MAAA Wingspan

WING SPAN NOVEMBER 08 09 MAAALogo. NOVEMBER WING SPAN The renowned Brotherhood of the Ring has sponsored the 13th annual Fly-A-Thon event across the world with the South Australian club, South Hummocks hosting their event from Kangaroo Island on October 3-4, 2020. Matt Kania’s beloved Ringmaster control line model has been built and flown by more modellers than any other control line model aeroplane. The event, held for the first time on Kangaroo Island, was not a contest and required no registration. It was simply a fun fly-a-thon to honour the most popular CL model ever built. This event focused on getting the largest number of flights by the largest number of pilots flying a ringmaster control line model with the goal of increasing those numbers every year. The number to beat this year was 6121 flights by 553 pilots worldwide. The South Hummocks MAC has been participating in this event since 2015 and decided this year to hold the event at Mick and Roma Laundy’s property on Kangaroo Island South Australia. Event organiser, Ned Kelly explained that Mick is a member of the South Hummocks MAC and he and Roma have ventured over to South Hummocks a number of times to participate in the fly-a-thon. This year they decided to return the favour. “As well as returning the favour, we also saw it as a chance to make a small contribution to the local economy after the devastating bushfires of last Summer,” he said. “This year we had four pilots flying a total of 23 flights on the Saturday. “The weather forecast leading up to the weekend was looking grim and we thought the weekend will be a washout. Those of us that said we were going, held true and made the trip there regardless. “Saturday morning looked like the forecasters got it wrong again. There were blue skies, sunshine and a slight breeze. Certainly, good enough for flying Ringmasters. “Despite the wet weather on Sunday, on Saturday we had a great day and had great camaraderie amongst pilots. We also had a few locals come out to watch, which is great exposure for our sport. “A big thank you to Roma Laundy for providing food for the event, she did a fantastic job and a big thanks to Mick for preparing the flying circle for us.” During Saturday’s event, a former 87 year old aeromodeller came out to the field to see the action first-hand. Despite having not flown for many years, he was given the chance to find his wings again and take a plane up for a flight. He was absolutely thrilled to be given this chance. Guests were invited to camp at Lagoon Caravan and Camping Grounds and a hot meal was provided on the Saturday night for this weekend event. It was great fun despite the wet weather on Sunday. Awards given on the weekend were for: Best Model: Ned Kelly with his Ringmaster Imperial Most Consistent Trainer: Peter Koch Best Crash: Mick Laundy with his inverted pancaked Ringmaster S1, only broke the fin off! Best Come Back: Geoffrey Nutt with his Nobler Most Landings in one flight: Ned Kelly- 19 landings in 6 flights Best Close Call: Peter Koch Best Dizzy spell: Neil Tank South Hummocks Ringmaster Fly-A-Thon 2020