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23
NOVEMBER
WING
SPAN
MAAALogo.
For TomButler, the sport of model
flying has given hima set of wings and
allowed him the freedom to fly.
Developing a passion for flying froma
young age- having watched his father
as an air traffic controller, Tomset his
sights to the skies and was accepted
into the RAAF in 1999 to fulfil his dream
of becoming a pilot.
Unfortunately, disaster struck in
2000 when Tombroke his neck after
misjudging the depth of the water he
dove into, leaving hima quadriplegic
and his dreams of flying, shattered.
It wasn’t until 2011 that Tom
discovered videos online of people
flying RC planes and was instantly
hooked. Unsure how he would control
the plane with limitedmovement in
one of his arms, Tomcame up with the
idea to fly the planes with hismouth.
“After getting hooked on the idea of
flying, I spent many hours Googling
transmitters and thinking about how I
could fashion a controller I could use,”
he said.
“I asked a friend with soldering skills if
they could remove the control sticks
froma standard transmitter and
extend the wires. We thenmounted
the sticks in a lunchbox as close
together as possible and velcro-ed it
to a flexiblemounting armpositioned
near my mouth. That allowedme
to see over the controls without
toomuch hardware obstructingmy
vision.”
Nowwith his control systemorganised
and ready to go, Tomneeded a place
to fly that would welcome and support
his disability.
The Northwest Areomodellers Club in
Highclere, Tasmania have supported
Tom in developing his skills and
knowledge of the sport. Even though
he is unable to get there as often as
he would like, he said the fields were
great for flying and the clubmembers
extremely welcoming. He was very
thankful for their hospitality and their
support in arranging to get one of
his transmitters, which was donated
through OMP.
“After my first successful flight, I have
to admit that I shed some tears of joy,”
Tomsaid.
“After somany years of being able
to just control a computer, it was an
incredible feeling to be outside and
actually doing something physical.
Now I’vemade some great new friends
and get out as often as possible to go
for a fly.”
Details of Northwest Areomodellers
Club in Highclere, Tasmania.
Club President, Steve Ralph
tom butler
now has the
wings to fly