NZ Model Heli Air Pageant 06

Well as predicted by myself the weather was hot and sunny except for a brief shower. People started arriving on the Friday and those helped to setup the fencing and marques. Alan and Jason arrived after lunch and were soon display a little of what was to come later in the week. The flying was just incredible and I could see every one their waiting for a chance to find out how it was done.

A few ventured out flying after Jason and Alan had departed later that afternoon. Unfortunately Wayne's Sulphide had a major crash possibly caused a transmitter crystal or module failure. This heli required two people to pull it from the ground and the good parts fitted into an ice cream container. A sad loss. There were many such losses over the weekend as everyone pushed the limit of their skills.

All through the weekend Jason and Alan wowed the crowed with some spectacular flying. There was also some really great flying from many of the pilots there.

Saturday night saw us being feed by a spit roast under the marquee and then some night flying. This night we achieved a New Zealand record with five helicopters flying at the same time.

We had some drag racing with the gas heli's and then with the electrics. That was a lot of fun but we had one trex have an altercation with a large planet. However a few dollars later it was back in the air.

Sunday saw the public being allowed into the event and they were blown away with the flying that was happening all day.

Monday saw some flying and lots of talking and getting a closer look at Jason Helicopter.

Many pilots took advantage to get some customs setups and tuition.

Flying straight circuits for awhile will seem rather mundane.

Thanks to the Pageant committee and especially Mike McCormick and Neil Harker for organising this awesome event.

Cheers

Neil Parkinson

Bay Heli Flyers

And here we have a great report from George - Thanks

Well- wasn't that a FANTASTIC event! And what SUPER weather!!

On the long drive home from the Pageant, I kept thinking about the many funny, great, exciting things that happened over the long weekend in Rotorua- plus all the new folks I met up there. For me- some of the highlights would be-

First off the rank- /huge/ congrats and thanks to Mike and Neil- for putting together the biggest heli event I have ever seen in this
country!! A huge amount of work goes into making these things happen, and we all owe them a big THANKS!!!

Jason and Alan- nice guys, who fly like the wind! Their demos were wild- and had to be seen to be believed. They spent a buncha time with many flyers- checking their machines- and even test flying them. Nice guys- hope we see them back this way again.

The Night Flying - for those that weren't there- ya missed out on at least one NZ record being set! The Most Number of Heli's in the Air at Once- All at Night!! I was a bit busy at the time- I think it was either 5 or 6 machines. And then- to wrap things up- Andrew and Kevin from Chch put on a stunning display of 2 night-flying heli's working together- completely un-rehearsed! Huge thanks to everyone that fired up their night blades that night- it was really great fun!!! And also big thanks to the hardy souls that stayed with us in the darkness- and got a bit damp.

The Scale Machines were certainly great to see. Andreas and Colin were the winners in this area- well done to them both!! And when I got back home I discovered an email from Starwood Scale Models, who were shipping the Curtek Lighting systems, which are being given to Andreas and Colin as their prizes.In the email, Al from Starwood was pleased to tell me that they have now *donated* the lighting kits to the Pageant- a very generous offer of support from one of the leading scale helicopter suppliers! Big thanks to Al Wert and Dr Tim of Starwood!!! And for all you folks that are into scale- or who would like to be- stay tuned- I think we may be getting the NZ Scale Heli Comp started up again! Nothing too stressful- with the emphasis on fun and enjoying the scale modeling-side of helicopters!

- As always- the venue in Rotorua was in great shape, plus with the support of a couple senior plank members- the bbq was hot and ready to go! Wayne and Julie are always very kind Hosts at the field, and they really take the time to ensure a safe and enjoyable event. The club has a really small number of heli fliers right now- but with the support of the members that come out each heli event, to help with the cooking side of thing- they all help make each event there a great time! And also this time- thanks go to the 'ultralight' club next door, for use of their field for the parking spaces!

55+ registered heli pilots!!! Good grief- I can't recall ANY heli event with a number near that number of fliers! This huge number made the weekend so exciting. The huge number of folks from Christchurch, the gang from Wgtn with the best banner on the field (!), the large number of folks down from Auckland- and the rest of the folks from around New Zealand. I know I've made a buncha new friends, and hope to see them again real soon. It's always good to see all the familiar faces, too- especially Craig and Carol from Taupo!! It's been too long!!!

The Public Day went really well- with some great demos- and lotsa nice folks dropping by the field. With all the other events happening in the town that day- we got a great number of folks- and they all seemed to have a great time. The scale machines on display drew lotsa attention, as did the super demos by the Boys from the US, plus David flying Steve E's jet, and Fraser B. and his huge plank. All super- very well done!!

All levels of flying skills- Ian from Auckland was burring lotsa fuel, and made great progress in the hovering area all weekend. David B from Wgtn starting to get some great airtime out of his Raptor. It was great to see the Logo and Trex machines- very sweet!! And Colin's huge Vario R22- and Robbe jet heli- very well built by Colin and flown by Dean- very impressive!

And finally- big thanks must go to all the folks that were able to help out with the setup and pack-down of the site. Nothing too hard or dirty- but lotsa hands DO make the work go easier. Great to see so many folks helping out.

This event was certainly everything that it was promised it would be- and MUCH more! While there were a couple 'hard landings'- including one for Alan(!) - the weekend seemed to have been a positive experience for everyone- with lotsa smiling faces all weekend. Stunning weather, great flying, a wide variety of machines and flying skills- this was one un-beatable event! Well done to Mike and Neil- plus everyone that came along and supported the Pageant!!

See y'all at the field- G2