Hi all. Today is the day after I went to the Avalon Airshow and I am here in front of my computer eating Vegemite on toast for breakfast. Surprisingly, my face is a little sunburned even though we had cool temperatures (20c/68f), occasional rain showers and cool fronts moving through all day. This was my 4th airshow but my first as viewed through the eyes of a builder. Sure we checked out the the military and airline aircraft, but this year we spent most of our time out the back with the light and sports aircraft. We had a better appreciation for the finer details like tail wheel designs and aileron placement and various methods of flap design and construction. I am sure some onlookers thought us strange when taking close up photos of rudder hinges or an old magneto setup on a Volkswagen engine. We met Phil Matheson who was a wealth of information and an all round great guy. Thanks Phil. We also met some guys from South Australia who had flown their Sonerais in for the show. They were only too happy to chat about their aircraft and the KRs with which they were familiar. Taking us behind the roped off area to check out their aircraft in detail, showed there was absolutely no rivalry there. They both had Great Plains 2180 VW engines and absolutely swore by them. So I think my engine choice has been made. I knew my viewpoint had changed when whilst talking the Sonerai guys we paused chatting only when the F18s flew by because of the noise, but didn't looked up.
Bumped into a retired pilot who I hadn't seen in 18 years. (Just as well as we used his marquee to shelter from the rain at times) He is very big into the gliding scene and owns shares in 5 gliders. Interesting, he told us that his gliding club owns an old timber and fabric glider which members can use for FREE. $10 for a ground launch or $30 for an aircraft tow and you can fly it all day if you want. He also explained that a percentage of hours flown in the glider can go towards your (powered) pilots license. I think it was 3:1 but will need to look into it further. So anyone in Victoria who would like to go gliding at no cost but for the launch should get in touch with the Bendigo Gliding Club. http://www.bendigogliding.org.au/Main/HomePage As you can tell we had a great time and met some great folks. Just wish the airshow was on every year instead of every second. Pull my finger out and I may be able to fly in for the next show in 2009! Cheers Darren Crompton AUSTRALIA
