WayneL

Watch the guy under heli grab the cable.

Lucky to get the good weather on the weekend, it has not been great weather since. Just had a early morning storm that dumped 45mm here at Oakey. Wayne.

Good add Tony, I will be in trouble leaving out the club members aircraft! Yes departing aircraft parade started early I thought, maybe because of the hint of possible storms later in the day? Wayne

A few photos from the flyin today. Some forum members will find photos of their aircraft here, hope everyone enjoyed the day. My thanks to Trevor Bange and fellow club members for the for all the work they put in to make the flyin possible. Sorry I missed meeting some fellow forum members to put a face to the forum username.... too busy taking the photos and your were not near your aircraft when I did get around the parked aircraft.

It is a shame JR Radios are gone, have owned a few over the years, the older brushed alloy box TX's with mechanical trims etc were great and the newer ones with digital trims and LCD screens probably had easier menu access than the Futaba versions of the period. My first radio was a G45 Space Commander 4 ch set in 1974 but most of my systems since the have been Futaba, Currently use a 12MZ for most of my models but also have a MX-22 Graupner TX which was the JR 9X TX with different software....took a while to learn the menu options but is more capable than the 9X. I have owned a few high end Sanwa radios too, really liked them. Had 2 of the Module 9 radios which had many channel mixing options adjusted by a dozen or so trim pots behind the TX back cover, solid and heavy as a brick those Tx's. The newer Digital Sanwa Tx's had the best menu access in my opinion, it was like a basic spread sheet. Left or Right arrow keys to access the control/Ch column and up or down arrow keys to access the available options for that control/Ch function. Wayne.

Quicksilver MX

Far removed from recreational aviation but who has seen this movie about the ladies who did the figures for NASA to get a man into Earth orbit and back safely. I really enjoyed the story that was told. We have seen movies like Right Stuff and doco's about the astronauts and this movie more completes the picture. Wayne.

I will jump in Frank and answer for Dave, yes that is his strip. Hope you don't mind Dave. Wayne

My read on the low number of basic ultralights flying in Australia now compared to 30 odd years ago is that the change in the 95:10 rules/exemptions caused a split in pilots decisions about flying. Most would have decided to go to high performance types because they could! Training was now available and you could now fly out of the paddock and go places so faster types were to become more popular while manufacturers/importers started dropping the cheaper and basic types due to less sales. Those that got into the early ultralights did so because it was cheap and they were able to do their own thing. I am sure many of these people gave up when the rules (& costs) increased. I think early ultralight pilots were inspired by the likes of Bill Moyes & Bill Bennett flying their kites and early hang glider designs. People dreamed of flying and they could see ways to get airborne at low cost through hang gliding. Then those pilots wanted more, so they added small motors to their designs, some wanted 3 axis so came up with lightweight designs that again ended up with small motors added. Designs got heavier, faster and mostly safer over time but also more expensive which has left a lot of potential pilots grounded because the cost is out of reach. Like a lot of things, there is the chance of things going full circle if enough people want it. Only problem is, the rules will never go full circle (i.e. none or very few restrictions) and the price of available basic ultralights is too high, engine prices in particular are a major chunk of the price. Look how many basic ultralight types are popular in the USA! I think a FAA Part 103 style of category would help here in Australia to generate more interest in the cheaper basic paddock type again. I am all for electric powered basic ultralights, I think the motor/battery costs will eventually be much cheaper than IC motors. Wayne.

That's great SSCBD, pm me with an email if you would like the higher res image. I was only ever at Mangalore for the Sunday on the SAAA chartered Ansett 737 from Brissy. Flew down each year while Ansett was doing it then on an Australian Airlines DC9 after they did a deal to sponsor the SAAA airshow, heard it was a 5 year deal but only lasted 1 year. It was such a good show that last year with the Ansett fleet doing some nice flybys. The first year with Australian wasn't bad too...even landed the A300 for public display, it had to be pushed back into the taxiway though as it could not turn around on the runway. I always preferred Ansett to TAA/Australian service and jokingly pointed out the differences to my hang glider mate as we flew down to Mangalore on the DC9. The Ansett 737's had enough range to go from Brisbane to Mangalore return so we always went home on the same aircraft, in fact, I recall they let us leave gear on the aircraft if we wanted. Never was a hassle at Brisbane airport, just go up to the counter to get your seat (they would put a sticker on the seating plan to show it was taken) and then wait to board, we all only had carry on bags with camera and jackets etc. Arriving at Australian Airlines check in at the old Brisbane termainal we lined up waiting to step up onto the baggage scales. I will never forget the look on the face of passengers at check ins beside us trying to work out why we were standing on the scales. They did not want to use standard pax weights, they were wanting exact weights so to maximize the DC9 fuel load. Even the plan was to swap aeroplanes for the ride home. Our DC9 was to fly Brisbane-Mangalore-Adelaide while the Adelaide DC9 did the reverse direction. My hang glider mate did a walk around the DC9 and was shocked by the number of oil leaks and ding repairs from ground vehicles. This was just before Australian upgraded to B737's. I had only one more day trip to Mangalore after that, early '90's without looking it up. Chris Conroy chartered a Metroliner out of Archerfield. He did not fill all the seats and was looking at a loss. No airshow that year, a cold front swept through around 10am washing out the plans, still plenty to see and people to chat to, but we were glad to get back on board later that cold afternoon, Flew a weaving path around thunderheads with a good lightning show most of the way. Wayne.

Thanks for jogging my memory HITC, I do recall all of those you mentioned now! My biggest failing was to not properly document all my slides and photos with all the relevant details! I did take a lot of photos in those days. Took 36 rolls of 36exp slide film at Oshkosh 79 alone! Probably the earliest photos of ultralights in Australia that I have would be at the 1978 Schofields Air Show. They were taken with a 110 film camera though so not great quality. Will have to dig them out. May have some super8 movie film hiding in the storage boxes somewhere too! Wayne.

Yep I remember the skyraider and thinking it looked so much more advanced than a Scout. My Pegasus had a fibreglass seat tank, was not original but was a neater setup. Funny windscreen, reminds me of those little glass plant terrariums. Wayne.

Thanks guys for the likes...I am glad you enjoy seeing a glimpse into the past. Like most 'older people', we often get ribbed by younger people about us talking about the "good old days".....yes I know that all of the rules and restrictions we live with these days (not just in aviation but at work & at home) come about from things we did in the past that could be made safer, fairer, Eco friendly ......etc, but I will always treasure the memory of watching 5 or 6 ultralights on a mid to short final, slightly staggered, flying UP & over the boundary fence at Mangalore one Easter back around 1984........it was a So Un GA thing to see and it looked like a lot of fun! I can understand why things are the way they are today.....but I do miss the "good old days..." Here are a couple of photos I took at Mangalore Airshow/Flyin back in '84. Cheers, Wayne.

Going through my old slides I found these photos taken in 1984 at the Gold Coast Ultralight Club's Jacob's Well field. Most were taken on one day when we had a flyin (more like a tow it in the fly!) The black & white shot (was shot in colour but now tinted) of a Scout with a Wankel rotary motor was taken at the Kingaroy. I seem to recall it was made by Kawasaki. I number of people that have had a long association with ultralights were there. The late Chris Conroy shown with his version of the Jackaroo on floats, he flew in from the Gold Coast and landed on the grass on the floats. Two shots show his attempts to takeoff again on the long grass....only managed a slow walk speed! Col Winton is there in one shot holding the yellow helmet as a potential customer taxies out in Cols Sportsman for a trial flight. I can't be sure due to my fading memory but Bill Knight is probably in one of those Scouts...Playboy bunny comes to mind...Peter Reed is there with a Maxair Drifter, Barry Hughes with the Rotec Rally and Dick (Richard) Sweetapple with his all metal ultralight. The red tail dragger pipe fuselage drifter style ultralight with the black & white german graphics suffered an engine fail on takeoff later in that year at this field and the pilot was killed when the aircraft stalled after the engine failure. He was looking to buy the aircraft off the owner at the time. The American aerolights Eagle on floats was the first ultralight I flew, my first flights were off the beach shown in the photos at South Stradboke island just north of the Gold Coast Seaway. Hope you enjoy these photos, was an exciting time, Wayne.

Click on the person's name or avatar then click on Start a conversation to send a PM. Wayne

Not in Australia, but here are some photos I took at Oshkosh 79 down the southern end where the ultralites were starting to lose the legs for wheels! Craig Catto of Catto Props designed this canard, just a big model aircraft covered in model shrink film covering. Named after a big prehistoric bird! Easy Riser, still used the legs for a U/C! Basic Gauges, altimeter, Airspeed & ROC. Devoloped from rigid wing hang gliders. Some RC models now have bigger motors than this! From memory I think the pilot had a wipper snipper style motor and shaft attached to his prone harness with a folding prop behind his feet! Definitely a Dreamer... New model..lets listen to the sale pitch.... Early Mitchell Wing....good flyers... Ultralight central! ...how many gallons per hours does she chew buddy...... Redundancy is always good! Shade is always good too! Early Weed Hopper I believe....not much higher than the weeds.......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33cwKDCRBAc This one is no good for cross country flights, get tired standing up all day! Wayne.

My 3 axis Pegasus canard on the first Gold Coast Ultralight club field behind Jacobs Well (about 2km south of the current Hecks Field). This would be in 1981. Col Winton test flying a new Sportsman at the Jacobs Well field, again 1981. Low flying was almost the norm back then..... A Scout, Jackaroo and Col in the back with the Sportsman. Too long ago, name of pilot alludes me. Resurgam, again don't recall the owner's name. The panel on my Pegasus. This aircraft was a cheaper copy of the American Aerolights Eagle XL. Due to legal action in the states over the copies, a shipment of aircraft to Aussie customers came up short on parts. I did not get a full kit of parts but then I never paid the full price in the end. Luckily I ended up with the major items and needed to only fabricate some control cables and joystick assembly. I had a lot of help from Brian Gane of Torquay Vic. Brian was I think the first to get his Pegasus assembled and flying. This was his machine. Wayne.

Did mine in early October and received an email with a PDF file attached the confirmed the result as a % and listed the questions I got wrong. Wayne

Photo of aircraft taken at the Great Eastern Flyin at Evans Head on January the 7th this year. Wayne.

You would have had a not so big green tick show next to the number of questions you got right.... Bit of an anti climax I reckon. Would be nice to see a screen with 'Congratulations you passed' presented to you and maybe a link to print off a PDF certificate to make you feel like you achieved something !

Did a glide approach with Greg to that end of the strip once. Bit like landing on a Carrier deck! Wayne.

G'Day Dave, You know Clifton well....back on the 1st Oct I took the Drifter up for WUFI day in a South Westery blowing a fairly smooth 20 knots with a low wind gradient change near the ground. Was able to land like a Gyro in only 2 aircraft lengths stopping each time before the first 100 metre cone beside out from the hangar. Gee....I had fun! I would not want the strong wind on your strip though. Calm or light breeze for a nice controlled arrival at the threshold would do it! Wayne.

A few more photos taken on Saturday.... Wayne.

Beautiful morning here in Evans Head, if you are close enough jump in your aircraft or car and come along. Wayne