MAAA Wingspan

15 A CLASSIC CASE OF FUN AND CAMARADERIE AT QUEENSLAND’S PREMIER ‘JET TOGETHER’ EVENT FOR TURBINE AIRCRAFT With an experienced flight line crew on hand to manage the flight station safely, an expansive 1340m x 30m bitumen runway, along with the welcome camaraderie of the local community, Queensland’s premier three-day Goondiwindi QTFly turbine aircraft event was confidently onto a winner from the start. There were 42 competing pilots, flying an estimated 70 aircraft models (that predominantly comprised of jets and turbo props), who attended the 5th annual event, which took place from Friday 10th – Sunday 12th August at Goondiwindi Airport, in conjunction with Queensland Turbine Flyers Association Inc. “It’s a perfect location and the Goondiwindi Aeroclub put on a very welcoming full cooked breakfast and lunch each day, allowing pilots to concentrate completely on the all important aspect of flying, which generally took place between 8am-4pmeach day,” says Tyson Dodd, the assistant MAAA Secretary, who was in attendance flying a sport jet, (pictured top of page 2). “It was a good weekend and a well run event. The Goondiwindi Shiremayor opened the event on Friday morning and the weather mostly held up, apart from some windy conditions on the Saturday afternoon, which slightly reduced the amount of flying.” Generally, Goondiwindi QTFlyin is known as a ‘Jet together’ aeromodelling event as opposed to a flying competition, however there are ‘Best of’ awards given out. These included, amongst others, the Pilot’s Choice award, which went to Derek Pontarolo for his heart-stopping B2 Bomber and an award for Best Pilot, which went to Stephen Thomas for his YAK 130 aircraft. Significantly, amongst the flyers were such aeromodelling vendors as Jet Products Australia and Booma RC, who welcomingly showcased their latest products and were on hand to have a friendly chat about them to enthusiastic aeromodellers. “There’s no set manoeuvrers or set times for pilots at Goondiwindi QTFlyin, it’s about flying as much or as little as you like with a pretty big focus on the social side of the event,” continues Tyson. “This included Saturday night’s entertainment event dinner, which was well attended by 64 people. We look forward tomany more years of fun happy flying at Goondiwindi.” For more photos from the event follow the link to Queensland Turbine Flyers Association Inc . Facebook page. GOONDIWINDI QTFLY TAKES FLIGHT FOR 5 TH ANNUAL EVENT Photo courtesy of Derek Pontarolo