The following was written by Denys Clarke in 2016. Denys was one of the founding club members.
“Memories and Impressions of Post War Model Aircraft in Rotorua 1947- 1953”
Mid winter 1947, two Rotorua teen age brothers found out that the Hamilton Winter Show had a model aircraft display, having little pocket money they decided to cycle to Hamilton, loaded with a pup tent and sleeping bags they set off early one morning heading for Hamilton not realising that this was going to be the catalyst to form the Rotorua Model Aero Club the following year.
A night in a pup tent in a paddock on the outskirts of Hamilton did not dampen their enthusiasm. At the show building they looked at various models, one model caught their eyes, a 36 inch wingspan control line trainer, low wing, simple box fuselage with cockpit, their concentration was interrupted when a woman’s voice said, “My son Ron built it, would you like to meet him?” The two brothers turned to see a middle aged lady beckoning to her son and at the same time introducing herself as Mrs Henecker. Ron invited the brothers to a flying demonstration at a local playing field the next day. Ron put on a great demonstration, and the brothers were enthralled and excited by this new type of model.
Three weeks later back in Rotorua a box arrived from Modelair containing the balsa wood and other materials also a diesel engine. With the help of Ron’s plans the control line model was built and ready for test flight. Because of the poliomyelitis epidemic in 1947 the schools were closed, so the modellers could take advantage of this, fly their models and do the set homework in the evening.
During those early years following WW11 there were only three keen modellers in Rotorua who were also very good friends, the late Bill Brown and the two brothers, Henry and Denys Clarke. Henry test flew the model on a sports field bordering Pererika Street and Old Taupo Road. Fortunately, our pride and joy flew slowly and with a few ups and downs Henry got the hang of it, we all breathed a sigh of relief when the engine spluttered to a stop and Henry managed to land without incident.
Bill and I cheered, all three of us had big grins, Henry after spinning around for several minutes flying the model was wobbly on his feet. During the flying a small group of spectators had gathered. Two of them, Stan Griffiths and his brother Pont, subsequently became very keen model builders.
Stan’s model building technique was unique, being a very good boat builder he had all the tools of the trade and many different types of timbers, his control line model fuselages were made from totara, he carved the shape and then I guess with a circular saw cut them in half from nose to tail, he then hollowed each half to a thin shell, glued them together and finished with a coloured paint to make beautiful models that were strong and flew very well.
Broken propellers happened frequently, no plastic ones in those days, Stan generously provided blanks which could then be carved.
The test flight and subsequent flights over the next few months created great interest in control line modelling. As well as the original three modellers there were now nine keen members, it was then that we realised that we had a club and named it the Rotorua Model Aeronautical Society.
The NZ Model Aeronautical Association which was formed during 1947 did not accept this name, perhaps because the word “Aeronautical” was too similar to theirs. The club formally came into being when it was renamed as the “Rotorua Model Aero Club.” and was registered with the NZMAA during 1948. The members were Henry & Denys Clarke, Bill Brown, Vincent Barry, Barry Gleeson, Ivan Lebeau, Mervyn Hodge, ( Later Mervyn became Air Commodore RNZAF) Stan Griffiths and his brother Ponty.
During many of the flying sessions we noticed a small boy watching, when he became a teenager he joined the model club, his name Rob Brown, he still maintains contact with the club and went on to a career as an aircraft engineer. No relation to Bill Brown.
Rotorua in those days had a population of about 12,000.
Before the club was formed most of the members had known each other as they were or had been in the No: 29 Squadron Air Training Corps. Barry Gleeson was ex ATC, a cadet reporter with the Rotorua Post and a good person to have as a club member, although he was nonflying he was always keen to help. He came up with an idea which was to buy a section in Malfroy Road near the Old Taupo Rd end so that the club members could have a club room built on it, no doubt Barry, being Barry had all the finances worked out, all the flying members wanted to do was fly their models.
Barry took this proposal to the council, it so happened that 2 doors away from the vacant section lived the local council traffic officer Mr Short, at a council meeting he squashed this proposal on the grounds that model engines make a lot of noise, he would have known about model engine noise because we lived next door to him. He never complained about it to us or our parents. I suppose that’s what one would call a good understanding neighbour.
Denys Clarke June 2016
The club continued flying during the 1950s on the old Fenton Park aerodrome. By 1960 a permanent site was used at the Medical officers reserve on Pukuatua St opposite the Boys High School. Most of the flying was control line.
In the mid 60s a small group was starting to experiment with radio control. The airstrip on Hunts farm on Pukehangi Rd was the center of activities. In the late 60s the club moved to a site on Vaughan Rd and established a control line circle and R/C strip. The members became very active in several competitions with some success.
In the 70s the club had another move. Two new control line circles were established at the airport and R/C flying moved to Te Ngae where the tree nursery is now. The Club Hosted the1989 Trans-Tasman event at the airport circles. Thermal soaring had become very popular and several members performed very well in a series of competitions between Rotorua, Putaruru, Cambridge, Hamilton, Matamata and Tauranga.
In 1990 another move saw the club move to its present site at Mead Rd. Here an all-weather 180m long strip and a control line circle were established.