Aaron

Aaron is one of the new additions for 2004, joining us in July.  Aaron is in the process of learning to fly and is pictured here with his machine, working on the inital hover phase.

Aaron hasn't done any R/C before, so he's dead keen to get into it in a big way, with plans to downgrade to planks at some stage in the future :).

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Andrew

The first member of the group to purchase a Micro-Heli back in December 2001, Andrew has remained an avid Micro Heli flyer ever since.

Putting in an average of four to six flights a day (!), Andrew really does put the rest of us to shame.  Andrew's Hornet goes with him almost everywhere and has been flown everywhere from holiday camping grounds to the South Island glaciers. 

Andrew also has the honour of being the group's only full size Helicopter Pilot.  He is currently attending helicopter school full-time to obtain his commercial Helicopter pilot's licence.

Andrew is pictured here flying his Hornet.


Other Helis:  JR Voyager E

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Ben

Our final addition for 2003, Ben first joined us in late November and has been flying with us just about every week since.  After some initial teething problems with the Dragonfly, Ben got it sorted and then sold it. 

Ben then purchased a Hornet II which we haven't seen at the hall yet, and in mid-2004 purchased Sean's LMH conversion.


Ben is pictured here flying his LMH Conversion at Amborse Stadium.

Update Nov 04: Ben has moved off-shore to follow his fortunes in the land of OZ.  We'll keep him in here though, 'cause he's bound to be back :).


Other Helis:  Hornet II
















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Deane

The fourth flyer to join our happy band, Deane started flying Micro-Helis early in 2002, with a standard FP Piccolo. 

Since then Deane has run the gamut of upgrades culminating in adding CP and a brushless motor to his machine.  This year Deane sold his upgraded ECO Piccolo to Jon and has now moved up to the PRO Piccolo.  Deane also flies larger IC powered helis, planes, and slope soarers.

Deane has recently started building a model jet turbine.  Now we are all waiting for him to make one small enough for our Micro Helis :).

Deane is pictured here flying his Ikarus PRO Piccolo


Other Helis:  Raptor V2

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Don

Don was the fifth member of the "Founding Five", and the only one not to purchase a micro heli!  It appears that the genetic code of his micro-heli bug was somewhat scrambled.  This mutation resulted in Don ending up with a bug for regular R/C helis, and MicroLIGHTs!.

Some small part of the gene code must have survived though, as Don still calls in to see us on a fairly regular basis. He can even be found flying one of the other members' micro helis occasionally , so there is still hope for him yet :).

Don is pictured here climbing out into a beautiful clear morning sky in his trusty microlight. Wigram Aerodrome - July 2002.

Other Helis: Raptor
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Greg

Greg was our first new Pilot for 2004, Joining us in Early February. Greg flies an interesting hybrid of FUN Piccolo and Skylark. 

Greg's battling with poor batteries at the moment, but new E-Tecs are on the way and should improve flight times considerably.

Greg is pictured here flying his Skylark/FUN Piccolo Hybrid.

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Jason

Jason first joined us part way through 2003.  Other commitments have meant that Jason isn't with us on a regular basis, but he's there often enough to be called a regular :).  Jason flies an Ikarus ECO Piccolo (fixed pitch).

Jason is pictured here flying his FP Piccolo


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John M

John M was our second addition for 2004, also joining us in February. 

John has to be the winner of the the "keen" award, going from first time spectator to Hornet II owner in a little over two weeks!  John is another new flyer, and is still ironing out a few bugs, but we look forward to watching him progress.

John is pictured here with his Hornet II on the point of lift off.


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Jon W

Pictured here flying his Hybrid OH-58A Kiowa, Jon was the second member to purchase a Micro starting off with a standard FP Piccolo in late December 2001. 

A constant experimenter, and early adopter of new technology, Jon has spent a lot of his MicroHeli life on the leading (or should that be bleeding?) edge.  Over the past 18 months, the FP Piccolo has evolved to the point that it is now a hybrid micro with a semi-scale 0H-58A body and details. 

The purchase of Deane's CP Piccolo in 2003 gave him the chance to butcher another heli, with the OH-13 Sioux being the result.

Jon seems to have settled down a bit of late, being content fly around the with his semi-scale warbirds, rather than modifying and changing bits in the workshop..

Other Helis: Ikarus CP ECO Piccolo built as a semi-scale OH-13 Sioux

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Keith

Keith has been a regular visitor to our group from any years.  In the past he has flown one of Rob's helis.  BUt in Dec of '04 Keithe arrived with his own micro heli.  A diminutive Kyosho Hughes 300.

Ketih is no stranger to Helis.  He's been flying I/C ones for many years, and is a scale fan as well as flying the traditional pod and boom.

Unfortuanlely I wasn't their last week for Keith's visit, so I'll update this entry once I;ve had chance to have a chat to him.

The photo shows Keith flying his Kyosho,  although it's probably a better shot of the heli than Keith!  We'll try and get a better shot fo Keith flying for you.

Other Helis:




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Mike

Mike first started visiting us earlier in 2003.  A keen slope soarer, we injected him with the micro-heli bug and waited to see what happened :).  Sure enough, after a few months the temptation grew to be too great.  Mike purchased a CP Hornet and joined us in September of 2003.

A newbie to helis, Mike is currently learning to fly, and is pictured here practicing with his Hornet early in October 2003.  MIke is progressing really well, and we look forward to updating his profile as he develops his flying skills.

Other Helis: None

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Reg

Reg visited the group a number of times in 2004, before finally joining the group in October 2004.  Reg has purchased an E-Sky Honey Bee and is currently learning to fly it.

(Sorry No picture yet)

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Rob

Pictured here with his FP Ikarus ECO Piccolo,  Rob joined us in September/October of 2002.  Rob has been quietly modding away at his machines ever since. 

Amassing a large number of spares, temptation finally got the better of Rob, and in 2003 Rob turned his spares collection into a 2nd FP Piccolo!  Rob is great with tools and electronics and makes and repairs a lot of his stuff himself. 

Rob also has his own vacuum forming gear.  This makes him very popular when we need new bodies and canopies :).

Other Helis: Ikarus FP Piccolo built as RNZAF 3711 Bell 47-G3

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Sean

Sean was the third member to join our group back in the early days of 2002.  Back in those days Sean was by far our most adventurous flyer, always pushing the envelope with his FP Piccolo. 

Update Jan 2004:  Sean is now back with us after taking a break from micros, and now flys a modified Ikarus Pro Piccolo.

Update Feb 2004: A new Picture of Sean flying his LMH conversion at Halswell Hall in February 2004..

Other Helis: Nexus 30 with TT36 motor and boom mount t/r servo.
LMH 110 FP with Corona conversion kit (not yet installed)

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Shannon

Shannon joined the group in October of 2004.  He made an immediate impression with his own design hybrid based on a Coleco chassis.  Shannon is also designing a 100g class sub-micro, with direct drive home built brushless motor.

Shannon is very keen on going to CP in the near future, and is looking forward to learning to fly 3-D.

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