TARMAC NEWS

JULY-AUGUST 2007

 

A young Dick Gibbs with one of his Albatross scale models.

 

Information comes from Scott at Ace Models, that Saturn Products have gone out of business.  This is the bad news.  The good news is that all Saturn products at Ace are being offered at 20% discount.  A final goodwill gesture, because when present stocks are sold, that’s it.  No more – ever!

 

 A few vintage kits remain but they won’t be around for long, so go for it!  Some of the remaining kits, (I may have missed one or two):  “CHIEF”,  “MARS”, “HURRICANE”, “PHOENICIAN”, “ALL AUSTRALIAN”, all great flyers.

 

Following our mention a couple of issues ago, of proposed Government butchery at Whiteman, it seems that people power is still something to be reckoned with.  This item is from the Eastern Reporter newspaper of July 3rd.

 

“Locals put stop to park rezoning”.

 

DILIGENT local people were instrumental in preventing a rezoning proposal that would have enabled residential develop-ment at the southern  end of Whiteman Park.

 

Greens WA MLC Giz Watson led a motion to disallow Metropolitan Region Scheme Amendment 1027/33, which was upheld 14 votes to 12 at the June 28 Upper House sitting.

 

The zoning would have given approval to urbanisation of 249 hectares of park and recreation reserve, known as the Marshall Road precinct, and 82 hectares of adjoining rural-zoned land.

 

Ms Watson said Whiteman family representative Cheryl Rogers, and other community members, had been both diligent and invaluable in sourcing material that clearly showed that the original owners’ intention when the land was sold to the Government in 1975.

 

The documents showed that the land they were selling was to be owned and used by the community in perpetuity.”

 

This brain teaser comes from Adrian Dyson and I am just as curious as all of you guys will be.  I have put a name to it but I’m fairly sure that it is totally wrong.

 

“A local scrap metal dealer with a passing interest in aviation, kindly keeps an eye out on my behalf for model engines that arrive at his dealership.  As a result of that arrangement I have acquired engines in varying states of condition and completeness.  An obvious highlight was a complete 1958 Taipan plain bearing red head diesel that now reliably hauls around a George Aldrich Peacemaker, the plan for which was introduced to the aero-modelling world at large in 1958.

A photo of an incomplete engine to also come my way should appear hereabouts.  Your mission should you choose to accept it, is to identify the make and model of that engine.  There is a very informative Australian website that I believe contains the answer.  That website can be accessed via the URL www.modelenginenews.org.   If you think you know the answer e-mail the writer via dysonic@iinet.net.au . The first person to correctly identify the motor will receive nothing other than the satisfaction of having his/her name and engine identification sleuth ability acknowledged in the next Tarmac news.

 

 

 

The picture of Adrian’s mystery crankcase casting is a mystery no longer.  Thanks to the encyclopaedic knowledge of that engine wizard David Owen.  He has actually built one of these.  It is a 10cc Conqueror, an engine that was made in both casting kit and completed form by a firm called 1066 Products in Hastings (England), around 1948.

 

 

 

Here is the Conqueror 10cc engine built by David Owen.  So Adrian will know what it will look like when he builds up the castings that he has (hopefully with a prop driver rather than a flywheel).

 

At the recent Vintage Stunt competition, held at Lumen Christi, the standard of entries was exceptional.  Regrettably I am unable to supply photos of all the action but we hope you will enjoy the ones that are here.

 

 

On the left is a Montgomery Models `Stiletto’ powered by OS .15 and on the right the venerable Mercury `Marlin’.  The Marlin is a 1949 design and is powered with an Enya .09.
A beautifully finished `Jamieson Special’ powered by a Fox .35 stunt engine.  This one was built by Phil Trueman who flew it into first place at the Vintage Stunt day.
The static judges Alex Cunningham and Hans Bertina  who spent ages studying the models and the associated documentation before deciding on the allocation of  the static score.
Kim Ashton preparing his modified version of the enlarged (about 8 square feet of wing area) `All American’ drawn up some time ago by Dennis Percival.  Kim’s improved version features vestigial flaps, extended tail moment and is powered by a Saito four stroke engine.  It is impressive in flight and will turn on sixpence.
Last on the list of photos is the George Aldrich designed `Peacemaker’ built by Adrian Dyson.  This model was published in Aeromodeller magazine in 1958 and Adrian’s version is powered by a 1958 `Taipan’ diesel.

 

 Email bevrich@tpg.com.au with articles for the next issue.