February 2013 - Royal Aero Club of Western Australia

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On a Lighter Note 14 The Club Reclaims Ownership The Club is once again in control of the members’ bar. The closure of the Runway Restaurant and Bar provided the Club with the opportunity to split the bar from the catering function. For some time, Committee and management had been concerned that commercial realities were preventing the bar from opening for functions such as the monthly aviation workshops. The bar will be run by volunteers on a roster system. John Ridgeway has devoted much of his time cleaning the bar, servicing the equipment and preparing the bar for operations. The Club is currently in discussions with the Department of Racing, Gaming and Liquor regarding an appropriate licence under which to operate. The Club has always operated under the authority of the Jandakot Airport lease, since the airport is on Federal land. However, the move to a State Licence will be considerably more cost effective. There is still a lot of work to be done before the bar can once again be a true reflection of the Club espirit de corps and camaraderie. It is open on Friday evenings and member support is needed. The prices are in line with other club bars which are operated by volunteers. The Swamp February 2013 Tarmac Topics Glen Caple, John Douglas & Mick Harcourt discussing the old days when the Club managed the bar John Ridgeway ensuring Mick Harcourt doesn't run dry. Cartoons used with permission. See more at www.swamp.com.au
Old Fliers Group (OFG) On October 28th, 2003, Hal Sutton, Brian John and Roy Hamilton gathered a few longstanding Royal Aero Club members together for lunch at the club restaurant. From then on the group slowly expanded at monthly meetings on the last Friday of the month. The April 2004 meeting attracted over a dozen members and friends to hear the first Speaker of the Day, Stan Schur. He spoke about flying in Rhodesia and the Rhodesian Air Force. After that meeting, Bulletin #1 was produced and mailed to about twenty members for the May 2004 meeting. This successful format has continued. The July 2004 meeting saw the group move to the Pilot’s Bar to accommodate twenty-four members. They heard Ron Minchin’s talk on Stirlings, glider towing and his D-Day experiences. Meetings in the Pilot’s Bar lasted five months, during which time the folding doors were opened and the members overflowed into the main lounge. The November 2004 meeting, with over forty members in attendance, was the last at that location. In January 2005 we were in the main lounge for the first time so that sixty members could hear Denis Gorton tell of the joys (and tribulations) of building his own aeroplane. It was necessary to use a PA system. At the March 2005 meeting, Doreen Newell, as a Mini Speaker, told of her experiences as an air hostess with MMA in the 1950s. Both a Mini Speaker and a Speaker of the Day have entertained from then on. Soon after, PowerPoint presentations were introduced to assist speakers. Numbers have gradually increased to the point where we are bursting at the seams - the highest attendance number has been about 110, while the average is about 85. The continued success of the OFG is obviously due to the moving stories from our speakers. It is not a requirement that the quality of delivery be professional. There was one early speaker who had to be continually prompted by his wife as he lost concentration, over and over – but was a powerful story of his experience as a commando, being air-dropped into France for D-Day. He was a hero in the true sense of the word; he seemed to thrive on action and danger. Some of the stories have been hidden for many years. One speaker opened by saying “I have not told this story to anyone in sixty-one years – not even to my wife and children.” His story of WWII brought both laughter, and at times, moist eyes to some of the audience. Lunch is served at noon, after which Brian John opens most meetings by welcoming members and their guests. The speakers get under way around 1.00pm and meetings usually finish about 2pm. Brian Hernan has a passion for aviation history and gives invaluable support to speakers with research and presentation. Stan Schur is our videographer and makes a DVD of the meetings. These DVDs will be donated to the State Archives of WA for posterity. Most of the stories relate to Western Australian aviation, past and present; WWII stories, and Australian and international aviation matters too. Some extraordinary stories have come from former pilots (including fighter, aircraft carrier, bomber, airline pilots), prisoners-of-war, etc. which leave us in awe. Quite a number of these men and women began training at the Royal Aero Club of WA. We recognise the importance of recording their experiences and a grant from Lotterywest enables this to happen. Some of the Old Fliers felt that the DVDs were important historical record and that steps needed to be taken to make them more freely available. What better way to do this than the Internet? A “Channel” on YouTube called oldfliersgroup was created: http://www.youtube.com/user/ OldFliersGroup?feature=mhee. Thanks to Steve Rogers, a selection of DVDs have been edited, formatted and labeled before being uploaded. There are now 65 talks on the oldfliersgroup channel taken from thirty meetings. It is gratifying to see over 1000 hits although there has been little promotion. There are also links to twenty other sites, most of them major world aviation sites. Also, we have been invited by the Third Year Media Class of Murdoch University to submit a case for them to create and design our own website. This is valued at more than $10,000 and will substantially improve our visibility. We invite you to go to YouTube and check out the stories that interest you. The range of subject matter is amazing and growing. As we continue, we offer a BIG thank you to all of our previous speakers who gave of their time to share their stories with us, some speakers very emotional at recounting events both pleasant and some not so. If YOU have a story that should be told, let us know. On Friday 25th January 2013 we will hold our 98th meeting, and in March we will celebrate our 100th meeting. For Sale - Piper Cherokee Share ¼ share in Piper Cherokee 140 VH-CTL for sale Friendly share, Cheap Flying, $5000 Call 0467 244 332 or 0407 033 737 The Past and the Future www.royalaeroclubwa.com.au February 2013 15
Page 1 and 2: February 2013 http://www.royalaeroc
Page 3 and 4: From the GM's Desk 2013 is here to
Page 5 and 6: Competition Winners The Club conduc
Page 7 and 8: Hello all. Firstly, I hope this art
Page 9 and 10: Skywriters extraordinaire - Carrie
Page 11 and 12: Chance Vought F4U Corsair Lockheed
Page 13: From the desk of the Chief Ground I

February 2013 - Royal Aero Club of Western Australia

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