SEAT (Sailplanes and Electric Aeromodellers of Tasmania Inc.) is a group of modellers based in Tasmania, Australia. Our members build & fly mostly gliders (F3B, F3F, F3J, scale) electrics and nostalgic & modern free flight. Members are dedicated to fostering interest in this fabulous sport/hobby; they boast skills ranging from leading-edge aerospace CNC technology and composite material construction to stick-and-tissue indoor rubber powered aeroplanes.

What's new Mar. '08? ...well THIS for starters!
(click here to scroll down)

What's New?

Florian VS Eddie Eagle
Aerial photography is now commonplace; cheap, reliable & good quality. After fitting a FlyCamOne to his Multiplex Alpina Master Edition, Florian ended-up with capturing a series of sensational air to air shots of a local Tasmanian Sea Eagle UP CLOSE. His wingtip now sports talon marks. Credit to Florian for his timing and Eddie for posing so agreeably giving us an insight into the magnificence of our birds of prey. Click images for larger versions.

The Machine
The Machine Uberlight (1860g AUW...that's FLYING WEIGHT) performed well at Milang F3B (www.lsfaustralia.org.au). It coped with full-pedal launches in 40 deg. heat. If anything was going to break that was the time & place to test it. The duration & distance phases of F3B were handled masterfully, speed is its achilles; for an airframe with a generous wing-area it needs more ballast. That's the next step.

Overall result: meticulous attention to detail and solid aeronautical engineering is proof that self-made airframes can equal & at times better the performance of commercial versions. Stay tuned for more info on the Machine as we test different lay-ups and fine-tune its flight envelope.

The Machine evolution gathers momentum; several versions under production both in Tasmania & Victoria. The Uberlight version (shown above) is practically HLG weight!

Stanley Slopefest
Not so much slopefest but slermalfest! Attendance was good with a wide-range of models most notable were the maiden of a 1/4 scale Discus (Chris) and the performance of the Mibo Modelli Micro-Swift from Florian. Pics of both in the gallery.
Saturday was a lively WNW breeze from dawn to dusk but Sunday around noon offered awesome thermal activity. They weren't so much thermals as "elevators to heaven".

Up to 12 noon it was onshore and 3m gliders had to work to stay up but someone up there flicked a switch, the wind shifted to offshore and the lift moved in.

The lift was adiabatic and strong. Some say this is the strongest thermal activity they've ever flown in, indeed Steve Boag did 14 speed runs with his Fazer to burn-off height and EACH TIME after a little work got back up to height. The author flew his Furio and did similar and for the 1st time ever made the Furio flutter from a 6-7 sec dive (note to self: must replace servos). All pilots attending were amazed by the lift. The Multiplex foamies from the Woods boys also flew into unchartered territory around 600ft.

Highlights were plentiful; the performance and quality of the Mibo Micro-Swift, the big Discus maiden, Klaus M's Flying Specials and his eSpirit (again Mibo Modelli 2m electric), Wawrick's ParkZone Spitfire maiden and John launching his Nyx into a Willi-willi and riding it to cloud base. Did I mention Florian working his 4.5Kg Multiplex Master-Edition Alpina from John's hand launch in still air (OK, it was from a little hill ;0) to 400ft. Seeing Florian stress-testing the ex-Skinner F3B home-made and found it wanting; after burning height the ailerons popped-off to a loud "BOOMPH" sound that turned heads. What was remarkable was that wihout ailerons, Florian worked the lift and ended flying for another 20mins! AND to a perfect landing!

Overall, stunning flying at a stunning location; make sure you're there next year!

Tasmanian State Open Thermal Chamionships
Abundant lift, beautiful Spring conditions and a well-run contest saw Steve Boag pick up the gong with consistent performances using his Pike Superior. Klaus with his scratch-built Europhia dominated launches with some monumental pings from the bucket and Chris got to grips with the Ellipse 4 and popped-up for 3rd. Mike Taylor smashed the record for dropping 800ft with 30secs to go with his Victor; the fastest aeroplane at Valleyfield since Skyrace Tasmania!
For the gallery of pics go to the galley here.

Terrific YouTube F3B speed run showing good energy management (from USA)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnlxZcqz6os

Tasmanian Open Thermal Glider Championships Sat. November 10th will be held at Valleyfield again this year on Saturday November 10th. We expect a healthy turn-out this year with interest from interstate. For further details feel free to contact Steve Boag.

Stanley Slopefest 2007 November; Friday 23rd, Saturday 24th. and Sunday 25th.
This year's theme is mixed; WWII jets OR Civilian Passenger Jets the bigger the better. For cabin bookings at Stanley during this period, get in early (see Mary for more info)

Radical Build (Feb. '07)
Marcus, Tim, Bruce & Steve descended on The Shed in Feb. 07 to lay-up a Radical wing. That is, the Aussie Radical wing. A.Herrig, M.Herrig & M. Weberschock have an identically titled glider (more info on their glider here.)

The Aussie Radical comes with cross-tail, full carbon and uses an aerofoil designed in the majority by Marcus. The Radical showed its potential at the Australian Nationals with a top-ten finish against Carachos, Estrellas, Europhias and Furios. The lay-up progressed rapidly due to the warm conditions and the team simply works well together, fuelled by cups of tea and scotch finger biscuits. The wing remains in the moulds ready for the spars and then joining. If the prototype wing is any indication then this one will be even better. Subtle modifications have been made to the control surface area as part of on-going refinement. For pictures of the Radical build, go to the gallery.

Stanley Slope Gathering 2006 is over...
On a trek that took in the best burgers in the world, the best fish and chips, a most cunning 3-legged dog and gorgeous Ukranian waitresses we managed to squeeze in some flying.

Saturday served up 20 to 25Kt North easterlies which prevented the light foamies from performing (except for Warwick's NCFM Half-Pipe). All-up we had around 20 to 25 pilots throwing all manner of craft around including Marcus from Melb. (one of Australia's top glider pilots). Notable aircraft were Max's 2M moulded Starling Pro, Florian's Multiplex Alpina 4000, Warwick's NCFM Half-Pipe wing and Steve's Valenta Storm which he had truly ballistic. For pics of the event, see the gallery. This was the weekend of the Victorian bushfires and the atmosphere down to sea-level was first smoky and then a sea fog rose up to give the place a surreal feel. All-up, a truly splendid event; looking forward to next year!

RCSD ( rcsoaringdigest)
has published our chute construction article in their Dec. '06 edition. Kudos to Bill & Bunny Kuhlman for their splendid effort. Go here to download it and other editions. While you're there, I encourage you to donate a few dollars to offset their running costs.

Tasmanian State Open Thermal Championships 2006
The championships were held on Saturday November 11th at 'Valleyfield'. The site is magical; in fact, the whole day was one of those memorable ones. The weather cooperated with plentiful lift that hung around without getting blown downwind. The thermals were monumental and several flights ended up 600-800ft. The avge. windspeed was around 5kts max.

Highlights were:
John's downwind launch; his strategy being to launch under partial pedal to the turn-around then 180deg turn and full pedal to ping off heading back upwind.
Mike Taylor stretching his poor 100ft launch by catching lift down low and milking it for a 9:55 and 1m
Steve Boag checking air quality of the stratosphere in round 5; the lift was sensational.
A great assortment of exotic moulded gliders were evident: 2 Carachos, 2 Fazers, 1 Victor and 1 Stork.

Final standings; J. Skinner 1st, S. Boag 2nd & Mike Taylor 3rd.

For pics from the event go to the gallery here.

How to make a winch chute
Go to Member's Projects for help with making your own parachute for winch line.

Looking to match Jaro Muller yellow?
Go here for cheap spray can match.

Sunday 7th Oct.
Stunning lift at St.Leonards thanks to a healthy Westerly; Mary, Steve and Chris grateful for the cobweb removal opportunities. The regular site is off-limits due to the paddock needing farmer attention so we flew from the plateau site 500m further south; kudos to the farmer for accomodating us in this regard. This site presents great views of the valley and the valley/slope lift is bountiful. Chris's repaired Ellipse went up on the winch tentatively at first but then full-pedal launches proved what a winner the model is; if anyone has broken a carbon spar in 4 places and repaired they know what that first winch launch is like ;0)

New pics from Sept. '06
Thermal at St. Leonards and sloping at White Hills; lots of shots of the Radical. Click here to see.

SEAT is on Google Earth. Click here for the .kmz file
A .kmz file holds location data for Google Earth. If you've installed Google Earth (mac or PC) just click the link and it'll take you to a bird's eye view of our field!

Jerilderie 2007 is over; see images from the event here
The current LSF executive which operated smoothly for the last 12 months has stepped-down and the SEAT contingent has taken over the reins of LSF Australia; stay tuned for how we will promote silent flight in Australia during our reign. Kudos goes to John for being elected President of LSF Australia.

More fabulous photos...
... from Dec 2006 to May 2006 featuring PCYC indoor event. Highlights were Alexander and his weapon of mass destruction in the form of his over-wound peanut scale, Dean Williams with his indoor RC IFO and "pizza box" and Bruce's Penny Plane which flew for 5 mins and 6 when everybody was talking. Other shots are John Skinner with his Caracho, Steve and his Mini Blade (full-carbon with flaps) and further shots of the Radical F3B. Click here for the photos.

The Radical takes off!
SEAT members (and Victorian Associates) have been feverishly working on a super-glider using leading-edge technology and design philosophy, Bruce & Steve tested the Radical F3B for the first time and are happy to report all systems go! For a 6.35MB preview video of the inital testing flights, click here (right-click, Save Target As and play it from your desktop). From first impressions it looked "fast". For a 2.3MB grab of the mould cracking click here (spot the expletive).

John takes out National F3B
John Skinner (together with associate Mike Taylor from Southern Model Sailplanes) put up a sterling effort at the Nationals in Malang Sth Aus. over Easter 2006. John strung together a run of consistently high scores and clinched the "Formula 1 of gliding". Not easy for a fellow Tasmanian with little opportunity to compete against others. What is surprising is that John finished the event with his (admittedly very-well-sorted) Breta Nyx. Tremendous effort, well done lads!

Annual Awards Event 2005
To reward club members on their diligence and endeavour during 2005, club members attended the Dec. BBQ where they received certificates and a slap up feed. Click here to see the certificates.

Reviews Section
F3B Mongoose reviewed; is it a Cobra chewing beast or a nancy-boy pet? To find out, click here.

Tucano Pylon
Members are building several speed 400 Tucanos (Nigel Hawes' design). Stay-tuned for some photos of nail-biting, close-up, wingtip-to-wingtip pylon racing. Power systems are brushed 400s, LiPoly 2 cell (7.4v) with cheap-as-chips electronic speed controllers. As is our club's modus operandum; expect the fragile balsa airframe to be reinforced with carbon tows & epoxy ;0)

Speed Run Movie!
Guess the speed; turn the speakers up! download here (right-click, save as...)

Reviews Section
Nyx Furio reviewed; is it a dog or the dog's proverbials? Find out here.

Inflight footage from Devonport 2MB avi, download here (right-click, save as...)

Where we fly
Most of our time is spent on the flat-field at St. Leonards. For a Google Earth .kmz file of the location click here. For other locations go to "flying sites".

SEAT ably hosted by lonnie.com.au