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

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loops followed by a roll to left and right followed by the applause from the crowd. Great Stuff.
Sunday, and the wind was almost but not quite right for The Doctor's, but as he could not be
contacted, it was a no-fly zone. Early after lunch we got a phone call from Martin Lui and mates
who had tracked down the owners of Mt Elephant and got us permission to fly. 4 to a car and some
bouncy models and we were soon crawling our way up a steep path to the flying site. WOW, what
a view, and the wind was full on the slope, blowing 15 - 20 knots. The landing area is very rough
with rocks of all sizes, but that didn't stop Theo lobbing off his Fox which excelled in the
conditions. Soon there were 6 to 8 planes airborne from foam wings to Max's little Spitfire. He
took his eyes off it for just a moment and couldn't find it again !!!!! In hindsight we all put our
models into a violent manoeuvre when this happens, don't we? Well, Max tried to find it by
keeping it straight and level and eventually had to give up and call for help. Kevin Robertson and
Steve Malcman scrambled to the bottom of the hill and scoured the area and Ian Slack went for a
walk round the side of the hill but all to no avail ... It was lost, and it was Max's favourite !!! It just
goes to prove how quickly 'events' can overtake the most proficient flyers, so if you happen to visit
Mt Elephant keep your eyes open for a little lost Spitfire 'cos its still up there ... somewhere. A
contribution towards the upkeep is required but we are always welcome at the Mount, but we soon
left as another phone call let us know the Doctor had been contacted and it was on. Perhaps it
should be renamed Carnage Corner from now on because the wind was only just on the slope and a
bit fickle to say the least. Steve Malcman landed his Fox right at the bottom of the slope, and
Andrew Clyne impaled his DG up a fir tree, Col Collyer had to bring his Swift in quicksmart and
suffered a slightly broken tailplane while Kevin Robertson had a severe case of dumb thumbs and
decked his Woodstock. Denis Hipperson's Kestrel suffered some sort of problem and bit the dust,
literally, and there were a couple more mishaps I think before the wind did a quick 180 and The
Point was where all the action was. From warm and sunny to cool and blustery in about 5 minutes,
but the lift was ballistic and the sky was soon full of all sorts of models, again I could only count 12
at any one time, all wanting to fly before the rain hit. With the air so crowded, and the planes
confined to a relative small area of lift it was a case of waiting for it to happen, and happen it did.
Theo's Fox, which he was flying all over the sky and at ballistic speed had an encounter of the
terminal kind with Max's all foam Sabre, both finding terra firma in an undignified manner. The
rain ended flying for that session and people drifted back to Melbourne leaving a few of us to enjoy
a cuppa while the campsite emptied. Late afternoon saw the sun come out at about the same time as
we hit the Point for some more action... and what action... Denis had his V-tailed 'thing' buzzing and
what a joy to fly it was. Colin Smith put his Schweizer 1-26 through its paces, proving that a nearly
8lb lump can enjoy a bit of a brisk blow and was soon joined by Col Collyer flying a similar
machine. No synchronised aerobatics this time as cold thumbs dictated a landing for Smithy who
found out all about the tip stalling characteristics of the 1-26 ... they bite badly when slowed down
too much but only another fin bent, so easily fixed. Max McCullough got his PSS
Aircobra/Kingcobra (they look the same to me) airborne and had a great fly and Des Bayliss did the
same with his DGwhatever (again they look lovely but I can't tell the marque). A Great Afternoons
Flying and the evening was spent solving the problems of the world whilst emptying Martin
Hopper's abundantly filled cake tin.
16/17 February 2002 - Mystery Scale Weekend (Apollo Bay)
Gary McDougall KA 8 1/4 Bruce Howard Kestrel 17 1/5
Ian Slack Woodstock 1/4 Bill Hamilton Discus 1/3.5
Colin Smith Woodstock 1/4 Brett Solonov Discus 1/3.5
John Lee Schweitzer 1-26 1/5 Andrew Clyne DG 600 1/6
Peter Jordan Schweitzer 1-26 1/5 Colin Collyer Foka 5 1/3.5
Barry De Kuyper Woodstock 1/4 Theo Arvantakis ASW 28 1/5
David Down Schweitzer 1-26 1/5 ????? ASW 20 1/4
????? KA 8 1/4 ????? Woodstock 1/4