samaa news issue 4 of 2014

SAMA A News Issue 4 of 2014 -

Issue 4 of 2014

newsnewsnewsnewsnewsnewsnewsNewsletter of the South African Model Aircraft Association

(Published bi-monthly) R20.00 inc. (free at promotional events, shows, etc.)

Our Mission: To add value to your flying experience through communication,information, promotion, education and the support of dialogue

SA Aerobatic Masters

The 2014 MAASA Aerobatic Masters was held at the Klerksdorp Radio Flyers Club in the North West Province, a venue that has hosted our year-end MAASA Masters competition for a number of years, is well liked by all, very well organised, and always a pleasure to be at. Suffice it to say, a very big thank you from the MAASA to KRF.

Preparations for this event commenced well in advance. The Masters is a qualification event, and pilots need to qualify in order to be invited to participate, based on their scores during the course of the year. The invitations for the Masters competition were sent out after the last MAASA League round, and it was then that the final number of eligible pilots was known. A change had been made at this year's MAASA AGM regarding the qualification criteria for the Masters, whereby, regardless of the score magnitudes, the top five pilots in each class automatically qualify and are invited. The Masters invitations were sent, and finally 12 pilots confirmed participation. Regrettably, there was a late withdrawal, leaving 11 pilots to compete. Hopefully next year we will see more pilots from some of the other provinces such as Kwa-Zulu Natal, Free State, and Western Province.

The 2014 Masters is also the second of the three F3A team selection events for the world champs to be held in Switzerland in 2015.

The split of pilots was as follows: Five F3A, one Masters, three Advanced, two Intermediate.

The officials were: (judges) Chris Theron - MAASA Chief Judge, Ivan Olivier, Bob Skinner, Sebastiano Sacca, Bruce Clark. The contest director - Danie Potgieter (Snr). Scorers - Petro Erasmus, Sherryl Clark, Susan Miller.

Despite the relatively small entry, the competition amongst the F3A pilots and other classes was fierce. To give credence to this statement, it was only after the final round of the F3A class whereby everyone had to wait for the prize giving, in order to find out who had finally won the 2014 F3A Masters.

In the lower classes, the winners were apparent before the final round. All competitors gave of their very best in all four rounds, with the respective winners well deserving of their achievements.

SA Aerobatic MastersSA Aerobatic Masters

Arthur Eggar

Sophisticated, all-composite RC Aerobatic aeroplanes, huddled together under the shelter at the Klerksdorp Radio Flyers club. Photos by Pieter Botha, Sherryl Clark, and Susan Miller.


A veryMerry

Christmas

A veryMerry

Christmas

and aHappyNew Year

and aHappyNew Year

To all SAMAA members,and their families, andclubs, and club administrators,and dealers, and importers,and distributors, and everyone whohas anything to do with model flying!

To all SAMAA members,and their families, andclubs, and club administrators,and dealers, and importers,and distributors, and everyone whohas anything to do with model flying!


Pieter Botha and his very colourful Nuance, hereassisted by André Stockwell.

Roston Dugmore having a close look at the right-hand wheel spat of his Citrin. No damage!

In the Masters class Matthys Botha (Bald Eagle) was the lone competitor, but therein lay a greater challenge as he had to re-maiden his repaired plane (the one extensively damaged at the 2014 Nationals when he had an incident with a predator bird – which the bird lost) and needed to get reacquainted with the plane and set-up, all whilst competing. He acquitted himself well, and his scores did justice to his flying ability.

Most pilots made the trek to Klerksdorp on the Friday, and after a number of practice flights, declared themselves ready to do battle. It is worth mentioning that for once the weather gods were on the pilots' side and they were not challenged with the howling gales throughout the weekend that has almost been customary at the KRF venue. This was a really a pleasant change, and the scores reflected the good conditions.

A rather leisurely 9 o’clock pilots briefing, with flight order draws being made on the Saturday morning 18 October, saw flying underway at 09:30 with the Intermediate class first off, followed by Advanced, Masters, and then F3A ending the first round.

It is fitting at this juncture that thanks go out to (in no preferential order) the Scorers, Judges and Contest Director. They are the unsung heroes, who diligently get on with their jobs, bear the brunt of a modicum of criticism from time to time and without whom no competition would ever happen. We thank and salute you. It is also fitting that we thank the club members of KRF, who present the best “junk food” on the circuit, and to you we say, “cheers, baie dankie - to a well done job”.

Three rounds were completed on day one in all classes, bar the Intermediate class. The day's flying ended at about 16:00. With favorite beverage in hand, and good company to boot, everyone settled down to a very relaxing Saturday evening, ending with a scrumptious braai, all to the occasional outburst of applause from those watching the Sharks taking a hammering from the Golden Lions. Much was discussed under the shelter into the night, and eventually everyone retired for a well-deserved rest to face the challenges of the next day.

Sunday morning dawned, the weather absolutely sublime, but regrettably the dead calm only lasted until flying time, but as mentioned earlier, it was not too bad for the seasoned campaigners capable of handling the slight cross-wind that prevailed to the end of the competition.

Nico Erasmus getting ready for one of his flights, with son Hugo assisting. Nico has two identicalWind S craft.

Grant Brook and Citrin attempting the Long Walkto Committment.

The KRF kitchen crew had a steady supply ofboerie rolls, hamburgers, and other foodstuffs.

The remaining rounds of flying commenced at 09:00 with the Intermediate class, followed by the rest of the classes, and ending with the Intermediates who had only had their two flights on the Saturday. This concluded competition flying for the weekend. Some of the F3A pilots then proceeded to have their own informal unknown sequence competition, flying one of the extremely challenging Unknown sequences from the recent USA Nationals. The skill with which they managed to get through most of the elements (when flying them for the first time) was impressive and is a tribute to the level of competition flying locally. Roston was flying his Citrin with a brand new contra- rotating prop setup, and the benefits of this new technology on a bipe were very apparent when tackling the very complex sequences.

The competition was wrapped up with the prizegiving, speeches of thanks, and praise made by various officials and office bearers. The prizegiving proceeded to conclusion, and each competitor was given a certification of achievement for qualifying and participating in the Masters. The winners were rewarded with great trophies. A special word of congratulations to André Stockwell, who narrowly beat Calvin Schroll to take the Masters F3A title after an extremely close contest that came down to the very last round.

In closing, a year of challenges, but despite all of them and to our dedicated members, a year we will remember and we look forward to a vibrant 2015.

Calvin Schroll carrying his Opium back to the pits after a successful flight. Caller Sebastiano Saccalooking well-pleased with the flight.

Clinton Carter-Brown ready for take-off with the Peridot, while caller Grant Brook looks to see thatthe wind has not changed direction.

Contact the MAASA if you need more info onaerobatic activities in South Africa.

Arthur Eggar [email protected]


Bruce Clark expressing his appreciation upon receiving his certificate. For his diligent judging effortsover the last few years, MAASA has proposed the addition of Bruce’s name to the FAI Judge register.

Three F3A pilots with their awards. From left, Ian Matten, André Stockwell (first), Arthur Eggar (back),Calvin Schroll (second), and Roston Dugmore (third).

Pieter Botha and Hugo Erasmus were the only entrants in the Intermediate class, but that did notprevent healthy competition between the two of them.

Ian Matten with the three Advanced pilots: Nico Erasmus, Michael Sacca (first), and Arthur Eggar.

Matthys Botha was the lone entrant in the Masters-class. This necessitated a name change from“Bald Eagle” to “Lone Eagle”.


2014 Control LineWorld Championships

2014 Control LineWorld Championships

Defending and new world championIgor Burger (Slovakia), in the FAI F2BControl Line Stunt class.

I was the only entrant for this year's control-line world championships that was held in Wloclawek, Poland from the 11th to the 16th of August. I flew in the F2B aerobatics event and was supported by my wife Bokkie Renecle and also by former team racing competitor, Conrad Cloete. This was my 8th world champs and I was hoping to place at least 10 places higher than my previous best of 37th place in Kiev in 1998. I managed 38th place in Bulgaria in 2012 with a new electric stunt model and I have improved the performance a lot with much help from the present world F2B champion, Igor Burger from Slovakia. In fact Igor had invited me to Slovakia for a four day practice session with him and his team mates, so I was very confident of achieving my goal.

Bokkie and I arrived in Bratislava, Slovakia on 25th July and early the next morning I was with Igor at their local flying club circles. I would get up at around 05:00 each morning and Igor would generally pick me up at 06:00 to 06:30 latest. Flying with the world's best fliers is an experience that I will never forget. I received plenty of help in trimming my model, and expert coaching as well. I was not allowed to relax or take things easy at all! My real goal of reaching the top15 fly-off's always seemed out of reach, because here in South Africa we are fairly isolated as far as international competition goes. I asked Igor what he thought my chances of achieving this are; he replied that it would be very difficult with the amount of new youngsters in the competition that had plenty of world-class coaching and international competition experience, plus high tech ready-to-fly composite models that fly very well out of the box. At a cost of around 300 Euros, these models are out of my price bracket. On our last practice day, I put in two flights, with Igor watching critically, and he said that those flights were top-15 quality. I must admit however that conditions with the weather were good at that time, but I still felt that realistically I could move up at least ten places from my previous best.

One of many versions of the Shark, this one by Brazilian competitor Bene Rodrigues, 32nd place.

Keith Renecle

We arrived in Poland on the 5th of August in the evening, and early the next morning I was ready to go. The flying site had no hard tar or concrete circles, and just two official grass circles plus one grass practice circle. The flying site was on a local light aircraft airfield and the rough outfield was definitely not prepared enough for a world championship event. After many complaints, the organisers tried to fix the problems by wetting and rolling the ground, and then mowing it again. To illustrate the point, the Japanese team was hand launching their models! The mower used was just one home-type small push mower that was pretty useless. An official complaint, signed by virtually all of the pilots, was drawn up by the German team manager, Uwe Kehnen and handed to the FAI Jury. Many models were damaged during take-offs and landings, so there was a lot of unhappiness over this issue.

My first round came up and it was raining. I did not think that the contest would continue in the rain but it did. I did a practice flight in the rain but it was very difficult for me because I need to wear glasses. The wet model also flies heavily as well due to less air molecules in the air. The inner balsa wood also absorbs moisture so this is not a good idea. My score was not good in the gusty wind and rain, but for round two the rain had stopped and I only had gusty wind to contend with. I started out well but then during the two outside square loops, my model broke apart somewhere on the rear section of the fuselage, and that was that. The model was totally destroyed as it went straight into the ground. To say that I was devastated after all the work I had put in this time, was an understatement. I was sitting under a gazebo feeling very sorry for myself when Igor Burger came over and said “We can fix the model!” I said that this was impossible and I had already thrown most of it in the dirt bin. He just said “If you say yes, we will fix it...if you say no then it's also O.K. BUT we can fix it” I really did not want to add more hassles to Igor and Alex who were trying hard to win the champs, but I eventually said yes. Igor and his team mate Alex Shrek went around looking for balsa and eventually got some from one of the Polish guys. At 17:00 the work started. At around

Line-up of Stunt aeries waiting their turn to be flown


01:00 the next morning, we had a semblance of a stunter all rebuilt and glued together. I could not sleep after that and was up again at 05:00 trying to fit the motor and electric stuff. At 07:30 I was back at the field and I tested it, with Igor telling me not to do very hard corners! It flew quite well in fact, but not as good as before. My 3rd round came up and I flew four round loops either way. I was so tired from not sleeping that I could barely stand, so my score was bad. I went back to the guest house and had a few hours sleep, and in my last round on the high scoring circle, I managed a reasonable flight and scored 1010. This pushed my place up from right down the bottom at around 70th to 50th, but at least I had a score.

I re-named the model “Apache” because of all the patches. The Polish guys heard of the story and wanted to keep the model as an example of what good sportsmanship is about. I could not take it home any more so I got all those that worked on it to sign it, and left it in Poland.

So it went from heartbreak, to a heart-warming story. For these Slovak guys to do something like that for this 64-year old South African is just so amazing. Igor, of course won the event convincingly. In the end, South Africa was represented with pride, and at the closing ceremony the small group of us received an amazing round of applause!

After the emotions have settled down, I have made a lot of notes of everything that I have learned from the sessions with the world champion. I will now be able to share this with any prospective competitors from South Africa in the future, so a personal disappointment can be turned into a something very good that will benefit others. Thank you for the support from the SAMAA and also SASCOC.

Silver medallist in the junior class for F2B Stunt, Vladislav Sokolovsky (Ukraine), also used Shark.

Senior F2B medalists: Richie Kornmeier (Germany), Igor Burger (Slovakia), Jun Yang (China, 3rd).

Igor Burger’s winning Max Bee model.

Russian stunt planes relaxing in the shade of a tent.

Philippe Gauthier’s Yak 55 during one of the F2BStunt manoeuvres. Placed 23rd for France.

Two of the FAI jury members, Mrs Jo Halman(United Kingdom) and Andras Ree (Hungary).

Keith Renecle’s Newtron, after the overnight repair job, involving many hands. Christened for its finalflight as Apache... a patch here, and a patch there!

A dejected Keith after the break-apart in mid-air of the Newtron. Bokkie holding the wing, whichescaped relatively intact.

Canadian Peter van Hansen during one of his flights.

Kenny Stevens (USA) with former Kaz Minato Blue Max, placed 25th.

Team Racing circle, viewed through the safety fence. South Afriuca did not have a team racing crewthis year (usually Conrad Cloete/Dirk Meyer).

Before...and after! Pawel Dzuba (Poland) pranged his plane and then fixed it again, hence the nosedamage. It is actually powered by an electric motor, with a dummy IC engine.

Scirocco, by Germany’s Cornelius Gehrig, placed 60th..

Rob Metkemeijer (MB Engines) helping a competitor tofine-tune his F2C Team Racing engine.

Claudia Scaramello (Italy) placed thirdin the junior class of F2A Speed.

Results2014 FAI World Championships for Control Line Model Aircraft

Włocławek, PolandFAI-F2A Speed - SeniorsPos. Competitor Nation Flight 1 Flight 2 Flight 3 Flight 4 Best

1. Carl Dodge USA 0 0 0 301.2 301.22. Paul Eisner GBR 0 300.2 301.1 299.2 301.13. Ken Morrisey GBR 0 292.2 0 300.8 300.8

FAI-F2A Speed - Juniors17. Yevgen Savenko UKR 285.1 293.4 283.4 0 293.428. Yan Spirin RUS 288.6 0 0 0 288.634. Claudia Scaramello ITA 277.7 278.5 284.3 0 284.3

FAI-F2B Aerobatics - SeniorsPos. Competitor Nation Qual. Final 1 Final 2 Final 3 Total

1. Igor Burger SVK 2244.60 0 1127.96 1135.93 2263.892. Richard Kornmeier GER 2139.03 1021.11 1071.16 1104.95 2176.113. Jun Yang CHN 2155.96 1047.01 1087.11 1084.50 2171.6150. Keith Renecle RSA 292.80 1010.40 894.60 833.90 1905.00

FAI-F2B Aerobatics - Juniors28. Kazuya Yokoyama JPN 2083.32 938.86 1021.76 1037.86 2059.6229. Vladislav Sokolovsky UKR 2081.73 893.95 1001.95 1028.40 2030.3552. Ilia Guriushkin RUS 1881.20 847.45 891.55 958.83 1850.38

FAI-F2C Team Racing - SeniorsPos. Competitors Nation Best heat Semi 1 Semi 2 Final

1. Andreev/Vorobyev RUS 3:10.3 3:09.0 3:04.1 6:19.92. Dozhidayev/Dukov RUS 3:00.6 3:04.1 3:01.1 6:23.03. Bondarenko/Lerner UKR 3:07.4 3:20.0 3:01.6 6:23.3

FAI-F2C Team Racing - Juniors34. Kotchetygov/Venediktov RUS 4:03.4 3:46.4 3:31.8 3:31.840. Tomczyk/Korczynski POL 0 4:12.3 4:07.6 4:07.641 Shkilniak/Hrebeniuk UKR 1 lap Disq. 4:23.0 4:23.0

FAI-F2D Combat - SeniorsPos. Competitor Nation Wins 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1. Stanislav Chornyy UKR 9 W W W W L W W W W W2. Henning Forberg DEN 7 W W W W W W L W L3. Rudolf Koenigshofer AUT 7 W W L W W W W W L

FAI-F2D Combat - Juniors5. Richard Mady HUN 6 W W W W W L W L9. Lucas Ostman SWE 5 W W L W W W L12 Ivan Boroda RUS 4 W W W W L L

F2A Speed - Team Result F2B Aerobatics - Team Result1. United Kingdom 1. China 23. South Africa2. USA 2. Slovakia3. Ukraine 3. Russia

F2C Team Racing - Team Result F2D Combat - Team Result1. Ukraine 1. Russia2. France 2. Denmark3. Russia 3. Ukraine View full results at www.clwch2014.pl

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Team racing action...probably one of the most physically-demanding aeromodelling disciplines! Andnot limited to young competitors; Bengt-Olof Samuelsson from Sweden (right), seen here mixing itwith younger competitors, is a retired Swedish Air Force officer.


Contact the CLASA if you need more info on Control Line activities in South Africa.Henry Kurowski 083-243-0644 [email protected]


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Bob Skinner and Trevor Viljoen in front of the SAMAA stand. Photo by Karl Spangenberg.


AAD Airshow at Waterkloof AFBAAD Airshow at Waterkloof AFBAAD Airshow at Waterkloof AFBAAD Airshow at Waterkloof AFBAAD Airshow at Waterkloof AFBAAD Airshow at Waterkloof AFBBob Skinner

prospective clients. Sadly, many more dealers did not bother to respond, and they surely lost out on potential business. This is the second opportunity this year passed up by some dealers...business must be booming!

Yes, there were problems with logistics, and the pre-show access was particularly difficult, depending on the situation, and who you were dealing with. On some occasions it was a flat “No”, despite passes and stickers, and at other times, I was able to drive in with a trailer, right up to the SAMAA stand, with no questions being asked.

Catering was disappointing, with a “cousin of a cousin” not delivering, and promptly being shown the gate. It was not uncommon to see business executives trotting onto the base with heavily-laden shopping bags, to at least be able to offer their clients and guests something to eat and drink, despite the high price tag for the hire of their hospitality chalets.

Arney Sieling, Chris van Rensburg and Boet & Wesley Denysschen were asked by Col Hosepipe Hanekom to provide flying demonstrations, right on stage centre, with plenty of appreciation from the huge crowd.

My grateful thanks to all who helped with manning the stand, supplying models, etc. A special thank you to Marthinus Potgieter who contributed in his personal capacity, and also for treating the SAMAA GM on his birthday!

Every two years, the Africa Aerospace and Defence Expo is staged at the Waterkloof AFB in Centurion, to showcase the products and services in the defence and aviation sectors. A concession is made to the Aero Club of South Africa, for its sections to exhibit their activities, at no cost, and the SAMAA was this year part of the Fun Fly Park, sharing free space with some of the other sections of the Aero Club.

We were very fortunate that two of the sections adjoining the SAMAA-allocated stand, did not show, and we had three times the original space, at no extra cost (besides the shared hire cost of the marquee tent). Most of the special interest groups participated, by exhibiting models, and doing duty at the stand. One SIG showed no interest and did not respond to any correspondence. Model aircraft of a great variety were exhibited, to give the visitors a good cross-section of the SAMAA members’ activities.

Wednesday 17th to Friday 19th were the trade days, and naturally there was not a high level of interest, since most of the corporate visitors are there to investigate, source, and procure arms, ammunition, and services for their companies and nations. A few of them did visit the Fun Fly Park though.

Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st September however, was a very different story; thousands of people entered the base, with many people visiting the SAMAA stand. There was a multitude of questions, and we had knowledeable staff on hand to answer. Often it was: “how much does it cost, and how far can they fly?” There were hundreds of genuine requests for information, about the SAMAAs activities, and where models may be obtained, and where they may be flown. Three hobby dealers participated in a free offer to be present and have promotional material on hand to give to

The MHSA Masters helicopter competition took place on Sunday 26th October 2014 at Rosslyn Aeromodellers North West of Pretoria.

It was a typical summers morning, cloudy, and a light rainy drizzle early on. The rain did not persist but the cool cloudy conditions together with the gusty wind conditions made things a little tricky and difficult for the pilots competing in the competition.

The competition only attracted six entrants, five entries in the FAI-F3C Class and one entry in Class 2. It was good to see 'Spacey' again entered in F3C with his nitro-driven JR Vibe 90-size with a flybar-less 3 blade main rotor head. This was the only nitro entry amongst the other electric-driven entries. Spacey says he has decided to enter the F3C competitions now to keep all the other F3C pilots 'honest'.

Due to the grim conditions early on, things only got going after around 09:00 and all was over by midday. As this was one of the rounds counting towards the F3C team selection for the 2015 FAI-F3C/F3N World Championships to be held in Austria mid next year, a full complement of five judges were on hand to judge the flying. The SAMAA general manager also reported for judging duties at short notice due to the fact that we found ourselves one judge short the week before the competition. Our faithful scorer Jacques Meyer reported for scoring duties and the individual scores were available as always soon after each flight was completed.

The trying conditions contained the pilots from posting exceptional scores, but all went well and there were no incidents during the day's flying. In the F3C class, pilots have a choice of flying three F3C P-schedules, or a last round of the more-demanding F-schedule. Arney Sieling elected to fly the F, and this being naturally more difficult, allowed Spacey to take the round. This boosted the other pilots too, since their normalised scores turned out to be higher. The final results are shown in the results table.

The competition was concluded with the normal prize giving function shortly after the last flight was completed. Wessel Vosloo, the F3C “Headman”, urged all to recruit new entries in the lower classes to prevent the F3C competitions from extinction. All were in agreement that the prevailing economic conditions were possibly the reason for the low number of entries that are being attracted to the helicopter, and other competitions in general.

2014 MHSA Heli Masters2014 MHSA Heli Masters2014 MHSA Heli Masters

Johan Sieling

The Rosslyn vistas saw a stiff breeze for most of the day. Rudolf du Toit’s JR Vibe during hovering.

Arney is forever tinkering on his helis! Rightly so. Three-bladers just where you look!

Fixed gaze of judges on hovering manoeuvre by Ettienne du Preez. Judges were Bob Skinner, DeonSmit, André Venter, Cilliers van Niekerk, and Willem de Veer. All other photos by Ettienne du Preez.

Veterans of F3C competition, Arney Sieling andRudolf du Toit (practicing on Android ‘phone!).

Wessel Vosloo hovering his heli over the centralheli-pad. Ettienne calling manoeuvres.

Up-and-coming Bryan Currie making some adjustments to the three-blade rotor head of his heli.This pic was not taken at the SA Heli Masters, but at Area 51 in Polokwane, where the MHSA had arranged for proficiency testing. Cilliers van Niekerk handing over MHSA cap.


Rudolf du Toit starting the IC engine in his JR Vibe helicopter.

Results2014 Model Helicopters South Africa - SA Masters

Rosslyn Aero Modellers

FAI-F3C (maximum score 300)Pos. Competitor Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Raw Norm. Raw Norm Raw Norm. Total Final

1. Arney Sieling 210.3 1000 208.3 1000 181.8 997.26 2000 10002. Rudolf du Toit 179.8 854.97 185.8 891.98 182.3 1000 1891.98 945.993. Bryan Currie 159.3 757.49 171.8 824.77 172.8 947.89 1772.66 886.334. Sam van Zyl 123.5 587.26 161.1 773.40 167.3 917.72 1691.12 845.565. Wessel Vosloo 150.3 714.69 157.8 757.56 156.8 860.12 1617.68 808.84

Class 2 (maximum score 240)Pos. Competitor Raw Norm Raw Norm. Raw Norm. Total Final

1. Ettienne du Preez 137.5 1000 132.0 1000 134.5 1000 2000 1000

Contact the MHSA if you need more info onhelicopter activities in South Africa.

Cilliers van Niekerk [email protected]


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Ballito Proficiency DayBallito Proficiency DayNext up was Ross Bishop doing his Bronze. By this time the wind was too strong for his foam Discovery, but the fire was ready so we all had some bacon and egg rolls, expertly cooked by Peter Wilson and Fred Stark. During breakfast, along came Mervyn Roberts with his powered Radian glider, and he started his silver test. His first flight went well but his battery went flat on the second flight. So while his battery was on charge, we finished breakfast and persuaded Ross to do his test as the wind had settled a titch and we could see the rain approaching in the distance. About two minutes into his flight, the wind picked up again and the rain came down, luckily not too heavily. He managed, in difficult conditions, to complete a successful flight to obtain is bronze proficiency.

Now we were all cold and wet, huddled in the wind and rain. Our cameraman for the day, Chris Woods, had retreated to the dry warm interior of Ken's truck, which he had already done frequently through the morning. We were now all waiting on Mervyn's battery to finish charging. Eventually it beeped full and off he went into the wind and rain for his last successful flight. Then it was a mad rush to pack up and head for home. So much for a full day of flying and a braai for lunch... it was only 10h30!

Thank you to all the instructors who attended, it was great to meet you all, and to the pilots who passed their proficiency tests, well done!

After a local gold proficiency test, which was not accepted by SAMAA, due to insufficient qualified instructors being present, the Ballito RC Club decided to organise a proficiency test day at our new airfield. Ken Mann put a lot of work into organising the day by contacting qualified instructors around KZN, with the help of Bob Skinner, and inviting them to our proficiency test day on the 24th September 2014. We eventually had five to six confirmed instructors/instructor judges coming from as far afield as Umkomaas, Pietermaritzburg, and Richards Bay.

With the day now confirmed, our members started practicing for their proficiency test. We managed to muster nine members who were keen to do tests, ranging from a solo, through to instructor level. We also opened the day to other clubs, but unfortunately no one took up the challenge.

Now that everything was organised, we started watching the weather forecast. It looked really good to begin with, but as we got closer, the forecast got worse. On Tuesday 23rd, we decided to move the date to Sunday 28th. Predicted wind speeds for Wednesday were 23 to 46km/h, which in hindsight, was very accurate. Sunday's forecast was the next best, but this time we had rain forecast but it was definitely a go, come hell or high water. Due to the date change, some of the students were not able to attend but all the instructors confirmed. A great dedicated bunch of guys!

Ken crashed his Miss Wind 60 while practicing for his gold on Saturday morning 12th before the big day. He ordered a Drastik 40 and frantically worked on it to get it ready for the following Saturday so he could get some more practice with his new plane. The plane arrived in time and was ready for her maiden flight on Saturday morning.

The big day finally arrived, with cold winds up to 24km/h and intermittent rain. Setting up for the day began at 06h00, and most of the instructors had arrived by 08:00. The skottel would not stay lit for our early birds bacon and egg rolls breakfast, so we got the Weber going instead. While the coals were simmering, we discussed the weather. Ken decided to brave the wind and do his test. After his pre-flight test and a briefing by the three instructors, John Dorse, Bruce Clarke, and Hercules Venter, who would be marking, he fuelled up for his first gold flight. After being blown around the sky a bit, both his flights went off well and he passed his gold proficiency.

Peter Frankle was next in line to do his Bronze test. While setting up his plane, a gust of wind blew it off the pre-flight table...it hit the ground and snapped in two just behind the cockpit. He was, to say the least, a little …… off as he too had put in a lot of practice and did not have another plane to do his test with. Fred Stark's comment to this was, “Some pilots will do anything to get out of doing their test.” Sorry Peter, at least more time to practice.

Mervyn Roberts, with judges Hercules Venter, John Dorse, and Bruce Clark.

Wessel Venter & Sean Leenstra. J Dorse, B Clark & Ross Bishop. Ken’s planes, out of the rain.

Keith Pyle in action with his quadcopter.Three judges and Ken Mann checking Drastik.

Ken Mann doing his Gold proficiency,with three judges looking critical.

Wessel and Seangetting warm!

John Dorse, Fred Stark, andBruce Clark.

Mervyn’s brave Radian glider.

Sean Leenstra’sheli in action.

Charlie Smith, sonof Lionel & Maxine.

Peter Frankle andbreakfast!

Ken Mann

This trip was made possible by the very kind support of many sponsors, Arthur Eggar - MAASA Chairman, Derek Sumption - Brantam Financial Services, Gordon Dyne - Dyneamic Bearings, Karl Jensen and Clive King and many members of the EAA chapter 322. Thank you everyone for your contribution, without your support Roston would not have gone to the USA and he would not have gained the experience he did. He has learned a huge amount and is much better placed now to successfully defend his World Champion Junior title in European conditions which are so VERY DIFFERENT to what he is used to in South Africa.

Andrew Jesky, America's best F3A pilot, very kindly invited Roston to compete at the US Nationals and offered to lend Roston a "Hera S" plane and to help him set it up - extremely kind of him - he is a busy man and his time is valuable. Remember also that Andrew was under pressure because this Nats was the one and only team selection event for the US team to the 2015 F3A World Championship.

After 24hrs travel, Roston and his mother Susan arrived in USA and he and Andrew put the plane together and set up Roston's transmitter with some of Andrew's basic settings. After a few days and many trimming flights at Andrew's dad's home flying site, Roston was getting used to the plane and getting it set up the way he liked. The day before they had to depart for the competition, they noticed some places where the carbon top-wing mounting was starting to de-laminate, so back to the workshop for repairs. Unfortunately half a precious day was lost but then a few more flights. Next day they drove to Muncie, the competition site (about 4 hrs) for three more days practice, after 6 flights the plane was flying well and Roston was feeling confident, then disaster. The top wing mount broke while executing a snap and the whole top wing tore off. Somehow Roston landed the rest of the plane safely but repair was impossible. Now what? Two days before the competition and Roston had to get another plane, or withdraw. Andrew worked a miracle and that night Roston had an "Accuracy" also fortunately a biplane. Roston was obviously disappointed because an F3A pilot needs to set up his plane to suit his flying style and "fingers" and there was not enough time to do this properly. At this time true American hospitality and generosity was shown by many wonderful people who rallied round, encouraging Roston to work hard at getting back into the competition. Fantastic! Due to their amazing support Roston got this unknown plane basically sorted out and successfully completed his four competition flights, although placing a disappointing 26th out 41 competitors - not what he was aiming at. He was however getting better every flight so he was very pleased to be asked to fly the warm up flight for the semi-finals (F) schedule the following day. He flew a good F and it was a nice way for him to finish this competition.

In spite of the misfortunes with his plane and perhaps even because of them, he has gained PRICELESS EXPERIENCE and has learned what he (and all SA's top flyers) have to do to make it into the world's top 20.

2014 USA F3A Nationals2014 USA F3A Nationals2014 USA F3A Nationals

Susan Miller

Andrew is a VERY GOOD pilot; he won every round, showing why he is no. three in the world. He spent time showing Roston how to make tiny adjustments to his plane for more accuracy and smoothness. These little fine tuning adjustments, Roston has not done previously but he discovered that the top flyers practise a lot in still air. They set up their planes perfectly and then concentrate very hard on flying perfect shapes with gracefulness and smoothness. They know what they have to strive for, they know what perfection looks like, and they constantly work at it (some practice every day).

In South Africa, Roston very seldom flies in still air, and as a result he has not developed this aspect of his flying. He flies a lot in wind and turbulence, and has developed quick reflexes and superb flying skill in order to intuitively correct for turbulence and wind. The last world championship in 2013 - where Roston won the F3A world champion junior title - was in severe wind and turbulence. An awed comment made at this time "He is a real king of the wind" summed it up perfectly. Still air conditions are very different and Roston has now seen, for the first time, the absolute smoothness and accuracy which can be achieved in still air, he was stunned.

Roston's trip to USA is the best thing he could have done to improve his flying skills, he saw for the first time the perfection that can be achieved in still air and learned that still air (rare in SA) MUST be used to improve one's skills, still air is not a time to relax and simply enjoy the flying because it's so easy - as if it were a bit of light relief from serious pattern flying - still air means it's time to work extra hard to achieve perfect shapes, smoothness and accuracy. Precision in still air is very important and needs lots of practice. Roston also learned how to change other aspects of his flying, small things he could improve that he was not aware of which he can now work on. The 2015 F3A world championship in Switzerland is going to be at a venue where it is quite likely conditions will be calm and not what Roston is used to. Fortunately he has the next twelve months to apply what he learned in the USA and to develop his plane and flying style for precision in still air. He also learned how often top pilots practice, (daily is not unusual, either before or after work) and he will have to do the same. Valuable things have been learned and priceless experience gained.

Thank you family Jesky, you made this wonderful experience possible. Also Roston's mother Susan who worked tirelessly to raise the funds and make it all happen, she has to be the world's most supportive mother. Most importantly, thank you everyone who supported Susan's many fund raising events. Without your support this would not have been possible.

USA National Champion, Andrew Jesky, and Roston in a lighter mood. Pit action at the 2014 USA Aerobatic Nationals.

The Acuracy bi-plane that Roston was able to use, after the loss of the Hera S.


Andrew Jesky helping Roston with the set-up on the Acuracy bi-plane.


Tournament of Champions

Gavin Walton

The 1st and 2nd N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 4 finally arrived. All the p r a c t i c i n g a n d coaching was to be put to effect, with some six of the best South African large scale pilots participating in the unlimited category, and three participating in the limited category.

As per customary competition reports, we start with a brief description of the weather conditions, because the wind and cloud cover did not assist the pilots in their endeavours to fly the challenging schedules, to the best of their ability. The visibility was affected for most of the weekend by up to 95% cloud cover, and cloud sometimes down to as low as 1 000 feet. The wind was consistently fierce for most of the weekend at 25mph, with gusts up to 35mph, and constantly changing direction.

Pilots were briefed and the Limited class pilots soon got to grips with weather effect on demanding schedules. A total six sequences were flown in both Unlimited and Limited class for the pre-practiced and known sequences. The unknown sequences were handed to the pilots the following morning. These unpractised and never-before-seen sequences tested the pilots' skill and nerve beyond measure. Some of the pilots were better at getting these schedules known, and others had good callers assisting with the sequences.

The second day of the tournament was to be no different to the first as pertained the weather, and proceedings were stopped for while whilst the rain subsided. The pilots brought their equipment into shelter in no time. Fortunately the facilities provided by Irene Radio Flyers were superb.

Mention must be made of the savoury meals provided throughout the weekend by the club and a special thank you goes to the club for allowing the use of their great facility for the weekend. They even closed the field to regulars for practice days before the event.

The fou rounds of unknown sequences flown by limited and unlimited pilots produced some hairy moments, but fortunately there was no damage to property, equipment, or persons. Remarkably, aeroplanes behaved extremely well and equipment turned out to be most reliable throughout the competition weekend. The judges started immediately after the unknown sequences with the freestyle competition. The freestyle sequences were all about smoke, music, and showmanship.

The tournament concluded with prize giving. The results are shown opposite.

Gavin Walton organiser of the TOC, remarked that the pilots were to be congratulated on a really superb standard of flying, with special emphasis on trying to improve positioning of manoeuvres in future competitions. He thanked the pilots for their commitment and encouraged them to bring new faces to future competitions. He also thanked Irene Radio flyers for the use of their great facility and catering for the weekend. Judges were thanked for their contributions to the event and André Stockwell led a motion to thank Gavin Walton and André Lourens for their efforts during the last year.

Come on Large Scale pilots, start practicing for the Nationals. Let’s get our entries to the 20-mark. Gavin mentioned he would notify all about the calender for next year.

Ian Brandon, one of the three judges, looks on insomewhat pensive manner. Other judges wereIan Edwards, and Gavin Walton (also organiser).

Deon Zwarts and Brett Black share a momentbefore Deon flew the Unknown sequence.

A new technique was developed during these championships. If you stand on one leg whilst calling,it brings the pilot a great deal of luck. You should try this!

The Irene Radio Flyers facilities were great when the rain came down for a short spell.

Even seasoned André Stockwell seen with Charles Kerr contort their bodies in an effort to memorisethe schedules for the unknown sequences.

Unlimited class winner, Andre Stockwell, with theFloating trophy and personal one. Great smile!

Winner of the Freestyle section of the competitionwas Brett Black

Results2014 Large Scale Aerobatics “Tournament of Champions”

Irene Radio Flyers

Unlimited Class Limited ClassPos. Competitor Pos. Competitor

1. André Stockwell 1. Freddie Kotze2. Brett Black 2. Gerald Burrell3. Chris Zurinskas 3. Roland Suhrmuller4. Deon Zwarts5. Victor Barvik6. Charles Kerr

Contact the LSA if you need more info on Large Scale Aerobaticactivities in South Africa.Gavin Walton 083-408-4296. [email protected] André Lourens 083-441-7163

It is hard to believe that this will be the last issue of the SAMAA News for 2014 and that we are on the brink of 2015. As most members are aware , the SAMAA Management Committee hosted our Annual General Meeting on 29 October 2014 at the SAMAA offices. The turnout for an organisation with more than three t h o u s a n d m e m b e r s w a s r a t h e r disappointing.

I would like to extend my appreciation to the members who made the effort to attend and offered some very positive and constructive input during the meeting. We also appreciate the presence of Mr Kev Storie, the General Manager of the Aero Club of South Africa, and believe that the interaction between members present and Kev Storie was very positive.

I would like to highlight some of the decisions that were made during the AGM, and some information that was presented on matters that the SMC dealt with.

• As from 1 November 2014, the SAMAA has entered into a new insurance policy with Hollard. The new policy has increased the cover to R20mil per claim, with an excess of R10 000.00 per claim. One of the main motivations to change our policy was a saving of approximately 66% on the annual premium, and the fact that “Training for Remuneration” was included in the policy.

• A decision was made to change the Auditors used by the SAMAA, which also resulted in savings on expenses.

• As there have been some savings on other expenses too, the membership fees for 2015 will remain the same. The SMC has managed to absorb the increase in Aero Club fees and other expenses because of these savings.

• To align the SAMAA with affiliated organisations such as the Aero Club, our financial year will change with immediate effect from 31 March every year, to 31 December every year. The latter also makes administration of budgets much easier. Due to the moving of the financial year end, we will also have our AGM much earlier in the year.

• The SAMAA Newsletter will no longer be printed, but distributed electronically in pdf format by means of a link e-mailed to all members. There has been provision made for the SAMAA office to print some copies on normal A4 paper, in very special cases where a member does not have access to electronic media.

• It was also decided, that since all SAMAA members are automatically members of the Aero Club of South Africa, that members should receive information relevant to aviation news and happenings in and around South Africa from the Aero Club. Members will have the option to opt-out the first time they receive any correspondence from the Aero Club. Members can also communicate with the SAMAA office if they do not want their contact details given to the Aero Club. The principles governing this process will be negotiated by our compliance sub-committee, documented, and a formal agreement entered into between the SAMAA and the Aero Club. Please see this request elsewhere in this publication.

The SAMAA Management Committee will continue with some projects in the new year and I would like to highlight some of them.

• The 2015 SAMAA Combined Power Nationals, which is tentatively scheduled for 13, 14, 15 and 16 June 2015. Hopefully, we will be able to secure the facilities at PC Pelser Airport in Klerksdorp.

• The successful approval of 5.8 GHz for the use in FPV and multi-rotor applications.

• Our acceptance and compliance with Regulation 149 of the Civil Aviation Act dealing with recreational organisations.

• Hosting a SAMAA fly-in, where everyone can participate, as it will not be an air show. This will be hosted over a weekend where members can camp etc.

• The re-publishing of our Manual of Procedures in a three tier format.

Club Manual SIG Manual Administrative Manual

• Closer communication and co-operation between the SAMAA Management Committee and club management.

• The launch of the new SAMAA web site.

• Engaging ATNS regarding the Gauteng Air Space review.

During 2013, the SAMAA compliance committee applied for permanent height alleviation to 1000ft for all clubs that could possibly qualify for that. Unfortunately, as it seems is the status quo with some of our governmental departments, it was completely ignored and the existing height restrictions were published in the latest AIP's as they were before. The SAMAA Management Committee, in co-operation with RAASA, will drive this process again and hopefully we will obtain the relaxation we requested during 2013.

With the summer holidays approaching, members must please take note that the SAMAA office will be closed from 20 December 2014 and reopen on 12 January 2015. Elsewhere in this publication, emergency numbers for this period are advertised. Juanita Smith's number is also listed if there are any membership queries, but please try to resolve these before the office closes or once it re-opens in January 2015.

I would like to extend my gratitude to all SAMAA members for their support during 2014 and would like to wish all our Christian members a very Blessed Christmas. Please enjoy your holidays and return home safely. I have to single out my fellow members serving on the SAMAA Management Committee and thank them profusely for their total dedication and hard work over the last eight months. Without their commitment our organisation would not be able to move forward at the pace it currently does.

I will personally be on vacation in the Eastern Cape and look forward to visiting some of our clubs and members in the area when we can establish, first hand, what the wishes of our members are.

The SAMAA Management Committee would like to wish all our members a prosperous 2015 and may all your wishes materialise. We look forward to many happy and SAFE flying hours.

Best wishes

Chairman’sReportMarthinus Potgieter


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From the officeThis report was delivered at the 2014 SAMAA Annual General Meeting, and briefly covers the activities of the SAMAA office and the general manager, from October 2013 to October 2014.

It was a very busy year in the office, with most issues being handled on a regular basis: memberships, events, proficiencies, clubs, insurance, FAI, airspace, newsletter, Aero Club/RAASA/CAA, SIGs, and Post Office. Yes, our wonderful quasi-government

institution that gobbles up a lot of our tax money, and does not deliver…whatever it takes!

Membership renewals and new memberships are processed quickly and efficiently. Our membership count is somewhat below 4 000 and I suppose when members are confronted with hard times, hobbies and pastimes are the first to be curtailed. Information is critical to the survival of our Association, and members are urged to log-on to the membership programme to update their information. Occasionally we encounter a situation where a member or new member has not supplied enough information, and delays occur, or an e-mail message is returned as undeliverable.

Many clubs and groups have over the reporting period, arranged events like fly-ins, airshows, and competitions. Applications for permits are managed in-house, and in conjunction with RAASA, where shared use of airspace is involved for Special Air Events. We were involved in a successful exhibition at Africa Aerospace Defence, at Waterkloof. Proficiencies are mostly up to date, but of course certificates, badges, and new membership cards cannot be posted, due to “we do not deliver, whatever we take!”

Marthinus Potgieter will report on a significant change in our insurance cover, which is good news for members. Johan Ehlers continues to look after our FAI matters, and the SAMAA management has spent many hours on airspace issues. We have an obligation to members, to ensure that our airspace is protected and managed, and that members may continue to fly safely at our SAMAA-registered clubs. The production of SAMAA News landed on my desk, but this is only a temporary measure, until a permanent editor is identified and appointed. I must express my disappointment at the lack of reaction from the membership: in Issue 2 of the SAMAA News, there was a call for members to inform the SAMAA office if they wish to have their copy of SAMAA News electronically, or in hard copy. Of the nearly 4 000 members, there were exactly 50 responses, not very encouraging.

Our relationship with the Aero Club and RAASA continues on a good footing, and minor issues are handled expediently. Many of the SAMAAs Special Interest Groups have seen a drop in activity and the concept of a compendium Power Nationals is receiving serious attention.

The SAMAA historical preservation project is gaining momentum, and some of the items are on display here tonight. Members are encouraged to donate historically significant articles to the SAMAA, so that we may preserve the history of our proud Association. This could be model aircraft, newsletters, photographs, CDs, or other items. The Association was constituted in 1936, but there are huge gaps where historical facts are simply not available to us. In closing, please get involved to promote the SAMAA, and its activities. We hope to grow the Association to become even stronger. The management committee members are enthusiastic and committed, and we are always ready to serve the membership. If you have a problem, or know of someone else that has one, get in touch with me, or any of the SAMAA management committee members, and let's find a solution, together.

This is our Association, and as chairman of the Aero Club, Jeff Earle, likes to say, “Let's manage ourselves, before someone else does”.

Membership cardsAt the time of writing this, the post office has not yet resumed full functionality, and this has had a severe effect on the delivery of membership cards. I’ve had numerous messages from members, some even expressing their disappointment at SAMAA for not delivering their membership cards. I am

disappointed that some members, despite almost daily reports in the national news, have not noticed that the post office has been on strike, since 18 August this year. I have received no post in the SAMAA post box since middle-August, and weekly enquiries with different branches of sapo, confirmed that no post was getting out either.

Members must please be patient...as soon as the dysfunctional lot decide they want to work again, the mountain of membership cards will be posted. Meanwhile, members may use two other methods to prove membership: the automated e-mail message that is sent the very instant their membership renewal is captured, and, by logging in to the membership site (www.samaa.co.za) and printing their own paper card. Keep this with you until your card is received “in the post”.

I have been on the case of many post office officials and the department of communications, and the responses have been dismal, in fact non-existent! I’m prepared to bet that in January 2015, there will be another strike, by people who insist to be paid for not working, and then damaging public property, and trashing mail, and threatening non-strikers with bodily harm. Shocking, and to my knowledge, our equally-dysfunctional government has done nothing to put an end to this situation.

E-mail contactDue to the post office strike (it is not worthy for the acronym to be written in upper/lower case!), the last issue of the SAMAA News was distributed to each member, by bulk e-mail, giving a link to issuu.com. We know this is not the ideal method for some, since it entails registration to be able to download the newsletter. The newsletter was also available in pdf-format on the SAMAA BLOG, for members to download.

This is not the concern though. Many e-mails were returned as “undeliverable”, since some members do not consider it important enough to keep their details updated. Ironically, these very same members will not be reading this, and still will not be able to get their SAMAA News.

Aero Club communicationSince all SAMAA members are also members of the Aero Club, you may receive communication from the Aero Club, but not regarding membership, which is handled by the SAMAA. The monthly electronic newsletter from the Aero Club will inform members about the activities of other sections, air shows, events, and other matters of general interest. Should you wish to NOT receive communication from the Aero Club, please send an e-mail message to me at the SAMAA office, and your record will be flagged in the Aero Club office so that you do not receive further e-mail communication.

Office closureAfter a long and busy year, I am taking a bit of leave, to enjoy a rest. The SAMAA office will close on Friday afternoon 19 December 2014, and will re-open on Monday 12 January 2015. Please ensure that your membership and other enquiries are lodged before the closure. Members of the SAMAA management have undertaken to handle emergency queries during this period. Treasurer Juanita Smith is able to process memberships, but please note: the moment you have made a payment to the SAMAA account for your membership (either renewal or new), you are a member of the SAMAA, and you are covered for insurance. Print proof of payment and keep it with you. Club administrators are not unreasonable, and with the evidence that you have made a payment, you will be allowed to use the club facilities.

I wish to take this opportunity, to wish all SAMAA members, a very festive, enjoyable, and relaxing end-of-year. May the rest bring you restored energy, to face the challenges of the new year.

Safe flying!

SAMAA office closed

From Monday 22 December 2014,

to

Friday 9 January 2015.

For emergency membership queries: Juanita Smith 083-630-8975For general SAMAA emergency queries: Marthinus Potgieter 082-377-6493For general SAMAA emergency queries: George Sly 083-560-7545

Ryan Matchett’s P-51B Mustang showing its colours.

YIPPEE! gets a heave from Steve Meusel.

P-38J Lightning YIPPEE! cruises past The Sentinel.


Once again Two Oceans Slope Soarers hosted the premier PSS event in the Cape slope soaring calendar.

As per usual the event was scheduled for the 22nd and 23rd June, bang in the middle of winter and right on the solstice. Longest night, shortest day. This would lead one to believe there would be hell and damnation, dark rolling clouds, and a vast downpour of precipitation at some point during the weekend. Nature was having none of that and threw us warm, sunny, cloudless, and near-calm conditions for the first day. Nice for judging and that’s about all.

So a call was made to hold the judging up at the Cannon site above Simonstown, as we have done before, and while the static classes were being perused, some flew light craft off the front of the slope. Herbie Newton and Nico van Rensburg were there to judge for us, and as usual were fair yet unyielding in their questions and probes into the exact markings of this and that aircraft. There were notable stand-outs in each class and as soon as we completed the judging and due to the ever so faint a wind dropping off even more, headed for the power field.

Unfortunately for us slope types, the only time powered flight really gets exciting is when the power’s off... and so we spent a few mischievous hours spinning the anti gravitational devices attached to the front end of the planes, and then relished the powerless landings. Spitfires, Corsairs and a large dash of Sky Climbers held a festival of touch-and-goes, inverted tail drags, and other silly adventures till the end of the day. Much mirth being had by all.

True to form, the lads had a hell of a bash at Dixies in the evening and all and sundry got home safely. Sunday dawned once again clear, sunny and most annoyingly, fairly windless. Some gathered at the power club, while a few headed to the Chapmans Peak slope and as the morning progressed the wind started to arrive. Although hot, windy and unusual for this time of the year, there was still some lift to be had and the early flights did lead to a few drop out and fetch sessions. These were mostly catered for by Noel Cochius, whose enormous fetch of the foam MIG 3 at the base of the slope, 50 metres from where the cliff plunged into the mighty Atlantic ocean, must rate as one of the longest fetches in Chapmans Peak history... and in Noel's personal history as well. Note to attach GPS to Noel for future fetches.

Eventually the flying rounds were called off from a scoring perspective and the prize giving planned. At this post-lunch stage, the lift did indeed pick up somewhat and the BEE wings were zipping around much better, and the foamie warbirds were into attack mode and a few more fetches were made by Tim Watkins-Baker and a few other notables after being taken out by competitors. Dave Greer sat it out till the last moment before launching his Balsa Bf109 into the valley and having a blast. Suddenly the chance to get the large scale warbirds airborne arrived, and the all-crimson Lockheed P39J Lightning named YIPEE was launched off the slope by ace launcher Steve Meusel and piloted by Kevin Farr in a maiden flight. This five kilogram glider still astounds as it takes to the air in the most unlikely lift and even though the conditions were hot and bumpy, this craft flew with size and grace through to the pinpoint landing below the slope edge.

This led to Ryan Matchett grabbing the beautifully detailed 6 kilo P51B Mustang, handing it to Steve again and letting it loose off the slope. This too performed remarkably well, and both pilots were exceptionally happy to fly and land both gliders sans a scratch. In the end the lift won and all participants had a great afternoon on the slope. Hopefully next year we can really cash in

on a two-day lift band, but that is one of the vagaries that makes these events interesting, challenging, and rewarding. In the end Schalk Human took the Black Eagle Trophy for the immaculate Vulcan, Ryan Matchett took the sportsman's heavy with the very detailed Mustang 51B, Kevin Farr took the Sportsman's Light with the somewhat overweight Lockheed P38J “YIPPEE” Lightning, and Jeff Steffen took the Foamie-award with the humorously named P51 “Bald Eagle” Foamie Mustang.

Without the judges we would not have an event on record, so a large thanks to Herbie Newton and Nico van Rensburg who were on hand to do the duties. Thanks to the food suppliers, who as always supplied excellent grub, and an equally gracious thank you to our sponsors who created so many prizes that every entrant walked away with a handful of goodies. A thank you to Dave Greer and Rudi Smook who once again flew in from Durban for the event. Much appreciated gentlemen.

Our sponsors, in no particular order: Aerontec, AMT, AB Models, Hobby Warehouse, Micton Hobbies, RC Hobby Shop, Hobby Mania, iHeal, Schalk Human, Steve Meusel.

And with that we thank all entrants for being at the event, and look to a large field for next year.

Black Eagle PSS Festival 2014Black Eagle PSS Festival 2014Black Eagle PSS Festival 2014Black Eagle PSS Festival 2014

Kevin Farr

Schalk Human and the impressive Avro Vulcan.

YIPPEE!

The highly-detailed cockpit of the P51B Mustang of Ryan Matchett.

Revert to power and Steve Meusel’s Corsair.

Achtung, Spitfire!

Malcolm Riley and Ferocious Frankie.


PSS 2014 Results

Expert ClassPos. Competitor Entry Average Static

1. Schalk Human Avro Vulcan B2 98.52. Ralf Fuchs Grumman F9F Panther 84.5

Sportsman’s Heavy Class1. Ryan Matchett North American P-51 B Mustang 52.02. Malcolm Riley North American P-51 Mustang 35.0

Sportsman’s Light Class1. Kevin Farr Lockheed P-38 Lightning 41.52. Tim Watkins-Baker Impala 480 32.03. Rudi Smook Dornier Do335 25.04. Dave Greer Messerschmitt Bf109 24.5

Combat Class1. Jeff Steffen North American -P51 Mustang 41.02. Tim Watkins-Baker Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien 39.03. Schalk Human Republic P-47 Thunderbolt 35.754. Dave Greer Messerschmitt Bf109 34.05. Noel Cochius MiG 3 33.75

Trophies in each class, culminating in the Ba...gle Trophy.

Simon Lithgow with the mighty B-25 Mitchell bomber (FMS).

Hendri Setiawan with his company vehicle and beautiful backdrop.

Happy group of fliers of the Marabou RC Flying Club, operating from the Geita Mine in Tanzania: (from left) Johan Struwig, Pieter Aucamp, Pieter Mostert, Hendri Setiawan, and Simon Lithgow.

Shipment expected to land around 10 December 2014!

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Sbach 342, 30cc

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Hallo Bob. Hier is ‘n paar foto’s by ons Marabou-klub. Ons is in Tanzania en ons vliegveld is deel van Geita Gold Mine. Ons runway is die op die cargo parking gedeelte van die vliegveld. Ek sal ‘n Google-foto vir jou stuur.

Ludwig het geantwoord maar ek het vir die manne gese ek verkies om die proficiencies te doen met ‘n 40-size balsa vliegtuig of groter. Die klub het huidiglik 10 lede, waarvan vier baie aktief is met vlieg. Ons kry ‘n float plane in die week, ‘n Beaver foamie. Ek sal foto’s stuur. Twee ouens het al die silwer en goud geslaag op SAMAA kwalifikasies met foamies. Ons het goeie vlieg weer regdeur die jaar.

Die koordinate van ons perseel is: S 02°48' 39” en E 032°10' 18”.

SAMAA members in TanzaniaSAMAA members in Tanzania

Johan Struwig

‘n Pot goud aan die einde van die reënboog...nee, ‘n Mustang!

The stunning Tanzanian bushveld complements the year-round sunny and warm weather.

We are getting to a point that the guys want to do proficiency tests. I am the only instructor this side and I know we have to be two instructors for SAMAA qualification. The guys are willing to join SAMAA but the only issue is, will SAMAA recognize their qualification when they go on holiday to SA or go back permanently?

The guys are very keen. I am currently a SAMAA fixed-wing instructor and my fees are up to date. What are the rules when guys want to do proficiency tests with foamies?

I build & repair model aircraftI build & repair model aircraft

Chicken Gaarkeuken Tel 082-090-5705Chicken Gaarkeuken Tel 082-090-5705

Expert workmanship, with attention to detail. Scratch-building,plan-building, repairs, modifications. Aeromodeller for many years.


As part of the SAMAAs historical preservation project, Anton van Wyk agreed to visit Carl Harlen in Welkom. Here are some of the facts that he could gather from Carl. Carl can remember most things, but not the details, such as dates and some names. Carl is now 82 years old, and has finally retired from his business that he owned, where he was a watchmaker and trophy maker.

Q. When did you start with aeromodelling? A. I started about 70 years ago with free flight models, like most of the boys of my time. I commenced with R/C flying in 1965.

Q. What was the first radio-control that you used?A. It was a single-channel OS Pixie Tx (pulse proportional). There were no servos, but a servo-like device made by a company called Bonner. This was an on-board relay. When receiving a signal, it set a cam wheel in motion, which in turn transferred motion to the rudder via a wound up elastic band. A certain number of presses on a button on the transmitter determined left, or right, or neutral.

Q. Which clubs existed at the time?A. Welkom Model Aircraft Club was already in existence by the early 1960s, and the modelling hub at the time. There was a club in Pretoria

Carl Harlen. First chairman of SAARF/SAMAA under the leadership of Dries Welgemoed (fore-runner of Pretoria Radio Flyers). In Cape Town there was the Cape Radio Flyers club under the leadership of the late Chris Sweatman. The Bellville club under the leadership of Johnny Calefato was established later in the 60s.

Q. How and why was SAARF formed?A. There was unhappiness with the way the former association STARS (Southern Territories Amateur Radio Society) conducted it's business. At an AGM during a Nationals in Welkom in April 1967, it was decided to form a new association of aeromodelling, for RC flying. Carl Harlen was elected as the first SAARF chairman, with Dries Welgemoed from Pretoria elected as the first secretary. Other names that I can recall who were present at the meeting, were Chris Sweatman, Nigel Harrison, Chips Wannenburg, and Jack Immelman. SAARF quickly grew in membership and became the only RC aeromodelling association in South Africa.

Carl was a prominent Scale aeromodeller, placing well in all scale competitions. He also came second in the South African Games which were held in 1981, when South Africa was isolated from international sport during the apartheid era. Carl designed many training aeroplanes, of which the Harlen 60 was the most successful. Many aeromodellers, including myself were trained to fly by Carl. Carl gave so much of his life to aeromodelling in South Africa, but had to give up his love for flying when his eyesight deteriorated in such a way that he could not fly safely anymore.

Carl, enjoy your retirement, and thanks for all your contributions to society and aeromodelling over many years.

Percy Attfield explaining the intricacies of his F2B Stunt aeroplane.

Some of the aircraft brought along on the Ventersdorp-visit.


The Control Line fraternity in Gauteng had planned a promotional weekend to Ventersdorp, 11 and 12 October 2014. Unfortunately the flying part of our weekend in Ventersdorp was blown away by the wind!

We were ready to fly at 06:30 on both Saturday and Sunday morning, but it was simply unflyable. Percy had a wind speed meter with him, and we measured anything from 13 to 21 metres per second! We did however make the best of a bad situation, and we came prepared with a slide show plus video material, plans, and even some C/L kits and accessories.

Percy also did a nice presentation from a SAMAA point of view, and the farm owner, Theuns Hattingh, and a few local friends were really impressed. The hospitality of our farming folks is also incredible (as always) so we all enjoyed the week-end. I do believe that we will do this again in the near future, and the Ventersdorp guys have stated that they will visit us up here as well. The few pics show the fliers in attendance. Nic and Henry in the back row, the guy in the khaki's in the front row is Theuns Hattingh. All of these local guys fly C/L and a few also fly R/C. There is a neat grass circle in front of the house with a concrete take-off area. Theuns also flies a 2-seater Cheetah light plane from his farm.

You can also see that I fixed up my old Electron stunt plane and changed the fuselage, plus added the “Disney Planes” movie face and mouth. Like I told the guys...if you can't make it look great, then make it look funny!

Control Line in VentersdorpControl Line in VentersdorpControl Line in Ventersdorp

Keith Renecle

Nic van der Westhuizen (back left), and Henry Kurowski (back right). Theuns Hatting in front, withfliers from Ventersdorp.


Seen as a warm-up round for the TOC, the customary pilot’s briefing at 07:30 on the 5th October, saw some of the pilots appearing to pray for mercy, knowing that the judges were going to scrutinise every millisecond of their flight schedules.

Eleven pilots turned out in Limited (4) and Unlimited (7) classes. Flying got underway promptly under the watchful eye of André (SIG representative) and Dave as flight director. The judges for the day were Ian Edwards, André Lourens, Brett Black, and Rob Hughes, ably assisted by Roland Suhrmuller as caller. No mercy was going to be shown by the judges as they had stated their desire to ensure that pilots had no misgivings about standards which were going to be applied at the TOC. This sorting the men from the boys, no- nonsense attitude became very obvious as the results were tallied and given to the pilots at the end of the day.

With Limited pilots first up, the Unlimited pilots had some time to go through their routines, check out airplane assembly and cleanliness. The line-up included the Smoking Scot cleaning the shared bipe he and Brutal Brett flew. This dangerous duo tried all morning to prove that two wings were better than one. The scores will reflect that contrary to both pilots' protestations, their scores should have been divided by two due to the unfair advantage of two wings on one plane.

The trying schedules took their toll on many pilots. This was evidenced by the numerous zero’s on the score sheets. The rule book was thrown at pilots hammer and tongs. After the days flying, some of the pilots were not sure whether they, or the braai meat, got a bigger roasting. Even Chris Zurinskas was still smoking when he finished his last flight.

The day was concluded by having the senior pilots and judges, sharing their experience and constructive critique of the pilot scores. The LSA SIG representative committed to arranging clinics where seasoned pilots and judges would provide both rule book and flying training. (Watch the web site for the dates).

The packing-up process is always a long and lonely one. Roland had three buddies helping him erect the awning in the morning (obvious - “we want to share the awning with you”- buddies). He was found all alone packing up and grumbling as he went.

Big thanks to all the pilots and judges who made this competition possible. The positional standings for the day are shown at the end of this article...the scores are too scary to mention!

The next episode of Scary Movie 26 will be released shortly.

Chris Zurinskas, smoking after his first flight!Roland Suhrmuller, left deserted by his buddies, packing up his gazebo.

Three judges on the flight line, watching the action.

Pilot’s briefing at White Hills Radio Flyers club.

All this flying is energy-sapping business...time to braai!

LSA Monthly CompetitionLSA Monthly CompetitionLSA Monthly CompetitionLSA Monthly CompetitionStan Fincham

ResultsLarge Scale Aerobatics monthly comp - White Hills Radio Flyers

Limited Class Unlimited ClassPos. Competitor Pos. Competitor

1. Gangster Gerald 1. Brutal Brett2. Robing Roland 2. Crazy Chris3. Racketeer Rob 3. Jugular Jacques4. Unstable Stan 4. Smoking Scot5. Draconian Deon6. Dangerous Dave7. Vampire Victor

SAMAA Badge andSAMAA Badge andProficiency BadgesProficiency BadgesSAMAA Badge andSAMAA Badge andProficiency BadgesProficiency BadgesSAMAA Badge andSAMAA Badge andProficiency BadgesProficiency BadgesSAMAA Badge andSAMAA Badge andProficiency BadgesProficiency BadgesSAMAA Badge andSAMAA Badge andProficiency BadgesProficiency BadgesR30 each. Add R5.00 for postage. For proficiency badges, member must hold the appropriate proficiency.

This article is intended for people interested in RC flying.

So you want to do radio control flying? That is great news and we welcome you into the family!

Like all new things in life, you might have questions and this article is designed to provide you with the background information that will assist you with choices and options, taking you forward. It would be difficult to get the sequence perfect, but let us try to provide you with some guidelines.

While reading this, you might see some spaces or vague areas, but feel free to search for it on the internet. There is an abundance of information available, and a good RC pilot is always connected! Being connected means you will be knowledgeable on the latest technologies, product news, and the holistic RC world.

What will you gain?The obvious added skill is to be able to fly an RC craft, but that is most probably only 20% of the experience. Let us start from top to bottom in trying to give you the complete picture. Firstly, you will be between fellow pilots, giving opportunity to mingle and chat, which is a very nice social background interacting with others in a non-competitive environment. From there you need to program your radio, build your craft, assembly parts or sections, and perhaps even modify smaller parts to work for your craft. You will learn about different types of glue and what they are good for. How to use the servo's effectively, setting up your engine and adjusting it, re-build after a crash and the list goes on and on. RC flying is a hobby that touches on social, mechanical, electrical, electronic, and PC skills. The average flight is eight minutes (dependent on plenty of other issues) and for eight minutes, only you and your craft exist. After the landing you will feel like a different person, free of all the memories that bugged you before the flight. This required focus and concentration is also very good for kids having difficulty to concentrate.

Structure and positionLike driving, it is crucial to at least know the common vocabulary, abbreviations, and structure that affects RC flying. We first need to cover the background information.

All sport flying in the world (model aircraft, balloons, gliders, microlights, hang-gliders, etc.) is managed by the by the FAI in Switzerland (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale). From there, the rules, regulations and what not, is conveyed to the different member countries by their own structures. In South Africa, this structure of body is the Aero Club of South Africa. The Aero Club managed all airsport activity. You can view their activities at http://www.aeroclub.org.za and it might be worth your while to at least check it out. From Aero Club, we as model aircraft pilots, fall under the SAMAA (SA Model Aircraft Association). As an aeromodeller, you need to join the SAMAA, at minimal cost, but we will come back to that. The SAMAA management committee is elected by the members, that being you and me. The SMC members are volunteers, they are not paid officials and they serve because they love the hobby. There is an appointed, dedicated, salaried admin person to look after the administrative affairs of the SAMAA. You can imagine that to be a huge job, with nearly 4 000 members and 200 clubs.

What does SAMAA do for the RC pilot?The SAMAA management committee gets together on a regular basis and is in contact with Aero Club to ensure smooth operations nationwide. Once you have paid your SAMAA fee (annually), you will receive a digital bi-monthly newsletter with useful info about events, activities, etc. You will also receive a membership card stating your proficiency. Not to worry about proficiency, we will get back to it. The hidden benefit in this equation is called insurance. Under SAMAA rules, if you cause damage or perhaps in a worst case, take a life, and you were flying within the rules, the SAMAA insurance will cover that. So part of your annual SAMAA membership goes towards this insurance and let us hope you never need to call on that...but it is there!

Again there is a web site for SAMAA: On this site, http://www.samaa.org.za/you will find all the relevant documents that you might require, and over time, with your growth, you will visit this site more regularly (or so we believe, hey?)

When browsing the SAMAA site, you might pick up on another term called a SIG. No, this is not a signature, but means Special Interest Groups.

Special Interest Groups (SIG)At first, RC pilots fly what we call circuits. That is in essence around and around. When you are the boss of that, what is next? Now that is where the SIGs kick in. SIG groupings are for more advanced pilots, taking it further, and migrating from RC flying as a hobby, to a sport. This is the competitive side of the activity. At the most advanced stage, there usually is a selection progress whereby a team is selected to represent South Africa internationally, and hence gaining Protea Colours. These pilots are continuously practicing at the RC clubs, and it is good manners to give them right of way. Stand back, and give them opportunity to practice and rather learn from them. They are people just like you and me, and most of them will gladly watch your flying and assist where they can. Again you will note the emphasis on learning from more experienced pilots.

Look at this example. Let us assume you made good progress with your flying skills, and that you would like to participate and compete against other pilots in flying a certain schedule accurately. Then you need to investigate and join MAASA. MAASA is the Model Aerobatic Association of South Africa, and this SIG is taking care of the pilots that are flying competition aerobatics.

And so it goes on; for each special interest, there is s SIG, and SIG's are once again managed by elected members, and they are not paid for their task. They meet on a regular basis to maintain the SIG, revise rules, arrange competitions, select teams, etc. Here are some other SIG's.

• National Model Fun Fly Association (and Club Aerobatics)• The South African Miniature Pylon Racing Association• Model Gliding Association• Large Scale Aerobatics• Control Line Association of South Africa• Model Helicopters of South Africa• National Association of Scale Aeromodellers• The South African Model Jet Association• Model Aerobatic Association of South Africa

This list can grow or shrink over time, all dependent of international movements, etc. but the naming or groupings will make sense over time. In most cases, to become part of a SIG, there is a minimal annual fee to pay. The committee is running and managing the SIG for free, but setting up events, paying judges, maintaining a web site, etc. has a cost attached.


About RC (Radio Control) FlyingAbout RC (Radio Control) Flying

Van Zyl Koegelenberg

Control Line

Sunday Flying

Fun Fly

Pylon Racing

Indoor

Scale

Aerobatics

Large ScaleAerobatics

Helicopters

Gliders

http://www.aeroclub.org.za/

http://www.samaa.org.za/

http://www.samaa.org.za/new_pages/fun_fly.shtml

http://www.samaa.org.za/new_pages/fun_fly.shtml

http://www.pylonracingsa.blogspot.com/

http://www.pylonracingsa.blogspot.com/

http://mgasa.blogspot.com/

http://mgasa.blogspot.com/

http://www.largescale.co.za/



http://www.samaa.org.za/new_pages/cl.shtml

http://www.samaa.org.za/new_pages/cl.shtml

http://www.mhsa.co.za/

http://www.mhsa.co.za/

http://www.samaa.org.za/new_pages/nasa.shtml

http://www.samaa.org.za/new_pages/nasa.shtml

http://www.sajets.co.za/

http://www.sajets.co.za/

http://www.maasa.co.za/

http://www.maasa.co.za/

RC clubsYet again, search the web, or ask the general manager at SAMAA for the name of an RC club near you. You do not want to join a club, if it is not practical for you. It’s no use driving more than 60km just to go flying. You might want to check with SAMAA that the club you plan to join is registered. Amongst all the things SAMAA do, they also approve clubs, making sure they are safe, legal, not in the way of aircraft flying to or from a major airport, etc. There is usually a list available on the SAMAA web. The further away the club is from you, the less flying time you will experience, and it is not fun starting a new activity that you can only do once a month.

Each club has its own committee, elected by the members, usually once a year. Yes you got it by now, they do it for free yet again. They also do the meeting thing on a regular basis, to manage the club facilities, ensuring happiness across the membership, and doing the admin. Membership at the club is usually paid annually in advance. There might also be a joining fee, so the first year it will cost more as you need to pay annual membership and the joining fee. (the clubs do not want guys to join and leave, join and leave, as the admin becomes a nightmare, hence the joining fee. They want to make sure you stay there for life!) The club might also add your SAMAA fee and pay it over to SAMAA on your behalf, which is nice, then you only pay one place. Once you have squared-off your membership, you will receive a membership card and off you go!

Like SAMAA, it is good practice to stay on top of things. Make sure you have a copy of the club rules to ensure you are on the good side of things. The single biggest benefit of a club is to be able to tap from the experience of others that are more experienced in RC flying. Making friends at the club gives you access to more information and experience than you will ever find anywhere else! You need to protect this and always stay in touch with your new friends at the club.

And worth mentioning…there are many “unofficial” RC pilots that are flying at parks and other spaces. That is highly illegal, and they are not covered by insurance! And learning to fly by yourself in a park is much more costly in any case. If you learn to fly amongst people that can assist you, it becomes much, much cheaper, believe me on that one.

What to do next?Before you spend any money, make friends with the guys at your local club. Talk to them, tell them what you want to do, tap from their experience.Once you feel good, the next step is to get yourself a flight simulator. With that, you would need a radio and that is where the plot thickens. A radio, or the radio (either a complete RC set, or a transmitter), is something you are going to use for years to come. From this you need to so some strategic thinking. From this point forward, you will note that some items will break (fairly easy…) whilst others you might purchase for life. Always remember this principle on your journey. When you buy for life, rather wait and spend a bit extra. But let’s discuss the radio now. When using a radio, you want to make sure there are others that can help you, and the only way to get that right, is to check what your new friends at the club are using. That way, if in doubt, they can help you. Make sure your transmitter has adequate memory capability that can store many models.

You might also hear that “somebody must buddy me”. No need to worry, this is not talking personal space. All it means is that your buddy will be flying with you and that again means that his radio will be connected to your radio. While standing next to you, he will witness and assist. The moment you do something that might put your craft at risk, he will take back control, from his radio. Radios can be connected via a buddy-cable or even blue tooth, dependant of the brand of radio of course. There is very little difference between the connecting method other than practical implications but the core issue is to make sure your new radio can be connected to the radio of one of your new friends. That will save you lots of money over time and makes the experience just more affordable. So, don't be scared to be “buddied”, it just shows you accept assistance from others which will make more people liking you back!

Other than the above, it is not my place to discuss brands, etc. as we all have our own preferences. Another note on radios; you might notice some with short antennas and others with long antennas. The older radios transmitted on 35MHz, with the longer antenna. The new models, and the way to go, is 2.4GHz, with the shorter antenna.

Ok, so now you have a radio and a simulator, and you can start practicing on your PC. Select a trainer model and get going. Take-off is fairly simple, give a bit of up elevator and increase power and of she goes! The crucial part now is to get used to left and right, flying away or towards you. Try to use your throttle for flying lower so that you can become an active throttle pilot. Some guys set it to full throttle and only adjust it again when they want to land. That is a

terrible idea and one needs to be aware of bad habits. Focus on left and right flying away or towards yourself. Then work on landings and enjoy the experience. Once again, your new friends at the club can be of assistance, letting you know on your progress when chatting to them. You, and they, will know when it is time to move on.

When you feel ready for the next step, it is time to officially join a club. By now you know the guys, you feel comfortable, and you are ready to get yourself something you can fly for real!

About aircraftBy now you are a solid simulator pilot, and it is time to spend some money. For most people, spending money is not their hobby, but something dreadful, and we need to make sure you spend money for the right reasons. In doing it wrong, you might become part of the crowd that is telling everybody how expensive RC flying is, and that we do not want. Let us cover some basics to help you with the zillion choices ahead of you. Again, look and ask around at the club. Most of the guys always have some goods to sell at good price. But irrespective, there are some choices to me made.

Electric or Nitro?Like all things in life, there are good and bad on both sides. An electric craft is powered by batteries. Batteries can be expensive but you buy them once and charge them after each flight. Over a long period and if you take good care of your batteries, they should be the cheaper option. Electric motors also have more immediate power and should be safer, as no adjustment near the propeller is needed. But be aware…once you run the motor, it will keep running as long as there is power, irrespective of your fingers. Starting cost is slightly higher, as you need the batteries and the charger. If you want to do five flights, you need five battery sets. You can charge at the field from your car battery but that again might provide a new set of problems such as draining your car battery. Again, some items you buy for life, and others for as long as they last. In this equation, the battery charger should work for many years. With an electric craft, you need to consider other technicalities such as motor size, kV rating, current usage, battery ratings, controller size, etc. You would need assistance from your new friends here. These technicalities can be a disadvantage when considering the next paragraph.

A nitro engine runs from Nitro fuel (actually a mixture of methanol and lubricant). That you buy from the local shop and prices vary. The advantage is that if you have ten litres of fuel, you can fly as long as the 10 litres last you. No charging issues etc. On the safety side, the engine will almost always need adjustment, and for that, take good care of your fingers as the carburetor, (for adjustments), is usually close to the propeller. So you have more flying time, a bit more risky but a mechanical engine does sound so much nicer than an electric motor? Over time, the nitro option might be more expensive but more convenient with respect to hours in the air. For a “newby”, this might be the better option, to give the pilot more time in the air, getting to grips faster with the holistic RC flying experience. On the technology side, the engine and prop size would be the only issues. By the way, time in the air is referred to as stick time, the time you spend on the transmitter sticks, flying.

Type of craftThis can be a different discussion for helicopters and fixed wing craft (Erries, or Aeries). In both cases, keep the bravery at home, and opt for something that clearly says TRAINER. None of the good-looking sporty craft will do the job. In theory, any craft can be used for training but in practice it will just add zeros to your flying budget.


Definitely not a trainer, and far too advanced for a beginner pilot. Large flying surfaces (ailerons, elevators, rudder) more suitable for stunt flying, and gyroscopic manoeuvres.

Lately, there are many different brands, or styles or makes of helicopters available, and the best is to consult with others before you make a decision. Smaller usually means more difficult as the smaller craft are more sensitive to other factors, and your friend the wind.

With erries, there are two basic options. Option 1 is a normal balsa trainer usually called a Stik, a basic top-wing craft, and usually runs with a nitro engine, and a very affordable option. Option 2 is commonly referred to as “foamies”, electric, but do not get mislead by the word foam...not the foam you use for packaging, but high tech foam that can bend and be glued without huge effort. There are excellent foamie trainers available, such as the Wing Dragon, Trojan T28, or even a Discovery. The correct choice will be a top winger. The moment the wings move middle or down, then you have something more advanced. Also look at the moving parts, the bigger they are, the more the skillset required. A craft with a low wing and huge rudder and ailerons is for the advanced and not for training. Most of the high-wing craft can also glide quite a bit. This is important, knowing that if your motor/engine stops running, you still have a very good chance to glide it back for a safe landing. The negative on foamies, is that they are light weight and more sensitive to your friend the wind. While others might still be able to fly, you might need to sit out as the wind will just take your craft for itself.

But at the end of the day, make sure you are comfortable, and don't be brave. You will have more than enough time later to be brave.

Craft sizeHelicopters are specified in the diameter of the rotor blades, i.e. a 700-size means each rotor blade is 700mm long. They start from very small indoor type helicopters, up to 700 and larger. There are bigger helicopters and scale helicopters but the 'normal' sizes would 400, 450, 500, 600, and 700. As the size goes up, the driving/power system goes up. If electric, the bigger choppers usually fly with two 6-cell batteries, delivering anything up to 7kW. These are all dangerous statements, as the game, technologies, and product offerings are always changing and growing.

For fixed-wing, there are also some basic size groupings. Even if you fly electric, the craft size is still pretty much as per the original nitro or fuel sizes. The first grouping is the nitro grouping, 40, 60, 90 and 120 size. There are other engine sizes, don't get me wrong, we just want to give you some useful background information! A 40-size craft might use a 46-size nitro engine. We are used to referring to engine size in cc's like we do in motor bikes. So what size is a 46 engine then? The 46 is actually .46 cubic inches of displacement, and that relates to 7.5 cubic centimeters. The 120 motor is 1.2 cubic inches and that relates to 19.6 cc's. Got it?

The second fuel engine grouping is using normal fuel (gasoline) with two stroke oil, and common sizes would be 30cc, 50cc, 100cc, 120cc, 150cc and bigger. Here is example information on a 120-size stick.Wingspan: 57.75 in (1467cm). Overall length: 51 in (129.5cm). Wing Area: 700 sq in (715 w/quad flaps); Flying Weight: 5-6 lb (2.3 - 2.7 kg). Engine size: .40 - .46 (2-stroke), .56 - .82 (4-stroke). Radio:4+ channel. Servos: 5 (standard) or 7 (quad flap). Note the mistakes from the above example, as 1467cm is 14.67 metres...surely they mean millimeters? Then the craft is 1.4m in wing span and 1.29m long. Crucial information as you would need to fit this craft in your vehicle at some point on your way to the club? It also clearly shows the expected or allowed engine size.

If you now compare the above with a 50cc craft; a 50cc Edge540 would have a wing span of about 2.2m, and about 2m long whilst weighing approximately 8kg. So now you have some idea on craft en engine size. Always be aware between metric and imperial specifications, and apply logic if in doubt.

Heli or Errie?With all the low cost helicopters that are lately available, many RC pilots get hooked by flying these. This is not a bad thing, but when logic prevails, one would suggest starting with an errie, and then switch over to heli. Helicopters are high risk and require solid know-how to repair, to set up and for somebody new, it adds undue pressures on the pilot and the budget. About all trainer erries can glide if something goes wrong. Helicopters become instant bricks. So make sure you exercise the choice that will work for you in making sure you get in the air in a safe affordable way.

ProficienciesOnce you have joined the SAMAA and the club, you will note that the membership card shows “Novice/Student”. Within the rules of the game, this means you have no “license” yet and can only fly if there is a pilot with a proficiency rating standing next to you. That is not nice to say the least, so you want to be out of this hole as soon as possible.


With your new friends, make sure you know who the senior guys are that can assist to buddy you. Keep asking them on your progress and when they think it is time, they will suggest you do your Solo. To get your Solo, is like getting a driver’s license. There are rules, but it means that an instructor and another pilot (at least Gold) will test you. You need to answer some question about the club, and safety, and fly some prescribed routines. The guys will score you and if you pass, you achieved Solo. This is not as a big deal as it sounds, and worth every second of the effort. It gives great pleasure to oneself and you earned the right to fly all by yourself. The core value of the Solo test is to ensure that the RC pilot has full control over his craft.

From here you can grow to achieve Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Instructor level. So, if you hear the word proficiency, it is not a swear word, but merely providing a means to discern between the good, the bad, and the ugly. For example, only Gold pilots may perform at public shows and events. So, it is all in good spirit and providing an inherent safety check for parties involved.

Cost of RC flyingThis can be a tricky question but with the latest technologies and products available, the price came drastically down. Like any other hobby or sport, the initial layout might be heavy, but once you are in the air, making sure you use all good practices, the running cost is not that high. There is always the odd one out but in most cases, in a case of a crash, you can use the motor/engine, servo's, and receiver again in the next craft. Averaged out over time, the running cost almost becomes the cost of the frame. In many instances you can also repair a crashed craft as all the parts required are available locally. From this, after the initial set up purchases, the cost comes drastically down.

ShoppingGood RC pilots never purchase, simply because it looks good. Always go back and do some research. It is always excellent practice to support the local industry. Google or ask around to know where all the local shops are in your region. These guys are doing this for a long time and are knowledgeable, and can guide you. Some of them are naughty because they are running a business in real life, so in doubt, ask your friends at the club to get an unbiased opinion. There are also forums available such as SARCOM (www.sarc.co.za) and Avcom (www.avcom.co.za).

On these forums, people buy and sell all the time, and you might be able to pick up items at an affordable price. It is reality, that no one will always have top money to buy new or the best equipment, and that is part of the RC pilot’s life. In recent times, we have also seen much self-importing, from suppliers abroad, at keen prices. This is always an option, but beware, if something goes wrong, you will be on your own! In many cases it is difficult to judge from an internet image if the product will fit, the quality, etc. Sometimes you might swipe a credit card, and then wait a very long time before your parcel is delivered (if ever...with the Post Office). So be aware of the pitfalls!

Crashing your craftAt some point, this might happen, and it is part of RC flying. Accept the crash and make sure you know why it happened so that you do not repeat the same mistake. It is how you behave at times like this, that will make you mature pilot. Make sure you test the parts that you bought for the long-haul properly before you use them again. Make sure others do not hear you when you say “you naughty, naughty errie….” Obviously you never laugh at others expense and if you do, you will note how small the circle of friends might become!

ReferencesThere are millions of virtual spaces dedicated to RC flying. Most clubs have their own site, and most have a Facebook group. There are also other SIG Facebook groups or just guys discussing their special groupings such as Scale flying, etc. Feel free to search the web.

For starters, the following four sites might be very useful.

www.samaa.org.za - The official caretakers of aeromodelling in South Africawww.samaa.co.za - This is the membership portal of the SAMAA.ww.sarc.co.za - Forum just for RC flying. Many discussion groups, including buy and sell.www.avcom.co.za - Forum just for RC flying. Many discussion groups, including buy and sell. Make sure you go to the “Model Aircraft” section.

Yes, crashes do happen, and they can be expensive, and they can set back your progress. Alwayswork with a reputable instructor, and feel comfortable with the method of instructing.

http://www.sarc.co.za

http://www.avcom.co.za

http://www.samaa.org.za




http://www.avcom.co.za

After many years of hard negot iat ion with the M a n g a u n g M e t r o Municipality, the Central Radio Flyers club in Bloemfontein eventually got two beautiful newly-tarred runways of 161

metres x 8 metres each. Personally, I think probably some of the best runways in South Africa.

Well this was one of the motivations to present a Fly-In in November 2014. We started sending e-mails all over, to get pilots to attend the Fly-In on 15 and 16 November 2014. Eventually, we ended up with only local pilots from CRF and Flyzone Central, for a total of 20 pilots for the event. Trophies were made for the event, with good prizes that were sponsored by Redipak, Topflyte Hobbies, Odie Art, RSK Hobbies, and Aerial Concepts. A great thank you to our generous sponsors.

On Wednesday the airfield was under water, due to rain we had...50 mm and more. Luckily for us, the rain stopped and we had beautiful sunny days and this gave us a dry start on Saturday, but the wind was no fun at all. By 15:00 we stopped flying for the day and everybody came back on Sunday morning. What a good day it turned out. We had church at 10:00 at the airfield that was done by Danie Krugel (, prize giving, braai and the pilots just kepton flying the rest of the day.

The award for Best Scale Jet went to Tobie Kock from Flyzone for his J-10, and Best Scale Helicopter-award went to Pieter van Graan from CRF for his 50 Raptor with Hughes 500.

Thanks to all the pilots who helped to make this event happen, and a special thank you to the CRF members and their families, for giving up their time and energies to present this event.

Wynand Swart

This was the condition of the runways at that time. Photo taken before renovations were started, andbelow is a shot of one of the completed runways.

After the renovations was done with runway 01-02 and 03-04 completed.

A tranquil CRF Sunday morning 07:00... ...then at 10:30 everybody was flying.

24 trophies for the event were made by Wynand Swart, Werner Swart, and Johan Els.

Danie Krugel (above) Best Pilot of the Event, and Youngest Pilot Gerhard van Pletzen (below).

Hughes 500 by Pieter van Graan, took Best Scale Helicopter award.

“Fly me to the moon...” Pierre Fouché’s F-15 Eagle.


Central Radio Flyers Fly-In

6 Gauteng TBA F3K HLG League (final) Herman Weber 082-453-85516-7 TBA Gauteng 3D Heli Competition John Smith 078-986-13847 Gauteng TBA Highveld Thermal League 4 Herman Weber 082-453-85517 KZN TBA Bill Vos Memorial Gliding Derek Bird 031-463-283320 SAMAA Office December Closure21 Barnstormers Vintage Fly-in No. 291 Colin Matthysen 082-697-5019

12 SAMAA Office SAMAA Office re-opens 18 KZN - Valley MAC Monthly Aerobatics Neil Allen 073-231-414125 Gauteng - NERF Monthly Aerobatics Matthys Botha 073-895-990925 Gauteng TBA F3K League comp Herman Weber 082-453-855125 Benoni RF Vintage Fly-in No. 292 Colin Matthysen 082-697-501924-25 Cape Town TOSS Slope Aerobatics Kevin Farr 083-228-7860

Nationwide Gliding Postals Herman Weber 082-453-85511 Gauteng TBA Swop Meet Herman Weber 082-453-85511 SMAA (S Bosch) W Cape monthly aerobatics Stuart Nix 082-855-49207 Silverton MVC Club Aerobatics V Zyl Koegelenberg 083-659-43817-8 Klerksdorp NW Aerobatic Champs Sebastiano Sacca 083-294-381415 Gauteng TBA Highveld Thermal League 1 Herman Weber 082-453-855122 Gauteng TBA F5J Electric comp. Ivan Williams 083-263-788922 Snoopy’s Squad. Gauteng League Aerobatics 1 Matthys Botha 073-895-990922 JOMAC Vintage Fly-in No. 293 Colin Matthysen 082-697-5019

1 Tygerberg MFC W Cape Aerobatic Monthly Stuart Nix 082-855-49201 Maritzburg MAC KZN League 1 Neil Allen 073-231-41411 Gauteng TBA F3K HLG League Herman Weber 082-453-85518 Gauteng TBA F3K Qualifier Herman Weber 082-453-855114 Welkom MAC NFFSA Annual Gen Mtg Anton van Wyk 082-554-239014-15 Welkom MAC 2014 Fun Fly Masters Anton van Wyk 082-554-239015 Klerksdorp RF N West Aerobatic League 1 Sebastiano Sacca 083-294-381422 Rand Model AC Vintage Fly-in No. 294 Colin Matthysen 082-697-501928-29 Helderberg RF W Prov Aerobatic Champs Stuart Nix 082-855-492029 Modderfontein Gauteng Aerobatic Monthly Matthys Botha 073-895-9909

4 Pretoria Radio Fl Club Aerobatics V Zyl Koegelenberg 083-659-438112 Gauteng TBA F5J Electric comp Ivan Williams 083-263-788912 Howick MAC KZN Monthly Neil Allen 073-231-414119 Tygerberg MFC W Cape Monthly Aerobatics Stuart Nix 082-855-492026 Klerksdorp N West Aerobatic League Sebastiano Sacca 083-294-381426 Barnstormers Vintage Fly-in No. 295 Colin Matthysen 082-697-5019

Nationwide Gliding Postals Herman Weber 082-453-85511-3 TBA Gliding Nationals Herman Weber 082-453-85512-3 Durban KZN Aerobatic Championship Neil Allen 073-231-414110 Warthog Radio Fl Series Scale 1 Koos Pretorius 082-928-036816-17 Welkom MAC Free State Aerobatic Champs Anton van Wyk 082-554-239017 Gauteng TBA Highveld Thermal League 2 Herman Weber 082-453-855124 Benoni Radio Fl. Vintage Fly-in No. 296 Colin Matthysen 082-697-501924 National Fun Fly Round 1 Anton van Wyk 082-554-239024 Gauteng TBA F5J Electric Comp. Ivan Williams 083-263-788931 Gauteng TBA F3K HLG League Comp. Herman Weber 082-453-8551

6 White Hills RF Club Aerobatics V Zyl Koegelenberg 083-659-43817 Gauteng TBA F3K HLG League Comp Herman Weber 082-453-855113-16 PC Pelser KDP 2015 Combo Power Nationals Danie Potgieter 082-875-822820-21 TOSS Cape Town PSS Black Eagle Slope Kevin Farr 083-228-786028 Irene Radio Flyers Gauteng Monthly Aerobatics Matthys Botha 073-895-9909 28 Pretoria Radio Fl. Vintage Fly-in No. 297 Colin Matthysen 082-697-5019

2 - 12 Klopeirn, Austria F3C Helicopter W Champs www.4 Gauteng TBA F3K HLG League Comp Herman Weber 082-453-85515 Karkloof KZN Aerobatic Monthly Neil Allen 073-231-41415 Helderberg RF W Cape Aerobatic Monthly Stuart Nix 082-855-49205 Rand Model AC Series Scale Round 2 Koos Pretorius 082-928-036818-19 Central RF F State Aerobatic League 1 Pierre Fouche 082-775-913919-31 Ludbreg, Croatia F3K World Championship www.ak.rudolf-fizir.hr26 JOMAC Gauteng Aerobatic League 3 Matthys Botha 073-895-9909 26 National Fun Fly Round 2 Anton van Wyk 082-554-239026 Rand Model AC Vintage Aircraft Memorial Day Colin Matthysen 082-697-501926-2/8 Deelen, NED F3B World Championship www.wc2015.f3b.nl

Nationwide Glider Postals Herman Weber 082-453-85511 Lowveld MAC 2015 LOMAC Airshow Philip Lewis 082-727-84251 Irene Radio Flyers Club Aerobatics V Zyl Koegelenberg 083-659-43812 Tygerberg MFC W Cape Monthly Aerobatics Stuart Nix 082-855-49202-9 XXXXX GPS World Masters Johan Bruwer 082-788-25946-15 Dubendorff, Switz F3A World Championship www.f3a-wc2015.ch6 Klerksdorp N West Aerobatic League Sebastiano Sacca 083-294-381423 Barnstormers Vintage Fly-in No. 299 Colin Matthysen 082-697-501923-29 Leutkirch, GER Jet World Masters www.jwm2015.com 30 Gauteng TBA F5J Electric Comp Ivan Williams 083-263-788930 Umbila Radio Fl Gauteng Monthly Matthys Botha 073-895-9909 30 Peninsula RF W Cape Aerobatic Monthly Stuart Nix 082-855-4920

13 Helderberg RF W Cape Aerobatic Monthly Stuart Nix 082-855-492013 Gauteng TBA Highveld Thermal League 3 Herman Weber 082-453-855119-20 TBA Gauteng Aerobatic Champs Matthys Botha 073-895-9909 20 Howick MFC KZN Aerobatic Monthly Neil Allen 073-231-4141 20 Warthog Radio Fl Series Scale Round 3 Koos Pretorius 082-928-036824-27 Witsieshoek Slope Fly-In Herman Weber 082-453-855127 Nationwide Fun Fly Round 3 Anton van Wyk 082-554-239027 (Benoni RF) Vintage Fly-In No. 300 Colin Matthysen 082-697-5019

3 Rosslyn AM Club Aerobatics V Zyl Koegelenberg 083-659-43814 Gauteng TBA F3J Team Trial Herman Weber 082-453-855117-18 TBA SA Aerobatic Masters Arthur Eggar 082-965-009418 Gauteng TBA F3K HLG League Herman Weber 082-453-855125 JOMAC Vintage Fly-In No. 301 Colin Matthysen 082-697-5019

Nationwide Gliding Postals Herman Weber 082-453-85511 Gauteng TBA F5J Electric Comp Ivan Williams 083-263-78897 Barnstormers Club Aerobatics V Zyl Koegelenberg 083-659-43817-8 Welkom MAC 2015 Fun Fly Masters Anton van Wyk 082-554-23908 Kingsburgh MAC KZN Aerobatic Monthly Neil Allen 073-231-414122 Rand Model AC Vintage Fly-In No. 302 Colin Matthysen 082-697-5019

6 Gauteng TBA Highveld Thermal League 4 Herman Weber 082-453-855112-13 Gauteng TBA Final F3K (Sleepover) Herman Weber 082-453-8551 20 Barnstormers Vintage Fly-In No. 303 Colin Matthysen 082-697-5019

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Date Club/Site Event Contact Telephone

The SAMAA Activity CalendarTo advertise your events in SAMAA News (club event, local, air show, fly-in, provincial

competition, national competition, team-trials, etc.) is free of charge. Promote your club,group, or SIG and its activities. Send details to [email protected]


2015 SAMAA2015 SAMAAPower Nationals!Power Nationals!

2015 SAMAAPower Nationals!

PC Pelser Airport, Klerksdorp

• Control Line • Precision Aerobatics• Helicopters • Pylon Racing• Scale • Large Scale Aerobatics• Jets • Fun Fly

13-16 June13-16 June13-16 June13-16 June13-16 June13-16 June13-16 June13-16 June13-16 June

Large areas available for simultaneous flying of several disciplines. All flying in prime locations... no disciplines hidden away. Plenty of shelter, camping, and accommodation in town. Catering on site.Sharing of judges/officials. Opportunity to fly morethan one discipline.

Be part of the great Nats!

Be part of the great Nats!

Back by popular demand!More info from

Danie Potgieter - 082-875-8228Burt Botha - 072-066-9628

Herman Weber - 082-453-8551Bob Skinner - 011-973-3679

Protecting and serving your interests

Get a non-member to join today, and let’s make SAMAA stronger!

Administration & Office

( )Special Interest Groups SIGs

SAMAA News advertising rate card

Marthinus Potgieter Chairman [email protected] 082-377-6493

George Sly Vice-chairman [email protected] 083-560-7545

Johan Sieling Secretary/Compliance [email protected] 082-898-8810

Ludwig Steyn Development [email protected] 082-951-1874

Mike Brews Marketing [email protected] 082-358-7404

Herman Weber Special Interest Groups [email protected] 082-453-8551

Juanita Smith Treasurer [email protected] 083-630-8975

Vacant Club Representative to be appointed

Vacant Regions Representative to be appointed

Allen Fraser Dealer coordinator [email protected] 082-950-2724

Johan Ehlers CIAM Representative [email protected] 082-804-1120

John Godwin Webmaster [email protected] 011-787-5054

Vacant Newsletter editor to be appointed

PO Box 7116, Bonaero Park 1622. Tel/fax 011-973-3679. Fax 086-607-8733. Office 24, Building

R4, Denel Technical Academy, 131 Atlas Road (Denel North entry), Bonaero Park.

GPS Coordinates: S26 08 41.80 E028 15 59.04 (co-ords for main entrance to building R4)

Bob Skinner General Manager. [email protected] 011-973-3679, 083-283-1681.

Henry Kurowski Control Line Association of SA (CLASA). [email protected] 083-243-0644

Arthur Eggar Model Aerobatic Ass. of SA (MAASA). [email protected] 082-965-0094

Herman Weber Model Gliding Association (MGA). [email protected] 082-453-8551

Cilliers v Niekerk Model Helicopters SA (MHSA). [email protected] 083-372-9702

Arrie Schoeman South African Miniature Pylon Racing Association (SAMPRA).

[email protected] 082-789-9500

Koos Pretorius Nat Ass Scale Aeromod. (NASA) [email protected] 0829280368

Zane Mannell SA Model Jet Association (SAMJA) [email protected] 082-827-8410

Gavin Walton Large Scale Aerobatics (LSA) [email protected] 083-408-4296

Anton van Wyk National Model Fun Fly Ass. (NMFFA) [email protected] 082-554-2390

To join the SAMAA: Request application form 011-973-3679. Visit www.samaa.org.za for MS Word form, under “Membership - How to join”. On-line application from www.samaa.co.za. Or submit details by e-mail: name, ID, address, tel, fax, cell, club, to: [email protected]

Subscription fees From 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015

• Regular/adult members (18 to 60 years of age) R360

• Junior members (18 & younger. Students over 18 considered to be adults) R200

• Senior Citizens/Retirees (60 years and older) R240

Payment by internet (EFT), or cheque. SAMAA current a/c 1605 126 772 at Nedbank, Menlyn Pretoria, code 1605 4500. Use clear reference of name/ surname, and membership number if

renewing. “Subs”, or “Membership” , or “SAMAA”, or “New”, since this cannot be DO NOT USEidentified correctly. Fax or e-mail this proof of payment with your application or renewal.

Change of address: www.samaa.co.za and sign in with your log-in and password. No log-in and password? Request automatically, if you have a correct e-mail address on the membership programme. No internet? Contact the SAMAA office on 011-973-3679 to change your address.

Editor: Vacant. (Composition by Bob Skinner, until new editor is appointed)

[email protected]. PO Box 7116, Bonaero Park 1622. Tel 011-973-3679.

Fax 086-607-8733.

The views expressed in SAMAA News, and the advertisements placed, do not necessarily

represent the views of the SAMAA, its management committee, or the editor. These are

published for the interest and comments of our members.

Submission of material: The closing dates for submission of material: 20 February (to appear

20 March), 20 April (to appear 20 May), 20 June, 20 August, 20 October, 20 December.

Photographs (conventional & electronic), are welcome. Long articles must be computer-

generated, and must be in either MS Word, or editable text. Limit articles to 1 000 words - which

is about a page-and-a-half in SAMAA News. You may e-mail your contributions, including

graphics and pictures to: [email protected]. Ensure that captions accompany all

pictures, and that the pictures are of high resolution, not e-mail resolution.

To advertise: Contact the SAMAA office. You must supply finished artwork in JPG format, to at

least 300 dpi at the final size. Terms for all advertising is payment on receipt of invoice, as per

the rate card below. Bank details are listed below. Send copy of deposit slip with placement

instruction/order. Discount rates on advertising are available, and members of the SA

Aeromodelling Dealers Association (SAADA) qualify for a discounted advertising rate.

SAMAA account at Nedbank, Menlyn Pretoria, code 1605 45, current account 1605 126 772.

The SAMAA needs your help, to ensure that your rights and privileges are protected. Through the SAMAA, its Special Interest Groups, and numerous registered clubs, you can experience the protection of your rights, and enjoy the real benefits in all aspects of model aviation.• Advice On building, flying, competition, airshow planning, club layouts, displays, special air events, competition, illegal flying, etc.• Clubs Enjoyment of your activity in a group context. All SAMAA clubs are approved and registered with the SAMAA, RAASA, and Civil Aviation.• Insurance Cover of R15m for damage to property, or injury or death to third parties (and member-to-member cover).• Proficiencies Recognition for flying proficiency, at all levels, and all disciplines.• Guidelines On starting and registering a new club. For frequency operations. Interaction with full-size aviation. Manuals of operation.• SAMAA News To inform, educate, advise. Your mouthpiece. Great promotional value.• Rules Local and international, specs of models, frequencies, safe flying practices.• Web pages Good aeromodelling content, great links, regular updates, BLOG. Excellent membership site for self-maintenance.• Representation The SIGs represent all competitive branches of aeromodelling. • Affiliations To the Aero Club of South Africa, and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Also to other institutions (RAASA, SAAF, Denel).• Frequencies Protection by ICASA of frequencies in spectrum allocated to R/C.• Airspace Manage airspace at registered sites, through the CAA and RAASA. SAMAA is the only CAA-approved Aviation Recreation Organisation (ARO) for aeromodelling.• CIAM Direct link with CIAM (Commission for International Aeromodelling). Governs all world-wide competitive activities, and records.These are just a few of the services that the SAMAA is able to offer its members. Benefit from these services, and let our combined membership add to the voice and strength of SAMAA.

SAMAA management committee

SAMAA News publication, material, advertising

Description/size (rates valid until further notice) Full-colourBlack & White

Full page (A4) R4 200R2 750

Half page (landscape or portrait) R2 500R1 660

Quarter page R1 400R900

Eighth page R800R500

Loose insert, A4, supplied by advertiser R1 500R1 500

Your Local Dealer advert, for 6 issues R1 050

Swops & Smalls, for a reasonable number of R150

items advertised (call SAMAA office for more details)

South African Aerobatic Masters 1, 3, 42014 FAI Control Line World Championships 5, 6, 7AAD 2014 at Waterkloof AFB 92014 MHSA Helicopter Masters 10Ballito Proficiency Day 11Roston Dugmore at the 2014 USA F3A Nats 12Large Scale Aerobatics “Tournament of Champions” 13Chairman’s Report 14From the Office 15Black Eagle PSS Festival 16, 17SAMAA members in Tanzania 19Carl Harlen, first SAARF/SAMAA chairman 20Control Line in Ventersdorp 21LSA Monthly Competition 22SAMAA Badges 22About RC Flying 24, 25, 26Central Radio Flyers Fly-In 27SAMAA activity Calendar 28SAMAA Clothing 28Compendium Power Nationals 2015 28SAMAA information details, management committee, SIGs, etc 29Your Local Dealer adverts 30

newsnewsnewsnewsnewsnewsnews

newsnewsnewsnewsnewsnewsnewsContents of Issue 4 for 2014


Somerset West

Durban Westville

Port Elizabeth

Your location

Pretoria North

Centurion

Springbok

Ermelo

Pinetown

Port Elizabeth

Menlo Park Pretoria

Menlyn Pretoria

Benoni

Benoni (www)

Country wide

Weltevreden Park

Shelly Beach Margate

Kempton Park

Garsfontein Pretoria

Centurion

Springs

Boksburg South

Springfield, Durban

Kelvin

Pretoria East

RCRCRCRCRCRCPeter Frost for personal service

731 Great Dane Street, Garsfontein EastFax 012-998-3049 * Cell 082-854-0012

Specialized in JR/Spektrum radio repair and service

RADIO CONTROL REPAIR CENTRE

315 Lynnwood Roadcnr Ox and Lynnwood Rd, Menlo Park 0186

Tel 012-362-4925

Alan and Juanita Smithwww.alshobbies.co.za [email protected]

Shop 4Shop 4Parkdene CentreParkdene Centre

Lancaster RoadLancaster RoadS26 14 08 E028 15 11S26 14 08 E028 15 11

Shop 4Parkdene Centre

Lancaster RoadS26 14 08 E028 15 11

Tel. 011 892 1084011-026-3313

This could

be your advert...

for R1050*

(* six issues)

Is this

your advert?

This could

be your advert...

for R1050*

(* six issues)

Support your local dealer...they are supporting you!Support your local dealer...they are supporting you!Book your space here. Send details to [email protected], or telephone 011-973-3679

Model AviationSole agent

for ASPGlow Engines

Danie: [email protected]

Radio-controlled Planes, Helicopters, Cars, Workshop & more

tel (012) 807-4667e-mail [email protected] www.masterrcmodels.co.za

Shop 1E, Willow Way Shopping Ctre, Lynnwood Rd, Pretoria

HOBBIESHOBBIESHOBBIESEst.1984

Shop 108Entrance 4Shelly Centre, Shelly Beach, KwaZulu Natal

[email protected]

Tel 039 315 1640 Fax 039 315 7732Tel 087 805 8844

HOBBIESHOBBIESHOBBIESEst.1984

Shop 115The Home Centrecnr Umgeni Rd & Ilala Ave, Springfield, Durban

[email protected]

Tel 031 263 2507 Fax 031 263 2964Tel 087 805 8842

Shop B5, Menlyn Retail ParkCnr Lois and Garsfontein Roads

Tel 012 348 0308 • Fax 012 348 [email protected] www.jixhobbies.co.za

+27 31 702 7017

3 Kingsbrook RoadHatton Estate

Pinetown 3610, [email protected]

Savage

RADIO ACTIVE MODELSRADIO ACTIVE MODELSRADIO ACTIVE MODELSRADIO ACTIVE MODELSYOUR ONE-STOP HOBBY SHOP

121 Hofmeyr Road, Westville, KZN

Tel. 031 266 4472 • Fax 031 266 7160

We stock a large range of aircraft, kits, cars, helicoptersand we are the largest stockist in SA of model trains and

accessories. We also have the largest on-line shop inSouth Africa for you to order all your hobby goods.

www.hobbytech.co.za • [email protected]

Your RC Helicopter Specialist

[email protected]

Tel & fax +27 11 425 0850

SA ModelsportWe make dreams come true!

Speak to Henke for all your RChelicopter requirements

55 Fourth Avenue, Newton Park, PE

041 365 1371 082 651 8665fax 041 368 7544 [email protected]

SA home of LADO electric retractable undercarriage systemswww.robinmodelaviation.com [email protected]

[email protected]

+27 11 849 1527 +27 84 831 4533+27 11 849 1527 +27 84 831 4533+27 11 849 1527 +27 84 831 4533

Cnr South & Heuwel Streets, Centurion, Gauteng

Your one-stop Hobby Shop!

Tel 012-663-3895Fax 012-663-5570

[email protected] www.modelmania.co.za

Flown with Passion

011 802 8500011 802 8500

cnr Monument & Eland Rd, Aston Manor

[email protected]

011-972-9134 083-269-6785082-854-9840. Fax 011-972-7598

Recognised as an excellent hobby shopby SAMAA members!

[email protected]

Shop 10, Hillfox Power Centre

t011-475-8640. f011-675-0797t011-475-8640. f011-675-0797t011-475-8640. f011-675-0797

011-815-3921011-815-3921011-815-3921

SMITTIES HOBBIES

011-815-3921011-815-3921011-815-3921156 Third Street, Springs

[email protected]://smittieshobbies.tripod.com

RC ServicesRC ServicesRC ServicesFUTABA Service Centre

Pieter Bosman (Bossie)Tel/Fax 027 712 3762

Cell 082 926 9221

for Radio Controlled Models

Tel 012 667 5757Shop 11, Doornkloof Mall, Protea Str., Doornkloof

e-mail [email protected]

Your Local DealerYour Local DealerYour Local Dealer


http://[email protected]

http://[email protected]

samaa news issue 4 of 2014

Documents