I drove to the model flying field this Saturday keen for a fly – only to find the long grass surrounding our mowed runways was on fire! The fire had started just moments before I arrived. The fliers there said there had been a trail bike (illegally) riding through the area just before the fire started. Very suspicious.
The blaze spread rapidly. The bushfire brigade turned up about 30 minutes after someone called 000 and they put out the fire near where the cars were parked. Elsewhere, they encouraged the fire to spread to burn off the long grasses.
The start of the grass fire
I went home and left them to it. I went back on Sunday and flew my models. The landing strips were untouched but the rest of the field was black ash.
It was a windy day but I managed to avoid getting covered in ash! My Extra 300 model now has had 272 flights.
