What a crazy, confusing and unsettling couple of months I’ve had! A time in which even helicopters, yes helicopters, have had to take a back seat…

Helicopters taking a back seat Si!! What kind of craziness could bring that on?

The highly summarized version is that we all lost our jobs when the company we were working for went out of business owing us all quite a bit of money. I had a company car so lost that too. Luckily however, through some skillful work from our manager, all of us in the broadcasting division of our company got re-hired with a huge American company whose products we sold anyway. So the net result is, we’re doing the same work, just for a different company.

The prospect of being car-less and unemployed can really bring things into perspective I can tell you… So during the time where I was finding a new job and buying a new car, the helicopters, perhaps for the first time ever, took a back seat.

I learned a few lessons in this little bit of turmoil. Always have your options open, keep your CV updated, always have a back up plan, and if I ever own my own business I will for DAMN SURE get regular audits of the accounts done!

So, now back to our regular programming…

ALAN & DANNY OUT OF THUNDER TIGER?
I know I’m late with this, but by now, everyone knows Alan and Danny Szabo aren’t flying for Thunder Tiger. Why this has happened I’ve got no idea, I don’t know who left who or why, but you have to wonder, IF they were pushed out of Thunder Tiger, what in the hell were Thunder Tiger thinking?

Given the Szabo’s made the Raptor a serious contender in the 3D market and proved that Rappys are as good at 3D as anything else on the market, you have to question the marketing sense in getting rid of them wouldn’t you think?

For now it looks like they’re flying T-Rex’s for Align and random other helicopters that they can get their hands on and just having fun.

TAIWAN CUP 2006
The much vaunted Taiwan Cup is over, with the US$50,000 going to Hiroki Ito (JR) who is also the World F3C Champion. Scott Gray (JR) came second and Yasuichi Sawamura (Kyosho) third.

There was much confusion on scoring and what you needed to do to get a decent score.

Hopefully the organizers will learn from the ‘feedback’ they got from the competitors this year and make the necessary adjustments for next time!

3D MASTERS 2006 -28 th – 30 th JULY 2006
3D Masters is back on in nine weeks or so. One of the guys entering this year is Nigel Brown from Perth, Australia. Nigel has put in a huge effort over the last couple of years to improve his flying and it has paid off. Knowing how much effort it took to get ready for the F3C world champs last year I sympathise with everything that all the contenders are going through at the moment on their run up to 3DM. Good luck everyone!

WORLDS FASTEST INDIAN
You might think the best movie to come out of New Zealand is Lord of the Rings, or maybe King Kong. While they’re both great movies, the best movie of all is ‘The Worlds Fastest Indian’. It’s an awesome feel-good story about a real New Zealander from the REAL New Zealand (ie not Auckland) played by Sir Anthony Hopkins who takes on the land speed record for a particular motorbike. If you’re not into motorbikes, go anyway, you’ll love it. Even women love it! Go see it, I promise you’ll enjoy it.

Pilot Locator
The Pilot Locator has continued to grow in popularity since the last newsletter with it still rating second most popular section of littlerotors.com. Make sure your details are up-to-date! The pilot locator can be found at www.littlerotors.com/findapilot/

Market
The Buy/Sell Market has been growing also. It should be noted that this section will accept postings from all over the world, not just New Zealand. List your items free of charge! See the market at www.littlerotors.com/market/

Articles this issue are:

Regulated Power Systems
Perhaps the most 'in-vogue' helicopter component at the moment is the regulated power system. What do they do? Do they make a real difference? Or are they just hype? I take a look at the three most popular models on the market, Duralite, Fromeco and the Scott Gray Reactor. Click here

3D: Funnels/Tornadoes
One of the more popular 3D maneuvers today, and one that really isn’t too hard is the funnel. Click here

Feel free to contact me at simon@littlerotors.com at any time.

Si