December 2011
Queensland Sporting Hovercraft Club
A branch of the AUSTRALIAN HOVERCRAFT FEDERATION Inc (Vic)
Dear Air Cushion Vehicle enthusiast,
As usual there was no club meeting held in December, but the Queensland branch of The Australian Hovercraft Federation will hold the next planning meeting in the Staff Room of Our Lady of Fatima RC primary school, 350 Mortimer Road Acacia Ridge on Tuesday, 17th January 2012.
WHF Excellence Award
On Saturday 10th December 2011 at Queensland Hovercraft Supplies in Thornside, the World
Hovercraft Federation Excellence Award for 2011 was presented to Peter Venn, President of the
Queensland Sporting Hovercraft Club. It was presented on behalf of the WHF by Owen Ellis, the
Director of Endurance Racing.
The award was given to Peter for “A lifetime of specialising in various aspects of hovercraft activity including craft construction, commercial environmental applications, joy ride promotion and operation, plus ongoing and uncompromising help and support to hovercraft enthusiasts across Australia.”
In attendance for the presentation were Peter Venn, Elaine Venn, Owen Ellis, Des Goss, Angus Kerr, Lucas Kerr, Ann Torrance, Stephen Venn, Danny Venn, Anna Marie Venn, Thomas Venn, Steven Odgaard and Rita Chaffey. The presentation was followed by coffee and tea at Kyle Kerr’s place.
Cruise report - Muriel Street, Redland Bay - Saturday 17th December 2011.
The last club cruise was also the Christmas barbeque breakup and was held on Saturday 17th
December 2011 at 96 Muriel Street, Redland Bay courtesy of Peter Venn.
Those attending the festivities for the day were:-
Peter Venn, Elaine Venn, Bill Toppin, Des Goss, Steven Odgaard and Rita Chaffey.
Cruise report from Saturday 17th December 2011. 10am launch. Peter Venn and Steven Odgaard travelled around Pannikin Island in the Turbo TP6. 2 skirt segments blew out in the rough bay condition. 25 knot SE wind. Christmas barbecue breakup.
Flying Fish Hovercross Race Of Champions:-
| 2011 Finalists:- |
Mark Barclay, Daniel Barclay, Luke Barclay, Kris Matthews John Hayes, Ben Friske, Adrian Ingram and Steven Odgaard.
|
| Celebrities:- |
Roland Dane - V8 Triple Eight Super car boss. John Russell - Williams racing engines. Angus O’Laughlin - Sea FM 91.9. Bruce Morcombe - Daniel Morcombe Foundation. Wyatt Roy - Federal member for Longman. Hillary Weeks - Wyatt’s girlfriend. |
Racing was held in 4 segments. 14 competitors. Paired heats on an amphibious hovercross track. 2
laps each then 3 laps for the final.
7 x 2 heats then 4 x 2 with a wildcard then 2 x 2 heats then a final.
Result of final 3 lap heat.
1st - Steven Odgaard
2nd - Mark Barclay
Just 1 second difference on 2 laps and 3 seconds apart on the third lap.
Angus Kerr gave me a tip and suggested I keep my head down low to allow smooth airflow into the thrust fan. This caused a problem with my weight shift and craft trim resulting in a slower lap time, so I abandoned this technique and concentrated on keeping the hull level with minimal hull to ground contact and smooth and even skirt seal on the ground. I noticed that most of my competitors were leaning excessively into the corners and losing speed due to hull impacts and uneven skirt drag on the ground and water.
Nearly everyone went into the water turns at full throttle. I feel I won by being the only competitor to actually throttle off before the water turn which gave me a smaller turning radius and a longer straight line approach to the lake exit ramp. John explained that another fast leader board challenger reduced his speed by slamming into the water reeds before the crucial water turn.
Steven Odgaard weighing in at 83 kilograms found it difficult to compete with Hillary Weeks in the semi finals for Hillary was not only a smart operator and fast learner, but she was approximately half Steven’s weight which gave her a good advantage in the small 23hp Snapper craft. This advantage applied on the acceleration from the start line and land corners, however Steven was able to operate better on the water and made up about 3 seconds on each water turn in the hovercross circuit.
Fastest “2 lap” times recorded for the day
1.53.41
1.50.91
1.47.19 recorded by Hillary Weeks. (The only female competitor.)
Craft:- Flying Fish Marlins and Snappers, Turbo TP6, Revtech Rocket & Simple Cyclone and a UHF18P
74 inch propeller on display.
Attendance :- QSH club members and friends.
Peter Venn, Elaine Venn, Des Goss, David Venn, Anna Marie Venn, Thomas Venn, Angus Kerr, Lucas
Kerr, Ann Torrance, Jeremy Torrance, Phillip Audsley, Kerri Audsley, Janelle Thomas, Bill Toppin, Mick
Rutterman, Ben Woodhead, Steven Odgaard and Rita Chaffey.
| Many thanks to:- | |
| Jody and John | Site Manager and Instructor of Flying Fish Hovercraft. |
| David Venn | Craft mechanic. |
| Flying Fish team members. | |
| Russ & Emma Pullen | business owners and promoters for this exciting and fun event on the Queensland hovercraft calendar. |
Next club cruise:-
The first club cruise for 2012 will be held on Saturday 14th January 2012 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, an estuary of the Logan River. Good protection from wind and plenty of parking for cars with
trailers. Easy loading and retrieval of craft.
UBD Reference - Map 267 B9.
Contact for the event is Steven Odgaard on 0400 798 404.
Next Queensland branch meeting:
The next club meeting will be held on Tuesday 17th January 2012 at 7:30pm.
It will be held in the Staff Room at Our Lady of Fatima RC primary school, 350 Mortimer Road Acacia
Ridge.
Hope you can come. All welcome.
Regards
Steven Odgaard
QSH secretary