June 2013
Queensland Sporting Hovercraft Club
A branch of the AUSTRALIAN HOVERCRAFT FEDERATION Inc (Vic)
Dear Air Cushion Vehicle enthusiast,
The Queensland branch of The Australian Hovercraft Federation held a planning meeting on Tuesday,
18th June 2013, in the Staff Room of the RC primary school, 350 Mortimer Road, Acacia Ridge.
This meeting was attended by:-
| Vice President:- | Angus Kerr |
| Treasurer:- | Phillip Audsley |
| Secretary:- | Steven Odgaard |
Other members attending were Bill Toppin and Neil Budworth.
Visitors for the evening were Rita Chaffey, Kerri Audsley and Dave Brooks.
Peter Venn phoned from Western Australia around 8:15pm and gave a report from the west.
Cruise report - Logan River, Eagleby - Sunday 16th June 2013.
The last club cruise was held on Sunday 16th June 2013, launching into the Logan River from the
Eagleby boat ramp.
Those attending the cruise with craft were:-
| Angus Kerr | Viper powered by a Subaru 1800 EA81. |
| Ben Woodhead | Turbo 265 powered by a Suzuki Swift engine. |
| Steven Odgaard | Billy Baker 2 powered by a 44hp Chaparral - static display. |
Also attending the cruise were:-
Lucas Kerr, Danielle Kerr, Cameron Kerr, Cle Sheck, Aven Sheck, Tristan Jarvis, Bill Toppin, Phil &
Kerri Audsley and Rita Chaffey.
Angus, Lucas and Danielle Kerr were given a smooth joyride by little brother Cameron Kerr in the Viper and Ben Woodhead struggled to keep up in the Suzuki Swift powered Turbo 265. Ben has an armour plated engine cover which keeps his ignition dry but which causes lots of vortices and cavitating air flow into his thrust duct. Angus had to take long radius bends in the river to allow Ben to catch up.
On the river, the water surface was generally mirror smooth which meant the road party arrived at Waterford just minutes before the two hovercraft. The Viper cruised in first but ventured upstream of the Larry Story Bridge a few hundred metres before turning around. The Turbo 265 came directly up the steep boat ramp and on full thrust continued through the carpark and up to the entrance lane where Ben manoeuvred neatly into a parking bay in clear view of the main road. The viper exited the river and parked in a car and trailer bay at the lowest side of the carpark.
Cle Sheck had brought his son Aven and friend Tristan Jarvis along to see the craft in action. Cle is building a flat pack plywood craft and Tristan has been assisting with the carpentry.
Club treasurer Phil Audsley was there with his wife Kerri and Bill Toppin came along to see the hovercraft for a bit of piece and quiet. Steven Odgaard and Rita Chaffey brought the Bill Baker 2 along on the trailer for static display. Angus, Cle and Tristan had morning tea in the park with their 4 kids while Bill, Phil, Kerri, Ben, Rita and Steven enjoyed a buffet breakfast at the Fitzy’s Tavern just a few hundred metres from the ramp. Narelle Woodhead was passing by and called in to say hello to everyone.
When it came time for the craft to set off downstream to Eagleby, Ben decided to remove his engine cover and asked Steven to bring it back by road. This made a significant difference to airflow into the fan which resulted in 5 minutes off the travel time on the return leg. Angus was surprised as Ben was now able to keep up with the Viper.
Just before the road party set off we were pulled up by a passing motorist who had seen the Bill Baker 2 hovercraft. Jason Tindels with wife Jacki and family were so intrigued by the hovercraft that they agreed to follow us back to Eagleby to see Angus and Ben in action on the river. Jason said his father once owned a hovercraft. The Viper and Turbo 265 made such good headway that they beat the road crew back to Eagleby and were manoeuvring in behind their trailers just as the road party arrived.
Angus offered Steven a go in the Viper and so Jason and Jacki’s two kids were given a short joyride under the old steel girder bridge. The weather was so nice that Bill Toppin, Steven & Rita, Angus, Lucas Danielle and Cameron decided to stay for lunch in the park at Eagleby. We experimented with an inverter and eventually made a nice brew of coffee with a 24 volt battery pack. With blue sky, warm sun, cool air temperature and less than 2 knots of breeze, it was perfect for outdoor socialising.
News from North Queensland:-
Arthur and Judy Stead are currently travelling around far north Queensland and on the last report
were in the Normanton/Karumba area.
Jack Hickmott of Proserpine has sent some photos of his Hoverstar LC which will be on display at the next club meeting.
News from Victoria:-
Ken Osmond wishes to put Chris Fitzgerald up for nomination to receive an award for his long
standing devotion to hovercraft manufacture and promotion both in Australia and North America
were he now lives. Chris started a business in the early 1970s called Neoteric Hovercraft and Ken
says it is now the oldest registered business in the world continuously producing light hovercraft.
Ken is busy writing up an accolade to support his nomination and would like to receive other motions of support from anyone who has known Chris Fitzgerald for many years.
Australian Hovercraft Federation News:-
On the weekend of 28th & 29th of September 2013, the NSW Sporting Hovercraft Club
will host the Australian National Rally at Wyangala Waters, about 3½ hours west of Sydney.
This should be a great rally so if you are thinking of coming, check the details from the link on the
Home page of this site, book your accommodation early (its the middle of the busy school holiday
period), and remember to register online.
News from Western Australia:-
Hi Steve and all.We have safely arrived in Perth, staying at Steve & Beren’s place in Rockingham (in our camper on the front yard). Weather is warm during the day and very cold at night.
Yesterday we did some detailing of the craft eg painting of cross bars and engine frame and around the trailer rails to tidy things up for handover to EPA nest week.
We caught up with Jeremy Ludlow over here on Tuesday and had a look at his newest acquisition “the hover shuttle” and the viper that he has just finished rebuilding. Jeremy is experimenting with new types of skirt material suitable for the salt lakes out here and the material looks very interesting so we will be keen to see how this goes.
We just had a call from Jeremy asking if we would join him and some prospective new members for a get together on Saturday and to give him a hand to lift a new engine into the hover shuttle. We will get photo’s and send them to you. Who would be the best person to send these to so you could view them at the next meeting? (Phil)
All the best for a safe & great rally on Sunday.
Best wishes to all
Peter & Elaine Venn
Next club cruise:-
The next club cruise will be held on Sunday 7th July 2013 at Richardson Park, Goodna.
Meet at 9:00am at the boat ramp on the Brisbane River at Goodna near the RSL for a cruise from
Richardson Park at Woogaroo Creek, Goodna to Cribb Park boat ramp Fitzgibbon St, North Ipswich.
This is a reconnaissance cruise upstream to Ipswich past the Moggill Ferry and into the Bremer River. Ben Woodhead is organising sponsorship for the Turbo 265 craft for a trip from Ipswich to Colmslie and would like to include this in one of the club’s monthly cruises for safety reasons. Proceeds will be for the AEIOU foundation set up by Dr James Morton (Australian of the year nominee) for autistic children.
UBD Reference - Map 216 M10
Contact for the event is Steven Odgaard on 0400 798 404.
Next Queensland branch meeting:
The next club meeting will be on Tuesday 16th July 2013 at 7:30pm.
It will be held in the Staff Room at Our Lady of Fatima RC primary school, 350 Mortimer Road Acacia
Ridge. Use the staff car park.
Anyone with an interest in air cushion vehicles is welcome to attend.
We discuss technical topics and plan cruises.
Regards
Steven Odgaard
QSH secretary