Dear Air Cushion Vehicle enthusiast,
The Queensland branch held a planning meeting at the SAAA hall at Archerfield Aerodrome on
Tuesday, 15th April 2008 which was low on numbers with only by Phillip Audsley, Arthur Stead,
and Steven Odgaard in attendance.
Cruise report - Oyster Point, Cleveland - Saturday 5th April 2008.
The cruise scheduled for Saturday 5th April from Oyster Point at Cleveland was attended by:-
Peter Venn - Turbo TP6
Arthur Stead - Revtec Renegade
Steven Odgaard - Billy Baker 2.
Strong sou-easterly winds and a high tide combined to produce whitecaps and miserable
conditions on what is normally a well protected area of the bay making the area not very inviting
for hovercraft, so the three craft were left on their trailers for the day.
Hein Prinsloo and his family (3 adults) visited Oyster Point to see first hand these remarkable
machines, and they spent considerable time going over each of the craft as they were keen to
understand how everything worked. We all had a great chat in the carpark, and there was also
the obligatory billy tea in the park, so although the weather didnt turn out as well as we had
hoped, it was still an enjoyable gathering.
Luckily Peter had heard the forecast and we were able to warn Neville Bennett to leave his craft
behind at Evans Head. Neville and his wife decided to spend a day on the Gold Coast instead,
however Neville is eager to go on one more cruise with the club before returning to work in North
Queensland around Anzac Day.
www.qhover.com
Arthur Stead reported that the club's website has now been active for 2 years and Silverline
Insulation has again sponsored the cost of the website for another year.
Thanks to Peter Venn for this generous donation.
20th Anniversary of Expo 88:-
Steven Odgaard, Peter Venn and Winsome Anderson had a meeting at Southbank House on
Friday 4th April with Leslie Whitfield and Molly Palmer, co-ordinators from the Expo 88 20th
Anniversary committee. Details for the hovercraft display on the Brisbane River in front of the
Southbank Parklands on 10th May were sorted out and the information necessary for the Aquatic
Event Application and the Expo Anniversary Application was collected.
Practice runs for the display will be held at 10:00 am on Saturday 25th April and Sunday 4th May.
Sad news:-
Steve Solomons reported that his brother has died.
This could only be Rob Solomons of the Sunshine Coast who was building a Viper 4X from a kit.
If I am not mistaken that this is indeed Rob Solomons.
Rob was very enthusiastic and drove down to Colmslie Reserve to see the small craft in action on
Sunday 17th October 2004.
News from Victoria:-
The Victorian Hovercraft Club held its Annual General Meeting on the 12th March 2008.
New committee:-
President - Tony Westwood
Vice President - Colin Dainty
Secretary - Paul Mott
Treasurer - Reece Isaac
Ordinary Committee Members - Henry Pregal
Schools Co-ordinators - Robert Forbes & Steve Lanyon
Safety Officer - Paul Dempsey
Newsletter - Reece Isaac
Suggested Victorian Club cruises for the rest of the year are as follows:-
May 18 - Lang Lang - low tide 12 noon
June 15 - Could Be Lake Colac again???
July 13 - ???
Aug 17 - Lake Narracan
Sep 27/28 - Lake Cargelligo - Australian National Rally
Oct 12 - Lake Narracan
Nov 16 - Lake Nillahcootie
Dec 6/7 - Lake Glenmaggie
News from New South Wales:-
The NSW branch are planning to bring a smile to the faces of children with cancer.
Karl and Judy Bowman have announced possible dates for Camp Quality at Myuna Bay in the
Newcastle region. Date to be set.
There are 3 options this year.
Dads and Lads Camp 16th to 18th May a camp just for the boys fathers and their sons
Star Camp 30th May till 1st June a camp for families who have lost a child to Cancer
Family Camp 29th to 31st August a camp for all the family mum, dad and kids.
Next club cruise:-
The next club cruise will be held on Saturday 10th May 2008 on the Brisbane River at Southbank.
This will be the 20th Anniversary of Expo 88 hovercraft aquatic display.
Meet at the boat ramp in Riverside Drive West End, just west of the railway bridge, at 3:30 pm for
a briefing and craft preparation.
UBD Reference - Map 21 Q4.
Contact for the event is Steven Odgaard on 0400 798 404.
The plan is to launch at 4:40 pm for a 4:45 pm pass under the Victoria Bridge and a safe and
straight forward cruise past Southbank and return.
This is not a race.
Only about 5,000 people will see the craft for more than 20 seconds. The rest of the estimated
90,000 people at Southbank will only see a glimpse, so the dramatics will be in the 7 minute
commentary given by Winsome Anderson over the Southbank PA system.
There are no other aquatic events planned, so unlike Riverfestival in 2002, 2003 and 2004, there
should be no hold-ups or delays, however the stage manager has final say and we must be
prepared for a delay. This year we plan to keep the craft above hump at all times while on the
river. The craft dont look or sound good starting from deep water and there should be no need to
stop near the Victoria Bridge.
Please Note:- Maritime Safety Queensland has issued a Speed Limit notice of 6 knots on the
Brisbane River between the William Jolly Bridge and Turbot Street during the construction of the
Tank Street bridge. Although this is not in the Southbank river arena, it will mean travelling at just
above hump speed to the display area from the Riverside Drive boat ramp.
There will be spectator vessels jostling for prime positions upstream of the Victoria Bridge and
downstream of the Captain Cook Bridge to view the evening fireworks and they are not there to
see hovercraft. Please pass well clear of all spectator boats.
The river is 15 metres deep with some parts near Kangaroo Point being over 20 metres, however
a 15 metre lanyard with a float will be sufficient to trace a sunken craft as per our Aquatic Event
risk analysis. Please be careful that this rope is free to unravel, but at the same time does not
become a hazard to your thrust fan.
SouthBank asked if we can use strobe lights for good visual effect. Most craft already have a
strobe light on the top of the fan duct, but for those with a flashing bulb, I have 3 spare strobes
to free issue during the rehearsals.
Next Queensland branch meeting:
7:30 pm - Tuesday, 20th May 2008.
SAAA hall at Archerfield Aerodrome.
Beatty Road Qld 4108.
Regards
Steven Odgaard
QSH secretary