AUGUST
WING
SPAN
The MAAA Council Conference also had the great
pleasure of awarding a service medallion to Joan
McIntyre for international control line judging
over many years and welcoming the following
members into the Hall of Fame:
▸
Roy Summersby, 1st F1C Free Flight 2013
World Championships
▸
Chris Callow, 1st F3D Pylon 2013 World
Championships and setting a new world
record
▸
Kevin Callow, 1st F3D Pylon 2013 World
Championships and setting a new world
record
The passion and pride these people have in our
sport contributes to its success and the future
of aeromodelling across the country.
To top off a great quarter, the Australian Team
did us proud at the World Scale Championships.
The team was placed overall 2nd in the world.
This was a fantastic effort on the world stage.
Our Free Flight team in the Asian Oceanic
Championships in Mongolia placed individually
second in F1A and third in F1B.
Once again, I would encourage you to take a look
at our website which is packed with exciting
new features. You can use our events calendar
to promote your club or buy and sell in our
classifieds section (coming soon). I’d encourage
you to set up an online account for your club
so that
it appears in our “Find a Club” section. There’s
also plenty of helpful information on how we can
assist you to enjoy our great sport. Go to
today!
Until next time, have a safe, fun flight!
Neil Tank
4
5
MAY
WING
SPAN
president’s
report
CONTINUED...
SAFETY
MATTERS
Ineacheditionwepublishsomesafety
incidents tohighlight someof the types
of issues thatmodellerscan face. If you
haveany safety concerns remember to
contact theMAAA, wearehere tohelp.
Crash landing
A recent accident occurredwhen
amodel tookoff into thewindand
commenceda right turn.When
correctionwasmade to the turn it had
noeffect, so theoperator triedopposite
aileron tocontrol themodel aircraft’s
banking. Acertainamount of control
wasgainedusingaileronand rudder,
butwhen themodel was flownonto
final approach, control was lost and it
impactedwithanearby vehicle, causing
damageanddestroying themodel.
During the investigationof thisaccident,
itwas found that the radioequipment
wasworkingcorrectlyand that the
control orientationwascorrect. Itwas
discovered that thepush rodon the right
aileronwas sliding through thequick link
and theaileronwasnotmoving, a likely
causeof theaccident.
Avoidahigh-power start
Somemodellers say it’snot ‘if’ but ‘when’
a laceration toyour fingersor handswill
occur asapilot.Wedoour best tohelp
prevent accidents like thisbut they can
occur and it’sgood tobeawareof the
circumstances so that youareable to
avoid them.
Anunluckymember receiveddeep
lacerations tohis thumband index
finger frombeinghit by thepropeller at
highpower.
Whenstarting theaircraft in the
blockswitha ‘startermotor’ themodel
movedbackwards.When themotor
fired, theaircraftmoved forwardand
stoppedwhen thehorizontal stabilisers
connectedwith thestartingblocks.
This suddenmovementwasa result of
starting theengineat highpower.
Themember’snatural reactionwhen
theaircraft suddenlymoved forward
was toput his left hand in front tostop
theaircraft and this resulted inanasty
injury.
Closecall
Whileoperatingamodel helicopter
inaFigure8manoeuvre thepilot
misjudged the inward turn. The
helicopter tracked too close to
him. Before any correction could
be made the vertical rotor blade
contacted the transmitter cutting
it in two and causing significant
injury to the pilot’s hands and arms.
Extensive surgery was required as
a result of the injury. This incident
highlights the need for all helicopter
operations to remain at least nine
metres from the pilot and observers.
THE OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR THE MAAA’S CLUBS ARE
UNPARALLELED. OUR ORGANISATION TAKES SAFETY VERY
SERIOUSLY BECAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE FLYING SAFER FOR
EVERYONE TO ENJOY.
Our Free Flight team in the Asian Oceanic
Championships in Mongolia placed individually
second in F1A and third in F1B.
L to R, Phil Mitchell, Chimmed Ganzorig.