Now that the silly season is behind us and we are already well into the new year, its time to focus back on the glorious obsession we call aero-modelling.

The end of the twentieth century finds us at a very exiting time in the modelling spectrum with practically all forms of the aero-modelling within reach of average modeller, from hand launched gliders capable of incredible flight duration to fully functional helicopters more capable than the real thing.

The move towards ARF models has been the single most remarkable feature of the last year. One of our members recently debuted a very passible ARF spitfire produced by Kyoso. This model is remarkably light, very well detailed and flies exceptionally well for a .46 size rendition.

There has been a fair amount of discussion about the demise of building skills due to the success of the ARF models, however our local experience has proved otherwise. The trend we are now seeing is that beginners are buying an ARF trainer, and learning to prepare and fly these models successfully. They then tend to search around for an interesting kit to build as a second or third model, whether it is a fun fly type, or even something more exotic such as a gyro-copter as Peter de Groot is doing. A lot of our clubs most experienced builders, myself included, are buying ARF models to provide quick easy access to a cheap proven flyer or an almost scale addition to our fleet as Gary Adams has done with the Kyosho Spitfire.

Not having to spend a lot of time building these workhorses frees up time to have a go at something really interesting, perhaps from scratch, a process that is very time consuming.

The improvement in quality of finish and hardware in the past year has also been notable, however there is still a way to go in this department, especially in the quality of covering materials as they are still prone to sagging and are not easy to re-tension. I envisage that covering quality will improve and perhaps some of the better manufacturers will provide repair kits for minor damage.

How far the ARF industry will progress remains a tantalising dream. I personally hope that one day I will be able to have a selection of 1/8 scale WWII aircraft to fly in combat sorties against like minded modellers from across Australia. 1/12 th scale combat is already a reality in the USA and some European countries where population and demand provides manufacturers with the incentive to produce a huge range of suitable combat designs.

Some progress has been made towards establishing combat as a regular monthly fixture at the Kalgoorlie field with a few Gremlin based combat wings taking to the air and fearlessly going at each others throats. At time of printing we have three wings capable of doing battle, two of these are into their second set of wings after a mid air collision put them both out of action for a week.

It is testimony to the design virtues of the Gremlin that after the full power head on collision that tore one aircraft in half the other was able to land without fuss, while the former (mine of course) did a good impression of a falling leaf and did no further damage on impact. If we had spare wings on hand we could have both been airborne again in less that half an hour.

The following weekend the other wing owned by Peter de Groot did a vertical re-entry at full revs into the ground from a reasonable height. Damage was limited to a broken prop, engine mount, cracked fuselage and holed tank. The rest of the model escaped undamaged. Try doing that with a conventional model and all you would take home is fire wood.

With three more Gremlins under construction we are looking forward to some radical action at the club. Talking about radical actions reminds me of an incident I witnessed at the Esperance club a few weeks back. On our yearly pilgrimage to Experance I took the Gemlin with me and called in at the Esperance club.

Unfortunately Phil Blake was not present due to temporary illness, however Bruce King put on a great display for us untill the ground jumped up and clobbered his model during a high speed inverted pass resulting in one of the most spectacular bingles I have ever seen, spreading the model over 50 metres with the engine losing both blades and doing remarkable impression of a dentists drill for about one second, as it bounced across the field.

I would hate to imagine what revs the SC 75 did reach but I doubt whether it will ever turn another prop. Talking to Kingy afterwards as we collected the model in shopping bags my partner Naomi thanked Kingy for the spectacle and asked whether Bruce does this for all visiting modellers. To Bruce's credit, he kept his sense of humour intact.

I was roped in between demos of the Gremlin to test fly a new scratch built model for Paul ????. Beautifully finished and based largely on the Aeroflyte Hustler, it flew as good as it looked and should prove a nimble craft due to a number of improvements over the Hustler design to make it more agile.

Although few in number, the Experance boys are enjoying their flying and slowly developing a reasonable site, and I look forward to flying with them again soon. Of course, the invitation is always open to the Esperance club or to any aero-modeller anywhere, for that matter, to come and have a fly with us.

Tim Bailye

0401009577

http://kalnet.com.au/gam