March 2019
scheduled. Naturally the run up needed
to be further, and this was extended to 1
mile.
At 75mph Brian reached the small hill
which served as the launching ramp,
and with an air of quiet confidence, he
piloted the MGA over the top and into
the air. Readers will note from the offi-
cial photograph, the unphased expres-
sion on Brian’s face during landing.
The car was perfectly balanced during
its flight, as is evidenced by the photo-
graph taken by the camera crew just
prior to landing – a small amount of right
hand side bias is noticeable, but this
neither affected the vehicle or Brian.
There was no rotation whatsoever, tes-
tament to the engineering and perfect
balance of the MGA.
The car landed at a the same speed at
which it took off, as predicted, and was
brought to a halt within 200 yards.
The blue Chrysler Royal parked in a
concealed position near the launch site
was critical during Brian’s appearance at
the local county court hearing. Sgt Abel
Brown and his assistant Constable
Derek Green both appeared on behalf of
the prosecution. They had all the evi-
dence, as they confiscated the entire set
up – car, cameras, measuring devices,
the alcohol, and the team of students
who were involved.
Brian’s plea of “Not guilty your honour
– I was conducting an officially sanc-
tioned experiment critical to my suc-
cessful completion of my physics
thesis “ , brought a smile to the magis-
trate’s face, who no doubt was thinking
of his own misspent youth. He dis-
missed the case as a petty example of
overzealous police officers having noth-
ing better to do during their meal break.
During his teaching career, Brian suc-
cessfully conducted many daring and
dangerous experiments with his physics
students, – but the one which brought
him under further scrutiny, this time with
the Education Department, involved
a .22 rifle projectile blowing a hole in
the wall of a classroom during lesson 5
at a country high school.
The Education Department condoned
his actions as legitimate.
37
The photo was taken by Dr Bob
Lloyd.
The incline used was the entry into
the first car park at Flinders Uni.
Bob Bazzica bought the car new
and took it to Tasmania on his
honeymoon, so it was well run in !
Brian Lee also used the car for his
honeymoon, but Bazzica had al-
ready christened it.