The VMPRA Trophy is on at Camperdown this weekend (Feb 4-5)
The Field is in reasonable condition and not as dry as this time last year.
Camperdown Racecourse access conditions:
Friday (03/02/2017)
Racecourse is available from 11:00 am onwards. PLEASE DO NOT ENTER EARLIER THAN 11:00 am.
Saturday (04/02/2017)
Gate open at 8:30 am and NO FLYING.
Entries close at 9:30 am and the course is to be set up.
Test Flying from 10:00 am to 10:30 am.
F400 to commence at 10:30 am.
FA1 practice allowed during lunch break.
FA1 to commence after lunch, followed by Q500.
Sunday (05/02/2017)
Field closed for test flying and racing to commence after 9:00 am.
The schedule for both days is F400, FA1 & Q500 and please let me know if you would be interested in being CD.
Please also note our VMPRA annual membership fees are due.
VMPRA’s last event for 2016 was in December back down at Munro.
Unfortunately there was no report written up for the event so, this post contains the basic results & championship standings.
The first race for 2017 is a Sports & Q500 event to be held on Jan 22 at the Westernport Model Aircraft Club. Looks like we’ll have a really good turn-out. There is always a good amount on Sport flyers there and the Q500 pilots look to be coming out in force.
Only 2 weeks later and we have our first full 3 class event at Camperdown on Feb 4th – 5th. So it all starting up for another year with the F3D world champs thrown in as well.
The written content in this post is accurate to the best of my/our knowledge at the time of publishing. It is written from my/our perspective and reflects how I/we have experienced this event.
Photos published as feature images are selected purely for their quality, general interest or topicality. They are chosen from a pool of photos taken by myself and others when time permits.
If a perspective is not being represented, I am more than happy to publish any written content or photos that are supplied to me provided it is fair and reasonable.
Each year in July, the VMPRA head off to Bendigo, a regional city situated in the gold fields of central Victoria. It is also the start of the new season championship and we hold our annual general meeting at this event each year. Traditionally, this generally being in the middle of Winter, we can have some pretty cold and wet weather. Luckily, this year we were blessed with quite good conditions and Sunday felt positively Spring-like.
As we gathered out at the Marong Model Airfield, conditions were a little foggy but this soon cleared and test flights were carried out. The challenge for the weekend came when setting up the pylon course and in particular the #1 pylon cage. Both the trailer and car towing it dropped into a particularly soft patch of earth as there had been quite an amount of recent rain. Next Tom Allen’s 4-wheel drive ended up stuck while trying to extract the car and trailer. It took another 4-wheel drive of James Hurley’s and some harder ground to start extracting all the vehicles and the cage. As a result, it was just before midday before racing got underway.
First up was Formula 400 with the aim to run only 3 rounds due to the very late start.
Next up was Quickie 500 to also fly 3 rounds. As this class has a relatively easy and quick turn-around time (with only 6 competitors), we refueled out on the line. 3 rounds were quickly completed and we had lunch.
After the late lunch it was time for FA1 (F3D) to race. There were unusually low numbers with only 4 competing so the races where over quickly but model prep/turn-around was slow. Even still, 4 rounds where completed before the end of racing for the day.
During the day, I took the opportunity to test out Facebook Live to film and televise a Q500 and FA1 race. It worked quite well with some well known names from around the world of pylon racing, coming online and viewing the video live. You should be able to view these from the VMPRA facebook page.
In the evening a group of us went off to the Marong pub for dinner. For the size of the town of Marong, the pub is excellent. After dinner, we headed back to the Marong caravan park for our AGM and general meeting. The main change to come from the meeting was James Hurley being elected as our new President of VMPRA taking up the vacancy left by Glenn Matthews after many years as president. I know all the members will join me in thanking Glenn for all his hard work in the past, of which we are only now really starting to get a real appreciation of what he has been doing and congratulating and supporting James in taking up this position.
With Saturday being a rather grey, cold and threatening day, It was a real pleasure to come out to the field on the Sunday morning to sunny still conditions which continued all day. It became warm enough for a few of us to end up stripped down to t-shirts.
Test flying was supervised by Toni Axon in line with our new safety requirement as discussed at the general meeting the night before (these will be published and communicated before the next event).
Racing for the day was the same order as Saturday with F400 and then Q500 doing 5 rounds each with Q500 gaining another competitor in local, Shaun Powers. It was good to see him there having raced with us 2 years prior. FA1 started fairly late and only ended up flying 7 rounds for the weekend whereas F400 and Q500 flew 8.
With this event being one of the 1st with Glenn & Nerida being way, it was good that we had people chipping in to help run the event. In all it went fairly well with only one glitch with the new laptop which had the old version of the timing program loaded, so we had to manually drop the extra round. This will all be sorted for future events.
Below is the 2015-2016 Season Championship for FA1F400 and Q500. Congratulations Daniel, Brian and Jim. It is quite an effort to string together good performances, event after event to be in the position to win the season championship.
Now we have already started the 2016-2017 season championship so let’s see who can get to the top this year. There is nothing like a challenge to made us lift our performance.
Season Championship after 1 event.
FA1
1st – Brian Steele 2nd – Andrew Davies
3rd – Leigh Hocken
We have reset the fastest times with the start of a new championship year. A huge congratulation goes out to Leigh Hocken for taking out the fastest times for last season in both FA1 and F400 and Daniel Arapakis for taking it out for Q500.
Next Race
The next event for VMPRA is a Q500 and Sports/Scanner race down at Crib Point on August 28. The race we had there earlier in the year was great with a lot of new comers to pylon competing. This one is really worth getting involved with. It is also part of the season championship for Q500.
The written content in this post is accurate to the best of my/our knowledge at the time of publishing. It is written from my/our perspective and reflects how I/we have experienced this event. Photos published as feature images are selected purely for their quality, general interest or topicality. They are chosen from a pool of photos taken by myself and others when time permits. If a perspective is not being represented, I am more than happy to publish any written content or photos that are supplied to me provided it is fair and reasonable.
Despite gale force winds throughout the week in Victoria, our QLD friends from A1 Composites arrived safely at Munro. Yet again the field was immaculately prepared and ready for racing.
A dozen campers and pilots arrived on Friday for testing and preparations for the event which would be the last one for the F3D and F400 Annual Season Championship fly-off. With another field upgrade of a roaring pot belly heater, this proved to be a ripper particularly during the very popular evening festivities of the famous Saturday night dinner.
James Hurley and his F400 model recording a PB on the weekend
Saturday’s forecast was perfect with 24 degrees and light Westerly winds. Formular 400 kicked off with a field of 11 pilots with a variety of models flown. There was carnage between Brian Steele and Jimmy Orenshaw with a spectacular mid-air collision which obliterated both models. James Hurley focusing on one class this weekend which saw his personal best of 71.64 seconds being recorded in round 5 with a big smile returning to the pits pipping his team mate John Schmidli for 4th place. Great to see Andrew Davies back into the groove with sub 70 times on the Sunday finishing in a solid 3rd position for the weekend. Murphy owned Miss Dara’s designed by the world famous Dane Kane, took out 1st and 2nd places powered by a Nelson flown by Beau and Barry respectively. Fastest time was recorded by Beau with a 64.88 seconds. Well done to all pilots for the weekend.
Recent additions to the pylon fraternity, Father and son team, Gavin and Cameron Sexton
The entry pylon class – Quickie 500, took to the sky’s with 12 pilots from ages 12 to 80 years old. Veteran Tom Prosser again flew his immaculately scratch built model and was very impressive all weekend and an absolute pleasure to chat with regarding a life time of great stories and competitions. Saturday saw 3 rounds completed and young Cameron Sexton debut in this class with an Angelov model. His best time for this weekend was 124.96 seconds. Well done Cam!
As the event rolled on, the 1st & 2nd podium positions battle went on between Tom Allen and plane builder, Steve Taylor who was visiting Munro for the very first time and flying his flagship Q500 model, the Banshee with a uniquely yellow colour scheme. Some would say the stripes resembled a pineapple. Well done guys. Steve nudging 1st place, Tom Allen in 2nd and the very reliable John Schmidli in 3rd place. Weather did turn fierce with 30+ knot winds for the last 3 rounds and well done to all quickie pilots!
Beau Murphy and Daniel Arapakis and their Minute Master F3D pylon racers.
F3D event was piloted by 7 entrants. Saturday saw Beau Murphy in the 50’s and Dannmann closely behind him. Baz Murphy was tackled by dead-air while tail-gating Glenn Matthews which caused the destruction of his Minute Master after plowing into terra firma in round 1. Unfortunately only 3 rounds were completed on Saturday and flying on Sunday afternoon was cancelled due to strong winds. The best time was recorded by Beau with a 59.36 seconds. With AMPRA just around the corner, the Victorian pilots are in great shape for the first round of the 2017 world championship team trials.
This was the last event for the 2015-2016 Season Championship for FA1 & F400.
Q500 has one more event to run which is on July 3 at Werribee. Trophies for 1st place for each class will be presented at the AGM at the Bendigo event.
The following is how the season championship wrapped up for FA1 & F400 and how Q500 currently stands.
1st – Jim Orenshaw
2nd – John Schmidli
3rd – Andrew Arapakis
For Q500, again there was no change for the top 3 positions but John Schmidli is back in with a mathamatical chance to knock Jim off the top at the last event in Werribee.
There was no new fastest times recorded at this event. A huge congratulation goes out to Leigh Hocken for taking out the fastest times for the year in both FA1 & F400.
AMPRA is being held on the Queen’s Birthday weekend (June 11-13, 2016) up at Coolum “Sunshine Model Flyers” in QLD. This is the 1st of the 2017 WC Team Trials. Good luck to all the VMPRA members attending this event.
For the VMPRA, the next event is a Sports/Q500 1 day event being held at Werribee on July 3. A great opportunity to have some fun racing. Bring a Q500 or Sports model along.
Event Report – Anonymous
Additional information: John Schmidli
Photos – Lydia Arapakis & John Schmidli
The written content in this post is accurate to the best of my/our knowledge at the time of publishing. It is written from my/our perspective and reflects how I/we have experienced this event.
Photos published as feature images are selected purely for their quality, general interest or topicality. They are chosen from a pool of photos taken by myself and others when time permits.
If a perspective is not being represented, I am more than happy to publish any written content or photos that are supplied to me provided it is fair and reasonable.
Warrnambool located on the south-western Coast of Victoria and at the western end of the Great Ocean road, is world famous for it’s spectacular oceanic coastal views. Home club to the Hocken family, Koroit is a humble club amongst farm land with great facilities and very well maintained grounds.
As usual Friday arrivals consisted of pilots and teams travelling from afar and were greeted with perfect Autumn conditions of mid 20’s and light winds.
The usual campers of Axons, Steeley’s, Murphy, Arapakis’ settling in for the afternoon and evening grazing with spits roasting and beers flowing. Well into the evening, festivities continued with perfect star filled night skies. In the morning, we woke up to misty rain and cold winds.
The field of competitors for Formula 400
Flying didn’t start until late morning due to the wet weather conditions. The usual race format of F400, Q500 followed by F3D was to be flown.
A field of 11 F400 pilots challenged the sky’s with Shaun Jacobsen in fine form with opening rounds in the 60’s putting loads of pressure on the rest of the field. Great to see the South Aussies at the event with 4 pilots flying in this class. Brian (Iron-man) Steele finished with the most cuts for the weekend which is certainly uncharacteristic and Leigh Hocken recording the fastest time of 64.95 seconds. Nevertheless Ranjit Phelan and Baz Murphy finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively after 1st place getter, Shaun Jacobsen. Well done to all pilots.
- Long time pylon racing friends, Jim Orenshaw and Gary Davidson (LtoR) with Gary's El Bandito F400 model.
Q500 always slated for a few laughs and a bit of sledging on the start line saw some brilliant flying and sub 100 seconds times by the three top place getters. A mix of experience and newer pilots to the racing scene challenged each other with each pilot flying at their best.
Jimmy (Tiger) Orenshaw taking out 1st place again, now in a really good position for the season championship just nudged in front of Tom Allen who came 2nd with Jarrod Jacobsen finishing 3rd dueling Dannmann’s Dad (Andrew Arapakis)for the weekend.
Local lad and winner of F3D class - Leigh Hocken and his VooDoo pylon racer.
F3D with a 10 pilot entry was great to watch. The first up race was with good mates Shaun Jacobsen and Dannmann. Shaun opening up with a personal best, WELL DONE Shauny! Dannmann having looked forward to this weekend, unfortunately hit #2 pilot on his 3rd race with uncharacteristic model issues which saw him finish well down for the weekend. Leigh flew a brilliant race with his average for the event of 60 seconds and Shaun finishing 2nd in his second ever F3D race. He flew very consistently and was closely followed by a veteran of pylon, Baz Murphy, having got all his times in.
With only one event to go at Munro before the great race at AMPRA which is being held at Coolum QLD. This will be the first event for the team selection trial for the 2017 F3D World Championships to be held in Sweden. Good luck to all pilots!
Event Report – Anonymous
Additional information: John Schmidli
Photos – Andrew Arapakis & Tom Allen
The written content in this post is accurate to the best of my/our knowledge at the time of publishing. It is written from my/our perspective and reflects how I/we have experienced this event.
Photos published as feature images are selected purely for their quality, general interest or topicality. They are chosen from a pool of photos taken by myself and others when time permits.
If a perspective is not being represented, I am more than happy to publish any written content or photos that are supplied to me provided it is fair and reasonable.
The Annual John Hughan Memorial Event was held at Munro for our monthly Pylon Race.
John Hughan was at the forefront promoting pylon racing in the 70’s and was instrumental in the formation of AMPRA itself. John greatly assisted the pylon flyers and helped instigate several F3D rule changes as well as the plane dimensions that we now all enjoy. Hughan was remembered by all as a pylon racing enthusiast who loved the hobby and pylon racing. For many years John also was a column writer for Airborne Magazine with his regular article, “Pylon Round-Up’, which included great stories and technical information for precision aeromodelling and hence the significance of this weekend flying for all pilots.
The Munro field after the peak of summer was in impeccable condition with the grass, perfect as always and now with a facility upgrade of a substantial roof structure for all competitors to use. Gippsland’s local pylon pilot David Chippendale, together with the assistance of Ian Rickard, championed the construction that will no doubt stand the test of time (and a tornado or two)!
Pilots from far and wide arrived on Friday for model set up and engine testing for an exciting weekend ahead of racing. The weather Gods were kind to use yet again, with a forecast for perfect conditions for all to enjoy during this fantastic weekend racing.
As per previous events the weekends racing schedule was for F400 then Q500 followed by F3D.
Scores for the Saturday were very impressive until we discovered a computer glitch which left many pilots discussing this around the dinner table that Saturday night.
Formula 400 - Ready for the 60 second count down to start. Ranjit Phelan and his Polecat held by his caller, Jim Orenshaw.
The F400 class yet again was very competitive with 10 pilots challenging themselves round after round. Baz Murphy recording the best time for the event of 66.26 seconds. Our very own man of steel, Brain Steele with help from his good mate Andrew Davies, took out top prize with Baz second and Ranji in third. Only 10 seconds between the top 3 place getters and the rest of the field flying really well too!
Q500 saw 8 pilots compete with a mix of beginners through to experienced pilots. A variety of hand crafted and precision molded planes enjoyed the conditions and fun was had by all. Apart from a mid-air and various unfortunate terra-firma incidences, fun was had by all. Jimmy and John battled it out for first and second place and Andrew (Dannmann’s Dad) finishing in solid 3rd. Jimmy recorded the best time of the event of 95.44 seconds with a very special mention to both Ian Rickard and David Chippendale for their PB’s.
Mark French was very happy after racing his Minute Master F3D model at its first event.
F3D witnessed Mark French returning to F3D with a Minute Master fuz from Leigh Hocken and wing from Dannmann. Quite a colourful combo for this model as the engine was also a first for Dannmann setting it up for his good mate Frenchy.
Racing was at its best with Baz Murphy and Frank Cassella full throttle dueling it out lap after lap resulting in what some say was one of the most spectacular mid-air crashes of all time! Even after collecting confetti, both pilots still had huge smiles on their faces as I am sure the adrenaline of action and a great sense of comradry being the winner.
• Daniel Arapakis with his winner's "John Hughan Trophy" for first place in F3D with his mentor, Barry Murphy beside him.
After 8 rounds of F3D Steely and Ranji finished with second and third place respectively for the weekend but the 1st place trophy went to Dannmann flying out of a swivel chair which he self propelled with his left foot (his right foot in plaster after nasty ankle surgery for a reoccurring tendon issue flew). A huge sense of achievement for Dannmann with the ever reliable Baz set up saw Dannmann fly at his best with ripper times and also recording the fastest time of the weekend of 58.28 seconds.
The big race for the annual VMPRA Season Championship trophy’s is almost over with season leaders remaining unchanged with Dannmann now on 55 points further extending his lead in F3D, Brain Steel 1st place with an aggregate score of 56 points in F400. Jim Orenshaw is currently running in 1st place in Q500 with 56 points with John Schmidli only a few points behind.
We have a Q500, Scanner and Sports 40 pylon race on at the Westernport Model Aircraft Club down at Crib Point on Sunday April 3. There are a number of us going down on Saturday to practice, share a spit roast dinner and stay over night ready for racing on the Sunday.
2 weeks later (April 16-17), we will be down at Warrnambool for one of our regular 3 class races.
Event Report – Anonymous
Additional information: John Schmidli
Photos – John Schmidli & Andrew Arapakis
The written content in this post is accurate to the best of my/our knowledge at the time of publishing. It is written from my perspective and reflects how I have experienced this event.
Photos published as feature images are selected purely for their quality, general interest or topicality. They are chosen from a pool of photos taken by myself and others when time permits.
If a perspective is not being represented, I am more than happy to publish any written content or photos that are supplied to me provided it is fair and reasonable
Camperdown is an agricultural centre located on the world’s third largest volcanic plain and is surrounded by large salt and fresh water lakes. For the slope sourers among us, volcanic peaks such as Mount Leura and the ripper spot at the end of the Lakes and Craters Caravan Park also have fantastic views of the lakes in this region.
Setup on the Saturday morning, with hot weather predicted, There was plenty of Gazebos to make the pit area nice and shady.
Located within the Camperdown Race Course, the CMAC President Foster Taylor’s hand shake warmly welcomed all competitors to the traditionally hot weekend and also the first race meet of the 2016.
Friday saw many competitors arriving in the early afternoon to set up shade and test fly their pride and joys. Customary to recent meets, the line up for the weekend would be F400 starting each morning followed by Q500 then the missile class FA1 (F3D).
The Jacobsen family from South Australia, Jarrod, Tom & Shaun holding their AR-6 F400 racers and on the ground, a VooDoo and Dominator F3D models.
Competitors attending the Victorian Miniature Pylon Racing Association (VMPRA) Trophy, showed up in good numbers from far-a-field with some pilots coming from as far away as South Australia, Sydney and Bairnesdale having travelling many hours to compete. With a staggering line up of world class competitors, there was 12 pilots in F3D, 15 in F400 and 12 in Q500.
Saturday temperatures were forecast to peak in the mid 30’s which is a challenge to all competitors. Beers where put on ice ready for the end of the days racing.
Leigh Hocken with his Super Cat racer which recorded a fastest time for F400 on the weekend of 61.75 seconds
F400 was hotly contested with Leigh Hocken’s first round setting the fastest time recorded in this class for the weekend of 61.75 seconds which is a time that most F3D pilots would be proud of. The battle continued with great racing from the Jacobsens with the final results being the ever consistent Shaun Jacobsen taking out first place by 0.3 seconds with his rocket red AR-6. Leigh Hocken can in 2nd place and Jarrod Jacobsen took 3rd place. This class is always exciting to watch as the out of the box equipment is ever so competitive.
Q500 class take-off. Shaun Jacobsen launches his brother's (Jarrod) Sonic While Mike Kellet waits for his turn to launch Les Spaltman's Banshee model.
With a broad rage of experience, the Q500 contestants enjoyed a ripper event. 8 rounds in the peak of the heat saw a lot of fun had by all. This stock class again produced some very quick times and it was great to see Mick Kellet return to racing and being very competitive. Really only a hand full of seconds between most place getters saw NZ F3D pilot Tom Wetherill taking out 1st place with consistent mostly sub 100 second times. He was followed by the fancy florescent pink, Addies Hobbies sponsored plane flown by Mick Kellet. 3rd place was taken out by the every reliable John Schmidli. Well done to all pilots for having a go.
The start of a F400 race with Rajit Phelan launching Tom Jacoben's AR-6. Callers, Mike Kellet and Tom Wetherill watch their team mate's planes as they approach pylon #1 for the first time. In the Background Barry Murphy pilots his racer with son, Beau calling for him.
F3D commenced mid afternoon on both days, 12 pilots spread across 4 heats battle high temperatures and hot racing. Shaun Jacobsen entered the F3D circuit for the first time and made it look easy getting into the grove early in similar style to his F400 flight path. Phelan’s newly designed and built V-Tail also had it maiden race with the world watching on. For 8 rounds of F3D, the Victorian based Aussie F3D Team pilots battled it out. Some spectators said that the racing witnessed this weekend was the best racing seen in a very very long time. All three pilots ripped into the 10 &1/2 lap course lap after lap. All three Aussie Team pilots are sponsored by JR through Model Flight with the root of their flying days starting out in Gippsland. Friendly camaraderie and competition saw Beau Murphy finishing in 1st place, Leigh Hocken in 2nd place and Dannmann Daniel Arapakis finishing 3rd after a last round cut – all flew their very best and unique styles and was fantastic to witness such a high standard and competitive racing! Perfect engine work with start ups every time combined with ultimate precision flying is no doubt the success to this F3D class.
Les Spaltman, flew his first competition in the F400 class with his GR-7 and with the help of call, Mike Kellet (holding the plane).
The annual VMPRA Season Championship trophy score board for season leaders remains unchanged with Dannmann now on 43 points extending his lead in F3D, Brain Steel 1st place with an aggregate score of 45 points in F400 and Jim Orenshaw currently running in 1st place in Q500 with a total points score of 46.
Back L-R - Ranjit Phelan, Barry Murphy, Beau Murphy, Tom Jacobsen, Shaun Jacobsen, Gary Davidson, Tom Wetherill & Andrew Davies. Front L-R Daniel Arapakis, Glenn Matthews, Leigh Hocken, Brian Steele.
Places: 1st Beau Murphy
2nd Leigh Hocken
3rd Daniel Arapakis
Fastest Time: 59.24 – Beau Murphy
No. of competitors: 12
Course – 10.5 Laps
Back L-R - Beau Murphy, Jarrod Jacobsen, Tom Jacobsen, Barry Murphy, Jim Orenshaw, Marcus Guss, Les Spaltman, Andrew Davies & Glenn Matthews. Front L-R - Leigh Hocken, Shaun Jacobsen, John Schmidli, Brian Steele, Gary Davidson & Ranjit Phelan.
Fastest Time: 61.75 – Leigh Hocken
No. of competitors: 15
Course – 10.5 Laps
Back L-R - Jarrod Jackobsen, Tom Wetherill, Les Spaltman, Jim Orenshaw, Gary Whitbourne, Mike Kellet Fron L-R - John Yianni, James Hurley, John Schmidli, Andrew Arapakis, Austin Omann, Allan Whitbourne.
There was a new fastest time for F400 with a 61.75 sec achieved by Leigh Hocken, rapping up both FA1 & F400 for now. Mike Kellet achieved a new fastest time of 94.74 in Q500. Well done guys.
We are back at Bazza’s Paddock in Munro for the next event which is the John Hughan Trophy. This event is on the weekend of March 5-6, 2016.
Hope to see you all there.
Event Report – Anonymous
Additional information: John Schmidli Photos – John Schmidli & Andrew Arapakis
The written content in this post is accurate to the best of my/our knowledge at the time of publishing. It is written from my perspective and reflects how I have experienced this event.
Photos published as feature images are selected purely for their quality, general interest or topicality. They are chosen from a pool of photos taken by myself and others when time permits.
If a perspective is not being represented, I am more than happy to publish any written content or photos that are supplied to me provided it is fair and reasonable
Gippsland as a region is famous for its agricultural development and has become Melbourne’s largest supplying region of dairy and vegetables.
Munro pylon field has also grown to what most racers would consider one of the best fields of its kind in the country.
As always, the grounds were meticulously prepared by a local fishing tackle sales rep, Ian Rickard who devotes nearly every weekend at the strip working on a list of odd jobs and manicuring the bowling green run way!
Race preparation began on Friday where several pilots took to the course for fine tuning in preparation of the last pylon event for the calendar year.
The day saw Master Murphy’s and Dannmann with their Minute Master’s out circulating in the 20 knotter and Beau rippen into his new Miss Dara F400 running in a fresh motor. The Miss Dara model was designed by Dan Kane who also designed the Polecat and Loki both also being extraordinary models.
Ranjit and Tricky Ricky test flew Ricks Veyron and all went well. Rick due to extended family commitments with the safe arrival of baby boy #2 Albert couldn’t stay for the weekend show down. Unfortunately Phelans’ new V Tail models came to grief with more development required.
The day ended with good spirits and plenty of Crownies with many pilots arriving setting up camp with a feast prepared by the Axons.
The fist race day plan was for 4 rounds of F400, Q500 then followed by F3D.
Willy Weather forecast for the weekend was for fine weather and Saturday morning was perfect for racing start at 9:45am of the F400 class. 10 entrants at his event with the podium hotly contested every month. Brain Steele and Andrew Davies the dynamic duo flew well all weekend proving out consistency was the recipe. Beau recorded the fastest time of the day and weekend with a 64.96sec. Jim and John managed to keep clear of each other as sometimes it seems an unfortunate magnetism exists between some models and pilots, Hmmmm.
John Schmidli got all his times and Dannmann cutting him self out of the race after setting himself a target and pushing really hard for a record time! Great too see Frank back with the shiniest models ever unfortunately hitting terra firma after take off in his first heat. Pity as his plane was a ripper in practice but an upside for Father Christmas would be a new model order! An unexpected mid air between Barry Murphy and Andrew Davies saw both models return to ground with a broken prop on the Baz model and repair required on Batman’s model.
After 4 rounds of F400, the Quickie pilots were fueled up and ready to race. With 12 entrants and a variety of skills saw fantastic racing with a veteran Tom Prosser returning to Munro for his second Q500 event. Tom must have had fun at the last event at Munro with his custom built plane which is a master piece and scratch built. Unfortunately the Prosser and Axon models had a mid air but both pilots returning into the comp for the next round. Also a special mention to Tom Allen returning to the pylon scene after a stint of car racing with only his second event back, well in the mix with his best time of 100.50 sec only 0.57 sec of the fastest time of the event by Jim Orenshaw….no doubt Tom is on it and will be going real fast in the near future.
F3D up next albeit weather proving a little slow, Beau opened up with a respectable 59.8 sec which proved to be the quickest time of the event. Dannmann recorded 61.2 in first heat which was also his best time for the weekend. Mix results with all other pilots with Frank flying great but plug problems in resulting in a few 200’s.
Day 1 ended with a very familiar garlic scent of charcoal grilling lamb, chicken and pork gyros followed by Narida’s tiramisu and Toni’s Christmas pudding. Camaraderie with all pilots attending the dinner was defiantly one for the record books and now the Saturday night event is almost part of the event calendar for most race weekends. All entrants this weekend stayed for the feast and many thanks to all helpers and to all cooks!
Late afternoon and evening affairs started with old timers, speed gliders and foamies. George Angelov certainly has his rocket master gold wings complemented the sky with rockets all landing safely with parachutes. Much fun by all.
After a dusty start to Sunday, the weather God’s rolled up for the second day with perfect conditions and the F400’s were on their way. The competitiveness of this class was very exciting to watch and well done to all competitors and place getters. John Schmidli again getting all his times with no cuts for the weekend will surely keep the ranks on their toes in months to come.
With Q500 scores very close after day 1, a number of pilots were well positioned to commence the days racing. Jim Orenshaw, Tom Allen and John Schmidli taking out the top three places this time round with many pilots in all placing all recording excellent times and PB’s. Racing this class was great to watch as the very affordable models flown by entry level pilots had a great time and were also very competitive!
Grand finale premier F3D class was again a mixed bag something similar to a fishing trip in Western Port Bay! Again the weather a little slow with Beau recording the fastest time of the day of 61.76 sec, Baz flying very consistent this weekend and Andrew Davis holding it together to complete 8 rounds. Brian Steele alias Robin landed his F3D in a tree which took a mastermind of construction materials, Tarzan and luck to get his model back. Onya Brian!
Dannmann got all his times in for the weekend bar 2 cuts for the event ended up with the best average score to take out 1st place, 2nd Barry Murphy and 3rd Andrew Davies. Great to see Gary back in the air for 4th place and Beau in 5th due his last run a little rich resulting in a 200.
The next event will be Camperdown on February 6-7, 2016. Make sure you have this and all the currently listed events marked in your calendar.
Another date to remember is the Sandown F1 Air Race to be on January 31, 2016 which includes a general remote control hobbies expo. The VMPRA will have a stand there and we will also have some members involved in flying displays throughout the day. There will be a number of us manning the stand and promoting the pylon racing special interest group. http://www.sandownairrace.com.au/
On a final note for the year, I wish everybody all the best for the Christmas and New Year break and that we all return to racing again next year refreshed, ready for some great competition and good times.
Event Report and Photos– Anonymous
Additional information: John Schmidli Photos – John Schmidli & Andrew Arapakis
The written content in this post is accurate to the best of my/our knowledge at the time of publishing. It is written from my perspective and reflects how I have experienced this event.
Photos published as feature images are selected purely for their quality, general interest or topicality. They are chosen from a pool of photos taken by myself and others when time permits.
If a perspective is not being represented, I am more than happy to publish any written content or photos that are supplied to me provided it is fair and reasonable
Back on October 24-25 we held our VIC State Championships at Hamilton. Once again, it was great to have the South Australians come across to race with us. Without them, the numbers would’ve been on the low side.
On Friday, the weather was spectacular as everybody arrived and testing and setting was carried out. I heard that Shaun Jacobsen even was having a go at one of Daniel’s Minute Masters as Shaun in leading up to joining the ranks of F3D fliers.
Saturday morning arrived with more great weather. After setting up the field, we were off racing with F400 first up. Numbers were quite good for this class (13 competitors) flying including Daniel Arapakis and John Schmidli back flying this class again.
Four rounds of F400 was raced before commencing Q500 racing. Numbers for this class where on the low side so as per usual practice, we all go out to the start line with the drum of fuel and do all our refueling out on the line. This makes the turnaround between heats a lot faster. It was great to see Tom Allen there racing as he returns to pylon racing after many year away with his beautifully finished Banshee Sport Q500 racer.
There were four of these Banshee Sport Q500 models for the first round. Unfortunately Jim Orenshaw and John Schmidli had another coming together while going around pylon #1. This is the third time this year they’ve collision with each other. Unfortunately this was the first race that Jim had with his brand-new Banshee Q500 model which was a replacement for his previously mid-aired Q500 plane. John Schmidli was luckier this time, with only sustaining wingtip damage and a broken propeller and was able to glide in for a landing. Four rounds of this class which was completed.
Next up was F3D, the premier class that we race. It was our intention to fly this class for as many rounds as possible as we had a feeling the weather for the following day would not be so kind. We manage to run 6 rounds of this class before finishing up for the day. It was great to have helpers from the Hamilton club manning the #1 pylon cage as well as pylon 2 and 3 Judges.
The Hamilton club members also provided a canteen throughout the weekend including a big fry up breakfast for the Sunday morning. This was greatly appreciated.
As feared, when we arrived at the field on Sunday morning, conditions were very windy. We set up our planes hoping that things will settle down but as time to start arrived, there was no action happening.
After quite a time of waiting to see what the conditions would bring, it was decided that there would be no flying that day which meant the competition would only consist of the rounds flown on the Saturday. Four rounds of F400, four rounds of Q500 and six rounds of F3D.
The next comp is also the last one for the year and will be held at Bazza’s Paddock at Munro on November 28 and 29. Come along and have a great time racing at this greta venue. There won’t be another event until early in February 2016 at Camperdown.
Make sure you check the new events that are listed in the Event Calendar and put them in your diary.
The written content in this post is accurate to the best of my/our knowledge at the time of publishing. It is written from my perspective and reflects how I have experienced this event.
Photos published as feature images are selected purely for their quality, general interest or topicality. They are chosen from a pool of photos taken by myself and others when time permits.
If a perspective is not being represented, I am more than happy to publish any written content or photos that are supplied to me provided it is fair and reasonable.
I was approaching this event with some trepidation due to the weather forecast which turned out to be justified to some degree. With the start of Spring only around the corner, wet condition had been experienced leading up to this event down at Barry Murphy’s purpose built pylon racing field at Munro.
Turning up on the Friday as many did, there was a lot of standing water lying around the site making water proof shoes or gum boots essential. Some practice flying was possible during dry spells on the Friday.
Saturday morning came and conditions were very grey and windy with predictions of the wind increasing during the morning. Regardless, we went about setting up the pylon racing equipment so we could get racing started.
The first class to be racing was F400 with an unusually small number on competitor for this typically very popular class. Only 2 rounds were flown before the wind became just too strong causing excessive turbulence from the surrounding trees. Jim Orenshaw became a victim to the conditions with his plane being forced into the ground going around pylon 3.
Everybody hung around the field for the rest of the day waiting to see if conditions would improve but no further racing took place. A fare bit of time was spent standing around fires chatting and supervising the dinner being cooked. I noticed that Jim managed to hang around the spit roast all afternoon taking the odd taste test!
That night we had another excellently cooked spit-roast meal prepared by Andrew Arapakis and afterwards, we had a beautiful desert prepared by Nerida Matthews. Thanks to Andrew and Nerida for a great dinner.
Sunday morning greeted up with perfect condition with blue skies and still conditions the event was on in earnest.
F400 was up again flying only another 2 rounds.
Q500 was up next with a view to flying 5 rounds. We had 7 competitors with the notable inclusion of a past pylon racing identity, Tom Prossor. Austin Omman was making his 2nd pylon racing appearance and father and son team Gary and Alan Whitbounre were racing also. I’m pleased to say racing was good and clean and Jim and I avoided any coming together by calling for each other.
The 5 rounds on Q500 were completed fairly promptly as we left the fuel out on the racing line and we didn’t need to walking back to the pits between races.
Next up was the premier class, FA1 with 5 rounds to be completed also. There was some pretty exciting racing, particularly between Barry Murphy and Leigh Hocken. Brian Steele tried burying his model, adding to Jim’s hole in the field from the previous day. It was also good to see Frank Cassella back flying at this event.
Once racing was finish, the course was packed up and the delicate task of making sure the various caravans could be extracted and placed on solid grounds was undertaken. Certificates were then presented and we all headed off home.
Although it was a challenging weekend, I think the racing on Sunday made it all worthwhile. Thanks again to Barry Murphy for providing this superb locations, Nerida and Glenn Matthews for running the event so well and Toni Axon for starting all weekend.
There was new fastest times in for FA1 & F400 at Munro. Well done Leigh and Frank.
FA1 – Leigh Hocken – 57.38
F400 – Frank Cassella – 67.25
Q500 – Jim Orenshaw – 95.97
Next Event
This Sunday (September 13) there is a Sports/Q500 race at LDMFA. This is not a championship event but should be fun and another good chance for newbies to be introduced to pylon racing.
Our next full weekend event is the VIC State Championships at Hamilton to be held on October 24-25, 2015.
Event Report – John Schmidli
Photos – Lydia and Andrew Arapakis and John Schmidli
The written content in this post is accurate to the best of my/our knowledge at the time of publishing. It is written from my perspective and reflects how I have experienced this event.
Photos published as feature images are selected purely for their quality, general interest or topicality. They are chosen from a pool of photos taken by myself and others when time permits.
If a perspective is not being represented, I am more than happy to publish any written content or photos that are supplied to me provided it is fair and reasonable.
