VALE Brian Green (1935 - 2024)
With family present on 23rd June 2024 at 12.50 Dad died peacefully at home. A private service will be held in Warragul to reunite Dad with Mum.
The love of Dad's life was Dorothy (aka Dot). They met at a local Australian Air League Squadron.
Together they built their first house in Keilor East, a new suburb near Essendon Airport where he worked as a Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer for Australian National Airways. After getting his indentures he moved to Ansett Airlines which was paying a lot more. A few years later Reg Ansett took over ANA and offered employees an interest free loan to buy land to build near the airport. All they needed was a five hundred pound deposit. (AKA $1000) Dad asked his father, who had the money, but he refused. "Dad just big noting himself" being the reason given.
So he made alternate arrangements, bought a book on house building and set to it. When Dad was up high nailing the roof frame together my older brother Michael asked how he knew he wasn’t going to fall through the roof. The answer was “ You’ve got to have confidence in your own ability Son.” Which sums up my Father to a tee. Confidence is one attribute Dad had in spades.
The photograph of Kraft set shown on the bench on the right and the F3a aerobatic schedule, played a big part in both my parents lives. That combination created opportunities for travels to various places around the world.
Dad's childhood relationship with his Father wasn’t idyllyic. As a lad he used to earn quite a few bucks scavenging steel beer cans from footy grounds, often tipping proceeds into the family coffers. Sometimes this embarassed his Father who responded with a big clip around the ears.
Mum was the eldest of seven. Her childhood was much tougher. Dad took Mum away from that and whenever circumstances changed she backed his career choices all the way. Mum was quite gifted in the art of tongue in cheek strirring people up, just a tad, in a nice way. Mum and Dad were always holding hands, they just liked being together.
On the right, Mum with the radio brand that took her globetrotting
Mum worked the room at the 2006 F4C Scale World Championships and it wasn't long before competitors and officials all knew where Dad was from
Dad's father, not seeing value in owning a property applied to cars as well. "Why get a car when you can just use public transport?" said his old man. That did not deter him.
As he was getting his Morris Cowley roadworthy, reports of someone sitting on a wooden fruit box driving around the back streets of North Melbourne, made it to the local constabulary. One day the local copper presented at the front door and told him to get it regisitered. A competitive track and road cyclist, he had a big "off" in front of Mum at the wooden valedrome in Reservoir. Scraped heaps of skin from one side. He lost a few days pay because sporting injuries did not qualify for sick pay. Wife, young children and a mortage in tow gave him cause to cease racing.
He often rode his push bike the eight miles (12.874 km) to Essendon Airport. The distance was measured from the scale of a Melways Street directory. That marvellous book, which does not require batteries, was so much better than Gregories, or anything else on offer at the time, but it no longer compares to the convenience and estimated drive time offered by the Google Maps system. Which is a segway into another of Dad's abilities I got to witness and share in so many times. Not just an early adopter of technology, he often set about improving it. Which began with buying a book.
Another of Dad's firsts was taking his wife to aeromodelling events. An unusual request for its time Dad's arrangement with the Doctor to be at the birth of their fourth child was thwarted by the Matron who refused to let him in. He had zero time for religion and after we attended Sunday School, check the happy faces, we were left to decide for ourselves whether to press on with that lot.
At Ansett, he was good at nutting out problems quickly. That skill offered opportunities to earn quite a lot of overtime. Numerous trips in a DC3 to an airliner stranded half way across the Nullabor. At Forest, his first visit required a bucket of cold water to cool the hand tools down! The miffed local chap purposly left them on the hot tarmac. Ploughing through rough air at ten thousand feet to get to an aerodrome (aka Airport) further enhanced his dis-interest in full size flying. On night shift air freight to go into Bristol Freighters for the overnight Sydney run was often sent by road. If the freight arrived in time, the clients who paid for the premium service would never know. Baggage car train rides for kids, the skinny Santa flow in by helicopter for the staff Christmas party at YMEN was Reg Anset!!
Licensed for airframes and engines, the company refused his request to gain gas turbine endorsements. Crippling tax take on the extra income from overtime was supposedly for Governments to look after people in retirement. (Make a note of that with your Super, kids). Uncle Len suggested he take over his small taxi truck with Sth Suburban Taxi Trucks, One look at the books and he began driving a Box Morris van. Which was soon traded for a bigger Bedford cab chassis. The truck body builder questioned Dad's request to put in a loading ramp between the chassis rails. That was a first:- they had never been asked before. I believe that was a first. Sth Suburban kept putting on more and more drivers and what was a very good earn changed to diminishing income. He started work at Trans Australian Airlines where he gained airframe and turbine engine tickets for Vickers Viscount, Lockheed Electra, Fokker Friendship, Boeing 727 and Douglas DC9.
The last time Dad went up on a test flight was in a Lockheed Electra. During that flight, two engines were shut down to prevent failures. When the Captain shut down number the third engine, and flew the final approach on one engine back into Essendon, that did it! The type was plagued by engine problems which were finally traced back to incorrect thrust lines.
At TAA, I used to run into Hangar 85 on Bristol Avenue and sit in an airliner cockpit waiting for Dad to finish afternoon shift. Royal Flying Doctors occupy that space now.
Camping is not my idea of five star. I recall lugging their double bed and other household furniture into the truck. Yes, four kids tramped up and down that world's first rear ramp loading the truck for the annual five star family holiday at Waratah Bay near Wilson’s Promontory. My two sisters Kerrie and Gayle travelled in the cabin with Michael and I up in the Luton Peak for the 120 mile drive.
Long walks on the beach to Sandy Point to give Mum some quiet time, and tire the kids out, a Cessna offering joy flights off the beach but Dad wouldn't cough up. Steep turns right after take off the reason. I have seen the old Beford three times since and have pulled over to chat with its second owner. A few engine rebuilds later the odometer over a million miles and counting.
Movie Tone Newsreels at the cinema promoting WW11 fighter pilots as Gladiators in the sky sparked his interest in aviation. Which started with a free flight glider. One caught a thermal and was lost. Another ended up in the Melbourne General Cemetery. Hearns Hobbies was one of the iconic hobby shops in Melbourne but he never got into control line. When radio control was in its infancy Keith Hearn wasn’t interested in RC. “Too expensive no one will buy it” so people like Tony Farnan and Barry Angus started importing and selling from their garage. The most amazing shop was the Model Dockyard. Trains upstairs planes down below. When Dad enquired "why radio sets were so expensive when a transistor cost so little" he was told to piss off. That didn’t deter him so he bought a book on electronics and started flying with single channel escapements. Several equipent failures later the more expensive Bonner Digimite escapements were the ones to have. After stumping up the cash for one he started enjoying successful flights. Since then Dad has only been interested in using the best equipment. Galloping Ghost was the next new technology. He never flew reed sets because he started Digitaire Services to manufacture and sell his own Command Air Control digital proportional systems.
I used to accompany him down those stairs returning customers' gear at the Model Dockyard where the complete line of each OS engine was on display in nooks set into the right hand side of the stairwell. Dad began servicing Kraft radios for Barry Angus who lived in Geelong. Many a servo was assembled in Hangar 85 Essendon Airport during night shift when there was nothing else to do. Personal activities and jobs carried out by staff on the boss's time were known as foriegners. Greenie's attempt to fly a model out of the hangar one night didn't work out as planned. Model was recovered when the sun came up over the aerodrome. Retired LAME Ivor Miller recently confirmed Dad's unauthorised clandestine entrepreneurial activities.
A proposal for a high speed taxiway to keep maintenance at Essendon when Tullamarine Airport began operations, never went ahead and Dad left. Servicing photocopiers for Rank Xerox Australia. One client was ASIO where groups of men sat around reading newspapers, cutting out and filing articles on persons of interest. Australia Xerox business made its KPIs but bonuses promised to staff were witheld because the parent company lost money that year.
Another thing that didn’t deter him during those early days was constantly being shot down by luminaries such as Jeff Tuck and some of his cronies at MARCS. Ian Watts experienced the same problem. Along with Mal Ceaser that prompted the idea of forming of the DARCS club on the other side of town. This fact fact omitted in Monty Tyrrell's entertaining article on the PDARCS website. Monty was a sales rep for toy company CF Barnes. I got to know Monty a few years later.
Ian Watts and John McGrane (Wattsy, Macca and Greeny) forged life long friendships as DARCS developed a strong competition heritage. When the club purchased land and renamed P&DARCS Dad was offered a lifelong share in the Co-Op if they could use his name to promote the benefits of joining. The club's competition prowess slowly eroded years after sport fliers took the helm and began dumbing things down.
In 71 Dad won the Australian F3a Nationals with home built retractable undercarriage. Which was a first. Back then formal presentations were done at the Nationals dinner. Another competition model I remember had Digitaire for Speed written along each side. It held the Australian record for ten laps around what is now the FAI pylon course. It only had one aileron to reduce drag. Dad was also the first Aussie to enter and compete in an F3a aerobatic world champs at Doylestown USA in 1971. Bob Young of Silvertone in Sydney got wind of this and entered thanks to a Government export development grant.
Dad paid his own way and had to give the underfunded opposition a lift and shouted numerous times as they both wore the green and gold to compete as a team. Bob wore a slouch hat and during the airshow demonstrated the world’s first fail safe system. The flight didn’t quite go as planned. The model approached front and centre in front of a world wide audience, then, nothing happened!!!! Until on final. Then the canopy blew off ten feet up and lauched the parachute. The chute filled with air and the model stalled and crashed. Doh!
At the event Dad etablished relationships with Dewey Brodberg (Dubro) and Matty Sullivan (Sullivan Products) plus Lanier ARFs and returned with exclusive agencies. Kraft Sytems Australia was Dubro's first export customer, Dad had to talk Dewey into doing it. Self taught without official electronics credentials himself Dad also put on an Apprentice Radio Tech and Glenn Block was the first in Australia with Radio Control servicing credentials.
In 1972 we moved to Geelong where Mum and Dad invested in a 50% partnership in Kraft Systems Australia. Dad looked after service, Barry Angus sales. As a business competitor Silvertone was quite painful but not for producing a superior product. To lower the import tarriff Kraft gear was imported CKD (Completetly Knocked Down) on the proviso local labour was used for assembly. Silvertone constantly lodged complaints that Kraft Australia was doing the wrong thing. Instead of practicing aerobatics, Dad often wasted time with Customs audits etc. Difference between Kraft and Silvertone? Kraft Aust employed people and the gear was reliable. At that time Silvertone sponsoring trophies for Free Flight at the MAAA Nationals which would have been a more fitting endorsement.
At Kraft in Geelong I had so many fond memories with my new best friend Phil McGrane. The same cannot be said for my parents who quickly figured out the new business relationship was problematic. Bangus big noting himself telling people he flicked Dad a bone to work at Kraft really got under my Mother’s skin. The Greens were 50% partners.
One day a chap was waiting at the doorstep when Dad opened up. Thinking it was a customer the reply was “ No I’m reporting for work. Bangus had employed a radio technician without even consulting his partner. Chap turned out to be okay for routine assembly but was out of his depth fixing tricky or intermittent service problems. Not long after that the McGrane family arrived to start the KSA kit building business. Once again Bangus had not consulted Dad until it was too late. The F3a Northerner kits were radical. Basic version was foam wing and stab cores skinned with balsa, fuselage assembled with top and bottom balso blocks glued in place. Deluxe was leading trailing edges and tips glued and sanded to shape. Fuselage sanded to shape.
Soon after that Dad found out a senior radio technician from Kraft Systems USA had been offered employment. Yet again this was without his knowledge. When the guy turned up for work he asked Dad where he could go out into the country side near Geelong and stake a claim for some land. He was told that by Bangus and believed it. Yes that actually happened. Anyway the guy was very competent which gave Dad an out. So did the mid 70s property boom.
Back then all the top names raced pylon as well. The white model is a 600 square inch English design called The Brigand. Dad raced that in the 72 Nats. Later the Kraft Team moved on to the John McGrane Minuteman design which was also avaliable as a fibreglass and foam kit.
One of Dad's many firsts was home built retractable undercarriage in his taildragger in F3a at the 1971 Strathalbyn Nationals. After the USA World Champs he went about designing his own models to compete. For fast replecation the white Whistler Mk1 featured a much quicker to build rolled top plywood fuselage to speed up the process that requires constant refinement of wing section, thrust line, tailplane location and fin - rudder area below the thrust line. With Jeff Tracey and Barry Angus Australia sent a three man team to the Goritzia World Champs in 1973. Whistler Mk 11 sported retract doors. He returned with the most exciting product. The Kavan Jet Ranger.
Australian Government banned teams but not individuals going to 1975 event in Sth Africa and he made the 1977 team. The Kraft Masters was one of Dad's many long term event ideas.
Houses more than doubled in value in three years so my parents left Kraft Systems Geelong and tipped the lot into stock for Fliteline Models Sth Melbourne. With exclusive agencies Fliteline distributed wholesaled and retailed top brands such as MK kits, YS engines, Sankyo Digital radios, Graupner. Soarcraft glider and Joe Bridi kits, Hobbypoxy paint, Wilhold Aliphatic Resins, Zap adhesives, Rocket City and Sullivan Products. The first night my brother and I slept at the shop, we opened every box for a peek inside. Dad also retailed Kavan, MRM kits and another range of top quality Japanese balsawood from the De Chastels in Queensland. Appreciated by foam wing builders because every sheet was edge matched.
Rather than letting a customer walk away we also carried Kraft and KO Digi Ace radio, Futaba from Futaba Sales Australia, OS Radios and engines from Tony Farnan’s Model Engines and MRC Micro from the O’Reilly’s in Sth Australia. Poor customer service and problems with 27 to 29MhZ conversions, selling Kraft became too hard. The brand was ditched when the answer to warranty returns suggested we teach our customers how to fly. Market share for radios is won and lost at flying fields and it wasn't long before Sankyo became the winning F3a brand in Victoria. Sending beginners to other clubs where the local guru backyarder, with wholesale accounts elsewhere, was often risky for business so Saturday arvos were spent at the MARCS Club teaching our customers to fly.
Cheaper than the better engineered MK products Dad stocked Pilot kits. Fliteline supported locals like Ralph Learmont who manufactured Southern Sailpanes kits and Bruce Price's engine mount brand Pricerite Engeering. Southern Models would not supply Aeroflyte as it did not want to upset Barry Angus at Kraft. That decision changed quick smart when the Sales Rep visited six month after opening. ARFs accounted for 25% of kit sales.
Another of Dad’s firsts at Fliteline was carpet on the floor. Our opposition used that against us saying prices were higher to pay for it. Apart from a small range of control line and free flight, Fliteline did not sell anything other than RC planes, heli, gliders, boats and cars. No toy lines, plastic kits or model trains. CF Barnes and Co had no product lines of interest so Dad used to disappear down the back when the rep called in. As a teenager I had to endure his endless supply of travelling salesman jokes during his weekly visit to check our prices and report back to his mates at the Hobby Hangar. Monty was one of the many gifted control line fliers who could tell an entertaining yarn but never really made the transition into RC competition.
Another product Dad designed and manufactured on site was a hand held servo controller. His digital tachometer was technically superior to other offerings in that it physically counted each propeller blade passing the optical sensor. Three channel trainers were the norm but we did our best to upsell to four because it was better.
The Kavan Jet Ranger went by the wayside to Graupner's Bell 212 which was a far superior product. Sankyo Digital produced a radio specific for helicopters with a throttle tail rotor and throttle cyclic mix. Dad raced that machine in a 40 lap sport pylon event at LDMFA.
He opened a retail outlet in Nth Strathfield Sydney and I used to relieve my brother a few times a year. Dad swapped flying his own Whistler designs and flew products the business sold. Not a huge fan of the MK Curare, which did not cope very well in turbulent conditions, he opted for Ivan Kristensen's Saturn. Fliteline offered a fibreglass and foam kit. Tailplane cores were cut with his automated foam cutter. Business expanding rapidly so he took on a partner.
Kraft USA was sold to a defense industry firm which appointed corporate trouble shooter Art Latham to get a feel for the model industry. When in Australia he looked Dad up. The upshot of that conversation was " You know Brian during my career dealing with many large corporations and conglomerates I've never seen anything like the RC industry. The big players would rather lose sales just to play petty politics."
Not long after someone stuck an FAI pylon racer in the through the wall of the corrugated iron cladded "hole in the ground" dunny at LDMFA. Dad proposed a motion that a club was be built. My brother's wife, Debbie, was in that dunny at the time and she emerged white as a sheet. At the next meeting blokes were vehement not wanting their wives coming to the field. Which had the potential to split the club in half. The upshot was a group formed the Melbourne Radio Control Club and purchased a house with acreage in the Yarra Valley. Flitleline supplied the club with new members. Dads business relationship with Mashiro Kato (MK) was such he was offered the distribution rights for Mabuchi electric motors here. A great opportunity but not of interest he suggested they contact Tony Farnan.
The business was built around Dad’s brand flying top equipment. Consuming capital at an increasing rate he took on another, silent, partner. A silence that did not last very long. Having diluted his equity decisions changed to him being outvoted. Being told what he could and couldn't do by someone flying the company's flagship F3a products, yet was knocked off in an F3a State Champs by a competitor flying a Middle Stick, did not go down well. Dad walked away.
A vacant building in Lightwood Road Springvale had a valid permit for pinball machines and the Formula 12 Raceway was born. We built a six foot wide race track for electric powered RC cars. Clubnights were setup but the main income was coin in the slot ready to run 1/12 scale race car hire. I wasn’t really interested in RC cars but my brother took a real shine to it. A couple of years later what was a viable business was sold to a father wanting to give his son a job. Who stuffed it in less than a year. In the meantime Elektronic Leisure, (Dad’s company) built a coin in the slot track at Luna Park in St Kilda. Management came up with the invigorating title "Electronic Mini Cars. Wow! That was quickly renamed Formula 12. How the amusement industry works is floorspace provided and the operator splits the takings 50-50.
The general public’s ability to shear off a 10mm high tensile bolt on the steering wheel stop or the 10mm gear lever shaft was astounding. Steering repairs faded away after Dad developed a system using LEDS which allowed the wheel to be spun at high speed through 360 degrees. Short of using chrome moly tubing the forward- reverse gear lever damage remained a constant. He also developed a boat setup. Allied Leisure approached Dad and an exlusive $1,000,000 deal to supply one track a month for twelve month was signed. One went into Geelong and another at Flinders St opposite Hearns Hobbies. A few months later and no money in sight Dad repossessed the tracks and ran them on a 50-50 deal with the venues.
The Fun Factory was a new Entertainment Centre right in the heart of Sth Yarra. Dodgem cars, 3D theatre, carnival amusements, roller skating, mini golf, restaurant and a night club downstairs. A Formula 12 Raceway near the front door, just past the Whack a Mole. Bokes could not resist pointing that machine out to their girl friends and often followed that up with a light punch in the arm. That classy bit of equipment took heaps.
My brother was skilled at painting and people could race a Brock or Grice Commodore, Johnson’s Greens Tuff Falcon, Moffat’s Styvesant Mazda and Bartlett's Camaro to name a few. Nine consoles with two cars per console and fast charging. After six weeks that track paid of the initial invesment in bags ot twenty cent coins. It employed my brother and two sisters on a basic wage plus a profit share.
Fun Factory tennants paid their share of outgoings based on floorspace. The biggest lessee was the Son in Law of the well known hotel family that did the development. They gave him the Centre Management gig too. A few years later when things slowed up he started cutting back on advertising, security and cleaning to reduce his outgoings. Then the whole shebang began to wind down. Dad reduced the speed of the cars. Which increased the run time and reduced damage. Bigger battery packs and high quality Swiss stepper motors those one twelth scale cars could remain idle and run most of the day. Which reduced the need for labour.
Personal Computing was a growth industry so he bought a few more books. Soon he was selling his own stock control proprietry software to small business. Kwikware had a good client base across a diverse group, electrical retail, nightclubs, importers. When Windows was launched a few years later we spent a few days cold calling business and came to the conclusion the writing was on the wall. Pondering what to do along came a gift.
Early 1991 Dad recieved a phone call from MAAA Secretary Chris Greenwood. Italy had pulled out of hosting the F3a F3C F3d World Championships and CIAM was looking for an alternative. Could Australia do it? Subject to consulting with the APA Committee the deal was done then Dad called John Rogers at Airborne Magazine to discuss publicity. All of Dad's previous efforts trying to raise the standard by sending teams overseas to compete, and the local magazine was not interested in the biggest aeromodelling event to hit the country! Which really pissed my Father off and he bought a book or two on publishing.
RCM News magazine was launched in October 1991 at the World Championships with Aussie Carolyn Goldsmith holding husband Pete's Lotus F3a design on the front cover. Dad was the overall Contest Director. My role was selling advertising space in the official program. Man that was easy. Anyone with any nouse knew they had to be seen in that program because the agencies they represented would be there. Big and small players pitched in.
Having an alternate is an aviation SOP and in that context I think the passage of time is such I can touch on an interesting behind the scenes potential snag at that fantastic event. Eddie Lo, new owner of Kraft Systems Australia, generously offered to sponsor the event. Which was glady accepted. Along came a stock market and property crash. Banks began lending on cash flow not assets and Eddie forwarned the committee there might be a problem. Using my Father’s credentials I faxed Graupner in Germany to ask if it was interested to pick up the tab, if needed. No money was discussed nor any promise made other than they would be offered first. Graupner was happy to help but as it turned out not needed.
That event was a fantastic success and without Eddie Lo probably would not have happened. A bit of argy bargy about what discipline should be front and centre was dealt with straight away. Aerobatics out front, pylon up one end, helis the other. Locals were willing Aussie Peter Goldsmith on but he narrowly missed the top ten cut for the F3a fly off. Dad invited Pete to do the demonstration flight for the judges. No doubt that was a pressure flight.
In reflection of how the event was conducted, as head honcho, Dad was awarded an FAI Air Medal. Not sure of the timing but he was also awarded a Life Membership of the Australian Pattern Association. His driving ambition of raising the standard of flying in F3a had come a long way since he returned from Doylestown 71.
Dad also competed in several F3B Electric glider and F5D Electric Pylon World Champs in Poland and Chekoslavakia plus the 2006 F4C Scale in Sweden. A total of nine world chamionships.
Build the event and they will come. To further expose Aussie competitors to flying against internationals, using his F3a credentials, he instigated the Asian Oceanic F3a Competiton in 1988. He judged at the 1995 F3a World Champs in Japan. Mum pencilled.
A few more of the many models
And a few more
Ever since relinquishing the Sankyo agency Dad has flown JR
Mum and Dad purchased an acre block in the Yarra Valley and set about building a mud brick home. Original design was load bearing rammed earth walls and construction began with an argument with coucil inspector about the footings. Dad built them on the minimum. Inspector not happy even though the minimum is there for a reason. Shrinkage from clay made the walls unusable and the design changed to post and beam.
I'm a bit sketchy on the dates but mid to late 1970s F3a flyer Jeff Tracey employed Canadian world champs competitor Ivan Kristensen to build Jeff's competition models and provide coaching. Dad and Ivan struck up a friendship. Seeing Jeff was paying, Ivan did not provide coaching for anyone else. Fair enough, nevertheless, the standard of F3a flying in Australia definitley improved whilst Ivan was here. A sponsored Futaba flier, Ivan flew Mode 4, reverse Mode 1, because it was better for right handed fliers. Dad and I made the switch from Mode 2. Those first flights were certainly interesting.
This time Mum and Dad said no partners. RCM News grew steadily and Dad has consistently said it is the best venture he’s ever had. To take advantage of Print Post cost savings the software he wrote for magazines subscriptions batched address details for Aust Post mail centres. Nothing like that was available. My contributions were the ocassional article. Later I started two days a week which gradually morphed into full time. When he had enough we struck a deal in 2014 and I did the whole thing on my own. Man what a learning experience that was. The RCM News masthead kept the roof over my head as my kids grew up. Publishing that magazine was a privilidge I will never forget. Thanks Mum and Dad. Readers and advertisers too.
Nothing in the owings book all Dad's business ventures were successful. A good provider, he is survived by three children, thirteen grand children and four great grand children. A pulmonary fibrosis lung condition he attributed to years of inhaling balsa dust, thanks to Victoria's Voluntary Assisted Dying Legislation he ended his own life on his own terms.
A fierce competitor who consistently looked for a better mousetrap, one of my most cherished memories was watching the wheels retract during the initial climb into the F3a schedule at the 1971 Strathalbyn Nationals. Which he won. My earliest flying field memory was the red and cream Gypsy Moth picking up speed after the lower wing fell off. Meeting people like top aerobatic fliers Phil Kraft, Ivan Kristensen, Dave Brown, Hanno Prettner and others.
Hand towing his Graupner Cumulus into the boiling lift at the Loxton Nats into first place is one of his favourites. Mine too. FAI pylon racer wailing on the start line then scrambling back to call is right up there. Not as good as flying the thing yourself nevertheless a great team experience. My brother and I running fetchemite for Keith Follette in the free flight night scramble remains indelibly stamped. Controline Speed and FAI Team Race are two other competitions really worth seeing. Robin Hearn demonstrating that the Yarra Valley Air Races in 1997 and Sandown Dutton Airshow in 2000 was a "Promoting Aeromodelling" highlight for me. Of course nothing will ever beat controline combat for a low risk really in your face spectacle.
A few years later I got to test fly one of Dad's FAI racers with a Ranjit Phelan engine. Ranjit from NSW had developed world beating pylon engines with quarter wave tuned pipes but couldn't get anyone in Victoria to use one. Those profetic words from that American coroprate trouble shooter rang true a number of times. In this instance Dad bought one and I bolted it into a Minuteman. Followed the very specific instructions on how to tune it and after the first turn that thing jumped on to the pipe as expected. The model developed aileron flutter and I had to shut it down quick smart. Man I'd never flown anything so quick. When Dad and Ranjit raced Phelan's OPS powered Mustangs at a Nationals they were two laps quicker than everyone else. Anticipating the flag I got a bit excited and called a cut at pylon number one. Oops, Man oh man what a race that was.
Dad conquered helis when they were new. Fuselage sat on a vacant seat in the airliner. The Kavan Jet Ranger bought back from the 73 World Champs in Italy was so exciting. Ron De Chastel had the Kavan agency and I’m sure he appreciated the estimated $20,000 grand Dad spent learning to operate and fly that machine. He knocked up a plywood box which weighed less and was easily repaired. When he finally became confident booming the thing around the mechanics went back into the scale fuselage. A problem with the rotor head toppling in a fast right hand turn wrote off another two machines. Finally Kavan factory pilot Dieter Zeigler admitted that was a problem. If only that warning had been in the instructions. At that time no one else we knew of was flying circuits. All set to clean up at the 74 Amberley Nationals that thing stubbornly refused to lift off the ground. An opportunity lost but in competition flying things have to go right on the day.
The other siginficant memory at RAAF Amberley was the elevator servo failing in his Whistler on the downline in the Top Hat. Straight into the bitumen runway. Model repaired overnight he won the F3a.
A big thrill for me was power line stringing in the Victorian Alps with Dad. That was a real adventure. Another was shooting a Spalding Hot Dot golf ball TV commercial using a 16 mm gunnery camera from a WW11 fighter. The opportunity for me to CD the Kraft Masters International at RAAF Point Cook was an experience. Man I learnt a lot volunteering for that job.
When gas turbines arrived on the aeromodelling scene Dad built one from the set of plans published in RCM News. It ran but did not reliably produce the Author’s claimed 6kg of thrust. Three and a half yes. Six no. Kurt Schreklings book in hand he set about redesigning it. The GT 2000 project ended up a twenty grand spend. Recouped by five hundred plus sales of engineering drawings at $50 each. Not to mention magazine sales as these were the hottest new promotional item since helicopters. Two freinds of mine Damien Milk and Damien Mould flew one in a scale event at Shepparton. Milky built the engine and Mouldy flew it in his Avons F-15. Which started the scale fraternity whinging you can’t compete against a jet. Which is rubbish. The advantage flying a jet is that making the same mistakes as everyone else are more easily disguised by high speed. Which is a judging issue.
Of all Dad's products my favourite was his home made balancer for turbine and compressor wheels. It utilised a simple LED to identify where the imbalance was. I got to fly Dad’s GT2000 at the 1999 Qantas Australian World 500cc Motorcycle Grand Prix. You could have heard a pin drop as that thing spooled up. Landed under the Malboro sign at Southern Loop and Dad grabbed the model and beckoned me to open the throttle. He then proceeded to hose the crowd with the eflux. They went nuts. Thoughts of what could possibly go wrong, memories of turbine wheels lunching themselves and spitting hot metal out the back omnipresent, I counted to ten and hit the shutoff.
His twin engine F4 won the Technical Achievement at Wangarratta Jets. The GT2000 WC engine featured onboard start and thrust was increased to 10 KG. When CIAM was looking for ideas to promote aeromodelling Dad suggested jet pylon racing. A simple thrust and wing loading formula could have dealt with airspeed and turn radius concerns but nothing was heard of that again.
Dad got into electric power when it was new too. Discipline from all that aerobatic flying became evident practicing F5B. With the new Robbe telemetry sqeezed into those 1.5 metre hotliners he consistently punched out within fifty feet at the top of a 1000 foot climb. When telemetry was banned in scale air racing that obsolete equipment was loaded into in my Seagull Texan to make the 6.35 kg minimum weight.
Test flying his 2006 scale world champs project was the most nerve wracking ever. Scratch built 1/6 scale Grumman Panther with folding wings and an upgraded GT2000 to the maximum allowance of 10kg thrust. A deep breath and don’t stuff it up, three flights later she was set up. The model didn’t make it to Sweden and six weeks to go we went with a Fokker E111 knocked up from scratch. TX antenna vibrating slightly just before the first take off an indicator of the enormity of competing at world level. Pinged by one judge in static judging because the dummy rotary engine did not rotate. Judges are not allowed to touch the model so how did he know? When Dad called landing approach I turned around to see if the judges were watching. Chief judge had his head down writing. Model rolled to a stop Dad called complete and the chap looked up, leant over and asked something to the man alongside then wrote down a score. A great experience but unlike an F3a Champs the overall conduct of the event left a lot to be desired.
Another experience I revere happened two years later. The chance to compete with an ARF jet at an international event the Sth Pacific Scale Masters he bought out Englishman Pete McDermott and his Word Champs static winning Sopwith Snipe. Aussies and Kiwis had the choice of four different categories, F4C, Team, Builder and ARF. Flying the FAI schedule in front of the same judges this gave everyone the chance to compare scores against the best.
Correctly installing a good brand of gear and operating it correctly radio systems have been ultra reliable for me. In the early years at Kraft I accompanied Dad and the McGrane’s promoting aeromodelling at numerous country agricultural shows. The only incident I recall was Macca’s Grande Stick (big Ugly Stick) sliding down a kite wire. Later on Dad had a very nasty experience at Fliteline.
Invited to fly at VFL Park in Waverly the model lost control and went in full throttle the other side of the South Eastern Freeway The radio sytem that had worked perfectly suddenly did not. Once you been shot down a few times you get to learn the signs. Leaving the car park to find the wreckage and lo and behold who should drive back in but Tony Cincotta and one of his cronies. Cincotta and a select few of his Hobby Hanger’s never managed to out fly the Kraft team and some chose other methods. Dad’s advice in mind of not being sued is a key fundamental to being a small publisher, I won’t name who it was, in case he’s still alive. It wasn’t the Hobby Hangar heli guro who once decided to hover his rudimentary fixed pitch Micro Mould Lark over Dad’s head as he stole the show punting the Graupner Bell 212 around at a Doncaster Aeromodellers airshow. That was some of the rubbish we put up with. Anyway a stroke of luck the red Saturn went into the concrete footing in a vacant block in between two houses. Model, engine and radio totally destroyed. No one hurt. Phew!
The first time we went to the Waringah Club in NSW I noticed my brother Michael copped a fair bit of back stabbing. I’d already learnt the best way to give the "would be if they could be" fraternity something to think about is at the flying field. By then I was slow and point rolling the best brands across the sky. MK Skymaster, Sankyo Radio and piped YS 60 spinning Max Daly hand made props. Yep a good Classic Pattern demo still works today. Mike kept flying and flying and started competing in scale with his 14 lb OS 60 powered MK ME109. First place flying a T28 at a WW11 scale competition a protest was lodged. Mike argued the toss and the result was he knocked off Tom Prosser. Eligibility of the aircraft type was a matter for the Contest Director.
We both grew up watching big personalities during those early Kraft days at competitions such as the Trans Tasman aerobatics and pylon racing. My first aileron model was the all yellow Merco 60 powered full house John McGrane F3a Northerner Mk1 design. Two other people who grew up with a similar RC model plane industry experience as me would be Bruce de Chastel and David Mc Farlane. Ron de DeChastel was an importer, wholesale, retailer and Brian McFarlane a retailer. Both gentlemen knew how to stand behing the products they sold and how to compete within the spirit of the rules. If the results didn't come, practiced more, perhaps a change of equipment and tried again. Ditto for their sons.
Gliding was another competition Dad and I both enjoyed. Kraft's 2 channel brick was a receiver with two servos all in one case. Which happened to fit snugly between the two bulkheads of his Graupner Cumulus ARF. A last minute thought before we set off to the Loxton Nationals we entered. I jammed the brick back into the model, walked across the street to park and threw the thing to set the trims. Eighty plus entries and gliders were becoming more specialised I hand towed Dad into a thermal and he made the spot landing every time and he won.
Out of all the products I've been given the privilidge of flying that Graupner Cumulus was far ahead of its time. All flying fin and stab and a moulded nylon fuselage. Balsa sheeted, sanded ready to cover empannage and two piece foam core wing the 5mm spring steel wing dowels only protuded a few inches past the root rib, Poo pooed by the anti ARF experts you could tension up the winch line, hold full up elevator and not even toss it. Just let the thing go and it would track beautifully. We've had the thing blow way back over our heads kiting up merely using line tension in really stong gusty conditions.
The beauty of racing is a second is the same the world over. In 1997 Dad and I both raced in the Adelaide Golden Era. Such a thrill. Dad came second, myself third. He went on to win that event twice. We both thought bringing that concept to Melbourne was a no brainer. A few years earlier I had set up Yarra Valley Fliers club on my own private flying field for commercial RC flight training, using my own liability insurance policy. With ten members it was registered with VMAA and five of us flew two categories each and knocked off PDARCs and LDMFA for top honours in the VMAA Inter Club Trophy. To conduct the Yarra Valley Air Races. Dad put up ten grand. We laser graded the runway, built pylons, ordered bleechers, toilets, signs and advertising. Ten bucks a head children free my sister Gayle did the gate. She exit polled spectators on the Sunday who “Enjoyed the racing and the demos in between just as much”. This same formula was repeated at Cobram and Sandown.
Racing his Mr Smoothie and sorting out its twin cylinder in-line glo engine remains a work in progress. To race against some of the top racing families Dad and I raced against in years gone by next year the Green family is considering replicating the Yarra Valley Air Races. To honour Dad's contribution to competition flying and and to promote the thrill of racing a plane you have built yourself the RCM News Trophy race invitational is for scratch and kit built 1/5th scale warbirds. Three ARF support categories and airshow. Young people and old are interested in WW11 warbirds so there's the advertising hook right there.
When applied to building big picture events those words from corporate trouble shooter Art Latham also rang true for a few of my efforts. The best major importer to deal with was Carl Melvey. Carl did not fly RC and always respected Dad's ability on that score. Dawn Trading could have bought and sold the rest of them put together and he kept out of the argy bargy and just got on with selling his agency's products. Product reviews with negative comments were sent to the manufacturer and not once was there a suggestion of cancelling advertising based on a review.
Anyone who has been responsible for running an event knows the first day is often putting out spot fires then the thing starts to run smoothly. From the "When thing go horribly wrong" department, Dad enjoying a drink in the bar at a hotel in Japan with the owner of Radio Control Technique magazine and the man left his brief case. Scurried back in a minute later and left again, this time a relieved man with USD $250,000 cash still inside.
This piece of unfinished business, a Brian Green review, may be of assistance to progressive people volunteering to run a model club or association and dare to spend money on promotion.
"Over the decades I have been involved in committees at many levels, Club, State, National and International and as a result of that experience I generally classify members of committees into three groups. Those who say, “why don't we do this.” Most say, “great idea let's do it.” The final group is the Butters. “But, but, but!” Unfortunately on the P&DARCS committee they seem to have the loudest voice. In consideration of all of the above I have decided not to proceed with organising the public display, Dot's Day at the P&DARCS club field". July 7th 2006.
Many years ago when Dad was President of VARCA (previous entity before VMAA) his idea for an interclub competition was hijacked by Futaba Sales Australia. Prestige and club pride at stake the Futaba Trophy was a success, later renamed VMAA trophy. Melbourne could have a big picture event to compete against others such as the new Festival of Aeromodelling in Qld. I’m sure that will grow. Leaving the hobby in a better place than when you started is a thing now and if Special Interest Groups talked to each other, F3a F3C F4C and IMAC Nationals in Melbourne could work. We have enough fields close by.
Applying the rules equally to all competitors is something Dad has always strived for. One thing people wouldn’t know is when judging at the 1995 F3a Word Champs in Japan he needed a break. Sitting on the hot tarmac for a prolonged period was neither fair on the judges nor competitors. So he stood up and the competition ground to a halt.
Leaving the hobby in a better place than when you started it would be remiss not to mention Dad's thoughts on F3a, which he concluded will be dead in ten years time. " To attract new competitors APA could promote the Classic Pattern schedule with something other than a modern F3a design". Might be worth a try. Looking at the numbers anything is worth a try.
Fifty two years after being taught how to start and tune the engine and have it reliably tick over as I walked back to the judging position, often in adverse weather, I still get a kick flying Dad's electric powered Whistler Mk V through what is now called the Classic Pattern Schedule.
Seeing he started out his working life on full size aeroplanes and was a qualified riggger a biplane day seemed a good thing to do. Thursday June 19th Dad, my sister Gayle and I checked out Scott Mathews Sopwith Camel build at La Trobe Airport. On the way he had a nice chat with Ivan Kristenesen in Canada. F3a World Champs credentialled Ivan has built two full size aeroplanes, his latest is a high performance RV14. Damien Mould flew in from Lilydale in his red hot Christen Eagle.
In between discussion of rib stitching, covering, tailplane incidence, instrumentation and other matters building Scott replied in the affirmative when Dad asked if his aeromodelling skills helped with this project.
Just like his Zenith Cruiser the finish and Scott's attention to detail is first class. One item yet to be decided was how much detail to put into the dummy Lewis guns. Damien's departure with a blast of smoke and a wing waggle was very much appreciated.
Thanks for everything Dad. Sierra Juliet Golf- ARN 576621
(Editors note: Thank you Reg Neville for business guidance during the print versus digital wars. A huge thank you to Captain Damien Mould for supporting me when that was happening. Ditto for Captain Grahame Goodson. Proof reading by Charlie 89 (Air Force) and Delta 26 (Navy) thank you for your military service. BTW, invitations to Chaos at Camperdown have closed. You have direct entry. And Lane Horsey. Flying Standards Officer WG Gilderslag and photographer at large will be on duty.