I have found the Jeti range of speed controllers the best value for money, and no interference problems (Christo had a 30A Advance available at R550 - they retail overseas for about $80).
Some bad reports have been circulating on Castle Creations speed controllers, but the latest ones seem to have the glitching problem sorted out.
The Model Motors controllers (TMM) that Jonathan Spratley is importing are excellent, but the prices are a bit steep.
I have also tried the new Hyperion speed controllers (will be available from Cape Sailplanes shortly) and found them to be excellent - I am using one in my T-Rex.
The Align 35A controller imported by Aerial Concepts are also very reliable, and I like the heat sink attached. Makes a lot of sense if you are using 4 sub-micro servos, which puts a lot of pressure on the BEC.
There are a number of el-cheapos available locally, but I would not even touch them with a long stick. If you try a handful you may find one or two that works well, but I would not risk it in any of my planes (well, maybe in an old Shock Flyer.)
Even some of the premium brands like Aveox had teething problems - excellent service, but after losing 2 planes and having one on fire, you tend to become wary. Must admit though, the Easy Street catching fire in the air was very impressive - the separate battery pack that I had on board saved the day...
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Monday, March 21, 2005
Thursday, March 17, 2005
The Great Western Province 2005 Aerobatics Championships -- Claude Mackrill
ALL THE DRAMA OF THE GREAT WESTERN PROVINCE
2005 AEROBATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS AS RUN BY PIETER KAPP AND
A COOL GANG OF AERMODELERES & THEIR WIVES
HELD AT TIGERBERG MODEL FLYING CLUB DURBANVILLE ...CAPETOWN
12TH& 13TH MARCH 2005
2005 AEROBATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS AS RUN BY PIETER KAPP AND
A COOL GANG OF AERMODELERES & THEIR WIVES
HELD AT TIGERBERG MODEL FLYING CLUB DURBANVILLE ...CAPETOWN
12TH& 13TH MARCH 2005
Peter Kapp & his band of loyal slaves pulled of a brilliant Western Province aerobatic competition; brilliant from all angles...as aerobatic flying in the Cape has taken off & is doing double Immelmann's & snaps like u won't believe.
The judging panel had their hands full with separating the men from the boys but unfortunately there were no 'boys' ....so the task of judging became much more difficult, also there were areas of very tight competition, this again compounded the problem....Thanks judges for sitting out there & braving the weather & giving it your all...it is greatly appreciated by the flyers....The judging panel was made up of (they were all chief judges) 1st The Chief of Chiefs Christo 'Grootbek' Rust the judge with a built-in home entertainment centre, who saw to it that there was always entertainment on the judging line..... Then came Theo 'Hi Speed' Marnewick, followed the 'Quiet Assassin' Kas Hamman.......then the Old Man of aerobatics Willie 'No Nonsense' Krynouw.
The Contest director John 'The Boss' Cunningham had no problem in herding his troop of unruly pattern junkies into a well behaved bunch of pattern hooligans, rumour has it that he threatened that if they do not fall in line.... to tell the wives how much the models actually cost, This kept them extremely well behaved,
For once the CapeTown weather played along, Saturday morning was virtually windless, this took many by surprise as we Capetonians have no experience in flying in these windless conditions. In the pit area some pilots were praying for just a little wind to make it feel like 'Home'. Nevertheless flying got of to a good & early start with a large contingent of Sportsman flyers - even our new pilots just seem to know what to do - the ready boxes were filled at all times.
For once the competition was running ahead of schedule, so much so that we could fly 3 rounds of F3A, Expert & Advanced ...thanks to the slick coordination between of the CD John & Peter Kapp who is the clubs head 'honcho'
The one thing that was great about this comp was the level of flying; there were no 'bad' flyers so the scores were tight. In the sportsman category in the first round an early lead was taken by Anton Pretorius flying his Swallow. There was one flyer from CRF, young Nic Southorn who is being coached by 'The Woof Man' (his bark is worse than his bite) and supported by his Dad...A very proud dad indeed & rightly so....Just to digress here it seems that in our hobby there are lots of father son teams ...Dirk Van Ryhn (Snr) had developed a plane specially for his son, it's a mix of the now famous Swallow & Typhoon, (it has many innovative constructions) I think we will baptise it 'The Swaloon' ..Just as a matter of interest, if you are a father son team, don't call for your son - things can get pretty heated on the line....much to the amusement of the judges...the stress is just too much for us 'Ou Toppies' ...Then we also have the 'Smit Foundation', consisting of Josh the pilot & Louw the very able Mechanic & Jane (the boss of the foundation).....Then Kurt & yours truly....the no-good caller...on occasions we use some 4 letter words on the line that does not seem to be in the pattern...but like all teenagers he does not listen to his dad even when he is the caller. I believe that Dirk van Ryhn also had some flight line dramas - his 'Ou Toppie' got so carried away by Dirk's flying that he called the wrong 'stuff' ...I rest my case - a father son on the flight line is just too stressful.....
In the advanced Category it was a fight of two PRF members, namely Josh & Rodney...the same Rodney who took out a helicopter at last year's Nats......I'm proud of you ...Now in the expert Category we have an interesting situation Pieter Kapp was supposed to take part but rumour has it that he 'chickened' out (he has a valid excuse...But why should we believe him?) ...Gerhard Mitton took part with a pattern ship that must date back to the early day's of 'jet style' pattern - the kind that John Cunningham , yours truly & Digby Cranke of Bloem cut our pattern teeth on in the 70's...the faster the better.........Just to prove that pattern flying is all about skill, Gerhard, who flew 4 great rounds with this very fast, very basic '60' size ship that he has been flying for aeons, was in the lead right up to the very last flight (he is still flying with a Gold Series Futaba that has no computer 'stuff' ...what an amazing flyer)...Kurt on the other hand was flying a 'loan' machine - mine - & did well. I find it totally amazing that these young pilots can adapt to flying a 'strange' machines so quickly, Josh did the same at the Gauteng Champs by flying into 1st position with a plane Andre Stockwell loaned him as his Swallow's engine let him down.
In the F3A the competition was cooking. There was Nazeem 'Mr Perfection' Harris (a name he earned as all the aircraft he builds are finished to perfection) flying his trusty Alliance. And now we come to a very unassuming, quiet, calm, tranquil & reserved (I lie a lot) Mark Wolffe, flying the colours for CRF. Flying another Alliance.......A very pleasant surprise came in the form of a Vaalie F3A pilot Carel Germishuys who came down especially for the Comp, He happens to be a full size Boeing pilot, but has free time on his hands after some old fuddy duddys in the 1st class complained to SAA when he entertained his passengers by doing a 4 point roll.....these old well oiled 'old f**ts' in 1st class were very upset as their Klippies & coke spilt, their dentures fell out & their gazillion Rand 'natural' hair toupees fell of when he was inverted..... (in the economy class the seats are so narrow you get forced in, so when Carel was inverted they could not fall out) ..........guess what - a 'noga' Alliance.....Don't the F3A pilots have any sense of individuality? ....all they change is the colours scheme - they should take a leaf out of the Sportsman class ...variety is the spice of life...
Just one question at this stage: Why do all pattern pilots love blue? PRF's kit is blue, TMFC Aerobatics' team is in blue, Mark Wolffe's designer gear was all in blue..... If you did a snap survey of Pattern Pilots 'Fashion', Blue is the Black of fashion for pattern..... Now meanwhile back at the ranch in the 'Coffee-Huis' where the scores were being 'done' another drama was unfolding, The case of the disappearing score sheets - as Deidre (Nazeem's boss) & Jane (Louw & Josh's strategy consultant & nutritional provider) were entering scores, the computer would sometimes just reboot. It was found, every time someone wanted a cup of coffee, & the kettle was used, the voltage did a disappearing trick....soon they learnt that whenever anyone wanted coffee the scorers took a well deserved break....I must tell u that the scoring was so slick that by the time you switched off your engine, your scores were ready....Three cheers for the scorers. Also in the 'Coffee-Huis' working hard to keep the hungry masses fed were Lynn & Mary, who happens to be Willie 'No Nonsense's' wife, slaving over hot stoves to keep hungry Pattern Hooligans fed ......Thanks a lot Ladies.....
In round one in the Sportsman division Dirk flew very well to take an early lead, with Kallie & Anton in close pursuit, but in the second round Anton started to put his foot down with a stamp of some serious authority, Dirk did his best by flying some great scores but the ever confident Anton could not be stopped, and then Kallie came trailing these two. Nic Southorn, 'Woof Man's' protégé did well to fly into 4th place - under 'normal' conditions his flying would see him at least in the first 3, but Pattern is taken so seriously in the Cape now that you have to practice long & hard to get a good position......Mike Rabeling also had some bad luck with an engine that would not behave - it was suggested that as he normally flies near the nuclear power station, his engine has picked up a dose of Nuclear Radiation ...Marcel Viljoen from Worcester had some bad luck in his first flight but recovered well to do 50% plus flights with a small 40 size model - the Soprano. Just another example proving that it's the skill not the model that gets you the points... but a well trimmed model helps.... Now a new-comer to pattern from the PRF stable, Ozzie Parenzee did well for his first comp - one of his flights included a very entertaining & highly 'original' double Immelmann with a humpty bump & inverted top hat for effect, so low that he had some foreign objects in the wheels when he landed. Finally Johan Grove just had a heavy dose of bad luck, he flew a loan Swallow but unfortunately the motor was not run in properly & kept cutting....On the Thursday before the WP champs he 'planted' his own trusty Swallow, but as luck would have it, in CapeTown we are experiencing the worst drought in 50 years, the ground was so dry that nothing germinated.
........Vaalies better watch out - the Capies are coming for the gold.......
Now I must tell you this that Anton has a very innovative way of stopping his swallow from moving forward before take of ...he cut a serious flat on the bottom of the main wheels, so that they sit flat on the runway.....Now just a thought, if when cutting the flat, what if he had got it wrong & cut the flat on the top of the wheel, what a problem that would be .......Now Anton's innovation did not stop there.......he & Johan Grove did an impromptu Wind Dance on the runway, BUT unfortunately his Choreographer got things a bit mixed up & taught him the Haka with a hint of Toy Toy....The end result was that his engine kept on cutting in the totally still conditions........
Now in the advanced section we have Josh & Rodney both from Peninsula Radio Flyers. Josh, although younger, had the experience to carry it off, but Rodney had his fair share of drama. In one flight, when attempting to land, his throttle got stuck and then had to 'do' another practice round. Now his official mechanic Nazeem had some explaining to do - it was rumoured that Rodney stopped the last payment because of sloppy workmanship. To compound the problem, on the very next flight his tail wheel came off & nearly hit one of the judges. Lucky for him it did not go near Judge Christo, as Christo's mouth is always open & that would have been the last we would have seen of the tail wheel .......Then on landing, he accidentally hit the throttle - the aircraft lunged forward and Rodney & his trusty mechanic (Nazeem) had to do some fancy footwork to get out of the way.
Now after the judges kept on calling 'box', one rather astute caller realized that someone had put the end flag in the wrong place & made the box 30% smaller. This was soon rectified, and the flyers were offered the chance to re-fly. Kurt & Carel Germishuys took up the option & bettered their scores....
In the Expert division it was mainly a 2 horse race with yours truly bringing up the rear; Gerhard Mitton was in the lead all the way with Kurt following closely on his heels. In the last round both Gerhard & Kurt flew their hearts out - the score at the end gave Kurt the 1st prize by only 0.03%. I don't think anything could be closer that that..... Things are hotting up in CapeTown.... Now I have been practising hard for the last 3 months and came 3rd (last). How sick is this that I have to practise hard to come last - what would have happened if I had not practised? Perhaps 5th out of 3??
In the Masters division things got rough. Mark, Nazeem & Carel were fighting tooth & nail for position - in the first round only a difference of 0.4% between Woof Man & Mr Perfection - in the second round it narrowed even more to 0.3% Carel who was doing some excellent flying was flying a creditworthy 3rd place, only trailing by only 5%...the heat was on...but in the 3rd round Mark pulled ahead by 1.2%, and in this round Carel flew a very credible 70%. In the last round Mark pulled one out of the hat & flew a humdinger of a flight scoring 76.7%, & Nazeem a 72.9% flight,......... Good..... I'm sorry - great flying by anyone's standards; Carel flew a 69% flight. Flying of this standard from CapeTown is
going to make us a force to be reckoned with in the future.......
The Western Province Champs of 2005 was in all respects a resounding success...
Thank to Pieter Kapp, Willie Krynouw, Nazeem Harris & band of many slaves too many to mention, WELL DONE, we the flyers do not have a clue of how much organizing it takes to make a great event such as this. Thanks again from ALL the flyers.
The pattern flyers of the Western Cape region should build on the momentum that started with the well run Province & Nationals 2004 that was run by Jean Vos & Co, and then continued this year by TMFC in 2005. To all those concerned with the organization of these great events, a heartfelt thanks.
Pieter Kapp had mentioned that the Western Province Aerobatics Association is looking at awarding Provincial Colours soon, so come on all you Pattern Junkies, Colours will soon be up for grabs......Looks like our WPAA is alive & well & kicking butt. Please support the WPAA in any way you can.....We need sponsorship & slaves.....
NOW FOR SERIOUS GRIPE TIME..........Pieter told me that he had approached hobby dealers for sponsorship & advertising - all he got was an advert from Southern Hobbies & not one of the other dealers were prepared to support Tygerberg Model Flying Club with any advertising .......I think that this is a downright disgrace as we, the modellers, support their business's all year round, spending thousands of our hard earned Bokke with them. Without our support they do not have a business..... It seems they have no respect for our patronage as they are not prepared to support us with even a measly advert at such an important event, nevvermaaind a sponsored prize or two........a disgraceful state of affairs, methinks......
WHEN WE ASKED SOME SHOPS FOR SUPPORT, ALL THEY GAVE US WAS THE MIDDLE FINGER.
Now to all the dealers around the country a warning .....In future should you refuse a reasonable request to sponsor us in major events, or even minor events, we will have no option but to name & shame...... So be warned.... WE are forming the AEROMODELLERS Consumer Union.......So don't stuff us around...We WILL support you...if you support us......
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
SA Scale and Jet Masters 2005 -- Paula Denysschen
SA MASTERS
The first ever-combined SA Masters for scale and jets was held over the weekend of 5th & 6th March 2005. The competition was originally scheduled for Zwartkops, but due to a changing of chiefs in charge at the airbase we could not get permission to use the facilities. The venue was then changed to split venues. Static for both disciplines took place Saturday morning at Extreme RC Academy. The facilities they offer for static judging is of the best in the country. Where else can you place the judges to do static scoring in an air-conditioned environment? Static was completed by lunchtime. After everyone had lunch flying commenced on a very well groomed grass field. F4C as well as S.O.S was flown on Saturday afternoon. Flying was of a very high standard with no mishaps by anyone. On Saturday evening a braai was held in the Lapa next to the pool, another part of the top facilities of Extreme RC Academy.
The final positions for F4C scale was Koos Pretorius the victor, followed by Humphrey Le Grice and in third place Johan Ehlers Snr. S.O.S only had two competitors with Johan Ehlers Jnr in first place and second place was taken by Ian Edwards.
A word of thanks to Extreme for the use of their facilities as well as to all the helpers.
Sunday was used for flying of the jets and the venue that was used was O.D.I north of Pretoria. We also only had five competitors, three in F4J and two in Sports Scale. A stiff wind blew throughout the day but luckily straight down the runway. Flying was of a good standard with only Greg Casson loosing a canopy during his second flight. Freddy Kotze had a bad day with a none start in round one and an engine failure in round three when his Bay Turbine threw two blades on the Turbine wheel.
The final score was Mark Savage first, Glen Roberts second and Greg Casson third. Sport Scale was Malcolm Cameron first followed by Freddy Kotze in second.
Thank you to all the participants, judges, helpers and to Koos for doing the scoring. After a good lunch prepared by Adriaan we had a prize giving at which the team to participate at the 6th World Jet Masters in Hungary was announced. The team to go will be Mark, Greg and Glen and James Peel as the team manager.
On behalf of all the modelers I wish you good luck and trust that you will make South Africa proud.
The first ever-combined SA Masters for scale and jets was held over the weekend of 5th & 6th March 2005. The competition was originally scheduled for Zwartkops, but due to a changing of chiefs in charge at the airbase we could not get permission to use the facilities. The venue was then changed to split venues. Static for both disciplines took place Saturday morning at Extreme RC Academy. The facilities they offer for static judging is of the best in the country. Where else can you place the judges to do static scoring in an air-conditioned environment? Static was completed by lunchtime. After everyone had lunch flying commenced on a very well groomed grass field. F4C as well as S.O.S was flown on Saturday afternoon. Flying was of a very high standard with no mishaps by anyone. On Saturday evening a braai was held in the Lapa next to the pool, another part of the top facilities of Extreme RC Academy.
The final positions for F4C scale was Koos Pretorius the victor, followed by Humphrey Le Grice and in third place Johan Ehlers Snr. S.O.S only had two competitors with Johan Ehlers Jnr in first place and second place was taken by Ian Edwards.
A word of thanks to Extreme for the use of their facilities as well as to all the helpers.
Sunday was used for flying of the jets and the venue that was used was O.D.I north of Pretoria. We also only had five competitors, three in F4J and two in Sports Scale. A stiff wind blew throughout the day but luckily straight down the runway. Flying was of a good standard with only Greg Casson loosing a canopy during his second flight. Freddy Kotze had a bad day with a none start in round one and an engine failure in round three when his Bay Turbine threw two blades on the Turbine wheel.
The final score was Mark Savage first, Glen Roberts second and Greg Casson third. Sport Scale was Malcolm Cameron first followed by Freddy Kotze in second.
Thank you to all the participants, judges, helpers and to Koos for doing the scoring. After a good lunch prepared by Adriaan we had a prize giving at which the team to participate at the 6th World Jet Masters in Hungary was announced. The team to go will be Mark, Greg and Glen and James Peel as the team manager.
On behalf of all the modelers I wish you good luck and trust that you will make South Africa proud.
Monday, March 14, 2005
The Midrand Model Soarers Open, March 2005 -- Lionel Brink
This is not the official report, but rather my attempt at thanking everyone for such an enjoyable day.
The MMS Open was inaugurated on Sunday, 13 March with approx 20 participants from various clubs & provinces. We could not have asked for more perfect weather; thermals aplenty and even the birds were helping by pointing out bubbles that became "boomers". The 45 minute working time was generally relaxed & the 10 minute duration task did not constitute as much of a stretch as anticipated by those of us that had never attempted anything more than a 6 minute during a postal competition. As for landings, well let's just leave that out of the discussion for now.
Thanks to everyone for the amazingly camaraderie, friendly assistance, and good banter that we enjoyed throughout the day. I learnt so much just watching the experts making it look so easy, but realise the effort & dedication it takes to do so. To Mike, the CD, a colossal thanks for your passion for the sport & willingness to give up so much of your time to assist everyone else. Thanks to Ilma, the quick witted chef & chief photographer - who kept us going in body & soul for the day. Thanks to those who helped, including those running to fetch the winch lines, timing & even pointing out the good lift - for fellow competitors! Thanks to Mark for arranging this event, matrixing & providing the equipment for scoring. Thanks to MMS for making their field available & ensuring safe frequency control & flying throughout this event.
Finally, even a thanks, albeit rather small, to those devious individuals that came up with that landing triangle concept.
Kindest regards,
Lionel
The MMS Open was inaugurated on Sunday, 13 March with approx 20 participants from various clubs & provinces. We could not have asked for more perfect weather; thermals aplenty and even the birds were helping by pointing out bubbles that became "boomers". The 45 minute working time was generally relaxed & the 10 minute duration task did not constitute as much of a stretch as anticipated by those of us that had never attempted anything more than a 6 minute during a postal competition. As for landings, well let's just leave that out of the discussion for now.
Thanks to everyone for the amazingly camaraderie, friendly assistance, and good banter that we enjoyed throughout the day. I learnt so much just watching the experts making it look so easy, but realise the effort & dedication it takes to do so. To Mike, the CD, a colossal thanks for your passion for the sport & willingness to give up so much of your time to assist everyone else. Thanks to Ilma, the quick witted chef & chief photographer - who kept us going in body & soul for the day. Thanks to those who helped, including those running to fetch the winch lines, timing & even pointing out the good lift - for fellow competitors! Thanks to Mark for arranging this event, matrixing & providing the equipment for scoring. Thanks to MMS for making their field available & ensuring safe frequency control & flying throughout this event.
Finally, even a thanks, albeit rather small, to those devious individuals that came up with that landing triangle concept.
Kindest regards,
Lionel
Thursday, March 10, 2005
SA Scale and Jet Masters -- Paula Denysschen
SA MASTERS
The first ever-combined SA Masters for scale and jets was held over the weekend of 5th & 6th March 2005. The competition was originally scheduled for Zwartkops, but due to a changing of chiefs in charge at the airbase we could not get permission to use the facilities. The venue was then changed to split venues. Static for both disciplines took place Saturday morning at Extreme RC Academy. The facilities they offer for static judging is of the best in the country. Where else can you place the judges to do static scoring in an air-conditioned environment? Static was completed by lunchtime. After everyone had lunch flying commenced on a very well groomed grass field. F4C as well as S.O.S was flown on Saturday afternoon. Flying was of a very high standard with no mishaps by anyone. On Saturday evening a braai was held in the Lapa next to the pool, another part of the top facilities of Extreme RC Academy.
The final positions for F4C scale was Koos Pretorius the victor, followed by Humphrey Le Grice and in third place Johan Ehlers Snr. S.O.S only had two competitors with Johan Ehlers Jnr in first place and second place was taken by Ian Edwards.
A word of thanks to Extreme for the use of their facilities as well as to all the helpers.
Sunday was used for flying of the jets and the venue that was used was O.D.I north of Pretoria. We also only had five competitors, three in F4J and two in Sports Scale. A stiff wind blew throughout the day but luckily straight down the runway. Flying was of a good standard with only Greg Casson loosing a canopy during his second flight. Freddy Kotze had a bad day with a none start in round one and an engine failure in round three when his Bay Turbine threw two blades on the Turbine wheel.
The final score was Mark Savage first, Glen Roberts second and Greg Casson third. Sport Scale was Malcolm Cameron first followed by Freddy Kotze in second.
Thank you to all the participants, judges, helpers and to Koos for doing the scoring. After a good lunch prepared by Adriaan we had a prize giving at which the team to participate at the 6th World Jet Masters in Hungary was announced. The team to go will be Mark, Greg and Glen and James Peel as the team manager.
On behalf of all the modelers I wish you good luck and trust that you will make South Africa proud.
The first ever-combined SA Masters for scale and jets was held over the weekend of 5th & 6th March 2005. The competition was originally scheduled for Zwartkops, but due to a changing of chiefs in charge at the airbase we could not get permission to use the facilities. The venue was then changed to split venues. Static for both disciplines took place Saturday morning at Extreme RC Academy. The facilities they offer for static judging is of the best in the country. Where else can you place the judges to do static scoring in an air-conditioned environment? Static was completed by lunchtime. After everyone had lunch flying commenced on a very well groomed grass field. F4C as well as S.O.S was flown on Saturday afternoon. Flying was of a very high standard with no mishaps by anyone. On Saturday evening a braai was held in the Lapa next to the pool, another part of the top facilities of Extreme RC Academy.
The final positions for F4C scale was Koos Pretorius the victor, followed by Humphrey Le Grice and in third place Johan Ehlers Snr. S.O.S only had two competitors with Johan Ehlers Jnr in first place and second place was taken by Ian Edwards.
A word of thanks to Extreme for the use of their facilities as well as to all the helpers.
Sunday was used for flying of the jets and the venue that was used was O.D.I north of Pretoria. We also only had five competitors, three in F4J and two in Sports Scale. A stiff wind blew throughout the day but luckily straight down the runway. Flying was of a good standard with only Greg Casson loosing a canopy during his second flight. Freddy Kotze had a bad day with a none start in round one and an engine failure in round three when his Bay Turbine threw two blades on the Turbine wheel.
The final score was Mark Savage first, Glen Roberts second and Greg Casson third. Sport Scale was Malcolm Cameron first followed by Freddy Kotze in second.
Thank you to all the participants, judges, helpers and to Koos for doing the scoring. After a good lunch prepared by Adriaan we had a prize giving at which the team to participate at the 6th World Jet Masters in Hungary was announced. The team to go will be Mark, Greg and Glen and James Peel as the team manager.
On behalf of all the modelers I wish you good luck and trust that you will make South Africa proud.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
SAMAA Special Interest Groups -- Bart Diaz
I have for some years attended the meetings of one of the SAMAA SIGs.
This SIG, the Venerable Register of Old Timers, or to use its acronym, VROT, held a most successful World Champs in SA in the late nineties.
VROT members from around the country supported this event, some travelling thousands of kilometers at their own expense to help. Morale was high. The objective clear; hold a notable World Champs.
This they did, receiving accolades from across the globe. It was a high point in the affairs of the group.
Alas, since then VROT has slid steadily down hill. The meetings lack a clear objective, The members spend more and more time contemplating their navels; there have been no landmarks of success.
So what is to be done? How can VROT scale the heights again, make its members proud?
I'd like to suggest two objectives for consideration.
Firstly, since the World Champs, few new pilots have appeared at the top places of national events. It's the same half dozen more or less. A worthy objective would be to develop over the next few years at least another ten, capable of representing SA. This will require considerable time and effort at a National level. But what a morale booster it would be.
Secondly, where are the black faces in VROT? There are none.
We are, after all, living in South Africa. Whatever your political persuasion it must be clear that failure to transform will restrict government financial support for overseas teams. It may even jeopardize the award of colours.
I have sat in a number of VROT meetings that considered transformation. Mostly the talk turned to the establishment of committees and sub-committees to plan and control the issue. There was even a suggestion of funding a full-time Transformation Officer to handle the matter. (In this way neatly making it some one else's problem).
Needless to say, all this hot air led nowhere.
However, I know of two individuals who are quietly and effectively exposing disadvantaged youth to the joys of aeromodelling. If there are two, there must be more. These people deserve our support. If only a few of their protégés go on to club flying there will have been a useful increase.
This concept was too simple for VROT that preferred its own grandiose pipe dreams.
What a pity. How are the Mighty fallen.
This SIG, the Venerable Register of Old Timers, or to use its acronym, VROT, held a most successful World Champs in SA in the late nineties.
VROT members from around the country supported this event, some travelling thousands of kilometers at their own expense to help. Morale was high. The objective clear; hold a notable World Champs.
This they did, receiving accolades from across the globe. It was a high point in the affairs of the group.
Alas, since then VROT has slid steadily down hill. The meetings lack a clear objective, The members spend more and more time contemplating their navels; there have been no landmarks of success.
So what is to be done? How can VROT scale the heights again, make its members proud?
I'd like to suggest two objectives for consideration.
Firstly, since the World Champs, few new pilots have appeared at the top places of national events. It's the same half dozen more or less. A worthy objective would be to develop over the next few years at least another ten, capable of representing SA. This will require considerable time and effort at a National level. But what a morale booster it would be.
Secondly, where are the black faces in VROT? There are none.
We are, after all, living in South Africa. Whatever your political persuasion it must be clear that failure to transform will restrict government financial support for overseas teams. It may even jeopardize the award of colours.
I have sat in a number of VROT meetings that considered transformation. Mostly the talk turned to the establishment of committees and sub-committees to plan and control the issue. There was even a suggestion of funding a full-time Transformation Officer to handle the matter. (In this way neatly making it some one else's problem).
Needless to say, all this hot air led nowhere.
However, I know of two individuals who are quietly and effectively exposing disadvantaged youth to the joys of aeromodelling. If there are two, there must be more. These people deserve our support. If only a few of their protégés go on to club flying there will have been a useful increase.
This concept was too simple for VROT that preferred its own grandiose pipe dreams.
What a pity. How are the Mighty fallen.
Monday, March 07, 2005
Bill Vos Memorial Handicap March 2005 -- Dave Greer
BVMT 2005
HANDICAP
March 3000 4000
Pilot Norm net tway Total
1 Alan Sneedon 1000 3000 1000 4000 Eish
2 Dave Greer 1000 3000 986 3986 Esprit
3 Scott Munn 1000 2999 809 3808 2M
4 Russ Conradt 999 2998 623 3622 Sangoma
5 Simon Nelson 999 2998 528 3526 Eish
6 Warren Butler 984 2951 926 3877 Cobra
7 Brian Fanning 972 2915 606 3521 Sagitta
8 Dennis Bird 969 2906 748 3654 Eliminator
9 Fred Wittstock 937 2810 643 3453 OD 2M
10 Ryan Nelson 910 2729 678 3407 Eish
11 Brad Conlon 830 2490 615 3105 Ellipse 3
12 Paul Boswarva 798 2393 0 2393 Eish
13 Paul Munn 778 2334 318 2653 Riser 2M
14 Sheldon McGlone 697 2092 480 2572 2M OD
15 Norman Smith 536 1608 0 1608 2M OD
16 Don Slatter 364 1091 0 1091 Star
Whew, an extremely hot and thermic day made for helluva bunch of maxes but there were occasions where slots had down and dirty air and this is what made reading the round scores so absorbing for me. A young lad was able use his handicap to good effect and many of us never saw Scott Munn and his two metre gas bag on the podium trail, well done Scott!
Of course we could have made it easier on ourselves and listened to uncle Dennis's good advice not to go four rounds in the oppressive heat. Actually, having a group of four approach me about teaming together, skewed my thinking to four slots instead of a quicker three slot approach, which would have speeded things up. I also took some stick for team members yet again packing up and pottering away part way through event, thus hampering the remaining folk. I honestly don't have any answer for this, it is nigh impossible to rationalise with someone who has just bent their pride and joy......
Maxes were the order of day and an indication of the closeness of the contest was in Warren having four almost perfect maxes but missing two spots, thus one too many and relegated down to sixth. Alan Sneedon was perfection, his throw away being a max, but more interesting is the excellent performance he is coaxing out of gasbag team members Scott Munn and Brian Fanning. Actually, seeing how well Russ Conradt worked with Sheldon McGlone and Brand Conlon suggests that semi permanent teams comprising one or two experts with the novice guys may make for more consistent improvement.
The day started with a huge fright when John Coulson's OD ship did a nasty swan dive to left at the contest commencement. I was standing directly behind and it is sobering that, despite some decades of experience, I (and all) froze instead of screaming "down" when the craft was in a stalled position from the word go. I must confess I saw no flappy bits moving at all......
This was probably the biggest Summerveld club gathering ever with a welcome visit from Sean Oellermann and Chris Helmbold plus better halves, along with Sean's Dad, Neil, an active F3B'er in the 70's. Neil also sent up his trusty Legionnaire on a bungee to revel in the conditions. Die hard slopers Mike Warren and Cameron were also very interested onlookers. Adrian Baker popped in but work is all consuming at the moment.
We had been teasing Paul Boswarva the day before and he had been considering a mode swap from two to one. I suggested that starting with a foamie might be a gentle introduction but Paul leaped in with a mode swap on the Eish! Did damn well too until the circuits fried on the maxed third flight landing. Norm Smith proved again that balsa spars don't work and his useful OD 2 metre smote the earth off the line, otherwise there were no other real dramas.
The gasbag kings, Fred and Dennis, did pretty well and spoilt the 1000's for a couple of folk like Simon and Russ, but this was a day for zero slips. Watching the Eish lads made me wonder how one improves on craft performance like that.....
John Lightfoot queried oblique references to Craig Goodrum standards in previous reports. After a couple of decades, I have seen much but still measure competitor performance against Craig's peerless current standard. Two flights at the Bill Vos fell in to that category. An amazing scratch by Warren Butler and the Cobra to start the day and a just as amazing scratch by Russ Conradt and the Sangoma to finish the day, both from indifferent launches.
Sunstroke and dehydration is a dangerous thing, I was seeing two Esprits on the last flight and Sean sported a nasty headache by the evening. We still joined the out of towners all following Mike Warren and Cameron up to Switchblade to finish the day on blissful note with some magic slope flying in the powerful but smooth air. Interest in this site has come alive again with some of the power lads joining in the fray and there has been pretty much a queue of flyers over the last couple of weekends. Chris Helmbold put the immaculate Wizzard and Acacia moldies through their paces for us enthralled foamie flyers and we finished up heading home at sunset.
BILL VOS 2005 LOG
With TWO t/away Total T/A2 T/A1 Jan Mar
1 Dave Greer 2000 1000 1000
2 Russell Conradt 1969 969 999
3 Brian Fanning 1898 927 972
4 Alan Sneedon 1862 862 1000
5 Simon Nelson 1816 817 999
6 Dennis Bird 1803 835 969
7 Ryan Nelson 1793 884 910
8 Brad Conlon 1792 962 830
9 Paul Boswarva 1614 816 798
10 Fred Wittstock 1451 514 937
11 Don Slatter 1160 796 364
12 Norman Smith 1157 621 536
13 Scott Munn 1000 0 1000
14 Warren Butler 984 0 984
15 Adrian Baker 849 849 0
16 Paul Munn 778 0 778
17 Sheldon Macglone 697 0 697
18 John Coulson 651 651 0
19 Piet Strauss 460 460 0
20 Tim Potter 334 334
HANDICAP
March 3000 4000
Pilot Norm net tway Total
1 Alan Sneedon 1000 3000 1000 4000 Eish
2 Dave Greer 1000 3000 986 3986 Esprit
3 Scott Munn 1000 2999 809 3808 2M
4 Russ Conradt 999 2998 623 3622 Sangoma
5 Simon Nelson 999 2998 528 3526 Eish
6 Warren Butler 984 2951 926 3877 Cobra
7 Brian Fanning 972 2915 606 3521 Sagitta
8 Dennis Bird 969 2906 748 3654 Eliminator
9 Fred Wittstock 937 2810 643 3453 OD 2M
10 Ryan Nelson 910 2729 678 3407 Eish
11 Brad Conlon 830 2490 615 3105 Ellipse 3
12 Paul Boswarva 798 2393 0 2393 Eish
13 Paul Munn 778 2334 318 2653 Riser 2M
14 Sheldon McGlone 697 2092 480 2572 2M OD
15 Norman Smith 536 1608 0 1608 2M OD
16 Don Slatter 364 1091 0 1091 Star
Whew, an extremely hot and thermic day made for helluva bunch of maxes but there were occasions where slots had down and dirty air and this is what made reading the round scores so absorbing for me. A young lad was able use his handicap to good effect and many of us never saw Scott Munn and his two metre gas bag on the podium trail, well done Scott!
Of course we could have made it easier on ourselves and listened to uncle Dennis's good advice not to go four rounds in the oppressive heat. Actually, having a group of four approach me about teaming together, skewed my thinking to four slots instead of a quicker three slot approach, which would have speeded things up. I also took some stick for team members yet again packing up and pottering away part way through event, thus hampering the remaining folk. I honestly don't have any answer for this, it is nigh impossible to rationalise with someone who has just bent their pride and joy......
Maxes were the order of day and an indication of the closeness of the contest was in Warren having four almost perfect maxes but missing two spots, thus one too many and relegated down to sixth. Alan Sneedon was perfection, his throw away being a max, but more interesting is the excellent performance he is coaxing out of gasbag team members Scott Munn and Brian Fanning. Actually, seeing how well Russ Conradt worked with Sheldon McGlone and Brand Conlon suggests that semi permanent teams comprising one or two experts with the novice guys may make for more consistent improvement.
The day started with a huge fright when John Coulson's OD ship did a nasty swan dive to left at the contest commencement. I was standing directly behind and it is sobering that, despite some decades of experience, I (and all) froze instead of screaming "down" when the craft was in a stalled position from the word go. I must confess I saw no flappy bits moving at all......
This was probably the biggest Summerveld club gathering ever with a welcome visit from Sean Oellermann and Chris Helmbold plus better halves, along with Sean's Dad, Neil, an active F3B'er in the 70's. Neil also sent up his trusty Legionnaire on a bungee to revel in the conditions. Die hard slopers Mike Warren and Cameron were also very interested onlookers. Adrian Baker popped in but work is all consuming at the moment.
We had been teasing Paul Boswarva the day before and he had been considering a mode swap from two to one. I suggested that starting with a foamie might be a gentle introduction but Paul leaped in with a mode swap on the Eish! Did damn well too until the circuits fried on the maxed third flight landing. Norm Smith proved again that balsa spars don't work and his useful OD 2 metre smote the earth off the line, otherwise there were no other real dramas.
The gasbag kings, Fred and Dennis, did pretty well and spoilt the 1000's for a couple of folk like Simon and Russ, but this was a day for zero slips. Watching the Eish lads made me wonder how one improves on craft performance like that.....
John Lightfoot queried oblique references to Craig Goodrum standards in previous reports. After a couple of decades, I have seen much but still measure competitor performance against Craig's peerless current standard. Two flights at the Bill Vos fell in to that category. An amazing scratch by Warren Butler and the Cobra to start the day and a just as amazing scratch by Russ Conradt and the Sangoma to finish the day, both from indifferent launches.
Sunstroke and dehydration is a dangerous thing, I was seeing two Esprits on the last flight and Sean sported a nasty headache by the evening. We still joined the out of towners all following Mike Warren and Cameron up to Switchblade to finish the day on blissful note with some magic slope flying in the powerful but smooth air. Interest in this site has come alive again with some of the power lads joining in the fray and there has been pretty much a queue of flyers over the last couple of weekends. Chris Helmbold put the immaculate Wizzard and Acacia moldies through their paces for us enthralled foamie flyers and we finished up heading home at sunset.
BILL VOS 2005 LOG
With TWO t/away Total T/A2 T/A1 Jan Mar
1 Dave Greer 2000 1000 1000
2 Russell Conradt 1969 969 999
3 Brian Fanning 1898 927 972
4 Alan Sneedon 1862 862 1000
5 Simon Nelson 1816 817 999
6 Dennis Bird 1803 835 969
7 Ryan Nelson 1793 884 910
8 Brad Conlon 1792 962 830
9 Paul Boswarva 1614 816 798
10 Fred Wittstock 1451 514 937
11 Don Slatter 1160 796 364
12 Norman Smith 1157 621 536
13 Scott Munn 1000 0 1000
14 Warren Butler 984 0 984
15 Adrian Baker 849 849 0
16 Paul Munn 778 0 778
17 Sheldon Macglone 697 0 697
18 John Coulson 651 651 0
19 Piet Strauss 460 460 0
20 Tim Potter 334 334
Friday, March 04, 2005
Why O Why don't we have more pattern pilots? -- Claude MacKrill
Why O Why don't we have more pattern pilots?
This is a question MAASA is faced with & in turn all the clubs are faced with.
Some clubs actively encourage Pattern & others not........Why?.....I think we, as the custodians of pattern must take a long hard look inward......it's easy to say that pattern is not for all....that's a given........but then would say the same for driving a car, all drivers are not F1 drivers, but if we were the roads would be a lot safer as everybody behind the wheel would be an expert driver...(not the kind of expert every Bee-ma driver thinks he is) ....but in the real world every-body in order to survive has 2 have a decent level of competency .....Now with model aircraft I think the problem lies in the training & the attitude of the teachers, Generally when u have a newcomer to the sport he joins the club, he gets his basic training from an experienced flyer (who often is also the pattern fundi) after a few sessions will 'Dump' the trainee as he can now land & take off in relative safety.....now this is the part where I think we as pattern pilots are just a little selfish, we do not take the initiative to look out for potential pattern pilots........ these beginners who have just been 'Dumped' have to find there own way round...there are no basic training methods available to these beginners & soon they become like the Bee-ma drivers & have the mindset that says..... I'm able to keep a ship in the air & land safely so I'm a pretty good pilot, which in my mind is a pretty logical thought, now once u reached that 'expert' status u start getting into routines, (bad routines) all the bad flying habits have set in it's almost impossible 2 redirect this flying energy...
.I propose that what we need to do is set up a system whereby we could guide beginners in the right direction, the basic Pattern disciplines would apply here, like learning to fly the 'line', doing the loops in the appropriate positions, etc This basic discipline could be instilled in the beginners as soon as they are able to take off & land safely. So instead of being 'Dumped' by us, we would be able to give them a chance to learn to the more advanced techniques in flying......we need to formulate a 'easy' path to pattern....So please don't be a selfish pattern Buffoon, be like our pattern roll models Andre, Pierre, Danie & Savas who at the drop of a hat will spend hours at the Nats helping budding flyers to 'get things right' this I have personal experience of when they were prepared to spend hours with my son Kurt to help him with 'whatever' the problem was at the time...a helping hand from experienced pattern pilots goes a long long way to promoting pattern.....U don't have to be a Andre Or Pierre to help...all you need is a good heart, a love for the sport, and an unselfish attitude, ........So now down to the nitty gritty .....we have to devise an advanced training method I Propose the following..
1. Learn to fly up & down the line...show the beginner where the line is.
2. Do loops on the centre line
3. One roll then 2 rolls then 3 rolls that are centred, even bum pattern flyer like me still have problems with this.
4. Do the stall turns on the centre line
Once these basics have been flown confidently what u do is to take the Sportsman schedule & rope together those maneuvers that the pilot can do & just do a fly-past in place of the maneuvers that have as yet not been attempted,
A Quote from : RC AEROBATICS BY RICK ALLISON
Complex maneuvers don't look so intimidating when broken down into the elements that comprise them. Practice each of those elements and then combine them into whole maneuvers to avoid mistakes and get those high scores.
I believe that to encourage we should work out a method of accommodating budding pattern flyers who can fly at least 70% of the sportsman schedule. The maneuvers that they can not manage will be judged on the quality of the flyby.....Extra points for inverted flyby's
We Need To Invest Some of our time in the interest of pattern....But please if u cannot do it with a 'Good' heart rather don't. as a wrong attitude from a teacher could cause irreversible damage to our sport & image....
Teach Pattern with a 'Good heart'....it will go a long way....
Regards
Claude....
This is a question MAASA is faced with & in turn all the clubs are faced with.
Some clubs actively encourage Pattern & others not........Why?.....I think we, as the custodians of pattern must take a long hard look inward......it's easy to say that pattern is not for all....that's a given........but then would say the same for driving a car, all drivers are not F1 drivers, but if we were the roads would be a lot safer as everybody behind the wheel would be an expert driver...(not the kind of expert every Bee-ma driver thinks he is) ....but in the real world every-body in order to survive has 2 have a decent level of competency .....Now with model aircraft I think the problem lies in the training & the attitude of the teachers, Generally when u have a newcomer to the sport he joins the club, he gets his basic training from an experienced flyer (who often is also the pattern fundi) after a few sessions will 'Dump' the trainee as he can now land & take off in relative safety.....now this is the part where I think we as pattern pilots are just a little selfish, we do not take the initiative to look out for potential pattern pilots........ these beginners who have just been 'Dumped' have to find there own way round...there are no basic training methods available to these beginners & soon they become like the Bee-ma drivers & have the mindset that says..... I'm able to keep a ship in the air & land safely so I'm a pretty good pilot, which in my mind is a pretty logical thought, now once u reached that 'expert' status u start getting into routines, (bad routines) all the bad flying habits have set in it's almost impossible 2 redirect this flying energy...
.I propose that what we need to do is set up a system whereby we could guide beginners in the right direction, the basic Pattern disciplines would apply here, like learning to fly the 'line', doing the loops in the appropriate positions, etc This basic discipline could be instilled in the beginners as soon as they are able to take off & land safely. So instead of being 'Dumped' by us, we would be able to give them a chance to learn to the more advanced techniques in flying......we need to formulate a 'easy' path to pattern....So please don't be a selfish pattern Buffoon, be like our pattern roll models Andre, Pierre, Danie & Savas who at the drop of a hat will spend hours at the Nats helping budding flyers to 'get things right' this I have personal experience of when they were prepared to spend hours with my son Kurt to help him with 'whatever' the problem was at the time...a helping hand from experienced pattern pilots goes a long long way to promoting pattern.....U don't have to be a Andre Or Pierre to help...all you need is a good heart, a love for the sport, and an unselfish attitude, ........So now down to the nitty gritty .....we have to devise an advanced training method I Propose the following..
1. Learn to fly up & down the line...show the beginner where the line is.
2. Do loops on the centre line
3. One roll then 2 rolls then 3 rolls that are centred, even bum pattern flyer like me still have problems with this.
4. Do the stall turns on the centre line
Once these basics have been flown confidently what u do is to take the Sportsman schedule & rope together those maneuvers that the pilot can do & just do a fly-past in place of the maneuvers that have as yet not been attempted,
A Quote from : RC AEROBATICS BY RICK ALLISON
Complex maneuvers don't look so intimidating when broken down into the elements that comprise them. Practice each of those elements and then combine them into whole maneuvers to avoid mistakes and get those high scores.
I believe that to encourage we should work out a method of accommodating budding pattern flyers who can fly at least 70% of the sportsman schedule. The maneuvers that they can not manage will be judged on the quality of the flyby.....Extra points for inverted flyby's
We Need To Invest Some of our time in the interest of pattern....But please if u cannot do it with a 'Good' heart rather don't. as a wrong attitude from a teacher could cause irreversible damage to our sport & image....
Teach Pattern with a 'Good heart'....it will go a long way....
Regards
Claude....
MAASA Chairman's report March 2005 -- Savas Nicolaides
4 March 2005
2004 MAASA CHAIRMANS REPORT
2005 is already 2 months old, and it feels like December was ages ago. A lot has happened since I took over the chair from Eric Ousman towards the end of 2004, obviously Eric's good work making it easier for me.
Aerobatics appears to be growing judging by the number of competitors in recent competitions. MAASA'S decision to make the 2004 Masters open was welcomed by all, barring a few mortals.
This open event attracted many competitors from all over, and if it weren't for the exam period over October, we would probably have seen more entries. For this reason, MAASA has moved the masters to June this year, alleviating this exam issue. 2 out of 4 league competitions will count towards qualification, and any 1 league of the 2004 season may be used by a competitor to qualify
The F3A South African team has been chosen to participate in France during August, and this event is scheduled to be an exciting World Championship as the host country is very active in aerobatics, regarding aircraft manufacturers and the current world champion's home town. The team will begin preparations soon and as always any donations will be welcome, as it is a costly strip for the pilots.
Growth is necessary in any sport for longevity, hence MAASA had decided to limit the aircraft specifications for the "SPORTSMAN'S CLASS" limiting the engine size to .90's and non-retractable aircraft. This we hope will entice ab initio entries into SPORTSMAN'S, and to be competitive with any type of aircraft. We saw this work in practice, as in the NW Champs in Klerkdsdorp in January, 1st place was taken with a traditional "STIK". So come on guys, if you have any type of aircraft, with the correct specification, then join us and we promise that the bug will bite you very hard. Pattern flying is rewarding, skillful and sociable, and once you can pilot a pattern aircraft respectfully then you can call yourself an "accomplished radio controlled pilot".
Communication has been a big problem for us admittedly and for this very reason, we have asked Claude Mackrill from the Cape to fill this slot as MAASA'S PRO/newsman. Some of you have seen his tongue in cheek e-mails, that seems to be growing in popularity. Claude will receive direct communication from the MAASA Committee and then spread the word out, he will host his informal chat site too. So please send your e-mail address to Claude at : "viteck@absamail.co.za"and you will be in the loop.
No organization can exist without money, and for this, R100.00 per year is nothing to ask for MAASA membership. Theoretically you cannot compete in any competition nationally if you are not a MAASA member. This is not enforced as we do not want to be destructive, so please guys R100.00 for the full year is not too much to ask. You will ask, for what does MAASA need the money? My answer is I don't know, first give MAASA the money and then, I am sure we will find something CONSTRUCTIVE to do with the money. Please get hold of our Treasurer, Chris Bessinger on 083 380 9084 for the MAASA account details.
The Nationals this year, will be hosted by Central Radio Flyers in Bloemfontein starting the 27th April. Bloemfontein is in the center of our county, so equal distance for . Let see if we can have a record entry this year and better the NATS event in Cape Town in 2004. The guys in Bloemfontein, are really planning a show, judging by all the calls we get from them, so support the premier event of the calendar.
In closing, the MAASA Committee will be up for election at the AGM in Bloemfontein, and the current MAASA Committee has indicated stepping down with the exclusion of the Chief Judges Porfolio. The reason for this is simple, move the running of aerobatics to another region, for new and fresh ideas and energies. Gauteng has been doing this for far too long, and we have become stale at this job, its time for other regions. The Western Cape has some very experienced modelers with long histories, who could fill these posts that will be coming vacant. The guys up in Bloemfontein are also all very keen competitors right now, so MAASA, formally invites nominations for the AGM in Bloemfontein.
Regards,
S. Nicolaides
MAASA Chairman
2004 MAASA CHAIRMANS REPORT
2005 is already 2 months old, and it feels like December was ages ago. A lot has happened since I took over the chair from Eric Ousman towards the end of 2004, obviously Eric's good work making it easier for me.
Aerobatics appears to be growing judging by the number of competitors in recent competitions. MAASA'S decision to make the 2004 Masters open was welcomed by all, barring a few mortals.
This open event attracted many competitors from all over, and if it weren't for the exam period over October, we would probably have seen more entries. For this reason, MAASA has moved the masters to June this year, alleviating this exam issue. 2 out of 4 league competitions will count towards qualification, and any 1 league of the 2004 season may be used by a competitor to qualify
The F3A South African team has been chosen to participate in France during August, and this event is scheduled to be an exciting World Championship as the host country is very active in aerobatics, regarding aircraft manufacturers and the current world champion's home town. The team will begin preparations soon and as always any donations will be welcome, as it is a costly strip for the pilots.
Growth is necessary in any sport for longevity, hence MAASA had decided to limit the aircraft specifications for the "SPORTSMAN'S CLASS" limiting the engine size to .90's and non-retractable aircraft. This we hope will entice ab initio entries into SPORTSMAN'S, and to be competitive with any type of aircraft. We saw this work in practice, as in the NW Champs in Klerkdsdorp in January, 1st place was taken with a traditional "STIK". So come on guys, if you have any type of aircraft, with the correct specification, then join us and we promise that the bug will bite you very hard. Pattern flying is rewarding, skillful and sociable, and once you can pilot a pattern aircraft respectfully then you can call yourself an "accomplished radio controlled pilot".
Communication has been a big problem for us admittedly and for this very reason, we have asked Claude Mackrill from the Cape to fill this slot as MAASA'S PRO/newsman. Some of you have seen his tongue in cheek e-mails, that seems to be growing in popularity. Claude will receive direct communication from the MAASA Committee and then spread the word out, he will host his informal chat site too. So please send your e-mail address to Claude at : "viteck@absamail.co.za"and you will be in the loop.
No organization can exist without money, and for this, R100.00 per year is nothing to ask for MAASA membership. Theoretically you cannot compete in any competition nationally if you are not a MAASA member. This is not enforced as we do not want to be destructive, so please guys R100.00 for the full year is not too much to ask. You will ask, for what does MAASA need the money? My answer is I don't know, first give MAASA the money and then, I am sure we will find something CONSTRUCTIVE to do with the money. Please get hold of our Treasurer, Chris Bessinger on 083 380 9084 for the MAASA account details.
The Nationals this year, will be hosted by Central Radio Flyers in Bloemfontein starting the 27th April. Bloemfontein is in the center of our county, so equal distance for . Let see if we can have a record entry this year and better the NATS event in Cape Town in 2004. The guys in Bloemfontein, are really planning a show, judging by all the calls we get from them, so support the premier event of the calendar.
In closing, the MAASA Committee will be up for election at the AGM in Bloemfontein, and the current MAASA Committee has indicated stepping down with the exclusion of the Chief Judges Porfolio. The reason for this is simple, move the running of aerobatics to another region, for new and fresh ideas and energies. Gauteng has been doing this for far too long, and we have become stale at this job, its time for other regions. The Western Cape has some very experienced modelers with long histories, who could fill these posts that will be coming vacant. The guys up in Bloemfontein are also all very keen competitors right now, so MAASA, formally invites nominations for the AGM in Bloemfontein.
Regards,
S. Nicolaides
MAASA Chairman
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