THE PHOENIX AT ETSA PARK IN NOVEMBER
It is time for us to commune again, dear readers, and I shall commence by saying that The Phoenix extended his flight plan this month to take in a visit to Singapore, accompanied by Mr. Bob McEwin who was once a long time resident of that beautiful country. More of that later.
Our last Indoor Meeting at ETSA Park had sufficient attendees to enable the rent to be paid but, I must add, only just. This time of the year is not good for such an outing with Christmas lead-up taking its toll on our membership, but none-the-less those who were able to join us, were able to fly to the fullest.
One such happy sole was David O’Reilly who fronted, together with his lovely partner, Kathy,for the first time with his own Blade CX2. Not just an ordinary Blade either, but one that featured a lot of mickey mouse bits. I do not know if that was the reason for its steady flights, as David is quite sufficiently accomplished to produce that show of excellence, but it must surely have added to his faultless displays. My first photo shows his con-centration. Well done David. 
Scotty (Broad) Gage can usually be found assisting some first time flier and as the picky shows, he was “at it again.” Although he spent some time on his self-inflicted instructor’s duties, he was still able to find time to display his helicopter to its best.
We do not see a lot of Tony at ETSA Park, but the didgi caught him in deep and meaningful discussion with Michael (The Red Baron) Schneider and their concentration on each other made them quite oblivious to their surroundings. During the night, a delightful little bundle of foam, propeller mounted, managed to squat itself way up on the rafters – this calling for Mr. Retrieval, Dennis Miller to send his Ikarus-type foamie climbing upwards and, after a few attempts, managed to dislodge the wayward craft and return it to the floor. Nice work Dennis – certainly not just a pretty face on a motorcycle. 
For quite some years, Mike O’Reilly (Mr. Model Flight) would often state that aerobatics were not his scene. WRONG! They are and he can be seen (see there are two scenes) adjusting his flying saucer type model, under the watchful eyes of Bob McEwin (leaning over the bar- what again) and Scott Gauge. Their concentration must have been helpful as Mike’s next few flights demonstrated.
We are having one more gathering at ETSA Park before Christmas hits us in earnest (poor earnest, still shouldering the blame) and that will be on the 20th December when, once again we will meet at 8.30p.m.
As my next story will not hit Model Flight’s Web prior to the festive season begins, I will take this opportunity to wish you all, dear friends, a wonderful Christmas, which, I hope will be celebrated with friends and rellies and, following in its footsteps, a great 2008.
NOW!
THE OTHER FLIGHT PLAN FOR THE PHOENIX.
A couple of weeks ago, The Phoenix waxed his wings anew, and together with Bob McEwin, well known and skilled Holdfast Club flier, took off for the beautiful city of Singapore, first engagement being with Raffles and their Singapore Slings – several.
Bob’s knowledge of that area, having lived there with his lovely wife, Ruth, for a number of years, made him an excellent guide and adviser. I did make the remark, to a friend, that after the Slings, he was becoming more and more attractive, but it was an illusion, such as David Copperfield could never produce. With all those gorgeous ladies over there, Bob just did not stand a chance, even though it may have appeared a poofy arrangement with us only ever being seen emerging from the same room.
However, as the topic must be of flying and not high flying, I shall revert to the part that could prove to be quite interesting for you, dear readers. We decided to visit the flying field of the Singapore Modellers and, after an interesting ride on the MRT (Mass Rapid Transport) and a taxi ride of reasonable length and cost, we arrived at their field. We were immediately gathered in by their past President, the delightful Patrick Chan, who proved that the Phoenix was not the only one with wings as he tucked us under his – this extending to taking us to a very large food hall and, together with the President and three other members of their club, provided Bob and I with lunch. Then back to the field.
Patrick Chan can be seen seated with Bob during one of their many conversations. I was extremely impressed with the degree of flying that was demonstrated by 10 or 12 of their members during the afternoon. Two Yak 54’s went through some very skilful manoeuvres, one doing a tail stand while the other passed beneath at high speed being one that enthralled me.
I could not help think of our mate, Justin Galbraith, who is really Mr Smoothy, for we saw another fine flying display by, first Anthony, the father and that was followed by KJ, the son, each taking it in turn to stand behind the other with, no doubt, advice. Their inside and outside loops together with other aerobatics were just so smoothly manipulated that I held them both in awe. They were flying Astral 44’s, using 155 Enya four stroke engines and KJ can be seen kneeling behind his beautifully presented model. 
Bob spent considerable time endeavouring to convince Patrick and others that they should send a team to Adelaide for the Air Races in 2009. He is sending them a DVD of our event which should impress. Our time with those delightful folk, ended with Patrick taking the trouble to drive us, over quite some distance, right to the door of out hotel. We were most grateful.
Thank you for the time you have spent reading the latest epistle according to the gospel of The Phoenix. Let us commune again in December.
Phoenix Indoor Flight Reports
Indoor Flying at ETSA Park 2008
| Date |
Court |
Time |
| September 18th |
1 |
8.30-10.30pm |
| October 16th |
1 |
8.30-10.30pm |
| November 20th |
1 |
8.30-10.30pm |
| December 18th |
1 |
8.30-10.30pm |
| |
|
|
|
I
want a quote on how much freight it will cost to send items to me.
