By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
The uncharacteristically (at least this year) sunny weather on Saturday, June 11 made for a perfect flying day for the Osoyoos Model Aviation Club’s annual Father’s Day event.
A breezy day at the Osoyoos Airport kept the model airplane enthusiasts on their toes as they competed in various competitions such as the spot landing contest.
Each of the ‘pilots’ took turns with five passes involving a touch-and-go landing trying to hit the centre of the bullseye for maximum points.
“The breeze gives a little bit of extra fun, right now we’re at five knots and we sometimes get up to 15 or 20 knots. We can fly up to 25 knots but after that, it gets a little bit hairy,” club president Cowboy Rowland said.
Rowland is currently the Deputy Zone Director B.C. and Yukon for the Model Aeronautics Association of Canada (MAAC) and will soon be taking over the Director role. The Association essentially regulates the 29 clubs in B.C./Yukon to ensure safety and other standards are met.
Model airplane club mock dog fight. Don Urquhart photo
Another of the contests involved a scale model of a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver airplane which tows an eight-metre paper streamer. Imitating a classic aircraft dog fight, the Beaver is chased by other planes in an attempt to cut the streamer, a task that proved quite challenging.
This year’s Father’s Day event is one week earlier because of the Wine Country Racing Association’s drag racing event this coming weekend.
Rowland said that particular contest has been nicknamed the ‘pure Canadian’ event because of the uniqueness of the de Havilland Beaver airplane.
The club is now at 27 members, of which 22 turned out on the weekend for the flying, camaraderie and barbecue. Rowland said the club may cap the number of members at 50 if they reach that point, but “on an average day if we get 20, 22, 23 members that’s enough where everybody can still have plenty of flying time.
While flying most Saturdays throughout the summer, the next big event will be on the September Labour Day long weekend.
Osoyoos Model Airplane Club spectators at the club’s annual Father’s Day event. Don Urquhart photo.
The club is open to everyone and requires a $50 annual membership fee. Those who have a plane but don’t want to join can pay a $10 landing fee that can also go towards a membership later. An $80 membership in the Model Aeronautics Association of Canada (MAAC) – the official organization for model aircraft hobbyists living in Canada – is also required to join the local aviation club.
