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

1997 - 98
The Committee
President Tom Wickers Secretary Max Haysom
Treasurer (Vacant) & Barry Dundas
Contest Director Peter Cossins Editor Alan Connelly
Fund raising
Committee Members Jim Robertson
& Site Liaison Graham Partridge /John Gottschalk
July 1997 saw the 50th Nationals (for 1996/97) held at Darwin N.T.:
Thermal 1. Rob Benton 2. Brett Solanov 3. Graham Roberts
F3J 1. Rob Benton 2. Alan Mayhew 3. Brett Solanov
HLG 1. Ray Pike 2. Theo Merrifield 3. (Miss) Kieren Pike
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September 1997 - World F3B Championships - Ankara, Turkey. The team to represent Australia
was Gerry Carter & Tim Mellor from VARMS, & Greg Voak (W.A.).
The following excerpt from Gerry Carter's very complete and detailed report is included to
demonstrate some of the things that can happen during International competitions.
"The first days practice was not good, I managed to destroy another glider (leaving two, one
new, one borrowed) and an hour later Gregg did the same thing, destroying a brand new Calypso
Cobra. Tim gave his model its maiden flight without mishap and sorted out some problems with his
winch which had been run, but never used to launch a model before. The second days practice at
this field was safe. No mishaps. Greg elected not to fly.
The first Official Practice day at the Official field arrived. Winches were set up downwind
and pilots were routinely towing around to the other side of the turnarounds and launching back into
wind, something we had heard about but never done or even seen before, however, we tried and got
better as the day progressed."
October 1997 - State Slope Championships held as a Pylon only event.
The U-2 - A Postscript
To commence this topic with a nostalgic trip back into time:
Aspectivity 201 April '89 reports that at the March General Meeting a 'Club project" was initiated
by Jim Robertson, being the building of a PSS Lockheed U-2 with the following specifications:
Wing Span 4480mm 14ft 8in
Length 2210 7ft 3in
Root chord 490mm 1ft 7 1/2in
Tip chord 130mm 5in
(from Aspectivity 294 - October 1997 - Author anonymous)
For relatively new members or those lucky enough to have forgotten, the U-2 was a
VARMS Club project to build a biggish scale glider trainer! This was way back in the early
nineties or should that be the roaring early nineties, as it needed a roaring gale on the slope to fly.
And she flew.
Like most democratic committee/group projects the various compromises made in its design
and constructions resulted in it exceeding its design weight of 25 lbs by, I am reliably informed,
some 23 lbs. The two amazing things though are that it was eventually finished, a TAD overweight,
but finished, and the thing flew!
Flight for the U2 though was fraught with a fair degree of peril and some comedy. The
nominated pilot was usually on Rohypnol (at least) and the launch crew, the runners, grunters and
heavers, looked like a bunch of caber tossing sumo wrestlers trying to run in step whilst grunting
and heaving the beast into the air.
Resurrection
Whilst at Tom's (Wickers) factory cadging a bit of welding a month or so ago the subject of