THE HISTORY OF V.A.R.M.S The Annual Diary 1990 - 2009

105
The following is taken from the August Aspectivity, President’s Report (Max Haysom) –
The Parks Victoria Future Directions Plan 2006, for Dandenong Valley Parklands has
been released in its final form. This plan is important to our future at Brigg’s Field and it
makes no reference to our presence in the DVP. Our site is classified as Special Use Zone B
(Multiple Use) and the following references are taken from the plan:
Many types of recreation activities may be appropriate for this zone into the future.
Acknowledge and maintain pre-existing land uses within the Parkland’s boundary, which are
not compatible with the general park management zones.
To recognise and provide areas within the Parklands where a range of compatible park
management, community and commercial uses may be permitted.
To provide opportunities for new commercial or community uses, which contribute to and
complement the Parklands’ recreational opportunities and settings.
What this is saying to us, is that, as the situation stands at present, we will always stand
a chance of losing, or, having to share part of our site with another activity. The only way we
can be assured is to have freehold land or a secure lease.
The following article has been extracted from the Silent Flight website by kind permission of the the
author and is a very useful guide to an activity that has been a very strong element within VARMS
and the wider modelling community for many years.
Aerotowing. A "How To Get Started" guide
By Colin Collyer. V.A.R.M.S
Scale sailplanes are one of the most graceful forms of model aircraft, and when they get to a quarter
scale or larger, they tend to appear less like a model, and more like the real thing.
The traditional way of launching from a flat field has been to use a powerful winch, petrol or
electric. You soon notice that heavy models wind in a lot of line, and launch heights are not great.
Real sailplanes used to be winch launched, but these days this has mostly been replaced by
aerotowing, being towed much higher by an aircraft with a "tin thermal " in the front. Why not
emulate this?
Early aero towing was done in VARMS in the 60's . I have seen early film by Brian Laging of Ray
Cooper and Ray Pike with a .60 powered stick and a large Foka 5. To say that it was a struggle with
only a .60 model would be an understatement ! I'm sure a big dose of horsepower would have made
a huge difference.
So. how do we get started?... Well, it's going to be a team effort, a tug, a glider, and 2 pilots.
As a general rule, the tug needs to be overpowered and about 1.5 times the weight of the glider. The
weight allows the tug to be the dominant partner, and the power is required for an adequate climb
angle (see later notes on tugs) A tow line is required, as is a release in both the glider and the tug
(See later notes )
The basic rules are as follows:
1. Use the release BEFORE or AS you get into trouble...
Do not wait for things to go pie shaped, as things go "awfully wrong awfully quick" and the
forces involved can be considerable, and will easily over ride servos
2. Concentrate on keeping the wings level, even for gentle turns