Second entry ... First flight
In 2009 our friend Milton Shupe and his great team were feverishly trying to put the finishing touches on a model of the de Havilland DH 80 Puss Moth so that we could hopely give it a spin in that year's MacRobertson Race.
Near the end .... or maybe it was somewhere in the middle he had several of us beta testing that fine model along the route to Melbourne .... sorta like a team.
Anyone that had the time and could see in the forum thread posts that the plane was on the ground ... would wait a few minutes to see if other folk(s) were maybe posting while they were just then reading and if the way was clear they would post a takeoff and fly a reasonable and considerate distance in case another pilot may be waiting ... usually a hour or so.
We just leap-fogged like that .... seemed like forever ... the majority, if not all, had completed a competitive flight or their own already.
Tons-o-fun and a privilege to work (testing) with what I consider the Master of models for our fine hobby.
The fit and finish that Milton and Team put into everything they do is as good as anything money can buy and so much better than the vast majority of the junk that you are required to buy if you want to fly it.
Top of the list ... the Best.
To honor the effort by Milton and Team and to give this fine aircraft model it's due I am excited to officially make an entry flying solo in the de Havilland DH 80 Puss Moth (Melrose) in the Golden Age Class Handicap Race.
I will be flying in FS9 using default Jeppesen Real World Weather with updates every 15 minutes.
[Note]
Unzipped straight from the Library ... the aircraft cfg file has Tank Options that will allow the plane to be flown for longer distances.
Planning to utilize one of them (the smallest up size) and I have submitted to Miss Nellie and the Committee a request to check and make known any adjustments they deem necessary in the aircraft's Handicap Allowance (Hours) and I will be governed accordingly.
In all of the looking around and research I did to try to choose an aircraft and otherwise prepare for this event I stumbled across some info about the pilot that flew the DH 80 in the 1934 Race ... C.J. "Jimmy" Melrose.
A new hero for me now ... I'll just put a couple of links to sources that you can read if you have the time .... worth it I promise ... and it will save some space here.
Jimmy ... a young Australian (19yrs old) ... had only gotten his "A" license in July of 1933 and after taking delivery of this plane ran a record breaking run ... 16 stops ... around Australia in 5 days and 10 almost 11 hours ... then flew solo to the UK from Australia to participate in the race unofficially breaking Jim Mollison's 1931 record (didn't register it as an attempt) by 10 hours .... then raced back home in the big race finishing second in second place to a DC-2 team effort.
Can't give him enough credit here ... please read the links.
Sadly Jimmy was killed doing what he loved just two years later.
This entry is to commemorate the effort he made in the 1934 MacRobertson Race.
I'll use Milton's model of the aircraft and the account of his actual flight(s) given by the South Australian Aviation Museum as my route.
After this run is complete I'll start the first entry I made in the Vega as a second run ... confusing, eh?
Each pilot is allowed two prize eligible entries .... these are in different aircraft and one will be in the Handicap Race (DH 80) and the other will be in the Speed Race (Vega).
Risk for me would be that if I for any reason can't keep up the criteria set forth in the rules for The Speed Race's Live Clock and Time Pressure, then the Vega's Speed run would automatically become a Handicap run .... hence null or withdrawn due to it being a second entry in the same race ... just as automatically, not prize eligible.
The Pilot:
http://www.saam.org.au/jimmy-melrose/
The Plane:
http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austu/VH-UQO.html
Best of luck to all,
