Presidents report AGM 28th July 2004.

‘Hey man, huge cool ‘. This epithet being voiced by a prospective young aeromodeller when viewing a display of model aircraft put on by members of O.R.A.M., during the St.Peters College assembly in May this year. Pride of place amongst the exhibits was the R / C model aeroplane built by the young members of Air Youth Squadron 9, under the guidance of O.R.A.M. club members, who ran a course on aeromodelling for the boys, at the request of their CO. Mrs. Gwen Moxham. Later in the year it is proposed that the model will be flown at O.R.A.M. field by the members of the Air Youth, using the Buddy-Box system of model aircraft flight training, and if the boys are as keen to fly the model , as they were to build it, aeromodelling will have gained a number of lifelong devotees.

Those of you who have been in regular attendance at the field during the year, will Have noticed the increasing number of electric powered gliders being flown, for it seems that nearly all members have at least one. This in turn has led to a resurgence in bungee launched gliders, all of which is probably a spin off from the O.R.A.M. Glider Classic event. In the light of the running of the Classic this year, it has been proposed to run it earlier next year, when hopefully the weather will be more favourable. So, get those gliders out, dust them off, and start getting some gliding practise in, so that come February we should have at least one full team competing.

In the ongoing quest to upgrade the clubs facilities at the field, the latest addition is the construction of a wonderful new pergola come shade area adjacent to the Clubhouse. This work has been carried out over many weeks, led by the efforts of Paul Howden, Harvey Taylor, and their enthusiastic group of helpers. Already the area has been put to good use, and those who have benefited from it have passed many appreciative remarks. The club would like to record its thanks to the constructors, and the time that they put in to erect this most worthwhile structure.
One ugly problem continues to plague the club, and that is the damage and theft perpetrated by the nether society of thieves, rogues, ratbags, and suchlike unscrupulous mongrels, that so far have thwarted all of our attempts to secure our hard won assets, it would seem that for the time being there can be no real security at Sanderston, owing to its isolation.
In the latest theft, the crooks cut the fence wire to gain entry to the field, then hacksaw their way into the container, and stole our large ride-on mower and the Generator. We therefore have to seriously re-think our whole strategy regarding Security and equipment left at the field.

It was early part of the year that Australian aeromodelling lost one of its great men, with the passing of Leo O’Reilly. Leo, was a great friend and benefactor of O.R.A.M., it was with his help and guidance that the club realised the achievement of the acquisition of Sanderston Model Flying Field. Thank you Leo, for all your efforts on our behalf, we will always remember you.

In bringing this report to a close I would like to thank the members of the committee Who so earnestly give of their time to ensure the proficient running of the club, for it is with their leadership that over the years O.R.A.M. has become such friendly group of aeromodellers that always enjoys each others company, be it at our monthly meetings, or at the flying field, and so with the good flying weather just around the corner, here’s looking forward to seeing you at Sanderston very soon.

Tom Abbott, Pres. Rep. 2004.

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