_On Tuesday February 14, Hellcats ran a session for 14 cadets, teaching RC on five computer simulators. This was in preparation for their visit to our RC field on Saturday. Hellcats Lachlan, Paul, Derek, Noel, and Peter gave pointers to the kids on basic RC flying, which covered: the controls and their functions, simple theory of flight (lift/weight, drag/thrust etc), angle of bank (roll), airspeed (attitude), maintaining height in turns, stalls and what causes them, and even the aviation alphabet! In any case, a good opportunity for the cadets to get a bit of stick-time, prior to Saturday's flying experience session, which included 3 instructors giving RC lessons from 8am until 130pm, CL lessons for about 8 Cadets, and an F2D demonstration! International guest Bruce, an ex F5B pilot and multiple World Champs Team Manager from Switzerland/UK, was also able to give CL a go, after many years, as seen in the pics.

_Hellcats' most recent round of school holiday sessions was a big success, as per usual (!!) with three out of four sessions fully booked, across 16 and 17 January. More than 50 kids enjoyed our unique exposure to aviation!

Activities included full-size sims, aeromodelling sims, buddy-box rc flying, and delta dart building. These activities are designed to introduce Logan City kids to aviation, through a combination of science and sport, in a hands-on and fun style.

_On 15 January, 6 Hellcats members were on hand at Lismore (YLIS), to be part of the atmosphere, and smell the jet fuel, as Jermia went ballistic in an L-39. Hellcats Kurt and Nathan flew-in to the airport, in VH-HAT. A little bit of rain couldn't dampen the spirits, but did make travelling to/from Lismore quite interesting. (see "Nuking Krispy Kremes" video below). Full pics are now up on the Hellcats Flickr site (see pics+video page).

In late December 2011, Hellcat Kurt Kranen recently flew his new aquisition from Phillip Island to QLD... a Piper Tomahawk in great condition! See Hellcats Youtube Channel for some video.

_Hellcat Sophie (17) recently visited Poland at the invitation of the Polish Government, chosen as one of Australia's outstanding young pilots. Her three week stay included a tour of some of the country's aviation and political monuments and highlights - from historical sites, to flying gliders and an Extra 330. What a great cultural and sporting exchange! For more video, see General Aviation news page. Pictured above is Sophie speaking at the January Hellcats Dinner, with photos and stories from her trip! Thanks Sophie for a very informative and entertaining presentation.

Thanks to the generosity of the MAAQ, Hellcats Aviation now have a brilliant new RC Trainer. The maiden flight was last week (see short video on the right), and one lucky newcomer has already received training on the new plane, boasting unlimited vertical performance, taildragger configuration, and great flight characteristics!

Congratulations to Ashley Lewis (Hellcats own musician and part time genius), who passed all his PPL exams with flying colours. Ashley is now well on his way towards his commercial licence. Pictured at right, is Ash uploading a quick flight plan via Iphone app, prior to Ash and Krenske returning Macca's Motorfalke from Caboolture to Byron. See the video here.

In December 2011, Hellcats Aviation designed and built a great new Flight Sim computer. This thing runs Flight Sim and Aerofly like a breeze, and should prove a great asset in our members/friends Sim Nights, for professional navigational exercises, as well as training kids in our regular School Holiday activities, and other educational events.

_At the Bundaberg Airshow 2011, Hellcats President Paul had a little surprise for Hellcat Jermia, with a little help from his friend Stuart Bishop's 6000hp drag car... enjoy:) Thanks Stuart for a good day, and thanks to Jermia for the entertainment heheheh.

Six Hellcats Aviation sessions were held on 4, 6, and 8 July 2011, attended by 50 young people from across Logan, all looking to find out more about aviation. Activities included Flight Simulation classes taught by professional pilots, RC Simulation, model-building and flying. All had a great time, and at least one person has taken up the challenge of full-size flying lessons.

News from our Instructors...
Two of Hellcats KRANK instructors have recent honours:

• Sophie (16) selected as 1 of 4 young Aussie pilots to represent Australia in Poland, October 2011.
• Ashley Lewis (musician and part time genius/sim instructor) is now just hours away from achieving his PPL at Lismore.