Issue No.27 AUSTRALIAN MODEL NEWS

April 2014 Contents From the Editor 3. RAAF - POINT COOK CENTENARY AIR SHOW With events cancelled due to high winds and fire bans over the past months we are now settling into the usu- 12. HAYDN HAMPSON al late summer/autumn good flying weather and the MEMORIAL TROPHY 2014 events are piling up. Unfortunately this means that some events clash with others, making it difficult for 14. VICSCALE AT BALLARAT me to cover as many as I would wish. So if you are at one of the more distant events and would like to send 16. TINGALPA MAC a report and some photographs then your efforts will be welcomed. DAWN PATROL

I returned from my annual fishing expedition in early 18. WESTERN PORT FESTIVAL February just in time to catch the RAAF’s Point Cook MODEL DISPLAY Centenary Air Show. This was an excellent display and I hope that you enjoy the coverage in this issue. 20. NEW ZEALAND MODELLING

I have to advise that the AMN blog site is no longer in 24. VARMS DISPLAY 2014 operation but has been replaced with a web site. It was always my preference to have a web site rather than a blog so when I was recently informed of the no 28. MONTY TYRRELL MEMORIAL cost Google Sites option I had the opportunity. AT P&DARCS

With some advice and assistance from John Moody 31. NORTHERN FLYING GROUP’S and Steve Vallve the web site is now up and running “TWINS AND MORE” and includes all back issues of AMN. It’s not showing on search engines as yet but will eventually appear. In the meantime it can be accessed at the web address shown in the contact box below.

John Lamont. COMING EVENTS

MODEL ENGINES FUN FLY

TWIN CITIES MAC Australian Model News is published bi-monthly to fea- AUTUMN SCALE RALLY ture model aircraft building and flying, together with other associated events, in and New Zea- land. BAIRNSDALE MAC MID MAY MUSTER Contributing material and requests for inclusion on the distribution list may be forwarded to — RICHMOND FREE FLIGHT SCALE RALLY John Lamont Unit 5, 1326 Main Road, Eltham, 3095 Ph: 03 9431 0044 E-mail: [email protected] Visit our website at - https://sites.google.com/site/australianmodelnews/

On the Cover. Gary Sunderland’s model of the Bristol Boxkite appro- priately positioned in front of the hangars at Bacchus Marsh airfield.

page 2 Australian Model News

In 1913, Lt. Henry Petrie selected a parcel of 734 acres of coastal Flying Corps complex, including the seaplane jetty, which date grazing land at Point Cook for the purpose of establishing a fly- from 1916 and operated until 1937; the hydroplane hangar built in ing school for the . The area’s sea-level 1914, and the seaplane complex dating from the late 1920’s. altitude and lack of hills made it ideal for flying training and de- velopment. Today, Point Cook is still a working RAAF Base, and is home to the RAAF Museum and Headquarters No.21 Squadron. It is rec- The newly formed ‘Central Flying School’ started operations with ognised as the oldest continually operating military air field in two officer instructors and a few mechanics, the first military the world, the home of the Royal Australian Air Force, and the flight in Australia taking place on March 1st 1914 when Lt. Eric birthplace of Australian military aviation. Harrison took off in a Bristol Boxkite aircraft. The first flying training course began in August of that year with four student Back in January I received in the mail an unsolicited offer to join the pilots. “Friends of the RAAF Museum”. I was a bit mystified by this until I finally figured out that Gary Sunderland must be involved and gave During WWI, flying courses at Point Cook produced 120 pilots for him a call. Sure enough, Gary had recently joined and had offered my the Australian Flying Corps. name as another possible member.

Point Cook expanded during the 1920’s with the RAAF’s sea- This turned out to be fortuitous as I had intended to go the Point Cook plane and fighter elements based there until the 1930’s, along Air Show (until I became disillusioned with the effort required to obtain with cadet training. During this period Point Cook was also the tickets) and by joining the “Friends” I became eligible for tickets for Ian departure point for several historic flights including the first and myself together with a parking pass. trans–Australia in 1919, the first around Australia flights by sea- plane and landplane in 1924, and the first military flight outside We went on the first day, Saturday March 1st, which was not a good Australia in 1926. day for photography, a grey clouded sky making it a bit tricky. As I sit here writing this report on Sunday March 2nd the sky is a clear blue During WWII, Point Cook was a major centre for both air and with just a few white clouds, perfect for aerial photographs. ground training, with some 2700 pilots graduating from flying Oh well, you can’t be lucky all of the time! courses. After the war, Point Cook continued its flying training role until 1992. In 2003, Government consideration for the sale of I’ve been critical of some of the RAAF Air Shows that I have attended the site was rejected after much public campaigning and in 2007 in the past but this one was as good as any air show that I’ve seen in Point Cook was included in the National Heritage List. this country and the very large crowd that attended must have been impressed by the display — a fine collection of aircraft with some Point Cook’s base design influenced the planning and develop- flying fast and others flying slowly, but all flying low and close. ment of later military aviation bases throughout Australia. The base includes rare examples of buildings specific to the pre WWI, We left a little early to avoid the traffic, accompanied as we drove out WWII and Inter War periods including the oldest hangars and by the thunderous roar of four F/A-18 Hornets circuiting the Point workshops in Australia, built in 1914 and 1917; the Australian Cook airfield in a tight diamond formation at very low altitude.

Australian Model News page 3 page 4 Australian Model News The RAAF Museum’s replica which also flies regularly at their weekly displays.

This Beech 17S ‘Staggerwing’ is a fine restoration of the 1930’s luxurious and fast private transport.

Another relic of the 1930’s, this Stinson ’Reliant’ is also in immaculate condition.

All aircraft were close to the ropes for easy viewing. A pair of Fleet Air Arm ‘Squirrel’ helicopters produced some clever manoeu- vring and formation flying.

Australian Model News page 5 The CAC built CA-27 Avon ‘Sabre’ is owned by the RAAF but maintained and The Gloster ‘Meteor’ F.8 is another aircraft owned and operated by the Temora operated by the Temora Aviation Museum. Aviation Museum.

The BAC Jet Provost was used by the RAF as a trainer and was also developed The DH.115 ‘Vampire’ T35 is also owned and operated by the Temora Aviation for ground attack as the BAC ‘Strikemaster’. Museum.

The F/A-18 ‘Hornet’ is the RAAF’s multi-role . The BAe ‘Hawk’ is the RAAF’s lead-in aircraft for fast jet training.

The RAAF Museum’s F-111 swing-wing fighter bomber. These aircraft were in A wooden mock-up of the RAAF’s F-35 ‘Lightning’ was on display and available service with the RAAF from 1973 to 2010. for inspection by the public.

page 6 Australian Model News Fast jets, old and new.

The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation’s CA-16 ‘Wirraway’ was built as a Arguably the best piston engined fighter of WWII the P-51 ‘Mustang’ was also trainer but also served as a stop-gap fighter in the early days of WWII. built in numbers at the CAC Fisherman’s Bend factory.

The Temora Aviation Museum’s Spitfire Mk.VIII carries the markings of the The DH.82 ‘Tiger Moth’ served as a basic trainer with the RAAF during WWII aircraft flown by RAAF R.H.(‘Bobby’) Gibbes. with many still flying at the present day.

Australian Model News page 7 The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation’s CA-13 Boomerang was the only The Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk was flown by RAAF pilots in North Africa and in the Australian designed and built fighter aircraft of WWII. islands north of Australia.

The Temora Hudson leading the Kittyhawk and Boomerang.

The Temora is the only example of the type still flying.

page 8 Australian Model News The H.A.R.S. C-47 ‘Dakota’ taxies along the flight line. The H.A.R.S. DHC ‘Caribou’ on a flypast.

The Historical Aircraft Restoration Society’s Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina “Felix” is painted black to represent a WWII aircraft of the RAAF’s ‘Black Cat’ squadrons.

Wheels down, floats up! Floats down, wheels up!

Australian Model News page 9 The “Southern Knights” civilian aerobatic team performing with their four AT-6 Harvards.

The RAAF “Roulettes” aerobatic flight gave their usual tight and smooth performance in their Pilatus PC-9’s.

A tight formation of former RAAF training aircraft comprising three Winjeels The Korean War flight with a Mustang leading the Meteor and Sabre. All three and five CT-4’s. types were flown by RAAF 77 Squadron in that conflict.

The WWII flight with the H.A.R.S. Dakota leading a Spitfire, Mustang and The H.A.R.S. Caribou demonstrating a short approach and landing. Kittyhawk.

page 10 Australian Model News Replica’s of the three aircraft types used for pilot training at the opening of the Central Flying School in 1914. These aircraft were built by members of the “Friends of the RAAF Museum”. Top — Bristol Boxkite CFS 3, Centre — Deperdussin CFS 4, Bottom — BE2 CFS 1. The Bristol Boxkite is airworthy and has been test flown.

Australian Model News page 11 The Haydn Hampson Memorial Trophy at Yarra Valley (Report and photographs by Hugh Coleman)

Well, the day dawned wet and windy… I arrived at the field at about 9.20 to find that the boys had already erected the shade awnings and were ready for the off! Unfortunately, the wind was almost a southerly and we all know what that means… cross wind.

As I arrived, though, I was pleasantly surprised to see a good mix of warbirds from the outbreak of the Great War through to the end of WWII. In fact, at the start of the day, there were no less than four Fok- kers of various marks in various scales. These were David Hipper- son’s “Eindekker”, David Law’s recently purchased (I think from the Balsa USA kit), Jon Goudge’s D.VII and Darryl Doyle’s Fok- ker D.VIII (1/3 scale Glen Torrance kit). We had hopes for a “Fokker Flyby” later in the day, but unfortunately this was not to be as the rain put paid to David Hipperson flying his Eindekker for more than a maid- en and Darryl’s D.VIII had engine issues. Nevertheless, we did get to see the D.VII and the Dr.I in close formation as they undertook a mock in the early afternoon.

You can imagine my embarrassment when, after spending so much brain power making sure that I had everything that was going to be needed to fly my Balsa USA Sopwith Pup, I found I had left the SD memory card from my camera in my laptop (I had to use my fall back ancient D70 so please excuse the poor quality of the photos.

David Anderson brought along a model that I had not seen before, an Airco DH2. Beautiful detail and imposing on the ground and in the air. Unfortunately a heavy landing saw some damage to a few rigging wires. All easily fixed, but for a machine like the DH2, certainly a pain in the ****.

The turn up of later warbirds was about even with the earlier marks — David Law’s Spitfire Mk. VIII, Daniel Wheeler’s ARF Stuka, Greg Lepp with an ARF Jug, Adrian Whiter’s Warhawk, Graham Jenner had the Hobby King Foamie Spitfire Mk 24 in the air and of course Mick Lynch flew his “BudLite” Super Corsair.

In the end, it was those who were prepared to risk the cross wind or could take off across the strip itself that got in the most flights. Mick Lynch tore up the sky as usual with both his Corsair and Adrian’s Warhawk, as did David Law with his Spitfire. It was a joy to watch these large scale warbirds doing what they do best… large loops, rolls and low passes.

Despite the weather, a good day was had by those that attended and the Memorial Trophy was fittingly awarded to David Law. As David said in his acceptance speech, Haydn was always Spitfire this and Spitfire that, and he was probably looking down on the day with ap- proval.

Please enjoy this selection of photos from the day and get the building board busy for next years Haydn Hampson Memorial day.

page 12 Australian Model News Australian Model News page 13 SCALE RESULTS

CONTESTANT MODEL RND 1 RND 2 RND 3 STATIC TOTAL

D. LAW PITTS S2 2512 2629 2542 2880 5465.5 1 VICSCALE N. FINDLAY DH FOX MOTH 2332 2442 2418 2745 5175 2 W. WHEELER TURBULENT 1973 2009 2157 1953 4036 3

G. GEDYE CORBY STARLET 1827 1851 DNF 1912 3751 4 at G. SUNDERLAND 1542 1746 DNF - 1644 5

FLYING ONLY RESULTS

BALLARAT CONTESTANT MODEL RND 1 RND 2 RND 3 TOTAL

R. CARRIGG STEARMAN 2256 2296 2317 2306.5 1

G. LEPP PIPER CUB 2254 2215 2173 2234.5 2

M. PETERSON RV –8 2137 2103 2177 2157 3

J. LAMONT YAK 54 2161 2135 DNF 2148 4

J. FINNOCHIARO PIPER CUB 2078 1880 1751 1979 5 After having the last couple of events cancelled due to weather problems we finally got lucky at Ballarat.. M. ROWAN PIPER PAWNEE 1815 1996 1715 1905.5 6

Leaving the weather looked good, but as I travelled west the LARGE SCALE RESULTS sky became grey and I drove into a light drizzle of rain … not very prom- ising! On reaching the field there was no rain but it was quite cool and CONTESTANT MODEL RND 1 RND 2 RND 3 TOTAL the cloud base was very low. The entry was reasonable, with good sup- port from the local members, and as the cloud dispersed and blue sky M. WERNER SUKHOI Su 29 2472 2477 2419 2474.5 1 appeared it turned out to be a very successful day despite a persistent D. LAW DECATHLON 2404 2393 2426 2415 2 cross wind. T. GRIEGER GEE BEE 2241 2271 2201 2256 3 Some elected to take off and land into wind while others managed the cross wind take-off and landing without difficulty. No models were dam- aged and the only non-starter was Daniel Wheeler with a baulky engine in his Yak 54.

The engine in my Yak 54 has been giving trouble for some time and a marked absence of top end power provided some excitement when I stalled the model at the top of the loop while trying to execute a 1/2 Cu- ban Eight. Things looked grim for a moment but a very low recovery saved the day and the model lives to fly on. I don’t think I scored too well for that manoeuvre!

Tony Grieger’s big Gee Bee Sportster lifting off.

Gary Sunderland about to land his Bristol Scout in the scale event. Bill Wheeler flew his Druine Turbulent in the scale event.

page 14 Australian Model News In the pits — David Law’s Pitts S2 and Decathlon, with Noel Findlay’s DH Max Rowan’s Piper Pawnee in flight. Fox Moth at the rear.

Matt Werner’s Sukhoi Su29 is a KRILL composite ARF. At 33% scale it has a wingspan of 2.6m and is powered by a 3W 106cc petrol engine. Model is very light at only 10kg.

Roger Carrigg’s winning Stearman on a landing approach. Gavin Gedye’s Corby Starlet cruises along the flight line.

Australian Model News page 15 TINGALPA MAC DAWN PATROL

Tingalpa MAC hosted its first Dawn Patrol with great Queensland blue skies for all to enjoy, though the inconsistent and sometimes 'bumpy' cross winds made things 'interesting' for some of these old birds (the planes not the pilots).

Adrian Hellwig organised the day and began by officially recruiting Richard Symes to be the temporary registrar while he nipped back home to get the forgotten trophy and prizes! That task completed he was then distracted by a tearing, crashing noise in the trees that no pilot likes to hear! C'est la guerre, mon fils.

A short pilots briefing, which encouraged everyone to just have some fun and relax, and the day proper began. The skies were soon full of both allied and enemy planes from WWI, with anything from one to three wings, committing serious acts of aviation. One would have to BE2c by Adrian Hellwig. say the day went to the allies with two Fokker D.VIII's downed for the loss of only one SE5a.

One of our life members, Will Sipma, took out the Pilot's Choice tro- phy and the three pilots who lost aircraft at least got to take home some nice videos of WW1 aviation action.

All in all another great day at TMAC, with great thanks to Adrian Hell- wig for hosting, Pat and Lyn Wilson for a fantastic job in the canteen and at the BBQ, all the field maintenance by all the club members the day before at the working bee plus Dave Walker for his usual sterling work with field preparation.

To all the TMAC members and guests who attended today thank you for coming and for helping to make the first Dawn Patrol a success.

See the TMAC website for more great pictures of the Dawn Patrol. Peter Stevenson’s 1/4 scale Fokker Dr.I Triplane.

Adrian Hellwig

Dawn Patrol planes and pilots. Piers Anderson’s SPAD S2.

page 16 Australian Model News Fokker E.V/ D.VIII by Adrian Hellwig. Martin Homann’s 1/6 scale Albatros DVa.

Onlookers enjoying the event.

Ron Cavanagh’s Nieuport 17. Will Sipma’s Sopwith Pup.

Australian Model News page 17 WesternPort Festival Model Display

On Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd of February, the Hasting foreshore came alive with the sound of R/C planes and helicopters as the West- ernport Model Aircraft Club teamed up with the Victorian Large Scale Tank Club to put on a R/C display to complement the Westernport Festival.

The healthy program of displays tabled this year included the new addition of night flying on the Friday night which was great fun for spectators and pilots alike.

Saturday morning kicked off early with bacon and egg sandwiches followed by a light session of free flight. Once the crowds started pour- ing in they were met with amazing displays of control line, helicopters, scale, pylon racing together with a huge static display. Numbers seemed down on last year but the weather held up and all attending the foreshore were greeted by a spectacle to rival any schoolboy’s wildest dreams (big boys too).

After lunch came the mock battle as the large scale tanks were fired up and planes started taking to the air. With a large scale WWII city rigged with pyro setting the backdrop for the battle, the antics were bound to impress. Scale WWII birds dive bombing large scale tanks — set to a sound track and coupled with pyrotechnics — what more could you want?

By all accounts the crowd just loved it! This year’s display was the collaboration’s best yet, can’t wait till next year. Michael Coleman

WESTERNPORT MAC MODELS ON DISPLAY.

page 18 Australian Model News The Battle of Hastings

Once the battle was done the tanks made sure not a building was 1/6 scale Challenger II and Sherman tanks by the Victorian Large Scale tank left standing. Club.

Australian Model News page 19 to New Zealand on lend- lease rather than being diverted from existing U.K Lend -Lease stocks in the USA. These aircraft were Brought on Charge (BOC) at RNZAF Base Hob- sonville on 4th October 1943 and were assembled and test flown at the base. NZ3184 was then issued to No15 Fighter Squadron at Ardmore during November 1943 and this squadron ferried NZ2184 and eleven other P-40Ns from Ardmore to Guadalcanal between 15th and 22nd of December 1943 by the following route;Ardmore- Whenuapai-Waipapakauri-Norfolk Island-Tontouta-Espiritu Santo, the formation was lead by J.A.A.Gibson, DFC, RAF. Of New Zealand these 12 aircraft, eight were ferried from Espiritu Santo to "Cactus ", Guadalcanal. (Cactus was the strip name.) and then to Ondonga on New Georgia on 22nd December 1943 where they were allocated to No2 S.U. and given the cowling numbers "68 " to "76", this included one other aircraft that was already on Ondonga, it was at this point in time that NZ3184 became NZ3184 "75". Modelling All of these aircraft were replacements for a number of aircraft that had been lost by accidents or enemy action.

The RNZAF was unique during WW2 in that its aircraft were allocated to Servicing Units (SU), not to squadrons as in other world air forces . Every time RNZAF pilots went on a mission they were allocated an aircraft from the SUs flight line, thus many different pilots flew a partic- ular aircraft throughout its lifetime. Squadrons were returned to NZ for By Peter Hewson R&R at the end of each tour and were replaced by other squadrons. Consequently, each aircraft was involved with several different squad- rons during the course of its operational career . Southern Kittyhawk . Noel Baker (Wigram Club, near Christchurch) is flying a 1/5 scale, 96 “ Noel’s model is on to its third motor, the others were considered un- wingspan Kittyhawk (NZ3184) which he has modified after considera- satisfactory, but the currently installed petrol OS GT55 is excellent, ble research. according to Noel. The original retracts made by Don Telford were developed from shearer’s hand pieces and the pinion gears were too sloppy on take off and landing, causing control problems. Noel has just fitted the latest Robart Electric Gear.

The model was originally built from Ziroli plans by the late Don Tel- ford ,from Alexandra. He wanted to dedicatethe model to New Zealand pilots serving with 75 squadron RNZAF, serving in the Pacific during WW2. P40N "NZ3184" shows the original markings and colours as used by RNZAF. These markings are quite distinctive , enabling ground troops to distinguish the plane from the ground as friendly. Noel has a complete history on "NZ3184" covering seven typed pag- es detailing almost every sortie ,together with the names of the pilots that flew NZ 3184 from the day it was built until being sold in NZ to H.J.Larsen at Hamilton for scrap on 2/3/1948.

Some of that history of Curtiss P-40N-5-CU Warhawk, NZ3184 "75" makes interesting reading; “Curtiss Warhawk NZ3184 was one of 2,198 P40N-5-CUc built in two batches (42-104829 to 105928 and 42-28591 to 29690) during 1942, being the 1046th aircraft in the first batch. The next version was in fact the P-40N-10-CU. NZ3184 arrived at Auckland in October 1943 as one of 14 aircraft aboard the vessel PORT ST JOHN. None of these aircraft had previ- ous R.A.F serial numbers (as some did) as they were supplied direct

page 20 Australian Model News Jodel Robin. Twin Electric Heaven. Steven Moor flie at Kaikohe aerodrome with the Far North r/c flyers. Some people like scale turbine powered jets. Some like electric ducted His Jodel Robin Remo 180 has attracted some interest. It looks and fan scale jets. Stewart Irvine likes scale twin-engine electric ducted flies well. fan powered jets. Stew (as he is known) is an electrician by trade, Wing Span : 3.8m which possibly explains his liking for the smell of amps, rather than the Weight : 23kg smell of burnt kerosene. He lives in Auckland, is a member of the Engine ZDZ 180cc twin Papakura Manukau Aeromodellers Club (PMAC) and sometimes flies Prop : 32 x 10 with the Blackfeet Club. He has been building and flying model air- Fitted with daylight bright navigation and landing lights. craft for about 20 years.

Stew is well into electric powered models. Some will remember his De Haviland Comet racer and the dramatic photo of it crashing when one wing broke off. However he wanted a ducted fan twin and took a liking to the , or “Meatbox” as it was known. He scaled up a plan from the May/June 1998 Flying Scale Models magazine for a Mk 4 using Autocad LT. The Scale Models plan was for two 70mm fans, but Stew wanted a bigger model and designed it around two German 90mm E Jet 90 fans, each driven by 5S 5500 mah LiPo batteries. This is 18.5 volts. At full power each unit runs at 90 amps which is 1665 watts per motor. Quite a bit of power there! Initially, using 40 The Robin is a 1/3 scale Air World factory built machine. The model MHz due to the high current, the model suffered from interference was brought in from Dubai where it was worked hard as a glider tug causing the receiver to go into failsafe, cutting power to the motors and over the course of two years Steven repaired some dings and and causing the fans to fluctuate. Stew then changed to 2.4 MHz repainted it. The servos were replaced as well as the wiring through- which cured this problem. The model spans 1650mm and weighs out and the engine changed from a completely worn out ZDZ 160 to 16lbs (7.25kg). the latest ZDZ 180. Steven advises to “keep well away from that big 32" prop” when she is running.

The Robin carries 2 litres of 32:1, 96 octane fuel and uses a Spektrum Powerbox receiver with 2 x 3000 mah lipo batteries attached. It has 2 x 5000 mah Nimh batteries on board to power the ignition system and the halogen landing lights. It sits on 6" inflatable wheels that are run slightly flat to help stop her on touch down. Steven made fluffy seat covers for her but has not as yet got around to getting a pilot. 1/3 scale pilot dolls are not cheap!

The fuselage and tail group are built up, with foam wings cut to a R G 15 wing section. The engine nacelles are a combination of foam and built up structure. The model flies well with a safe duration of about 4.5 minutes. This could be a bit longer, but Stew flies around mostly at full power! On checking some more detailed plans, he found that the fuselage was slightly wrong, so he built a new Mk.8 model to a more correct scale. The Mk.8 fuselage is longer, making it easier to get the batteries in the correct position for the c of g.

With the larger engine the model will maintain a vertical climb but at Having mastered the Meatbox he then took a liking to the Me 262. anything over 2/3 throttle the prop tips start howling like a Harvard. Some 3 views and a lot more work with Autocad resulted in a model with a wing span of 2100mm, this time designed around two Stumax “The Jodel is very graceful in the air and benign in the stall, though I 90mm fans from Stu Maxwell in Australia and 7S 5500 mah LiPo’s wouldn't want to stall it close to the ground with 23kg to arrest,” says providing 25.9 volts per engine. At full power the peak current draw Steven He flies it below 2/3 throttle in level flight or she will get going with fully charged batteries for this combination is 115 amps which is too fast for the airframe and try to eject the canopy. 2978 watts! (think of the old single bar 1000 watt electric heaters). The model looks huge on approach and seems to keep growing in Current wisdom for an electric propeller driven plane is at least 100 size as it comes over the fence. “It took some time to match the size to watts per pound to ROG, Stew prefers 200-250 watts per pound for the speed for landings but I am now stopping it on the runway.” EDF. The above combination is about 280 watts per pound. Again, built up structure for the fuselage and tail plane, with foam wings cut to a GOE 600 section for the root, to a NACA 2414 at the nacelles, then NACA 2415 at the wingtips.

Australian Model News page 21 Initially the model was overly eager to leave terra firma - quickly fol- The wings are plug-ins using a carbon tube system. There is a large lowed by a cartwheel to the left - this being rectified by altering the c of wheel well for the mains which retract outwards and things are quite a g from 25% of chord further forward. The first flight was rather exciting tight fit. The outer doors are operated by a mechanical device as per as the canopy flew off half way through the first circuit and the model the original – a kind of spring loaded trapeze. The door itself is locked crashed! When asked why, Stew said that the pilot panicked! Not to open by a compression spring system and the wheel literally pulls the be beaten, he repaired the model which then flew quite well. But at 21 door shut as it passes through the final stage of retraction. When U/C lbs (9.5kg) it was very heavy. Down is selected the wheel pushes the door open and the compres- sion springs push it all the way and locked by the trapeze over-centre lock set-up. There were red stencil warnings DO NOT CLOSE THE DOOR on both sides for fear of leaving it closed and having the wheel trying to go somewhere it should, but couldn’t, go!

Those who saw it flying were impressed enough to ask for plans. The initial drawings were not complete enough to give to other builders, so he redrew them making them more accurate and also so that the fuse- lage formers could be laser cut. This was done by Gwyn Avenell of Avetek. Now there are several sets of plans out in model land and three sets of formers. Having done all this, Stew decided to make another one and to make it lighter. This time aiming for an AUW of As with most wings the busy bit is aft of the trailing edge with an ailer- 17.5 lbs (7.9 kg). What a man! You can view a U-tube of the 262 in on, a speed brake, an outboard and an inboard flap section on each flight at wing panel. There was nothing too unusual about these apart from the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSerDuoRpSw&feature=youtu.be scale detail hiding in the flap cavities and also in the wheel wells. In the flap bays there is a collection of period bits and pieces such as a Vampire progress. fire extinguisher, a voltage regulator, hydraulic rams with their tubes Brian Borland continues his report on the excellent build of the 1/5 and valves all cunningly arranged around wire cable control runs! I’m scale . pretty pleased with the way these have all turned out and have already After having set everything about the fuselage to right as best I could had a play with some weathering. Contemporary photographs show the wing build was quite straight forward by comparison. I double the aircraft I’ve chosen to model to be in a somewhat well used condi- checked all the basic dimensions and after the plan view was sorted tion. Indeed most air to air shots of the time indicate that there was a and the wing thickness checked Gwyn Avenell laser cut the wing ribs lot of gunge accumulated on Vampire airframes. and so away it went. I have long favoured the use of span-wise string- ers or stiffeners. They add an enormous amount to the integrity of the So, where am I with this project now? Well, I pretty much have a com- wing making it extremely solid and most unlikely to move or twist. pleted airframe and am now working through the detailing and finish- They also add an element of realism during the finishing stages as the ing. I have yet to complete the mains undercarriage units (nearly skin takes on a slightly cockled, (but not a rippled) appearance, much done), I have to make a ribbed, anti-shimmy nose wheel, I have to the same as the full size. complete all the gear and turbine installation.

page 22 Australian Model News RC Sportsman Scale. This was a well-contested competition with some “oldish” established competitors. Andrew Palmer and Dave Wilkins fought out the event for top honours with Dave pipping Andrew by 37 points. Adam Butler flew his magnificent DH Mosquito in two of the three rounds. This is an electric twin and it flew with great authority. Unfortunately, it suffered some landing damage and couldn’t complete the last round. Gywn Avenell, Mike Briggs and Graham Pearson fought out the lower plac- es. A well run event, enjoyed by those who normally compete in other disciplines. Thanks to Brian Borland and Neil Schrader who judged and Christina Newell for the scoring.

Grumman Panther.

Then on to finishing the cockpit area, complete the painting and oh yes, blow a bubble canopy .. a first for me. I’ve had some good advice and it’s not too complicated a shape but the catch is that is should be two layers with an anti mist gap .. and it has no front edge frame, just chemically bonded Perspex. But I think I’ve already told you that!

RC Scale, NZ Nationals, 2014 The Nationals were once again dominated by the weather, but RC Scale was lucky to be staged at the beginning of the week and missed the worst of it. Our thanks to Gwyn Avenell for acting as CD.

RC Scale Sportsman Novice. Colin Austen (from north Auckland) was seen flying his scratch built This is the entry level class in Scale and featured the oldest and the 24% (2.7m long) Panther at the South Island jet meet late last year. youngest competitors - Des Bryson at 83 years young and Jarrod The project took Colin 3.5 years and was built from scaled up Nick Briggs at 14 years old. In the end, Jarrod took the event with Des Zirolli plans. It is powered by a Behotec (German) turbine that produc- second and David Thornley coming third. It is great to see this entry es 18kgs thrust and the model itself weighs 23kg. It flies in a very level event and special thanks go to Des’s wife for calling for both Des scale like manner and Colin’s attention to detail is outstanding. and David. Thanks also to Judges and helpers.

RC Classic Scale. Both Neil Schrader and Brian Borland brought their world champion- ship contest models to this event. Unfortunately, Brian’s model suf- fered an incredibly rare engine flameout just after takeoff and the mod- el was unable to continue. Neil flew his Sopwith Pup for the first time in about five years and managed three improved flights. It was good to see him back. There was much interest in the model after the event with many people wanting to photograph it and all were appreciative of a superb model. Thanks to Andrew and Gwyn for judging.

Australian Model News page 23 VARMS 2014

In mid March the VARMS put on a free entry, static and flying, public display at their field off High Street Road.

After starting life as a purely glider club the Victorian Association of Radio Model Soaring (VARMS) has broadened its scope to include all forms of r/c model aircraft and this display, with a huge number of models on show on the ground and in the air, covered most aspects of model flying.

Led by Peter Cossins, the VARMS committee and the VARMS mem- bers are to be congratulated on their presentation. Despite a dubious weather forecast the event drew reasonable spectator support and while a few showers dampened things a little in the afternoon the flying continued to the scheduled close at 4:00pm. The BBQ sausage in a slice of bread is always a winner.

The large collection of models on display.

page 24 Australian Model News Pilots prepare for a mass launch of electric powered “Radian” foamy’s. And away they go!

Tim Moreland’s Foka 5 in flight.. Model is 4.3m wingspan at 1:3.5 scale.

Gary MacDougall’s “Topaz” on tow behind Tony Grieger’s Piper Cub. Bill Hamilton’s discus launch glider in flight. These models are at the high- tec end for small gliders.

Australian Model News page 25 Lew Rodman starting his scratch built Pietenpol Aircamper, assisted by Lew’s Pietenpol in flight. Max Haysom. Model is 1/3 scale with a 2.8m wingspan and is powered by a 55cc Turnigy petrol engine driving a 21”x’8 propeller.

Father and son, Danny and Steve Malcman prepare to fly Steve’s very Scanner racing is becoming popular. Graham Sullivan, John Tsarpalas and large ARF Cessna 182. Chris Szabo demonstrated this new event with their identical aircraft.

Richard Lim gave a nice scale presentation with his Bell UH-1Y “Huey” Alan Mayhew displayed his electric powered Lanzo “Airborn” Old Timer.

Phillip Singh with a foam “Mustang” and Ken Madill with a foam “Vampire” put on a spirited display together with a couple of foam T-28 “Trojans”. All electric powered. page 26 Australian Model News VARMS President Colin Collyer’s 1/3 scale model of the “Golden Eagle” on The Golden Eagle with spoilers up, on the landing approach. tow behind Steve Malcman’s 1/3 scale Piper Cub.

David Prately assisting with a winch launch of Gerry Carter’s “Freestyle 3” multi task glider. 13

Tim Moreland’s 1/4 scale Schweizer 126 is towed aloft. Max Haysom winch launches his mini “Bird of Time”.

Australian Model News page 27 THE MONTY TYRRELL MEMORIAL RALLY

As a teenager back in the late 1940’s I flew with Monty when we were both members of the Eastern Suburbs MAC. We were control line stunt flyers in those days, Monty usually with the latest American de- sign (including many replicas of Jim Saftig’s “Super Zilch”) powered by an Anderson Spitfire 0.65c.i. petrol engine, while I battled along with whatever I could build to suit my one and only engine, an ED 2.49 diesel.

It took Monty a long time to move from control line to radio control and he continued to fly control line long after I, and other contemporaries of that era, took up battle with the rudimentary r/c equipment of the day.

When he finally made the step Monty’s interest in r/c was not in aero- batics but in the scale scene. He was not concerned with building sophisticated, highly detailed models, his models were stand off scale and usually reflected his interest in older, pre WWII types.

On Monty’s passing in 1992 his P&DARCS club instituted this Memori- It’s a good attraction for the spectators - Keith Schneider, Isabelle Anderson, al event and it continues to be one of the most popular scale events Angelo Favaloro, and Graeme Godden watched the proceedings in comfort while Barrie Reaby and Ian Lamont (standing) also took part in the flying. on our calendar; it has now reached its maturity with this year’s event being the 21st.

Roly Gaumann was the co-ordinator this year and his “Model of the Meet” award went not to an individual modeller but to the team from Model Engines who brought along a selection of their display models and flew throughout the day. Other awards went to Brian Evans (Fokker Dr.I Triplane), Scott Matthews (D.H. 4), David Balfour (Boeing 40) and Gary Sunderland (B.E.2).

A view of the pit area with three of the Model Engines aircraft at the front.

page 28 Australian Model News Scott Mathews’ D.H.4 is an ARF from Macca’s Vintage Aerodrome in WA. Another model from Macca’s Vintage Aerodrome, Chris Warren’s Bleriot is This model is 1/5 scale with a wingspan of 2.6m and is powered by an OS also 1/5 scale but spans only 1.6m. Electric powered with a Hyperion mo- 200 four stroke engine. tor, the model also features for lateral control.

Gary Sunderland reaches through the bracing wires to start the OS 91 four Danny Malcman had a bit of a tussle with the engine in his Spacewalker but stroke in his Bristol Boxkite. A tricky operation with the pusher engine! was eventually successful in making a flight.

Ivan Chiselett had a pair of models on display. Down from Albury for the weekend, David Balfour’s Boeing 40, Chris Hen- ry’s Spitfire and Bib Hulett’s .

Jon Goudge’s Fokker D.VII is 1/5 scale and is powered by a Saito 120. The Event co-ordinator Roly Gaumann’s Piaggio and Wilga. model was built by Norm Bell some 20years ago and had passed through a few hands before Jon put it back into the air.

Australian Model News page 29 Mike Farnan and Neil Addicott flew ths Nakajima Ki-43 with considerable flair. Jon Goudge’s Fokker D.VII flies well even after 20 years. Model is powered by a ROTO 85cc, in-line twin, four stroke petrol engine.

Andrew Mysliborski’s Super Tucano is electric powered. Roly Gaumann’s Wilga about to touch down.

Brian Evans’ 1/4 scale Fokker Dr.I built from a Balsa USA kit and powered Scott Matthews’ DH.4 climbs away on take off. by a DLE 20 petrol engine.

Bob Hulett’s Reliant looks unusual in its Royal Navy WWII camouflage. David Balfour’s Boeing 40 transport lifting off.

page 30 Australian Model News “Twins and More”

at Northern Flying Group

March 30th was busy with both the “Twins and More” and the Ballarat Club Display scheduled for the same day. The State field and Ballarat field are a long way apart so I went to Darraweit Guim and Ian went to Ballarat.

The weather forecast was not too promising and as I passed through Wallan it looked very threatening with a lot of dark cloud around. Con- tinuing south from Wallan to Darraweit Guim I had my first sight of the recent bushfires and marvelled that so little property damage was done considering the extent of the fires. The State field came out of it very well, losing some trees along the property line and a lot of grass but with no damage to the buildings or surrounding area.

Entries for the event were a little less than normal, probably due to the weather forecast, but the day turned out to be fine until mid afternoon and those that attended with their multi-engine models were able to fly Les Sawyer flew this ARF A-26 Invader. Powered by two 0.46 two stroke en- gines, it has a very good turn of speed. quite comfortably in warm sunshine. Flying terminated at 2:15pm as rain moved in from the south-west and models were hastily packed away.

With some nice prizes available pilots received a ticket each time that they flew and this provided multiple opportunities to pick up one of the goodies on display. Winners were — Riley Sills, Richard (I missed the surname), Chris Claydon, Brian Evans, Mark Anderson, Les Saw- yer, and Paul Mitchell.

Ken Thomas’ “Katy Award” for the most innovative model was be- tween Lucy Simkin with a twin-engined PT-19 ??? that looked odd but flew satisfactorily before crashing, and Brian Evans who presented with an electric powered, canard, push-pull, quadriplane that actually managed to fly for a short period before also crashing.

The award finally went to Brian who assured me that the model had previously been flown successfully. Unfortunately I didn’t take photo- graphs of either model before they were destroyed. Chris Claydon brought his own US Air Force. All are electric powered foamy’s. The Catalina is an ARF by Dynam with a wingspan of 1.6m, the Mitchell is an ARF by HC Hobby spanning 1.5m and the Fortress is a Freewing ARF of 1.6m span.

Australian Model News page 31 This electric powered Cri-Cri M-15 flown by NFG member Dete Hasse is a NFG stalwart Brian Whellan, working on a model built many years back by Hobby King ARF. At only 1.8m wingspan it is just over 1/3 scale and ATC cadets under the direction of Keith Hearn. Originally powered by a weighs 3kg. Dete said that it took a bit of coaxing to get the flight charac- “Dynajet” pulse jet, it now flies with four OS 25 two strokes. teristics just right.

The team from Model Engines with their DH.88 and A-20 Boston. Dave Barling’s “Duellist” is a Dave Platt design and was built from an enlarged magazine plan. Powered by two OS 56 Alpha four stroke engines. page 32 Australian Model News Les Sawyer, Leigh Kellock and Gary Flanagan came from Shepparton. Rob Joe Matthews is an ex GMAC member now living and flying at Euroa. His twin Popelier also wore one of those strange caps but I missed him from the photo. is a modified “Super Telemaster” and has been around for many years. The model spans 2.6m and is now powered by two OS 56 Alpha four strokes

Leigh Kellock’s B-17 “Flying Fortress” about to land. The ASM ARF model is Twin engine specialist, Rod Mitchell, flies his Lockheed Neptune on a low pass, 3m wingspan and weighs 15kg. Powered by four OS 46AX two stroke engines. set up for landing with flaps and undercarriage down.

Paul Mitchell from Latrobe Valley flew this twin Mustang built from two Phoenix Neil Addicott put on a fine display of low level flying with the Model Engines ARF kits. At 1.8m span it’s electric powered and weighs 5kg. DH.88 Comet.

Rod Mitchell’s all red P-38 Lightning represents the 5000th Lightning to come Riley Sills flew these electric powered ARF Fortress and Mohawk models. from the Lockheed factory during WWII.

Australian Model News page 33 page 34 Australian Model News Australian Model News page 35 VICSCALE Victorian Flying Scale Aircraft Association The Special Interest Group for Scale Modelling in Victoria.

General Meetings of the Association are held bi-monthly on the first Thursday of the even months at the Field Naturalist Club of Victoria, 1 Gardenia Street, Blackburn. Visitors are always wel- come and a highlight of meetings is the presentation of new models as they are constructed, and discussion on building techniques by members.

The VFSAA Calendar of events is available on the VFSAA website at http://vfsaa.org.au/

page 36 Australian Model News