High-tech models, simple pleasure

Glider enthusiast and Tauranga Aircraft Model Club president Bill DeRenzy with one of his smaller gliders.

Fand of model aeroplanes are often perceived as "a bunch of old silly buggers playing with balsa wood and tissue," but Bill DeRenzy says the world he flies in is much more than that.

The landscape is changing as the sport evolves, with high-spec multi-rotor aircraft "taking off like crazy" as pilots wear goggles and utilise on-board cameras and touch-screen transmitters to fly.

Endless YouTube footage has captured the global phenomenon which shows miniature versions of the aircraft tearing through forestry and zooming across urban terrain.

Electric aeroplanes have also grown in popularity, Bill says, as batteries become smaller and lighter and costs reduce with some good foam replicas available from $200.

The Tauranga Model Aircraft Club president and former New Zealand Airforce engineer says the new technologies and composite materials are revolutionary and there is no doubt about that. But his heart lies with gliders.

However, his background has not helped much, despite having flown a real glider from age 15 at the Matamata airfield and building models since boyhood.

"You need an understanding of flight, but it doesn't give you any real advantage, it's the time and practise you put in," he says.

"I have a flight simulator on my computer which is quite helpful but I like to take to the skies at least once a week. I find it peaceful and relaxing."

His pride and joy is a crisp white and red glider with a 6m wing span, although his collection of models is vast, including a superlight F3K that is hurled into the air like a discus and has the capability of reaching launch heights of up to 50m before using thermals to fly away.

Membership at the club has remained relatively static over the past 20 years, with between 40 to 60 people, including children and retirees, enjoying the hobby.

Bill's pride and joy, a glider with a six metre wing span. Photo/supplied

Enthusiasts fly at TECT Park, which is available for aerial pursuits seven days a week, and Bill says they welcome newcomers who want to give it a go but warns "it can be highly addictive".

For more information on the Tauranga Model Aircraft Club, visit www.taurangamodelfly.com