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NZMAA Affiliated.
Last updated 8 February 2010
Current membership: 17

Click here for a LIVE weather report from Tokoroa and a 10-day forecast

FLYING STATUS 12/13/14 February
Are we flying this weekend?	ANZAC Jets
For an update or confirmation, ring (021) 1131962

Don't Miss The Big Jet Meeting

Yes, it's time again for the annual ANZAC international model jet meeting which is held every year at the Tokoroa Airfield.

Dozens of the Southern hemisphere's best jet-powered model aircraft will be at the airfield for the three day event that starts this Friday, February 12th.

Admission is free of charge and spectators are invited to bring a cold drink, a chair, some sunscreen (or an umbrella) and enjoy the sights and sounds of some of the most impressive models and flying you'll ever see.

This video shows some of the highlights from the 2008 event...

Enjoying Summer

There has been a good turnout of members since Christmas and not even the occasional blustery cross-wind has kept people away.

Richard has a new ASP52 in his (recently repaired) SkyRaider and was last seen boring huge holes in the sky. Richard has also decided to go 2.4GHz after losing his Mentor to what was either nasty interference or a radio receiver problem.

Ben from Taupo continues to be a regular visitor and, thanks to all the flying he's been doing, is now hooning around with the best of us.

Barry was seen carving up the sky with his TameCat last weekend and now just can't wait to get his P51 Mustang into the air.

Bob and Ron have both gotten a little more stick-time on the club trainer, it being our goal to get them both solo before the summer's done.

El Presidente' has been seen deafening the natives again with the pulsejet-powered Bobcat -- but there are still a few bugs to iron out. Word is he's preparing a squadron of pulsejet powered models for the 2010 ANZAC jet meeting being held at Tokoroa in Februar.

Finally, the club has splashed out and bought a radio so we can monitor the airwaves and listen out for incoming aircraft. Hopefully this means we won't get caught out by idiot aviators who think it's clever to fly straight into an uncontrolled airfield without taking the sensible step of flying overhead to confirm that the runway is clear before landing.

Welcome to 2010

Members of the SWMAC have been flying regularly over the festive season despite the occasionally blustery winds.

Here is el-presidente's beautiful "Flying Trainer" doing a low roll -- a little too low as it happens but good luck lightning fast reactions saved the day.

You can see the whole thing in this video:

Richard was not so fortunate when radio failure took out his Mentor -- burying its nose deep in the hill adjacent to the runway.

A modest but enthusiastic turnout on Boxing Day saw Ben from Taupo, Mike from Tauranga, Egmont from Putararu and the Tokoroa locals enjoying fine weather and warm temperatures.

Unfortunatelyt he wind did pick up a little in the arvo which resulted in Mike's Skyraider biting the dust on takeoff -- there's just nothing you can do when a sudden gust of crosswind blows your model across the field like a rag-doll.

Richard also had a "moment" that will see him rebuilding his Skyraider Mach 2 and a good time was had by combatants and spectators alike when we ran a couple of rounds of RC combat later in the afternoon.

Steve from Putaruru is getting back into flying and came out on Sunday with his LazyBee and a glider that just needs covering. He hasn't flown for a decade but a couple of minutes on the club trainer showed that he hasn't forgotten anything.

New member Bob also got some more training time under his belt and after a hesitant start was soon handling the brisk cross-wind with ease.

And, if you're a local in the South Waikato area who has been given an RC model plane or helicopter for Christmas, come on out and see us. We'll be glad to lend a hand to help set up your new flying model and show you the basics if you need help.

And speaking of fun... here's more what we got up to recently...

Need Bearings?
I've got a bunch of new bearings here for anyone who has an engine that's getting a bit rumbly after a winter of storage.

They're stainless steel (so won't corrode) and have a hi-speed polymide retainer so won't fall apart and fill your engine with schrapnel even at high RPMs.

I'm passing these on at cost to club members. $15 a set for your OS/TT 40/46. These also fit most 50-sized heli-engines.

I've also got some SuperTigre 90 and Saito 100/82 bearings available on the same "at cost" basis.

A video by Richard

Not a cloud in the sky on both days and although the wind was a bit cold and lumpy on Saturday, it abated on Sunday and everyone was peeling off their jackets and jersies in warm conditions.

Johan was having a great time with his Skyraider and has even mastered his little Extra 300. Unfortunately, Barry mistook the wing of Johan's Skyradier to be a runway and accidentally landed right on top of it with his Tamecat.

No blood was spilled however, and I suspect that Johan will use this as an excuse to get his own Tamecat flying real soon now (will it have air to air missiles so as to strike back at Barry we wonder?).

Egmont brought out his new 26cc Yak ARF for everyone to take a look at. He's still collecting servos and other bits together but clearly hopes to have it together and flying in the relatively near future.

Even that old guy Lance was there, showing us how to fold the wing of a glider by remote control. Just moments after saying "this wing flutters a bit", the inevitable happened and it clapped hands. Ah well, now he'll be able to get those other planes of his going. The 33% Ultimate, the 42% Ultimate, the Bobcat, the BAE Hawk, the Tamecat, the....

Richard's new T34 Mentor was clocked at 202kph on Saturday, thanks to a bit of assist from the breeze. Even so, it had an average speed of 90mph (an upwind and downwind pass, straight and level), which is pretty quick for a $200 ARF.

Barry flew his Trojan and his Tamecat, having a great time in the process.

New student pilots Bob and Ron got a couple more lessons each and both are progressing very well at this stage. It won't be too long (if the weather holds) before they'll be going solo and having even more fun.

Never the less, Richard's Mentor was clocked on the radar at 185kph on the down-wind leg and once the runs were averaged out, the true speed seems to be around 157kph. Not to bad at all.

El Presidente's ASP 52 ate part of the carby-mounting screw and might have to be retired, having badly scored the crankcase journal. It's all back together but I don't think it'll be pulling 15,500RPM on a 10x7 prop like it used to.

Barry has a new plane -- fragile looking 3D electric that he was busy building on Saturday afternoon.

Bob and Ron were keen to do some training on Saturday but the wind was simply too strong and the air over the runway got decidedly "lumpy" by mid-day.

Ah well, there's always next weekend!

A great weekend, despite the weather
Club members were at the field on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd, despite some "less than ideal" weather.

Cool temperatures and a sometimes brisk crosswind on Sunday didn't stop the real hardcore members from turning out to fly.

Saturday saw both of our new members, Bob and Ron, getting some more time on the club trainer and on Sunday Bob's new plane was successfully test-flown. It now waits in eager anticipation of him going solo.

Richard and Barry were flying both days, the noseleg of Barry's Tamecat now looking better than new after an unfortunate "failure to flare" the week before.

Mike turned up on Sunday and, despite not having flown for a couple of months, handled the brisk cross-wind like an expert. He's getting so good now there's talk of banning him because he might make the rest of us look bad.

Absent without leave was (formerly Ace Flier) Lance. Ever since he got a turbine model he's been a rare sight at the flying field and despite threats of finishing new models, we're starting to think he'll never grace us with his presence again.

Come on Lance, come back and mix with the common (prop-driven) folks!

Here's video of Richard test-flying his newest model, a T34 Mentor ARF this week.

A Notice To Airmen regarding the Tokoroa Airfield
Any full-sized pilots intending to fly into the Tokoroa Airfield at any time would be advised to read this advisory

It has become apparent that an increasing number of pilots are ignoring the good practice of performing an overhead rejoin and flying the full circuit prior to landing at Tokoroa. This is not a sensible option and we request that the excellent safety record at this airfield is preserved by good, commonsense practices from both the model and full-sized aviation communities.

Pay your subs over the Net!
Those who want to pay their 2009/2010 subs by internet banking can now transfer their payments directly to the club account via internet banking.

Remember, full subs are $70, affilate subs $20.

Please include your name and NZMAA number with your deposit so we know who's paid what.

Here are the details:

Bank	KiwBank
Account	South Waikato Model Aero Club
Account number:	38-9003-0715926-00

UFO chases El Presidente's plane
You've probably already seen it on the news or YouTube but in case you haven't, here's the video that made headlines last week.

Here's the full video from which that small clip was taken. It's another noisy pulsejet-powered ARF, this time a Bobcat 52.

In other news... Barry has been burning up the sky almost every evening and weekend. He's nearly worn out his Parkzone Trojan and even his Skyraider is getting pretty exhausted from all that air-time.

"Legs-up Lance" has been showing us that there's really not much difference between retracts and brakes -- in fact they'll both slow the model down quite quickly when activated shortly after touchdown (apparently).

The April jet meeting was a pretty quiet affair -- except for one loud thump from the freshly ploughed paddock next to the runway. Turnout was low there were a few scrapes and dings to be seen.

Mike from Tauranga has been over and showing us all how it's done. He can even fly a model with no covering on one side of the wing -- now that's impressive!

We've trimmed out John's foamie and despite his (and Ron's) best efforts, it's still airworthy. Come on John, you need to rack up some more flying hours before the worst of winter arrives. I wont mention how easily El Presidente managed to fly this mode-2 machine despite being a mode-1 flier (gloat, gloat).

And speaking of winter... the bad weather is almost upon us now so I suspect that good flying days are going to be few and far between for a while. Sounds like a great time to start fixing up old models and building new ones.

The SWMAC Welcomes all model fliers and interested onlookers
The SWMAC flies from the Tokoroa Airfield in Moffatt road Tokora most Saturdays and Sundays -- and quite a few week-day evenings as well when light allows.

Our active membership includes model-fliers from all round the South Waikato district, including Tokoroa, Putararu, Matamata and surrounding areas.

We're extremely lucky in having the use of a full-sized sealed airstrip of some 850m in length for our flying activities. Fortunately, this strip sees only a few full-sized aircraft per day so we get almost free reign. We're also more than happy to share this strip with any other NZMAA-affiliated fliers that might be passing through or want to come visit.

Learn to fly RC model aircraft
For members of the public and those wishing to see why RC model aircraft are so much fun we have two trainers with dual controls available. We consider it our job to introduce potential new members to the fun of flying RC models and there's always a member or two willing to answer questions or help out those requiring more information.

On an average flying day you'll find everything from those club trainers, stand-off scale and aerobatic 3D models through to an RC helicopter or two on our field. And, every now and then, you'll even find a few jet-powered models streaking across the sky when visiting fliers drop in.

Use the menu at the top of this page to find out more about us.

Pictures from the SWMAC flying field