Please note: We are looking for someone to write event reports regularly. Also, it would be wonderful to have someone photograph these events. This site has a vast readership and is important and valuable to pylon racing in Victoria, Australia and Worldwide.
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. When time permits, they are chosen from a pool of photos taken by myself and others. If a perspective is not being represented, I am more than happy to publish any written content or photos supplied to me, provided it is fair and reasonable.
It was wonderful to be back at the Warrnambool Model Aircraft Club for the second time this year to hold our State Championships combined with the World Champs team selections.
Again, for the third time in a row, we encountered difficult weather on Saturday, with improved conditions on Sunday, where we carried out the majority of the racing. This meant we flew reduced rounds for the whole weekend.
No change in the top 3 placings, with Andrew increasing his lead by another 2 points, making him 4 points ahead of Brian. Anthony Thurgood remains in 3rd place.
1st – Andrew Davies 2nd – Brian Steele 3rd – Anthony Thurgood
F3T
Andrew Davies has regained the lead over Brian by 7 points, having been on equal points prior to this race. Jim Orenshaw remains in 3rd place.
1st – Brian Steele 2nd – Andrew Davies 3rd – Jim Orenshaw
Q500
No change in the top 3 placings for Quickie.
1st – Jim Orenshaw 2nd – John Schmidli 3rd – Eddie Rich
Please note: We are looking for someone to write event reports regularly. Also, it would be wonderful to have someone photograph these events. This site has a vast readership and is important and valuable to pylon racing in Victoria, Australia and Worldwide.
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. When time permits, they are chosen from a pool of photos taken by myself and others. If a perspective is not being represented, I am more than happy to publish any written content or photos supplied to me, provided it is fair and reasonable.
Back on August 17th to 18th, the VMPRA went off to the home of Victorian pylon racing, Cohuna, for our annual pilgrimage. Unfortunately, the weather was similar to Bendigo, where running of races on Saturday was limited, only flying six rounds of F3T before having to call it a day. We had better weather on Sunday, so we could run six rounds of F3D and then Q500 to complete the race weekend.
The great thing about being at Cohuna is the great bunch of helpers there to man the pylons. The number one pylon cage was full, and we also had helpers on two and three, which is fantastic and frees up competitors to be able to concentrate on racing.
Unfortunately, we had some issues with running the timing system, which resulted in confusion about the scores at the end of the weekend. Since then, a few errors have been corrected and the scores, as published on the website, are now correct and the championship standings have been updated accordingly.
At the end of the weekend, we had a birthday cake for Gary Whitbourn and Gary Davison, who both had significant birthdays on either side of the weekend. Thanks to Wendy and Anthony for organizing that.
Our next event is from September 14th to 15th, which will be the state championships at Warrnambool, where we will also be holding the team trials for the F3D and F3E world championships. So we hope to have some interstate competitors as well as good numbers from Victoria there, which always adds another level of interest to the weekend.
So it should be a great weekend and fingers crossed for better weather this time. It’ll be great to see you all there.
No change in the top 3 placings with only 2 points separating Andrew and Brian.
1st – Andrew Davies 2nd – Brian Steele 3rd – Tom Wetherill
F3T
Brian Steele and Andrew Davies are sitting at the top on equal points and only divided by Brian having a slightly better average race time over the championship.
1st – Brian Steele 2nd – Andrew Davies 3rd – Jim Orenshaw
Q500
No change in the top 3 placings for Quickie also
1st – Jim Orenshaw 2nd – John Schmidli 3rd – Eddie Rich
Please note: We are looking for someone to write event reports regularly. Also, it would be wonderful to have someone photograph these events. This site has a vast readership and is important and valuable to pylon racing in Victoria, Australia and Worldwide.
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. When time permits, they are chosen from a pool of photos taken by myself and others. If a perspective is not being represented, I am more than happy to publish any written content or photos supplied to me, provided it is fair and reasonable.
On the 20th and 21st of July, the VMPRA held a pylon racing event the Bendigo Model Aircraft Club. Despite the threatening weather forecasts, we were fortunate that rain didn’t impact the weekend at all. Although, Saturday was both cold and very windy.
We decided to kick things off with the Quickie 500 class. Due to the harsh conditions, we managed to fly only four rounds throughout the whole weekend. The severe weather forced us to restrict flying to just one class on Saturday and postpone the others to Sunday.
Sunday started with a challenge of its own. We aimed for an early start at 9 o’clock, but the field was engulfed in fog that didn’t clear until 11. This delay significantly reduced our flying time. However, once the fog lifted, the conditions turned favourable, with minimal wind and a nice cloud cover, making it ideal for flying without the low Winter sun in our eyes.
We commenced with five rounds of F3T in these perfect conditions, followed by four F3D rounds in the afternoon. The event concluded around 3 o’clock with the presentation of awards and then we headed home.
A special thanks to Wendy Dean for managing the computer for Quickie and F3T and acting as the starter for F3D. Her help was invaluable and it was gratifying to have sufficient helps to man all the pylons throughout the weekend. Quickie class was particularly challenging in terms of getting enough helpers, but in the end, we managed well.
Looking ahead, our next race is scheduled for August 17th and 18th in Kahuna. We’re excited and look forward to seeing everyone there!
Report – John Schmidli. Photos – Tom Wetherill and John Schmidli
Please note: We are looking for someone to write event reports regularly. Also, it would be wonderful to have someone photograph these events. This site has a vast readership and is important and valuable to pylon racing in Victoria, Australia and Worldwide.
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. When time permits, they are chosen from a pool of photos taken by myself and others. If a perspective is not being represented, I am more than happy to publish any written content or photos supplied to me, provided it is fair and reasonable.
On May 18th and 19th, the VMPRA held a pylon race at the Newbridge field, which is Rick Townsend’s private flying field. Thanks to Rick for letting us race there and for all the work that goes into preparing the field for us to attend.
The weather over the weekend was good, and we were fortunate to have enough helpers to man all the pylons. Our newest volunteer race starter, Wendy Dean did a brilliant job out at the startline. Again, we had Amy Eichstadt running the computer timing system throughout the weekend. With their tireless efforts and the fact that we had enough participants free to help during each class, all pylons were judged for all racing.
First, on Saturday morning, we ran four rounds of Q500 followed by four rounds of F3D. Unfortunately, by the time we started flying F3t, the sun was getting too low, so we ended up canceling flying for the rest of that day and decided to start early on Sunday.
On Sunday morning, we completed six rounds of F3T and due to the early finish on Saturday, we agreed only to complete six rounds of each class therefore, we ended up flying two more rounds of F3D and two more rounds of Q500
Thanks to everybody who attended the weekend. It was great fun, as usual. Unfortunately, due to a technical hitch, we haven’t got any photos of the weekend. If you have some, please send them to me. This report is also a little late coming out. I do apologize, but remember, we are in need of volunteer report writers for our events. Your contribution, no matter how small, is highly valued. It can be just two or three paragraphs or as detailed as you like. You can even send it to me as a voice memo, and I can have it transcribed. Your help is greatly appreciated.
If anybody wants to try their hand at photographing the weekend, I would be very grateful to have help with that.
Next up, we have a race at Bendigo on the on July the 20th and 21st. I hope to see you all there.
Please note: We are looking for someone to write event reports regularly. Also, it would be wonderful to have someone photograph these events. This site has a vast readership and is important and valuable to pylon racing in Victoria, Australia and Worldwide.
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. When time permits, they are chosen from a pool of photos taken by myself and others. If a perspective is not being represented, I am more than happy to publish any written content or photos supplied to me, provided it is fair and reasonable.
On April 20th and 21st, the VMPRA held a pylon racing event at the Hamilton Model Aero Club for the first time in many years. It was a great weekend, with fantastic weather and flying conditions, and the club really made us feel welcome.
It was great to see David and Tony Axon back. It’s been quite a while since we last saw them. Tony took on some of the starter duties for the weekend, which she performed with her usual expertise.
We also had Tony’s daughter, Amy Eichstadt, return to run the timing system for the whole weekend, and she did an absolutely fantastic job. Wendy Dean was there and she received some expert starter training from Tony Axon. So Wendy will be well-equipped to perform the starter duties at future events. It was fabulous to see the ladies out in force this weekend.
It was also great to see Daniel Arapakis back. Due to conflicts with work schedules, he’s not been to many events recently, and it was really good to see him back and flying fast.
We had enough people there to have all the helpers we needed to run the events and man all the pylons, which was absolutely fantastic.
The F3Ds didn’t do as many rounds. We encountered a fuel problem on Saturday, so we scrubbed three of the rounds and started again on Sunday, hence only completing 5 rounds.
Overall, it was a fantastic weekend and it would be great to return to Hamilton again next year. Our next event for the VMPRA is Newbridge on May 18th and 19th.
Please note: We are looking for someone to write event reports regularly. Also, it would be wonderful to have someone photograph these events. This site has a vast readership and is important and valuable to pylon racing in Victoria, Australia and Worldwide.
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. When time permits, they are chosen from a pool of photos taken by myself and others. If a perspective is not being represented, I am more than happy to publish any written content or photos supplied to me, provided it is fair and reasonable.
Back on March 17th, the VMPRA went to the Western Port Model Aircraft Club for a one-day sports and Quickie 500 pylon race. The weather was absolutely fantastic that day. Unlike some events we’ve held at this field, there was only a light breeze.
The idea of this day was to fly Quickie 500 as part of our championship and then have a “come try” fly pylon racing day with sports models. We were very pleased to see two local competitors turn up, Justin Trist and Wayne Gorsuch. We flew seven rounds of Quickie and seven rounds of sports.
Tony Eichstadt’s daughters came down to see him fly. We ended up roping Amy into helping on the computer. She took to it like a duck to water and was a great help throughout the day.
Looking at the results, we were getting unusually fast times. We soon discovered that the course had been set up as a short course by accident, which explained this.
Thanks to all VMPRA members who attended this event and helped make it a success. Overall, it was a great day, and thanks to the Westernport Club for hosting, catering, and providing the pylons junges.
Next, we have a similar Quickie 500 and Sports Pylon race at Mount Wallace State Field on the 7th of April. Again, it’s a one-day event, and we’d love to get as many VMPRA members as possible there. Even if you’re not going to fly, it would be great to have help and to promote pylon racing to other members of the Aeromodelling fraternity.
Our next full three-class event will be on the 20th and 21st of April at Hamilton. We’ll see you there.
Next Class Race – Western Port – Q500 & Sports (Come Try) Race.
April 7 @ Mount Wallace. Racing starts at 10 am. Come with enough time to setup and test fly prior. Website:www.mwmaa.org/ Location: The club is Mount Wallace Model Aero Club Brisbane Ranges Rd, Mount Wallace. Google Maps Ref.
Next 3 Class Race (F3D, F3T & Q500) – Hamilton, April 20-21.
A heap of new races has been added to the calendar, so make sure you put them in your diary. These are not to be missed.
Please note: We are looking for someone to write event reports regularly. Also, it would be wonderful to have someone photograph these events. This site has a vast readership and is important and valuable to pylon racing in Victoria, Australia and Worldwide.
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. When time permits, they are chosen from a pool of photos taken by myself and others. If a perspective is not being represented, I am more than happy to publish any written content or photos supplied to me, provided it is fair and reasonable.
Being the second event for the championship and with some competitors not able to attend, the top 3 places have completely changed from last month.
1st – Glenn Matthews 2nd – Brian Steele 3rd – Andrew Davies
F3T
Again, with competitors unable to attend, the top two places have completely changed, with Andrew Davies retaining his third place.
1st – Brian Steele 2nd – Jim Orenshaw 3rd – Andrew Davies
Q500
John Schmidli and Jim Orenshaw are on equal points, but John attains the top spot on average times per race. Gary Davidson has moved up from 6th to 3rd place.
1st – John Schmidli 2nd – Jim Orenshaw 3rd – Gary Davidson
Next Class Race – Western Port – Q500 & Sports (Come Try) Race.
March 17 @ Westernport Model Aircraft Club. Racing starts at 10 am. Come with enough time to setup and test fly prior. Website:www.wpmac.com.au Location: Woolleys Road, Crib Point VIC. Melway Map Ref 165C8.
Next 3 Class Race (F3D, F3T & Q500) – Hamilton, April 20-21.
A heap of new races has been added to the calendar, so make sure you put them in your diary. These are not to be missed.
Report – John Schmidli. Photos – John Schmidli & Tom Wetherill.
Please note: We are looking for someone to write event reports regularly. Also, it would be wonderful to have someone photograph these events. This site has a vast readership and is important and valuable to pylon racing in Victoria, Australia and Worldwide.
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. When time permits, they are chosen from a pool of photos taken by myself and others. If a perspective is not being represented, I am more than happy to publish any written content or photos supplied to me, provided it is fair and reasonable.
On February 10th and 11th, the VMPRA kicked off its season with our inaugural competition of the year at Munro. The weather was superb throughout the weekend, allowing us to complete eight rounds of each class. It was a pleasure to welcome Andrew Wall, who made the impressive journey from Queensland to join us in the competition.
The return of Daniel Arapakis and Beau Murphy to racing after their work-related hiatus added to the excitement, especially in the F3D category. We were also thrilled to witness John Junge’s continued participation in Q500 racing and Ian Rickard’s comeback to the same class. Additionally, Tom Allen stepped up to the challenge by participating in F3D.
The weekend boasted a fantastic turnout with 9 competitors in F3D, 12 in F3T, and 9 in Q500. Andrew Wall showcased a 3D-printed E2K pylon racing model produced by Tony Singleton, with Daniel Arapakis providing a captivating demonstration of its flight capabilities.
Overall, it was an excellent weekend, thanks in large part to Barry Murphy’s fantastic field and Nerida Matthews for managing the timing system.
The next event is scheduled for March 2nd and 3rd in Warrnambool. We look forward to seeing you there!
Being the season’s first race, the Championship standings are as per the race results. Stay tuned for the Season Championship standings once we have raced in Warrnambool.
Please note: We are looking for someone to write event reports regularly. Also, it would be wonderful to have someone photograph these events. This site has a vast readership and is important and valuable to pylon racing in Victoria, Australia and Worldwide.
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. When time permits, they are chosen from a pool of photos taken by myself and others. If a perspective is not being represented, I am more than happy to publish any written content or photos supplied to me, provided it is fair and reasonable.
RAIN, RAIN, RAIN!! …but most of our regulars turned up. It was too wet on Friday and Saturday morning to do much.
Q500
We decided to try for a few Quicky Rounds on Saturday morning. A good entry of 10. Some good racing, as always, over six rounds in this class, with a dead heat for 3rd place with Andrew Davies and David Chippendall. The performance of these out-of-the-box, off-the-shelf 7.5cc engines is amazing. I would say they eclipse the VRP’s and OPS’s of my early days in F3D. John Schmidli ended up taking it out from Gary Davidson.
F3T
Eight entries managing five rounds. Andrew Davies taking it out. There were a few engine problems, DNFs, and cuts. I see some nice new models in this class and very fine flying. Special mention goes to Tony Eichstadt and Anthony Thurgood – two very enthusiastic newcomers. Very rare for some time now.
F3D
Nothing much to report here. We could only manage four rounds. Times were less than average, with only four entries. Anthony Thurgood is certainly on his way in this class with a second place. Nothing new to report, but until we have F3D numbers fully attended again, we won’t see the world-class times we have seen in the past.
We did see some world-class control line combat demos from Murray Wilson and Greg Nelson. It is very special to see this very skilful form of Aeromodelling. We must thank Murray and Greg for putting on this display.
See you at Munro Field again on February 10th / 11th, 2024
The 2022 – 2023 championship year has drawn to a close. The season spanned about 16 months as we will go by the calendar year for future seasons. It consisted of 12 races and taking part in the season; competitor numbers were 13 for FA1, 18 for F3T and 22 for Q500.
So congratulations go to the winners: Brian Steele taking out both FA1 & F3T and John Schmidli taking out Q500.
FA1
With the last race included, the Championship winner Brian Steele remained at the top, with Glenn Matthews jumping from 6th position into 2nd, bumping Rick Townsend down to 3rd place.
1st – Brian Steele 2nd – Glenn Matthews 3rd – Rick Townsend
F3T
This race didn’t change the top 3 places.
1st – Brian Steele 2nd – Jim Orenshaw 3rd – Andrew Davies
Q500
Again, there were no changes in the top 3 places for this class.
1st – John Schmidli 2nd – Jim Orenshaw 3rd – Anthony Thurgood
Report – Barry Murphy & John Schmidli Photos – John Schmidli.
Please note: We are looking for someone to write event reports regularly. Also, it would be wonderful to have someone photograph these events. This site has a vast readership and is important and valuable to pylon racing in Victoria, Australia and Worldwide.
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. When time permits, they are chosen from a pool of photos taken by myself and others. If a perspective is not being represented, I am more than happy to publish any written content or photos supplied to me, provided it is fair and reasonable.
