| Wellington Funfly 8th & 9th of March
2008
The buzz before the event was that Wellington was going to
be a well supported event and it was. Most of us arrived on
Friday from far away places like Auckland and the South Island.
Friday afternoon was good to stretch the legs, setup the models
and have a few test fly's leaving the field around 7pm.
We finished a few night caps with the other fliers in the
motel around 2:30am and fell asleep. At 7:00am we were woken
by screams of No No No ! as we find that Kevin's Stationwagon
had been broken into ant 8 helis and a stack of other stuff
was missing - know body heard the breaking glass.
So its off to the field for a great day on field, a little
windy at times but that did not stop most people. A few minor
woopsies, lots of laughs an awesome catered lunch and some
of us even had a nap in the warm shade after lunch (I fell
asleep in a deck chair). This was the perfect heli funfly
day.
That night we all go off to Cobb n Co for dinner, followed
by an indoor funfly in a local hall. This was well supported
and I have never seen so many small helis and planes flying
around at once. It was a total laugh - the best indoor I have
been to.
We all arrived back at the motel around 10:30pm to find that
Kevin had been targeted again. This time they smashed their
way thru glass window into his motel room and stole another
3 Helis, a 14mz radio and more spares. You have never seen
so many dumb struck pilots standing outside a motel room lost
for words. The three helis stolen this time belonged to Neil
Parkinson. What was so disappointing was the attitude of the
police and the motel owners who really could not give a dam
at the time. Since dragging them out to the field on Sunday
(it took a million phone calls) and letting them see model
helis flying they have now got interested in the $40k of gear
that was stolen.
Sunday was again another day with variable winds and sunny
skies. Lunch arrived before we realised and again there was
even more great food. After Lunch there was a prize draw for
a couple of great prizes supplied by RC Helicopters NZ (Chopper
Mike) which included a Phoenix Simulator worth. Thanks goes
out also to RC Hobbies (Grant) Hobby Hanger (Kevin) and Cheye
of Hutt City Autoworld for their support of the event.
In summary this event was well run and the 40+ pilots who
turned up loved the relaxed atmosphere. The disappoint was
that eleven helis (including a Synergy) several transmitters
(including a 14mz) were stolen in two break-ins. I hope the
events of this weekend do not deter the Wellington club or
any other for club from organising future events.
8 People also passed their Heli Wings Badge over the weekend
which was a great effort .
Neil Harker
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