Dear Air Cushion Vehicle enthusiast,
The next Queensland Sporting Hovercraft Club planning meeting will be on Tuesday 20th
January 2009 at 7:30 pm in the Sporting Aircraft Association of Australia hall at Archerfield
aerodrome. Enter via the main entrance off Beatty Road.
Cruise report - Muriel Street, Redland Bay, Saturday 6th December 2008.
The last club cruise was held on Saturday 6th December 2008 from 96 Muriel Street Redland
Bay courtesy of Peter Venn. Those attending the cruise were:-
Peter Venn - craft undergoing maintenance
Arthur Stead - no craft (broken engine frame)
Des Goss - Turbo Wedge 225
Steven Odgaard - Billy Baker 2.
After numerous telephone calls, an enthusiastic Steven Trury of Gympie drove to our club
cruise on Saturday 6th December 2008 with sons Tim and Ben and friend Greg Ward. They
were excited to see Peter’s Turbo TP6 in the hanger undergoing a skirt refit after a grueling
job on a Newcastle ash dam.
This turned out to be a hovercraft working bee with Des Goss assisting Steven Odgaard in
fitting a new lift fan on the Billy Baker 2, and Arthur Stead and Steven Odgaard assisting Peter
Venn in fitting new skirt segments to the newly painted Turbo TP6.
A little hover action was however forth-coming, with Des’ Turbo Wedge 225 being the main
action vehicle of the day. Tim, Ben and Greg were taken for short rides to the Logan River and
when the wind speed increased Steve Trury went for a short cruise with Steven Odgaard in
the Billy Baker 2 to test the new lift fan.
Moreton Bay History:-
Aborigines roamed the region 15,000 years ago.
Ice age melted due to global warming about 12,000 years ago, and Moreton Bay flooded with
the rising sea level.
May 1770, Lieutenant James Cook named Morton Bay.
Convict history: 1825 to 1859.
The sharks were purposely fed to discourage convict escape from the island compounds of the
early penal settlement. Captain Logan was a cruel and ruthless tyrant in the days before free
settlers were allowed to take up land in the new colony which was originally planned to
extend from Grafton to the Tropic of Capricorn. Another colony called Cooksland was to extend
from Rockhampton to Cape York with the capital being a harbour near Magnetic Island.
(Townsville). This plan fell by the wayside when wealthy graziers from Grafton to Lismore used
their political muscle to maintain long distance trade routes direct to old Sydney town in lieu of
shorter but heavily forested and mountainous paves to the notorious Moreton Bay.
Queen’s council buckled; the northern border of New South Wales was extended to the
McPherson Range and one large colony bearing the name Queensland was formed with John
Oxley’s choice location on the Brisbane River becoming the capital.
So hello to Neville Bennett up north who could have been a member of the CHC or CSH.
Cooksland Hovercraft club or Cooks Sporting Hovercraft.
Back to the present:-
Peter Venn has been extremely busy with commercial ACV spraying and survey work between
Rockhampton and Sydney, but he still finds the time to enjoy a leisurely bay cruise with his
colleges in the club.
Arthur Stead has a new engine frame for the Renegade after a long drive to Primbee on the
beautiful Lake Illawarra, and can now repair the whispering Revtech Renegade.
Other news:-
Kevin Dixon gave a report from South Australia.
He hopes to be able to attend the next national rally after hearing from Bruno Davids.
Mike Girdler has visited from Gippsland and Tony Moretti may be visiting soon.
Kevin has been providing service support for a Hornet ACV operated by the Australian army
and quotes his success on his ability to provide prompt attention within 1 hour of a breakdown
phone call. He has also been actively involved in search and rescue operations in the Gulf St
Vincent, and having a well maintained craft ready for prompt action is an important criteria in
this line of work. Kevin complained about the numerous calls by customers wanting repairs to
their hoover vacuum cleaners. His humerous reply is :- Count the O-rings in Hoverservices Pty
Ltd for hovercraft and dial Hoover Services for Vacuum Cleaners.
Terry Burns in NSW is looking to buy a 2 seater craft. Ph / Fax 02 4952 3724
Sunday 30th November 2008.
Next club cruise:-
The first Queensland branch cruise for 2009 will be on Sunday 18th January 2009 at Muriel
St, Redland Bay. Meet at 9:00 am at Peter Venn's place at 96 Muriel St, Redland Bay for a launch into the Redland
Bay Channel - destination to be decided on the day depending on weather conditions.
UBD Reference - Map 267 B9.
Contact for the event is Steven Odgaard on 0400 798 404.
Next Queensland branch meeting:
7:30 pm - Tuesday, 20th January 2009.
SAAA hall at Archerfield Aerodrome.
Beatty Road Qld 4108.
Regards
Steven Odgaard
QSH secretary
On holiday at Emerald near the massive Fairbairn Dam on the Tropic of Capricorn.