MAAA Wingspan

12 13 WING SPAN NOVEMBER NOVEMBER WING SPAN MAAALogo. Many of our young aeromodellers have developed their passion for the sport through a family connection, but for 17-year-old Balint Banko, that was not the case. Balint has been flying for seven years now and developed an interest in aviation after attending his first airshow at just three years of age, which led him into aeromodelling. Before joining the P&Darcs located in Cardinia, Victoria, he taught himself how to fly small foamies in a park close to his house and learnt the basics of RC flying all on his own. Balint said once he joined the Club, he couldn’t wait for the weekend to come around to get on the field with the other aero model pilots and learn all about the variety of models members were flying. “The way I got involved in aeromodelling starts way back when I was about ten years old, and I would buy cheap two-channel RC planes from the shops and go to the park and have fun,” he said. “I have been interested in aviation in general from a very young age and I went to my first airshow at three. From there, I got attached to the sounds and smells of planes and have loved them ever since.” The teen aeromodeller said his favourite aspect of flying is the freedom with the sky the limit and the adrenalin rush when practising manoeuvres. “It’s like a video game but in real life, which makes it very enjoyable, and you learn so much about aerodynamics and how a plane works.” After his years of flying, Balint has recently started getting involved in the building aspect of aeromodelling and aspires to build a model from scratch and fly it successfully. He is a junior member of the Australian Scale team, which is his greatest achievement to date, and will be competing in the 2022 Scale World Championships and local competitions around Australia, with the full support of his parents. “I could not have achieved all this already without the help of my parents who have supported me every step of the way, as well as the amazing Club and the members I have learnt so much from,” Balint said. Balint considers himself lucky to be a member of the P&Darcs, which has three large runways, well-manicured fields, weather, and webcams for members to see who is at the Club and what weather conditions are like before leaving home. He currently flies a P-47 Thunderbolt and says he has always enjoyed Warbirds for their flying characteristics and classic vintage models like the Stearman. Did you know that every affiliated MAAA club automatically receives $10,000 property insurance? This specific insurance policy arranged by the MAAA via specialist sports and leisure insurance broker, V-Insurance includes the following benefits: Cover for all property including buildings, contents, glass and money . Cover for property in open air . Cover for burglary, bushfires, fire, storms, accidental damage, malicious damage, vandalism and many other events. If your club has more than $10,000 worth of property/equipment you can arrange additional cover by contacting V-Insurance. CALL: 1300 945 547 EMAIL: sports@vinsurancegroup.com V-Insurance Group Pty Ltd ABN 67 160 126 509, Authorised Representative No. 432898, is an authorised representative of Willis Towers Watson ABN 90 000 321 237, AFSL No: 240600 Specialist Property Insurance for MAAA Clubs Self-taught junior RC pilot’s true passion for aviation