Wings Over Howick 2018

On the weekend of the 9th of March Wings Over Howick ( RC Event ) was held at the Howick Glider Club and with a number of pilots coming from all over the country,it was a great turnout indeed. — By Trevor Viljoen

Sunday was a early start, up at 04h00 and on the road at 05h00 up to Howick with the weather looking very good with a light wind and a awesome sunrise behind us and as we got to the field you could see and feel a good vibe and by the sounds of it, the guys had a good Saturday night talking around the fire which is always awesome to see and hear.

The best thing about this field is where it is and you get fullsize aircraft coming into land and taking off which the guys on the ground and the pilots in the air are always talking to each other about where they are and where are the rc gliders in the air which is nice for all to know.

Now for you guys that have not seen or been to an event such as this, ITS SAFETY FIRST FOR EVERYONE even that it is a Radio Controlled Aircraft THEY ARE NOT TOYS they can go some real damage to you or anyone. Ok so some of the gliders don’t have a motor in the front to full it into the air and some do!

The gliders that don’t have any motors are fulled into the air by a TUG, now a TUG is also a RC aircraft that is designed for such a thing as pulling a glider into the air and when the get to the height the glider pilot will pull up and the tow rope will release from the glider and then the glider is free from the TUG to fly on its own and do what the pilot wants to do with it, the TUG will then clear out the way of the glider and come and land where another glider will be waiting for a tow by the TUG. Its really awesome to see!

The gliders with motors are hand thrown and with the pull of the prop will go up to a height and it does not take long too where then the pilot will cut the motor and the prop will fold back and then they can do what they need to do.

This event had a few things for the glider pilots to do which all did very well and Well Done to them indeed

Results From The Wings Over Howick 2018

Longest Thermal – Andrew Marshall
2nd Longest Thermal – Jason Durban Drone Guy
3rd Longest Thermal – Dean Halley
Tugger of the Event – Dean Hally
‘Skid Marks’ Champ – Chris Adrian
Most Beaut ‘Old Timer’ – Chris Adrian
Best Modern Glider – Clint Du Toit
Aerotower Of The Event – John Greenfield
Man Of The Match – Kenneth Lello
Most Suffering Wife – Lesley Ann Du Toit
Winner GPS Racing – Chris Adrian
2nd GPS Racing – John Greenfield
3rd GPS Racing – Johan Bruwer Snr & Wouter

A BIG THANK YOU to Dave Claxton, Russell Brent Conradt and everyone that put this event together, WELL DONE ALL my cap is off to you all – Trevor Viljoen

Click to enlarge photos