The growing interest in aero-tow is starting to filter through to more organised events and the demand to have things appear where people can see them and get advanced warning. Scale gliders of all sizes are starting to appear through out the country and the demand for tug pilots is also growing.
There are a number of experienced pilots involved in this aspect of aeromodelling, but we welcome new comers too. It is possible to rig up a simple velcro system to a small foamie glider, preferably with ailerons, and thus avoid having a separate servo and release mechanism in the nose. You simply need to pull up to release at altitude and off you go.
There are several places where you can find out more about aerotowing. Bill Derenzy from Tauranga oversees most of the North Island events, and Peter Hewson is co-ordinating those in the South Island. A good place to look is on the Soaring site on the Model Flying NZ webpage( http:// www. modelflyingnz. org / intere st / Soaring / aerotow. htm)
or have a look on RC Groups( http:// www. rcgroups. com / forums / sh owthread. php? t = 1842930 # post24304 256)
and / or you can send me your email, primarily if you are a South Island enthusiast, and I will put it on an email list so that I can send out information about future events etc.
There is a calendar of invitational events on the Soaring SIG site and we are trying to
establish further events at this stage. The tentative calendar for 2013 looks like this:
May 18-19 |
BURNHAM( CRFC field) |
July |
BLENHEIM |
Sept. |
TIMARU(?) |
Nov. 2-3 |
MATAMATA |
Nov. |
CHRISTCHURCH |
Gore & Dunedin may also hold invitational events. |
Also, thanks to Rex Ashwell who sent through a fascinating link to an aerotow event in Interlaken, Switzerland. They do it big over there! http:// www. youtube. com / watch? v = EyL0gNdEfVM & feature = related
Top: Alex Hewson( on tug) and Neal Blackie with his 5m on launch. Thermals were exceptional. A great day for aero-towing. Middle: Fresh off the workbench, Neal Blackie has his rebuilt 5m ASW ready for a test flight at Burnham. Graham Tully helped with moulding the new fuse and the plan is to add 6m wings and considerably reduce the weight. Neal also hopes to mould a new canopy to replace the temporary one. Flew fine though. Bottom: Some large gliders at Interlaken, Switzerland. A huge hangar on the airfield made for superb storage and pilots didn’ t really need to de-rig their models. Oh, wouldn’ t that be nice!