before and from there the four of us could see the dihedral increase as he pulled around the base legs . No bets were taken but we all agreed that there would be a failure really soon . A prophetic discussion .
In between all these “ more interesting ” events the scale classes were run on two flight lines . The events were similar to what we have here … when we have them ! A Sportsman Class , Team Scale and Expert Scale . Conditions varied as did the wind direction but the whole event seemed to run like clockwork . My Miles didn ’ t seem happy , in fact it was a push to get it there after a couple of whoopsies at Highbrook the week before , - undercarriage damage only involved but work I didn ’ t need .
As has always the case when I ’ ve been to an event in Australia , there were some excellent models there … from WW1 to F- 16 ’ s . Of particular interest to me were a couple of Vampires , both of which flew very well . Arguably the most impressive model was a very large Catalina , displayed by Steve Thomas . He was unable to fly it as he had been waiting for final certification . With this now in his hands this 20 foot span monster will be flying very soon . The level of detail is outstanding and I can only imagine how realistically its flight characteristics will match the full size .
The final night was a sumptuous dinner at the site with all the presentations . Included was a Q & A session with Ali and Mike and they both spoke freely about what they see for the future and how much they enjoy and feel privileged to be doing what they ’ re doing .
My impression of Australian modelling is that their interest in competitive scale modelling is much higher than here . I sense a much higher level of enthusiasm and energy along with a willingness to travel long distances to participate . It ’ s true that the field was limited by invitation but none the less they really go for it in a bigger way the we do here .
I can ’ t close without thanking Air New Zealand for all the assistance in getting a pretty large box to and from Australia . It was all managed very well and without damage and with what turned out to be a modest charge .