At this stage there are 28 entrants for the event. The event covers three days, from Friday 29th September through till 1st October. It is to be held at Wagin Airfield.

Use this link to see where it is: https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Wagin+Airport/@-33.3157673,117.3566135,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x2a36d9ff51b6ab57:0x314bd0961f407477!8m2!3d-33.3157673!4d117.3588022. Driving is a 2 and half hour trip from Perth Airport (222k) south down the Albany Highway. After Williams look out for signs to WAGIN, turn left.

Access to the field is from Sunday 24th September, with practice flying available from Monday 25th September (which is a public holiday in WA). A camping area is illustrated in the attached image. This image is an early draft of the layout.

Anyone planning to use the camping area should contact a local SAWA member for assistance on arrival. Camping, including showers and toilets, is also available at the Wagin Showgrounds and Caravan Park. The usual fees for camping on Shire grounds apply. Fees for camping at the airfield are $5per per person per day to cover the cost of providing toilets and shower facilities. This will be collected at registration.

Other accommodation around Wagin may already be booked out. If you still have problems please let us know.

Registration: Registration begins at 9.00am Thursday till 5.00pm and again on Friday 7.00am-9.00am. The registration tent will be easy to spot. Please do not forget to bring your heavy model registration and your MAAA membership cards. Fail safe settings for throttle will be checked during Thursday or prior to your first flight.

Thursday afternoon and evening we are running a Judging School, (experts willing and available!). The ASAA AGM will be on Saturday evening followed by a dinner at the Recreation Center (about 2km in Wagin itself). Transport there and back will be by Community Bus.

Flying can only occur with the operation of an Airways Radio (on 126.70MHz). VF rules apply during practice and a 1000ft height restriction will be in place over the competition days.

Catering: Your registration fee covers you for breakfast and lunch over the three days of the competition. Volunteer caterers will be providing a varied supply of food. Hot water for coffee and tea provided and extra drinks can be purchased. You pilot pack will contain vouchers to redeem each meal or drink.

This is an event that has been promoted to the public in and around Perth as well as to people in the region. With State Government funding, public access and use of a full-size airfield comes a level of organisation and risk mitigation that places a high level of responsibility upon all concerned. At the pilots briefing the full guidelines will be covered.

Congratulations to Gernot

Gernot Bruckmann (left), a professional radio-controlled aeromodel pilot from Austria, won gold at the 2017 FAI F3P World Championship for Indoor Aerobatic Model Aircraft in France, when it finished at the weekend. The win came after a close-fought week-long competition that was held at the Rotonde Gymnasium in Strasbourg between 19-25 February 2017.

Full results: www.f3pwc2017.fr
Pictures: http://bit.ly/2lXB4fC

IMAC is the abbreviation for INTERNATIONAL MINIATURE AEROBATIC CLUB. It has also become the term used to describe the type of flying even though the literal term refers to the club which represents this type of flying. It is based in the USA where this style of flying, engines and air frames were developed. See: http://www.mini-iac.org/.

On all IMAC flying sites the term "SCALE AEROBATICS" is used to describe the discipline. This distinguishes it from "Pattern flying" which refers to itself as "precision aerobatics" and has its own set of rules.

In Australia the highest representative organization of aeromodellers is the MAAA. It is a federation of state associations and individuals are represented statewide by their own local club. In any club there are members with a variety of interests - jets, gliders, helicopters etc. Each of these is recognised as a "discipline" called an NSIG - National Special Interest Group. Scale Aerobatics is one such special interest group.

The MAAA is a member of the world-wide sport aviation organisation - the FAI (). The FAI has individual commissions that represent each type of flying. For aeromodelling this is the FAI Aeromodelling Commission (CIAM).

Aeromodeling subdisciplines are represented by a shorthand code - F3A for pattern flying, F3F for gliders and F3M for Scale Aerobatics/Large Scale Aerobatics amongst others. The IMAC scale aerobatics judging criteria  have been adopted from the USA into F3M regulations. The competition procedures and details of routines are different to accommodate the FAI framework.

The FAI holds the World Air Games regularly and this could involve aeromodelling. Drone racing is recognised by the FAI. The secretary of the MAAA Kevin Dodd is secretary of this organisation. So Australia is well placed within FAI to advance aeromodelling.

There are discussions on bulletin boards about the differences between IMAC and F3M as well as how the world can be united in a single discipline of scale aerobatics. The IMAC (USA) is to hold the second World IMAC event in 2018 to be held in Muncie Illinois.

So where do I start in Scale Aerobatics?

You can use any plane you like while competing in the basic class of IMAC. This can be a small petrol or glow powered plane, it can be electric and it doesn't have to be scale either. There is no size requirement either - it can be small or large.

There are however a few aspects of your plane that you should take into consideration. The first is to have a plane which runs reliably. There's nothing worse than stuggling to get your plane started, or having repeated engine or other failures. Sometimes this is simply from using cheaper products. The next aspect is whether the aircraft can do hammerheads (stall turns) and rolls. Your plane should be able to fly a vertical up line without dramatic loss of power, so make sure you don't try to fly IMAC with an under-powered plane.

Your expectations and abilities will change slowly but progressively as you begin to apply the discipline of aerobatic flying. If you are already flying at a club where someone flies IMAC then you are lucky. I'v never encountered and IMAC pilot who is not willing to help or give advice on how to get your plane IMAC-ready. Look at the competitions schedule to see where the closest one is to you so you can enter. Download the "BASIC Schedule and follow its sequence. Read the competition judging criteria. Who reads a manual? Very few initially, but you need to know what judges are looking for to downgrade your flying.

There's nothing wrong with feeling stressed about a competition and having people judge how you fly (they probably do anyway!). In IMAC everyone is pleased to help you improve your flying. So what better way to learn than by being judged? An adage we quote is that "experiencing one competition is like practicing for 6 weeks".

Finally establish a routine and stick to it during setting up your plane. Don't let others around you disturb your concentration during plane setup. Even the most experienced pilots have stories to tell about missing a wing bolt or not doing a pre-flight check. Always do a pre-flight check, and know your engine for startup. Having a routine will reduce the stress that exists at a competition. Experienced pilots might look relaxed, but they too are stressed and can miss out vital element of flight safety or checkups. Keep to a routine in preparing for landing.

How do I set my plane up the best to start?

This is a very simple process but is better rewarded with the more work and time you put into it. Getting a plane to perform predictably is the goal. Having a guide as to how much movement is ideal for different styles of flying. You can't imagine how complex it can get to make the complex manoeuvres look effortless and like you meant it. This will all be revealed as you gleam information from your fellow pilots and experts of all persuasions.

Every plane and how people like them is quite different but the following settings should be a reasonable benchmark as to not have a plane that is hard to control.

 Start with:-

Once you have set your plane up to a manageable amount you can begin the trimming process. Trimming is ALL about reducing pilot load by making a plane fly straighter.

Peter Goldsmith who is a well-known and highly skilled Australian RC Aerobatic pilot wrote a detailed article on how to trim your plane. This information was then tabled and put into a trimming chart for ease of printing and taking to the field.

Trim your plane one step at a time from step 1 through to 10 to complete the trimming process. You can download this trim chart as well as an article explaining Peter's process in the "Downloads" section under "Self Help".  There is also another, similar article in there by Rich Fletcher.

written by Dan Carroll and Peter Bryner

November 4,5 and 6th 2016 saw 37 R/C pilots from all over Australia converge on the Cootamundra Sate Field which is just south of Coota itself. The field is situated in a river flat bounded by hills to the west, and a sight rise far in the east. The main road south is about 500m to the east. John Mainwaring and his team worked frantically to prepare the site as there had been heavy rain in the weeks leading up to the competition.

By the time the West Aussies arrived early the field was looking pristine. Two EAST-west runways were mowed into the ample grass. And with the warm weather arriving snakes were likely in the long grass. Needless to say our landings were on the strip and not in the grass.

The camping area filled progressively during the practice week, with the WA boys chewing through the fuel. The weather stayed nice till the end of the week, and started blowing quite briskly on the second day of competition. Enough to distort the Aerobatic box far off to the left on the Advance/Unlimited flight line. The wind dropped in the evening and made the freestyle event a pleasure to watch, beer in hand. Smoke on. Congratulations to the freestylers, this is a highlight of any competition. Tim McDonald flew brilliantly as did Aaron Garle. How hard is it to judge the artistic merit of a flight. Good to see the younger competitors show their skills in this event.

The ASAA dinner was held in the Coota Pub. The bus trip in as well as the dinner had us entertained by small drones flying about. The NSW vs the rest of Australia saw NSW win the "Boat Race". The return trip to the field was provided by friendly local volunteers. Our guide took us past Don Bradman's birthplace and we got to know some of the local history.

Results

So far there are 19 entries on the ASAA Website for the ASAA Nationals being held in late September 2017. 

Over the weekend of 18th and 19th March, a small group of Western Australian IMAC enthusiasts visited the Wagin Airfield to consider preparations. The weather was great but marred by a northerly blowing across the runway! Some nice cross-wind landings on the wide full-size runway made everyone happy.

The group met with the Wagin Shire CEO, Peter Webster and Airport Manager Greg Ball. Some new hangars are being built and an aircraft maintenance business will operate out of the airport. The Shire is extremely supportive of the event, helping out with the venue for the AGM, we also have use of the Shire bus to get us there. The Shire has also put money in for us to sponsor international pilots.

SAWA will find out if its grant application is successful in late May, so look for more announcements then.

Peter Bryner