MAAA Wingspan - Quarterly Magazine

24 WING SPAN MAY With a current membership of around 35 we are a moderately small club but we like to think that we have all the bases covered when it comes to enjoying our sport. Whether your passion is internal combustion or electric power, balsa or foam, scratch built or ARF, large scale or small, you’ll find a kindred spirit here. We even have a small but dedicated cadre of helicopter modellers who fly at a separate, nearby field. Our focus is on flying and having fun and we’re small enough to be able to take an Nestled in the shadow of Mount Tennent, the Namadgi Sports Flyers Club rests serenely alongside the Namadgi National Park on the southern outskirts of the National Capital. The club has occupied this location since 1990; in addition to the idyllic rural setting, members enjoy the benefits of flying from a field with little passing traffic and few neighbours. “With a current membership of around 35, it’s a moderately small club but we like to think that we have all the bases covered when it comes to enjoying our sport,” says club secretary Ken Lee. “Whether your passion is internal combustion or electric power, balsa or foam, scratch built or ARF, large scale or small, you’ll find a kindred spirit here. We even have a small but dedicated cadre of helicopter modellers who fly at a separate, nearby field.” Refreshingly, Ken claims the club’s focus is on flying and having fun and also adds that they’re small enough to be able to take an interest in each other’s successes and failures. “The dreaded ‘Walk of Shame’ is seldom a lonely one here. The ability to enjoy a bit of friendly banter along the way is an important membership criterion,” he continues. The club makes continuous effort to attract new members too, whether by manning a display stand at their local village fair or displaying a ‘Learn to Fly’ banner on flying days. Current members are always making efforts to attract new people to the sport. “Our proximity to the national park results in regular drop-ins from passing campers and bushwalkers. Our members pride themselves on giving a warm welcome to our visitors and taking the time to explain the mysteries of our sport,” continues Ken. “Our most recent initiative was an open day, promoted through pamphleteering at local shopping centres and utilising local radio station event calendars. “The focus of the day was on educating our visitors about our sport and offering the opp rtunity for them to pilot an RC Model under the supervision of an experienced pilot, using buddy-system technology.” Ken adds that member support was absolutely critical and that his members did the club proud with their aeromodelling encouragement. “A diverse array of models was set up for display and four trainers equipped with buddy-systems were made available to the visitors. Everybody was generous with their time in showing their models and explaining their differences to the visitors.” CLUB SUCCESS: ‘HAVING A GO’ AT THE NAMADGI SPORTS FLYERS’ OPEN DAY A FUN AND INCLUSIVE CULTURE HAS REALLY HELPED BOOST CLUB MEMBERSHIP