HGFA Skysailor Magazine

26 SKY SAILOR March | April 2018 T his project was largely thanks to the club committee of the era, with then-President Karl Texler taking a brave decision that would eventually eat up all the club’s savings and a bit more. The cost ran to over $60,000 and the ‘bit more’ was covered by borrowings from the HGFA and VHPA, to eventually be paid off over the following five years. The laborious job of initially removing the old carpet remnants was undertaken by club members in a weekend working bee that saw several tonnes of rotting material carted to the tip. The site was then clear for the professionals to move in with graders and tonnes of gravel to profile and compact the launch. To secure the new surface, a concrete foundation was laid below ground to act as an anchor for all the new carpet edges before the new carpet was rolled out, tarred to the new gravel surface, glued together at all joints and all edges secured. This was undertaken by a company which normally finishes flat tennis courts. Ten years ago, in January 2008, the North East Victorian HG Club began the big job of upgrading Mystic launch from a traditional ‘as cheap as possible’ launch to the professionally carpeted, smooth launch it is today. by John Chapman Mystic From Recycled Oddments To A World Class Launch Most pilots’ preferred view of Mystic Photo: John Chapman It pays to advertise… Photo: John Chapman The old Mystic launch, 2003 Photo: Debbie Maher