Page 14 - MFW June 2025

Richard Pearse

Model Aeroplane Club

Richard Pearse Model Aeroplane Club was founded in the early 1990s and
membership has remained steady and active, comprising mostly
gentlemen of a certain age.

In late 2024 members were
intrigued by the arrival of 12-year-
old, Nik, with his HobbyZone
AeroScout S 1.1m with it’s built in
three safety flight modes. Nik
wasted no time in displaying his
skills, initially under instructor
supervision, but soon solo. Then as
time progressed the secret was out;
Nik has a flight simulator on which
he practices assiduously. He now
has his wings badge.

About the same time the club
received two enquiries on the time,
date, and place of club model flying
meetings.

The first, from a mother who lived 80
kms from the flying site was on
behalf of her 12-year-old son
Samuele. He had received an
AeroScout a as a gift and relying on
the model’s safety features was
teaching himself to fly from a rough
paddock and occasionally the local
golf course.

Barbara was prepared to drive her
son to the club flying site on Sunday
mornings. Samuele is now honing
his skills and is about to launch a 2 m
span glider. She recently whispered
“I am glad that we found this club”.

S a m u e l e ’ s u n c l e s G i o v a n n i a n d L a p o o w n
https://falcomposite.com/ so doubtless aviation is in the blood.
Barbara explained that as a child in Italy she often flew in her
father’s Falco aircraft on which the new Furio RG is based.

Then, Martin emailed and asked if the club was still functioning.
Assured that it was alive and kicking he said that his 12-year-old
twin daughter Louisa was keen to learn to fly an Ascent Single
Pusher X RTF which had been acquired on the recommendation of
a relative.
It is yet to be clear whether the appearance of
Louisa duly appeared supported by her father, twin and elder sister. young flyers is a trend, but the availability of
Mentored by various members she was soon flying her glider at a relatively inexpensive robust programmable
safe height and making progress. Then, a curious thing happened models has certainly caught the eye of some.
when her sisters decided to take turns at flying the model and, in
following weeks, several friends also joined the group. Martin
winced at potential for more expense.

13