18 / 25
18
WING
SPAN
FEBRUARY
Holdfast Model Aero Club in South
Australia is encouraging novice
modellers to get off to a flying start,
offering free flying lessons at the club
every Sunday.
For many modellers, flying with the
MAAA provides the opportunity for
friends to get together, share their
collective knowledge and have a lot of
fun along the way.
The Club’s Low Cost Integrated Flight
Training (LIFT) programwas first
launched in February 2016 to allow
beginners to get a handle on the sport,
understanding how to control and fly
amodel aircraft, so that they can take
to the skies in the safest possible way,
without having to invest immediately
in expensive RC equipment.
Holdfast Club President Kingsley
Neumann said in 2015, committee
members Ross Lloyd and Geoff
Haynes came up with an idea to
revolutionise amethod of gaining new
clubmembers through flight training.
A comparison was drawn to a horse
riding school- no one would expect a
newcomer to turn up with a horse and
float before having a good try out on a
club pony first.
The training programuses the
excellent stablised and variable flight
envelope “Apprentice” by e-Flite,
with the DX5e Spektrum radio. The
Club instructors all attended training
classes to familiarise themselves
with the Apprentice and DX6 Master
radios. Trainees are always in safe
hands with the use of a wireless, dual
radio systemduring flight, allowing the
instructor to immediately take control
if a pilot gets into any difficulty.
Kingsley said that themajor benefit
of this training programwas that
novice pilots can learn the ropes
from the experts, before investing in
any equipment. Three visitsmay be
authorized in accordance with the
MAAA rules. Trainees can then decide
to join the Club and continue with the
formal HMAC Training Syllabus using
the Club equipment. A trainee does not
need to purchase amodel or a radio
until reaching Solo Standard.
“We have been teaching our members
to fly model aircraft for years but
recently found a better and easier
way for people to get started in
aeromodelling with the well-developed
LIFT program.”
“Around 50% of those who have come
and undergone the initial training also
returned for the extra sessions. In the
first 7 months of operation, 27 people
registered for the programand 9 of
them joined the club as full members.
“In the last 12months alone, we have
gone from80members to almost 100.
You’re never too old to learn, asmost
of our members are in the 50+ age
bracket.
taking to the skies
can be a
breeze
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN CLUB TAKING NEW PILOTS
UNDER THEIR WING THROUGH TRAINING PROGRAM