so our little tribe decided to make a club house from it. One wouldn’t recognise it now, but the house was a shambles in every way when we started on that first day. Work has included plumbing repairs, electrical repairs, painting of many interior and exterior surfaces, new ceilings, new floor coverings, a new roof along with gutters and facias, gables, insulation, repairs to external walls, a new roof for the veranda and fitting out of one room as a li-brary ( it now is home to hundreds of magazines and books). Artificial grass has been laid to front and back yards keeping a lot of wind driv-en dust out of the house. This is just some of the work which has been done to the old farm house.

The shade shelter at the r/c strip.

The library.

The comfortable lounge room.

Adrian Bryant Field Development


Numerous other house cleaning and home making tasks have been completed by a large number of volunteers. What was the farm work-shop has now been turned into a full camp kitchen. We have also installed ladies and gents toilets and showers. Hosting the National’s this year meant that we had to increase the gents facilities, so another amenities block was bought. Toilets and showers were a big cost to buy and to install as a full septic system along with associated plumb-ing was required. This might sound excessive but we had fifty five happy campers on site for the Nationals and we expect more next year now that people have seen the facilities.

What was formerly the farm machinery shed is now home to four con-tainers which keep the Nat’s equipment, MAAA museum models, mowers, shades and a multitude of othergoods. It has not required any work and has been a sound and useful structure from day one. Two other big and very expensive development jobs were providing an all weather road to the r/c field and laying a base for what will be (we hope) a bitumen hard surface for both control line and radio fly-ing. This area is large, 50m X 60m, and work has commenced with the road base laid, rolled and ready for surfacing. However this second item is not complete and to do the job properly we are talking big dol-lars.

The math is like this - surfacing 3,000 square meters @ approximately $13.00 per meter works out to $39,000. This is a significant invest-ment in anybody’s language however it is clearly an important invest-ment and would sit well with the other improvements we have made to the property to date. More importantly, a hard surfaced area will make the property one of the best multi-discipline model flying sites in the world as we can then cater at a good level for control line, radio control and free flight as well as providing excellent camping and club house facilities. In the four years that we have had the property we have completed approximately $90,000 of improvements at cost. The actual value of the improvements significantly exceeds this amount as much of the work has been done by volunteers who gave their expertise and la-bour for free. None of this money, expertise and labour has been wasted with every penny being spent on items that are still in use today. We, the NSWFFS, have run out of funds to do this next most important job so the question arises - How can we finance this im-portant surfacing job? One thought is that maybe the eastern State Associations, of which there are five, together with the MAAA could split the bill. This would make it only $6500 each, which is a lot less daunting than $39,000. We believe we have proven that we can manage and develop the property so what would your State Association think of providing some funds so we can finish the job, and make the Adrian Bryant field a truly world class, multi-discipline, Model Aviation Park. The Executive New South Wales Free Flight Society

The amenities building and the camping area adjacent to the house.


Indoor Aviation

John Bird Memorial Trophy

In recognition of our founding member, the late John Bird, the group holds an annual competition to get their name on a perpetual cup named in his honour and affec-tionately called the “Birdy Tro-phy”. This year’s task was to build a chuck glider only from a piece of A4 3mm Zart art printing foam. The basic rules were that the plane had to be of standard de-sign with a separate rudder and tailplane, the only other materi-als to be used during construc-tion were white glue, cello tape and blue tack for ballast . With the rules determined mem-bers used various means to pro-ceed with designs. Some scanned the Internet, others used CAD programmes to get the maximum from the A4 sheet and a variety of designs were presented at the start line The contest got underway in perfect indoor flying conditions at the Waverley basketball centre with the arrival of important guests Julie Bird (John’s widow), their daughter and her partner. Also making an appearance for the occasion was 98-year-old Bill Eunson, a long time friend of the Bird family. Bill was also availa-ble to offer advice to the contest-ants, calling upon his experience in flying this type of model.

The competition was of two parts and the first task was the longest flight distance judged on the best of three flights. The first three place-

getters were Colin Smith at 98 ft. with Wes Hoffman and David Hipperson close behind. Task two was for the longest flight time but before that could be held it was thought that Wes Hoffman may not be able to continue, maybe requiring a medical check as he had arrived that morning with a burst blood vessel in a horrible red eye and also complaining of a painful tennis elbow. Like a true aeromodel-ler he continued and with great effort produced the best glide time of 11 seconds to take out the second stage of the contest. On totalling the numbers, the judges announced that there was a draw between Colin and Wes and a sud-den death fly-off would decide the winner. With the Cup in his sights Wes was able to overcome the pain from his tennis elbow and produce another winning glide to take out the “Birdy”. A nice morning with a lot of fun and enjoyed by all who took part. As for me, with great expectations at the start I ended up somewhere in the middle. Ah well! There’s always next year. Lew Rodman



John Leeden’s rubber powered Heinkel He72. Another by John Leeden, an Aeronc C3, also rubber powered.

Bob Harman’s rubber powered Rearwin Speedster.

When the mid week weather is fine and the wind is either light or non-existent a small group gathers at the Doncaster MAC field with their collection of rubber powered models and chuck gliders. The Doncas-ter field is quite small for free flight but most of the models have a relatively low performance and those that can perform better are usually equipped with some sort of dethermaliser. The surrounding trees are a constant threat for free flight models but the club has a telescopic pole for use in the case of a model landing in a tree and this can usually dislodge the model from the clutches of the foliage. It’s all low tech stuff but provides some gentle entertainment on a balmy summer day.

RUBBER POWER at DONCASTER


Landon Flere about to release his catapult launch glider. Greg Stanfield winding his rubber powered model, assisted by Graeme Watson.

Graeme Watson launching his rubber powered Hearn’s Hobbies “Sparrow”. A rubber powered model with a single blade folding propeller cruising quietly.

Landon Flere contemplating his winder while the model sits in its cradle. A spritely climb from a hand launch.

An interested onlooker as Greg Stanfield and Graeme Watson ready a model for flight.

A simple rubber model can require some skill in trimming for flight but is a cheap source of entertainment.


SHEPPARTON

MAMMOTH SCALE FLY-IN

2018

This event was Australia’s leading scale model rally for many years but had lost favour with modellers over the past few years to the point where the numbers had fallen to only forty models in 2017 and many, formerly regular, interstate attendees were no longer making the trip to Shepparton. The Valley Radio Fliers made a concentrated effort in 2018 to return their Fly-in to it’s former leading status by presenting a well organ-ised event at a very well prepared flying field. This effort was reward-ed with a greatly increased attendance by modellers and spectators with seventy-one entries flying one hundred and thirteen large scale models in front of four hundred and eleven spectators over the two days. Although Saturday was marred by cool air and strong winds which kept the models on the ground and the spectator numbers low it still provided an opportunity for social interaction between modellers from the various states. Sunday was much better with sunshine and only a mild breeze, the continuous flow of models from the flight line into the sky together with Ivan Chiselett’s knowledgeable commentary from his box high above the field keeping the spectators entertained and well informed. Among the many photographers I spotted Carlos Balmaceda the pro-ducer of the Flying Show that features on Ch 31 in Victoria at 6:00pm on Wednesday evenings and on Ch 44 in South Australia at 8:00pm on Monday nights. Watch for a future episode featuring the Shepparton Mammoth Scale Fly-in! It was a good weekend of flying and socialising and the VRF execu-tive and members are to be commended for their effort in re-instating this prestigious event. Not to be forgotten is the work of members’ wives over the weekend in staffing the kitchen and providing food and drink to spectators and flyers. Next year should be bigger and better so plan early and go to the 2019 event for a great weekend of flying.


Chris Claydon’s models, a VQARF Beaver 3m wingspan powered by a DLE30, a Great Planes ARF Stearman PT-17 1.8m wingspan powered by a DLE 40 and a Hangar 9 ARF Carbon Cub 2.1m wingspan powered by a DLE 20.

Mark Sills’ Ryan STA is 2m wingspan, weighs 6.6kg and is powered by a Saito 180 four stoke engine.

Mario Schembri flew this Heinkel 51A-1, 2.7m wingspan and powered by a DA60. The 25 year old model was built by NSW scale modeller Lloyd Dippel and has been in storage since his death in 1999.

Greg Escourt’s Super Decathlon is a Pilot ARF. The model has a wingspan of 3.8m, weighs 22.5kg and is powered by a DLE120.

Corinne Pellat’s 1/2 scale Piper J3 Clipped Cub is a re-covered Bill Hempel ARF. The model spans 4.9m, weighs 37kg and is powered by a DLE 170.


This Heinkel He 219, built many years ago by scale modeller Brian Johnston, is now owned and flown by Glen Orchard. The model spans 2.6m and is powered by two OS 65AX engines.

Mario Schembri’s T28 Trojan is an Austars ARF. The model has a wingspan of 2m, weighs 9.8kg and is powered by DLE 35.

Ron Clark’s Avro Lancaster spans 3.4m, weighs 24.8kg and is powered by four Saito FG 21 engines.

Bruce Hoffman is a regular at this event with his Hawker Tempest in the mark-ings of French WWII ace Pierre Clostermann.

A pair of AT-6 Texans for Scale Racing by Les and Steve Davis.


Jeffery A ard’s Super Decathlon. Transavia “Airtruk” scratch built by Ray Chivers with a wingspan of 3m.

Greg Lepp’s Bristol M1c, with which he competed at the 2018 World Scale Championships, is modelled on the aircraft in the Shuttleworth Collection.

A pair of 2.1m wingspan Blackhawk ARF DHC “Chipmunks”. Peter Johnsen’s model, on the left, is powered by a Turnigy 35cc engine and Gary Hildebrandt’s, on the right, has a DLE 42. Both models are not short on power!


Miles “Sparrowhawk” by Royce Bux is 2.2m wingspan, weighs 9kg, and is powered by a MVVS 58.

Alan Wright’s Aerosubaru FA-200 is 2.3m wingspan, weighs 6.5kg and is pow-ered by a DLE 35.

Gary Flanagan’s 1/3 scale Stearman PT-17 spans 3.2m, weighs 22kg and is powered by a DLE170. The wing walker adds a nice touch.

Tim de Haan’s Ercoupe is a Seagull ARF. Wingspan is 2.5m and weight is 10.5kg. Powered by a DLE35

Glen Orchard’s Marchetti SF.260.


Michael Timms flew a Jetcat 120 powered Bede BD-5 with a wingspan of 2.3m and a Jetcat 160 powered 2m wingspan Aermacchi M-346.

I didn’t catch up with the owner of this Grumman F-9 Cougar so no details.

Michael Timms’ Aermacchi MB-346.

David Law’s T- 45 Goshawk (US Navy version of the BAE Hawk) spans 2.1m, weighs17kg and is powered by a Kinetec 140 turbine.

The jet collection at the north end of the pits.


Scott Mathews’ sailplane collection. Ross Bathie’s 46% Piper Pawnee served the glider tug.

Colin Buckley’s Aerosport 103 ultra-light spans 2.5m, weighs 7.4kg and is powered by a 26cc XYZ petrol engine.

Scott Mathews’ model of a primary glider had a nice pilot figure with arms and feet connected to the control system and moving in conjunction with the control surfaces.


VRF president Leigh Kellock (left) with Noel Findlay who won the “Pilots’ Choice” award with his DH Fox Moth.

Leigh Kellock with Chris Claydon who won the pre-entry prize.

Saturday’s strong wind kept many of the models in the large storage shed.

A group of Melbourne modellers enjoying the Sunday weather. New South Wales modellers were also up and about on Sunday.


Ron Clark’s Avro Lancaster. Gary Flanagan’s PT-17.

Corinne Pellatt’s Piper Cub. Glen Orchard’s Marchetti SF.260.

David Law’s Pitts S2. Mario Schembri’s T28 Trojan.

Ray Jackson’s Pt-17. Ross Bathie’s Piper Pawnee.


Echuca April 2018

COMPETITOR MODEL ENGINE RD. 1 RD. 2 FLY‐ OFF TOTAL

1. K. FRYER CHALLENGER COX 420 420 840

2. P. KEELY STARDUST COX 191 - 191

1/2A TEXACO

RESULTS

COMPETITOR MODEL ENGINE CC/SEC RD. 1 RD. 2 FLY- OFF TOTAL

1. P. KEELY BOMBER OS 56 32 927 927

2. M. HEAP BOMBER GMS 32 25 287 287

3. S. GULLOCK BOMBER ENYA 40 25 DNF

DURATION

COMPETITOR MODEL ENGINE CC/SEC RD. 1 RD. 2 RD. 3 FLY‐ OFF TOTAL

1. K. FRYER CUMULUS FORSTER 99 24 600 600 536 1736

2. S. GULLOCK BOMBER ENYA 53 15 600 600 488 1688

3. R. TAYLOR CUMULUS OS 61 18 478 600 538 1138

RD. 4

TEXACO

Because of the bad weather forecast on Saturday the comp was reduced to a one day comp on Sunday. Nine members attended with Don Grant not flying but being CD for the day. The day started with the annual meeting and all office bearers being returned. Flying started after the meeting in fine but cold conditions with a gusty icy wind and little good lift. Texaco. ½ A was first with two in I.C and six in electric. Kevin Fryer won I.C as he was the only one to get two maxes. Despite an engine change Pat Keely was unable to get an engine running well enough to make the fly-off. Electric was a different matter with all flyers making the fly-off. In the fly-off Robin Yates wasn’t able to control his model under power and slammed into the underside of the new shelters’ roof. Graeme Gulbin the E 1/2A king won again with Ted Arnup second and Max Heap third. Texaco had four flyers, Pat Keely was unable to get his motor running again with Robert Taylor also having en-gine trouble and not making the flyoff. This left Kevin Fryer and Steve Gullock in the fly-off with Kevin winning. Duration. Due to low entries and the lateness of the day both I.C. and Electric were flown with one round only. In I.C. Pat Keely was able to get an engine running and came first with Max Heap second and Steve Gullock not flying. In electric Kevin Fryer was first and Graeme Gulbin second with a yet to be sorted Playboy. Altogether a disappointing comp due to lack of numbers and the continuing problem of fitting in flights with mem-bers flying both electric and I.C. Don Grant

Max Heap’s Bomber gliding by in electric Texaco.

COMPETITOR MODEL RD. 1 RD. 2 RD. 3 FLY‐ OFF TOTAL

1. G. GULBIIN STARDUST 600 600 1057 2257

2. T. ARNUP STARDUST 600 600 959 2159

3. M. HEAP STARDUST 600 600 933 2133

1/2A TEXACO (ELECTRIC)

DURATION (ELECTRIC)

COMPETITOR MODEL CC/SEC RND. 1 FLY‐OFF TOTAL

1. K. FRYER CUMULUS 25 346 346

2. G. GULBIN PLATBOY 25 270 270

COMPETITOR MODEL RD. 1 RD. 2 FLY‐ OFF TOTAL

1. M. HEAP BOMBER 600 600 1056 2256

2. K. FRYER BOMBER 600 600 1034 2234

TEXACO (ELECTRIC)


All hard at work on the flight line. A smooth lift off by Kevin Fryer’s Bomber in electric Texaco.

Electric Texaco winners, from left — Kevin Fryer (Cumulus) 2nd, Graeme Gulbin (Playboy) 1st.

Texaco winners, from left — Kevin Fryer (Cumulus) 1st, Steve Gullock (Bomber) 2nd.

Rob Taylor prepares his Cumulus for Texaco. Electric Texaco winners, from left — Kevin Fryer (Bomber) 2nd, Max Heap (Bomber) 1st.

1/2A Texaco winners, from left— Max Heap (Stardust) 3rd, Graeme Gulbin (Stardust) 1st, Ted Arnett (Stardust) 2nd.

Steve Gullock’s Bomber takes off in Texaco.


In 1922 the Vickers company made an attempt to produce a low-cost airliner that would pay its way without any Government subsidy. The result was the short lived, and ugly Vickers Vulcan that became known as the ‘Flying Pig’. A total of nine aircraft were built between 1922 and 1926. The first aircraft had a spectacularly short life, after delivery to Instone Air-lines in March 1924, it was scrapped in May 1924. Two aircraft, the sixth and seventh built, were ordered by Qantas for use on the Charleville - Cloncurry service and shipped to Melbourne for acceptance trials. In high midsummer temperatures the aircraft disgraced itself. On the flight from Melbourne to Longreach it is reported that the aircraft barely cleared the roof tops on take off and could not reach any of the stated performance criteria. Qantas was so unimpressed with the Vulcan that the order was cancelled, and the air-craft put back in the box. The second aircraft was not assembled and was shipped back to England. The last Vulcan crashed and burned in July 1928, ending the career of the ‘Flying Pig’. I hope the model performs better !!! David Balfour

David Balfour’s

AVRO 61 “VULCAN”

David’s 1:7.5 model is scaled up from a 3-view drawing published in Aeroplane magazine October 1981. The model has a wingspan of 2m, a length of 1.6m, and is constructed from balsa, ply and fibreglass. The covering is SIG Koverall and the model is powered by a Saito 150 four stroke. The finished model will be painted in the blue and silver colours of Instone Airlines. Instone were later incorporated into Imperial Airways which eventually became BOAC.

Vickers 61 Vulcan G-EBET on trial with Qantas in 1923.


“Twins and More” at

Northern Flying Group

Postponed from its normal date in March, this year’s “Twins and More” was not quite as well attended as in past years with eighteen entries and thirty eight aircraft on display. The steady north wind in the early part of the day blew straight down the strip and did not cause any concern while the warm sunshine was very welcome after our cold winter. It’s an unfortunate fact that most events are now dominated by ARF models and this is becoming the case with this event, however there are still a few people prepared to build something different and there were certainly some very unusual aircraft flying. Many flyers brought more than one aircraft but Tim De Haan topped them all with a Tiger Moth, Stampe, Waco, Mosquito and a Lancaster, all carried comforta-bly in his large trailer. Brian Evans had two odd aircraft with his bomb dropping “Tango” twin rotor autogyro and “Hot Glue Special” foamboard pentaplane, both flew well and provided a nice variation in form and style of flying. Ken Thomas’ “KATY” Award went to David Chivers flying the Transavia PL-12 Airtruk built by his father, Ray Chivers and other prizes were distributed among the flyers by means of a lucky draw. It’s always a good event so if you have a model with multiple engines or wings make a note to be at the NFG field next year.

Tim De Haan’s Tiger Moth, Stampe, Waco, Mosquito and Lancaster with Anthony Monteleone’s Ultimate Bipe and Brian Whellan’s four engine ATC model in the background.


An aircraft not often seen as a model, Glenn Allen’s Gloster Meteor is scratch built and spans 1.2m. Power is two electric motors driving 65mm fans.

Lyall Tevelen’s JD-1 Invader is a VQ ARF with a span of 1.8m and powered by two OS 4LA two strokes.

Charles Meson’s “Isaacs Fury” is a scratch built model of the home built miniature Hawker Fury by John Isaacs. The model is 1/4 scale with a wingspan of 1.6m and is powered by an Enya 120 four stroke engine.

Peter Mack’s Fairey Swordfish is an ESM ARF with a span of 2.1m. The model is electric powered and weighs 12kg.

Tim De Haan’s ARF DH Mosquito is electric powered.


Brian Whellan’s four engined model. Anthony Monteleone’s Ultimate Bipe.

Brian Evans’ autogyro flew well and even dropped a bomb!

Brian Evans’ foamboard Pentaplane has multiple wings, tailplanes, rudders and engines.

Tim De Haan’s Stampe is built from a Precedent kit. Bob Stewart’s Ultimate Bipe.

Peter Mack’s Fairey Swordfish.

Dave Barling’s “Sea Monster” is a Sportsman Aviation ARF of 1.6m wingspan converted from a single engine to a twin with two OS 25LA two strokes.


David Chiver’s TransAvia “AirTruk” spans 3.1m and is powered by a DA 70 petrol engine.

Brian Whellan’s model was built by ATC cadets under the guidance of Keith Hearn. Originally powered by a Dynajet pulse jet engine the model flies well on its four OS 25 two strokes.

Brian Evans’ “Hot Glue Special” pentaplane morphed from a push / pull canard to a twin pusher for this year’s event. Bob Stewart wheels his “Ultimate Bipe” back to the pits.

Brian Evans’ Autogyro with its sizable bomb. Glenn Allen’s “X-Wing” is an unusual tailless biplane.

Riley Sills’ Seagull ARF “Dual Ace” spans 1.6m and is powered by two OS 46 AX two strokes.

Lyall Tevelen also flew this Hobbyking ARF “Bushmule”. The model is electric powered with a wingspan of 1.4m.


LINCOLNSHIRE AVIATION MUSEUM

In between Air Shows that I attended in June/July this year I spent a very interesting day at this Museum. The main draw card is the Lan-caster, which gives taxi runs to interested aircraft enthusiasts. The history of this aircraft is as follows: It was flown from Australia to the U.K. in the early 1960’s and attend-ed sixteen Air Shows flown by the famous Neil Williams who was the chief test pilot for the RAF at that time. As an engineering apprentice, I was lucky enough to see it flying over Lincoln during a week day (I kept nipping out of the factory in the hope of seeing it fly over). For those interested, Neil Williams was born in Cana-da, educated in Wales and graduated in 1962 from the Empire Test Pilot School. Commencing aerobatic flying he won all of the U.K. do-mestic competitions in 1965 and went on to compete in the World Championships. He won the European Cham-pionships in 1967, flying a standard two seater Zlin. In 1970 he was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for valuable ser-vice in the air when he successfully crash landed a Zlin after a wing folded during aerobatic training. He flew regularly at air shows, in-cluding Old Warden where he flew the Mark V Spitfire and many unu-sual and tricky aeroplanes of the Shuttleworth Collection. In 1977

Williams, together with his wife and crew, died in a crash while flying a Spanish Heinkel He111 from Spain to the U.K. After flying at displays around the country, the Lancaster was located at RAF Scampton as a gate guardian. RAF Scampton, once famous as the home of 617 “Dambusters” Squadron, is now the home of the Red Arrows.

Some years later the aircraft was purchased by two brothers who wanted to bring it back to operational condition in memory of their older brother who died in the second world war while flying Lancasters. At present the aircraft is not flyable but is able to be taxied around the airfield with a paying crew on board. Cost of the ride, if you are interested is £300stg! The Museum has a well run gift shop and café and you could spend the whole day in the hanger inspecting WWII memo-rabilia, photos, movies, docu-mentaries and the DH Mosquito

which is also under restoration. All in all it was well worth the visit and there was quite a large contingent of people also doing a tour of all the air shows. David Anderson



On Sunday, 30th September, VARMS held a public Open Day, to pro-mote model flying and to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Radio Controlled Glider Model flying Club, organized by Peter Cossins’ com-mittee and club members. The day started off cool, overcast and breezy but by mid-day we had blue sky, warm sunshine and light winds, it could not have been better for a display day. The day featured large scale glider aero-towing with a demonstration flight by a World Championship high performance thermal glider, a mass launch of foamy gliders, a high powered electric launch glider, combat, large scale aircraft, aerobatics, helicopters and drones. The official part of the day commenced at 1:00pm and with speeches by the Mayor of Knox, John Mortimer, the VMAA President, Reeve Marsh, the President of Varms, Ross Armstrong, the Federal member for Ashton, Alan Tudge and Neil Roshier, the Youth Instructor for VARMS. It was a nice personal touch seeing Alan Tudge present prizes to the students. The past President, Col. Collier and Vice President, Max Haysom were presented with a plaque, recognizing VARMS as a Centre of Excel-lence for services to the sport of model soaring for 50 years. The day was well attended, and the lolly drop for the kids was very popular. David Anderson

VARMS

50th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

John Mortimer, Mayor of the City of Knox, addressing the gathering.

Reeve Marsh, President of the VMAA, addressing the gathering.






Issue No. 54 AUSTRALIAN MODEL NEWSbrcac.asn.au/storage/amn/54_October2018.pdf · 2018. 10. 9. · Issue No. 54. Australian Model News 2 Contents 3. TONY FARNAN 1929 - 2018 6. BENDIGO

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