MAAA Wingspan

26 WING SPAN NOVEMBER Back in October 2018, for the second year running, the Canberra Aerotow was held and hosted by the National Aeromodelling and Aviators Society (NAAS) at their picturesque field on the outskirts of Canberra. Located on the valley floor between a range of hills that neighbour the Namadgi National Park, the NAAS field is proving to be an ideal venue for Scale Aerotowing and just as importantly as an annual catch up for like-minded aeromodelling mates. “It generates enough thermal activity to keep you happy but you still have to work for it, and the backdrop with the start of the Snowy Mountains range, which is always there in your peripheral vision, is so special,” said Dino Riebolge, who flew a Topmodel 6M Ventus during the event. The Aerotow saw over thirty gliders take to the skies and included the sight of ‘glass ships’ ranging from two 50% Hempel 7.5 metre KA6’s, 8 metre Phoenix KA8, Ventus ASH26’s through to the vintage Minimoa, Cherokee and KA’s. Pilots included Danny Robertson and Lawrie Prest from Townsville (who deserve a special mention for longest distance travelled), David Garle fromWalloon Queensland and TimMorland and Anthony Peate from the VARMs Club in Victoria. “Six tugs were on hand to provide the initial ‘heavy lifting’, these comprised of the huge 50% Pawnees of David Garle and Ross Bathie, as well as the Wilga of John Harker, CAP of Mike Reynell and HOTTs of Tim Nolan and yours truly,” said Dino. “One of the learnings from staging an aerotow such as this is that you can never have too many tugs on hand as availability is always in the back of your mind. Tugs are worked incredibly hard and inevitable breakdowns cause attrition in the fleet. Therefore thanks, must be extended to these tug pilots.” As a token of appreciation, glider pilots pre-purchased tokens at $1 each, which were passed onto the tug pilots when a tow was undertaken. At the end of the day the tug pilot exchanged these for the original dollar value. “This worked well and while it won’t ever cover the costs, especially if a tug goes in and is destroyed, it’s at least an expression of gratitude and covers the basics such as petrol,” said Dino. NAAS CANBERRA AEROTOW 2018 DINO RIEBOLGE TELLS US ABOUT THE EXCITEMENT AND SPECTACLE OF THE ANNUAL GLIDING EVENT