Adventurous pilots took to the sky to compete at the Australian Light Aircraft Championships and the Wings International Flying Competition, held at the Echuca Moama Aero Club from March 8 to 11.
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The two competitions attracted about 30 pilots from flying clubs around Australia and New Zealand.
Pilots from both countries competed against one another in The Wings Competition, whereas only Aussie pilots were judged in the Australian Light Aircraft Championships.
Bendigo Aviation Services head of operations Rod Jouning said the entire weekend went by with flying colours.
“It was a really successful weekend,” Mr Jouning said.
“A lot of the Echuca Moama Aero Club (EMAC) members won their events, which is just terrific. It’s a really great sign of how healthy the club is in terms of aviation ability.”
In both competitions, the pilots are judged on an aerobatics event, a spot landing event, forced landing event, formation flying contest and a streamer cutting event.
In the aerobatics event, each pilot was assessed on how accurately and smoothly they can conduct loops, rolls and other specialist manoeuvres.
The aerobatics heat was won by Adrian van der Sluys, with second place going to Gavin Law, both of EMAC.
During the spot landing event, competitors were required to conduct accurate landings, touching down on a very specific and small section of the runway.
Gavin Law of Echuca Moama Aero Club won the event, with second place going to Gary Tonkin of Manning River Aero Club.
The forced landing event also assessed precision, with pilots required to land on a small section of the runway by gliding down from altitude without using any engine power.
Andrew Stopp, of Royal Victorian Aero Club, was awarded first place for the forced landing competition and Adrian van der Sluys of EMAC was named runner-up.
In the formation flying contest, three air crafts conducted a series of manoeuvres and flypasts while very close together.
The accuracy of the pilots flying and keeping the aircraft in exactly the right position relative to the other aircraft are judged by specialist flight instructors on the ground, and the formation team are awarded points for their precision.
This was won by the Royal Victoria Aero Club from Moorabbin.
The streamer cutting event involved a streamer being released from the aircraft while at altitude. The pilot is then required to do a number of turning manoeuvres to cut the ribbon on four occasions before it falls below a certain height.
This was won by Andrew Stopp, again with Adrian van der Sluys coming in second place.
Australia was named the winner of the Wings International Competition, which was held between Australia and New Zealand.
State Nationals leader and Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh opened the tournament between the two nations.
Mr Jouning said there was a healthy rivalry between Australia and New Zealand.
“It’s very friendly but there’s always an underlying competitiveness,” he said.
“I think this was the first time Australia has won in about five events.”
Next year’s Wings International Flying Competition will be held in New Zealand whereas the Australian Light Aircraft Championships is expected to be held elsewhere in Australia.
RIV Herald