Warringah
Radio Control
Society Incorporated (Incorporated under the Association Incorporation Act 1984) Newsletter - April 2005 |
| Warringah
Radio Control
Society Incorporated (Incorporated under the Association Incorporation Act 1984) Newsletter - April 2005 |
Happy Competitors line up after the Electric and Glider Day in February with a lot of wingspan - except for Eddie Kjeldgaard's FW 190 which didn't glide so well but climbed like the proverbial rocket! |
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The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, 12th April 2005 at Tennis Cove, Eastern Valley Way, starting at 7.30 pm. and the one after that is on Tuesday, 10th May 2005 |
 FROM
THE EDITOR'S COMPUTER
As Editor (and for reasons unknown to me as I am not a member of the Committee), I am frequently asked to comment on "who did what and to whom" by various members of the Club. From the outset I realise that I am probably the least qualified to answer as after nearly 7 years I am not a competent flyer but I am a firm believer that the Rules of the Club address safety issues and common courtesy as well as proper administration of a Club of volunteers members. Any club with over 200 members (even if they have common interests like us) is bound to involve people who may be more touchy than others, but we will just have to get used to receiving the odd bit of adverse criticism (particulalrly if it is constructive) when it comes to issues of both safety and the Club's reputation. It is not much use to have members (or a group of members) bad-mouthing the Club, other members, or the Committee just because they've been pulled up on safety issues that are of concern to other members. Safety is paramount, it is for each and every one of us to pull up and criticize any person at the flying field who does not comply with the Rules. Of course this should be top that person's face and not behind his back, it should be done courteously and in a constructive way. Do not wait and expect someone else to tell another member that you have observed a breach of the Rules. None of us want to be the big bad ogre but it is up to you ... YES, YOU! ... to do something about it. Unfortunately breaches of safety Rules happen, they happen because of oversight, overconfidence or just plain negligence, or at times simply because we play with cantancarous and unpredictable toys. Sometimes the breach results in an injury, and we have been very lucky in having so few injuries (and nothing life threatening or permanently disabling) at our field. We have however heard of serious injuries at other fields and we have had some extremely close shaves at ours. R/C flying is a hazardous activity, any activity where humans are so close in proximity to engines and propellers/rotor blades that are capable of amputating limbs or worse has to be regarded as hazardous. At risk are not just the pilot but everyone else in the area. When we go to the field we know that a fly-away or out-of-control plane or a detached propeller/rotor blade can potentially cause us harm. Now here's the rub. As part of the recent torts reform of the Carr Government, the Civil Liability Act has imposed compensation limits to the more serious injuries, and further disallows or limits claims if the injury arises from a dangerous activity. It is not yet known if merely attending the Belrose field (whether as a flyer or even as a spectator) would be considered to be a dangerous activity under the law reforms. Membership includes insurance, this includes member to member insurance. In other words if you are injured as a result of the negligence of a fellow member, you can claim compensation. If you are injured because of mechanical failure not caused by negligence or as a result of your own acts (be they negligent or not) then you are not covered by insurance. Bur don't expect the insurer to pay any compensation if the flying field (and your attendance there) is considered dangerous. The Club's safety record and insistance on adoption and enforcement of safety guidelines could be taken into consideration in making that decision. So, even though I have spent less than 30 min utes in the air in the past year, I am very concerned about safety and the attitude of some of my fellow members. Therefore, wouldn't it be wiser to approach the person whom you see breaking the Rules on the spot and bringing that member's attention to the problem courteously? By the same token, if you are the one who is approached, please have the good grace to accept such constructive criticism without offer of some act of violence or suggestions of sexual activity. |
FROM
THE SECRETARY'S DESK
The most important item to emerge from the March meeting was that ALL engines are to be started south of the first pits fence and NOT in the shed area, that is north of the fence, as is mostly the case at present. That is the protocol that is in place on event days, and is to apply at all times. Do not be offended if you are requested by any member, to move south of the fence to start your ‘beast’ should you infringe! As the President stated, the March meeting was probably a record for an ordinary monthly meeting, with 31 present. As a result we obtained a Contest Director for Helicopter day when Andrew Moss stepped up to the plate. Also Andrew stated that the Rotary winged boys will participate on race day in a down the straight event for which trophies will be available. Thank you Andrew. Thanks to Tom Sparkes, the members and families going to Adelaide for the Golden Era races will be dressed in the Club T shirts. There is a record number of around 30 (members and family members) attending this year. The Club T Shirts are available for all Members from Tom at $40 each (w 9477 7133). Chief Flying instructor, George Atkinson, will be discussing flying standards and accreditation with the present Club instructors over the coming months. |
 STUART
LEON HARRIS
- aka THE RED BARON "Dear Sir, My name is Matthew Wilkinson, my grandfather was Stuart Leon Harris who you may recall as being "The Red Baron" and recently whilst surfing the net I came upon a small article in your website regarding him. As you may or may not know when he died from the heart attack, (I actually believe this happened at your field) I was only a boy and none of our family was able to come out for his funeral. We lived in England at the time, however I now live in Portugal having spent 5 years in the UK police, of which I think he would’ve been proud, and I was also a skydiver for many years which I suppose was a mirror of his Australian S.A.S days. I wonder if any of the Members remember him (I have a video of his flying - I recall his giant Spitfire models), and would be able to get in contact with me so I could find out a little more about him than I already know - I know it’s a long shot - this all happened a long time ago and so I leave this request with you in the hope that someone might remember him and have some amusing anecdotes they could send to me. Both my mother and I keep occasional contact with his wife Pam, but I have the feeling that there are many things your older members might know that were kept from her.  I
have a number of photos of him both in uniform and later as I knew him
with the metal plate in his head, that old irvin flying jacket (which I
so wish that I had been given) and extravagant moustache which he’d unfurl.
He was certainly a character and many times do I wish that we’d have had a longer relationship than we did. There are a lot of thigns I could have discussed with him! For those members that may have known him it was an interesting story - having divorced my Nan when my mother was a child he had no further contact with her for perhaps almost 3 1/2 decades and when finally he was tracked down I think he regretted immensely those wasted years in which he was forgotten. Yes I’m aware of his alcoholism and chain smoking - he was no saint but then nor am I! I read with sadness in your site at the death of Charles Peake who I met once or twice and I know to have been a good friend of my Grandfathers, it is a shame that I only came across your site yesterday or not beforehand. I found the story of his crashes on the field amusing, no doubt he told you all about being shot down in WWII and being one of the original McIndoe guinea pigs: the photos before and after really highlight the differences in his face. I was lucky enough before moving to Portugal to befriend Bob Doe DFC DSO who was the highest scoring Battle of Britain pilot alive (although I think he died recently) and his photos and momentos were quite something, his original flying log was still covered from his Hurricanes wing fabric. Doe was the President of the Guinea Pigs  Some
of your members may recall that Stuart brought my mother to the field back
in 1981, she is still alive though divorced from my father and she became
a grandmother herself in 2001 when my daughter Carolina was born.
Of course Stuart died in 1987 - I was 14, and now I’m 32 it’s all a long time ago). When I used to skydive regularly I always thought of him and when I started my private pilots license flying from Goodwood I’d wear one of his old silk neckerchiefs. (Unfortunately I had to discontinue due to costs). Did anybody take over his old shop? “The Red Baron Shop” - Spit Junction in Mosman? So here’s to hoping that there may be someone who remembers him and that would welcome having contact with myself. For anybody that would want to get in contact and I’d love to hear from anybody my address is: Matthew Wilkinson Praceta Joao Azevedo N.6, 3F 2825 - 432 Costa da Caparica Portugal Tel. 0035 1 21 291 2583. I look foward to staying in touch - and perhaps one day soon I’ll find the time and money to visit - something I should have done many years ago. And if any of the older generation remember Stuart they may wish to lift a glass to his memory. Best wishes,
Stuart sounds like a real character, I'm told
that he was one of the founding Members of the Club.
Matthew Wilkinson" Unfortunately I have only been involved in the Club for about 7 years, so I never got to meet him but I really hope some Members take up the invitation and share their memories of Stuart with his Grandson ... Ed. |
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So to the field where, by 10.00am a reasonable crowd had gathered and there was a lot of hand chucking of gliders that hadn’t flown for a year. John Channon tried a hand tow and the glider hit the ground hard enough to break the rear fuselage – not a field repair! There was little lift so it was decided to fly the electric first and hope for lift later in the day.  The
entries were, Col Simpson, Al Zuger, Tom Sparkes, Mike Minty, Kerry Smith,
John Channon and Eddie Kjeldgaard and then Josef Meldad from European Models
turned up to join in. The event was simple, fly for five minutes (300 seconds
= 300 points), spot landing bonus and subtract the motor run time. The
first round saw best flight times of 311 from Al, 286 from David and 298
from Josef – good stuff but it’s the motor run that can pull you back.
Round one also saw Mike crash and eliminate himself while Col got to the
line to find he had a dead motor! Here we see David looking for lift and
John with 2 stop watches and a clip board!
Tom showed the way in round 2 with a maximum landing bonus, a 283 flight score with only a 54sec motor run – not bad for an 11 year old model. Peter Papas turned up in this round and, despite valiant efforts to test fly, crunch, repair and join in, only managed to strain the plane through the fence! Another round was flown and the CDs retired to count numbers. There were only 4 entrants for the glider, Al, Tom, David, Mike and then David lent John his No. 2 model so he could have a fly too. Where were all you other silent fliers? The event was another five minute target with a spot landing bonus but launched, of course, by bungee. There was no lift of any size so flights tended to be between 2 and 3 minutes and spot landing points increased in their significance! The rounds went smoothly apart from Al having to do a bit of tree climbing one round and there were a number of respectable spots. Mike brought his venerable Aquilla round to said spot about 8 metres behind him.
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Or Ouch! That hurts! There were four classes, Stock – for the standard fun fly planes; Military – for the 1/12 scale WWII aircraft; Sport – for 46 powered and regular muffler motors in any plane and Open – for anything else!  The
competition is simple, take off with a long crepe streamer attached to
the rear of the plane, wait until the CD says go and then try and chop
anybodies streamer for the next three aggressive, aerobatic and nerve wracking
minutes! Combat is not for the faint hearted! You also need a lot of exclamation
marks when describing this event!
A pre-event photo was taken of the happy modellers – just as well really! The first event was for Stock aircraft with Col Simpson, Grant Furzer, Kerry Smith and David Foster ready to do battle. Round 1 saw lots of action but no cuts. It wasn’t long before there was action a plenty (too much for Col Simpson) there was a loud crunch and Col, the crunchee, watched the remains of his plane hit the deck a few yards East of the shed. Meanwhile Grant Furzer, the cruncher, landed to find his wing dowels nearly ripped out. The next 2 rounds saw 4 cuts finishing with equal scores for David and Kerry.
You have to keep a close eye on YOUR plane when they look like this!
Then there appeared to be a personal match between Monte and Dean in the middle of it all! A total of 7 cuts in the 3 rounds took the grand total to 16 in over 2 aeroplane hours of flying! It just isn’t easy to get two planes in the same place at the same time despite the mid-airs. And so to prize giving. Due to the limited number of entrants not all places were awarded trophies but …….
 Finally
Col Simpson presented the Peter Coles Encouragement Award for Novices to
Harry Polis. Peter has very kindly donated two kits to the club for just
such an occasion.
As ever, thanks to all the helpers, Warren Lewis for running the event and to Des Rim for streamers and to Brian Porman and Ian Kennedy for cooking a pile of snags. See next year’s schedule for revenge time! |
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 LATEST
FROM THE MINTY WORKSHOPAfter a little modification to personalise the model which has been flown and it was fine, it flies like a boid! Some more minor modifications will complete the model. As for the Sopwith Pup we wrote about last time, it is still waiting to fly. It will need to be “certified” as it weighs over 7 kilos. |
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David Foster wrote to inform the Editor that in fact he was the first at the field with the model and not Tony, so we published a "CORRECTION" in the March issue. Now Tony has contacted your Editor about: (1) As at 06/03/2005 Tony Warren-Smith has not yet laid eyes on David Foster’s Corby Starlet!! (2) Tony’s introduction to the kit ocurred whilst shopping at H Store Miranda last Nov/Dec when he saw Chris White‘s superb model on display. When the staff advised him that it was the prototype of an ARF kit he knew exactly what Santa should get him for Xmas & promptly ordered one. Santa came good a few days before Christmas. Allowing for Xmas & New Year plus a bit more than 4 days for the glue to dry Tony‘s Starlet was actually test flown by one DAVID FOSTER in Jan. 2005 (3)Tony posed for a photo not realising it was a set-up by the M.Minty papperazzi! (Shoot first, forget the facts !!)Alt hough the bit about the pilot/doll is correct. Tony‘s Starlet was the first that Mike M had seen at the field!" So that's it, no more correspondence will
be entered into, your Editor accepts responsibility for not checking the
validity of articles submitted.
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