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A New
Name and a New Beginning
The
Horsham Flying Club is the new name of the
Wimmera Soaring Club (WSC) and the Wimmera
Sport Aircraft Association (WSAA). The two
clubs joined together in 2004 to provide
new aviation opportunities and experiences
for their members. The two clubs have had
a long and proud history is fostering
sport aviation in the Wimmera Mallee.
Throughout 2004 the two clubs looked at
the benefits of combining their respective
operations at one site under one banner.
To further advance sport aviation in the
Wimmera and provide inexpensive powered
flight options for its members, the club
purchased a Jabiru LSA Ultralight in
January 2005. The club operated as the
Wimmera Soaring Club after the members of
the WSAA joined the WSC. The membership of
the club elected to change the name of the
club to the Horsham Flying Club to better
reflect the aspirations of all its
members. The name change came into affect
in the last quarter of 2005.
A
Little History
The
Wimmera Soaring Club was formed in 1963
after a public meeting held to gauge
interest in forming a gliding club. The
meeting was held after a weekend visit to
Horsham by the Sunraysia Gliding Club
introduced gliding to the the area for the
first time. The club initially operated
from the paddocks owned by local farmers
using a winch and a T31 two seat trainer
purchased from the Royal Australian Naval
Gliding association at Nowra. The club
moved regularly at first and finally
established itself on the Horsham
Aerodrome in 1967 and became an all
aerotow operation, initially with a Tiger
Moth, followed by a Chipmunk and finally
moving on to the first of two Pawnee's.
The club
grew with time and peaked in the mid
1970's after the World Gliding
championships were held in Waikerie, South
Australia. Membership had slowly declined
over the 1990s with the encroachment of
other sport aviation alternatives.
The
Wimmera Sport Aircraft Associations began
operating ultralights and gyro copters
from a farm strip at Natimuk, 25
kilometres west of Horsham since the early
1990s. The club grew rapidly and held
regular fly-ins at their private strip.
Despite these successes the club ran into
the problem of not have a certified
ultralight aircraft for members to hire.
They also had a number of prospective
pilots looking for pilot training and an
aircraft to hire once issued with a pilot
certificate.
So two
groups with the same interests and goals
finally made the decision to come together
and provide the Wimmera with a true home
for all forms of 'Sport Aviation'. Today
has a small but growing membership
operating from an established airfield
with top class facilities and aircraft.
The club
welcomes all sport aviation enthusiasts
and has established links with local and
visiting Hang Gliding Groups, Powered
Trike Operators, Ultralight Clubs as well
as General Aviation Groups.
Facilities
The club
has well established clubrooms with a
licensed bar for socializing after the
days flying. Hot food and drinks is
available from the kitchen attached to the
main clubroom.
A bunk
house with three separate rooms is
available for the use of members and
guests. There are currently 12 beds
available. Toilet and shower facilities
are available in the main hanger complex
which incorporates the clubrooms and
kitchen area. Camping facilities, both
powered and un-powered are available in
the surrounds of the club
complex.
The club
maintains its own gliders and has a
dedicated workshop set aside for
maintenance work.
There are
two hangars, one large glider hangar and
one smaller tug and ultralight hangar
which house the club aircraft and those
privately owned by club members
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