February 2016
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,
16th February 2016, at the Coopers Plains Library in Orange Grove Road.
This meeting was attended by:-
| President:- | Peter Venn |
| Vice President:- | Angus Kerr |
| Treasurer:- | Phillip Audsley |
| Secretary:- | Steven Odgaard |
| Publicity Officer:- | Steve Stephens |
Other members attending were Arthur Stead, Bill Toppin, Michael Stephenson, Dieter
Renisch, Les Taylor, Dwayne Morgan and Kim Allen.
Visitors for the evening were Kerri Audsley and lan Lind.
Apologies from Ben Woodhead, Gunter Prischl and Ross McLeod.
Cruise report - Muriel St, Redland Bay - Sunday 14th February 2014.
The last club cruise was held on Sunday 14th February 2016, launching from 96 Muriel Street, Redland
Bay courtesy of Peter and Elaine Venn. Three separate cruises were held during the day.
Those attending the cruise with craft were:-
| Peter Venn | Turbo TP6 powered by a Subaru 1800 EA81 and 18hp Honda. Expo Turbo powered by a 51hp Yamaha PE485. Hoverjet. |
| Karl Bowman | Viper 4X. |
| James King | Revtech Renegade |
| Ben Woodhead | Black Turbo Vortex powered by a Suzuki Swift engine. | Les Taylor | Turbo Superwedge 235 - (Phoenix). |
| Michael Stephenson | Turbo Wedge 240 powered by a Rotax - (Baffle). |
| Kim Allen | Turbo Wedge 240 with Yamaha PE485 - (Justy 2). |
| Dieter Renisch | UH13T - Gecko. |
Other club members and visitors attending were Steve Stephens, Angus Kerr, Lucas Kerr, Phil Audsley, Kerri Audsley, Judy Bowman, Ellisha King, James Allen, Gowan Woodhead, Heather Christine, Riley Burnett, Lee Doyle, Susan Stephenson, Jean Smith and Elaine Venn.
With a strong south easterly wind blowing, Les Taylor in the Phoenix set off at 9:50 am northward along the Redland Bay channel. He was followed by Michael Stephenson and Dieter Renisch in the Baffle, Karl Bowman in a Viper 4X 2004 model, James King in a Revtech Renegade and Peter Venn in the TP6 with Lee Doyle as passenger. Ben Woodhead had a screw fall out of the distributer causing the Vortex to stop close to the ramp after launching.
The small fleet rounded Lagoon Island and came up to the Logan River, however to add adventure, Les entered the small creek on the southern bank of the Logan which penetrates deep into the marshes of Pimpama Island. Les impaled his craft onto a tree limb and required Michael and Karl to tow him off with ropes. Les was then able to return to base under his own power. Angus and Lucas took off in a southerly direction in the Expo Turbo and returned at 10:55 am. Peter Venn went looking for them when he returned at 10:30 am. James King returned at 10:45 am and Les, Karl and Michael returned at 11:00 am. Ben then took his son Gowan out in the Expo Turbo for a short cruise before lunch.
 Karl Bowman |
 Justy 2 |
 Airlift Marine |
Karl and Judy Bowman had driven down from Bargara the day before and picked up Ellisha King and the
Renegade along the way at Harvey Bay. James King flew up from Sydney to effect a rendezvous at
Redland Bay. Kim Allen and son James showed off a renovated Turbo Wedge 240 from Gatton named
Justy 2 with advertising for Tool City. Heather Christine and Riley Burnett know Kim Allen through their
school and Peter Venn later took them all for a ride in the TP6.
The breeze gave some cool relief from the summer heat and Phil and Kerri Audsley found the company
of the ladies Judy Bowman, Susan Stephenson and Jean Smith in the dining area with Elaine Venn.
Peter rang Ross McLeod and arranged a visit to the Airlift Marine hovercraft factory at Alberton for the new member and guests. Steven Odgaard set off in the Turbo Wedge 240, Karl followed in the Viper 4x and James King followed in the Revtech Renegade. Peter Venn carried passengers Ellisha King and Steve Stephens in the TP6. We arrived at 2:15 pm and were given a guided tour of the large hovercraft factory by Ross McLead and Mei provided light refreshments. We departed and arrived back at Muriel Street at 4:00 pm. 26 people and 10 craft
Other News:-
Karl Bowman from Bargara near Bundaberg has joined the Queensland Sporting Hovercraft Club.
Maquarie River Run - 24/01/2016:-
It was a bumpy ride for Australia's hovercraft drivers along the Macquarie river with a few collisions
between Dubbo and Wellington - one even hit a tree, but the experts say hovercrafts are relatively low
risk and there has yet to be a fatality in Australia. The country's hovercraft enthusiasts brought a
spectacle to the Macquarie River on Sunday as they made their own way from Dubbo to Wellington.
Six of the vehicles cruised along the water and performed various tricks, which could be seen by
people gathered along the banks.
Dubbo-based enthusiast Charles "Buck" Rogers took his home-built craft on the excursion, which also included four craft from Victoria and one from Queensland and was organised by the Australian Hovercraft Federation. He had been part of a run between Dubbo and Wellington last year, and as he prepared to return to the water he described the Macquarie as "a perfect river for hovercrafting" because it had lots of shallows. "We'll probably cruise along about 25 to 30 kilometres per hour," Mr Rogers said. "It's all about fuel consumption."
 Macquarie River |
 Lunch break |
 Col Dainty |
He said they were environmentally friendly because they were not putting anything into the water and
did not make a wake as they travelled. His has been a long-time interest in hovercrafts, which were
first patented in the 1950s and are also known as air cushioned vehicles.
Capturing his imagination as a child, Mr Rogers took the opportunity to build a hovercraft to an
Australian design when he grew up and on Sunday showed no sign of giving it away. In fact he spends
more time with his hovercraft than his wife, so it was christened 'Mrs Rogers'.
The Dubbo man, who when he's not out on the water works as a maintenance supervisor, reports that hovercrafts are registered as a boat. A regional member of the Australian Hovercraft Federation, he invited people wanting to know more about the sport to go to www.hovercraft.org.au.
Also taking part in the run was Steve Odgaard from Queensland who said he could still remember the first time he ever saw a hovercraft. At the age of seven he came across a story in a magazine in 1966, he said. It was a magical moment, learning about an amphibious machine that could go on land, water, over grass, reeds, sand and mud, he said. Later on he built his own, based on a design by Owen Ellis that took 200 hours to construct.
 A spectacular show |
 Macquarie River |
 Joy Rides |
While hovercraft races no longer happen in Australia the first one in the world was held in Canberra, the Canberra Times has reported.
Next club cruise:-
The next club cruise will be held on Sunday 13th March 2016 at Muriel St, Redland Bay.
Meet at 9:00 am at 96 Muriel St, Redland Bay for a launch into the Redland Bay Channel.
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 15th March 2016 at 7:30pm.
It will be held in the Coopers Plains Library at 107 Orange Grove Road, Coopers Plains.
There is plenty of parking at the rear of the library building via Bosworth Street off Orange Grove Road.
UBD Reference - Map 200 D13.
Anyone with an interest in air cushion vehicles is welcome to attend.
We discuss technical topics and plan cruises.
Regards
Steven Odgaard
QSH secretary