By HARRY CLARKE
A CHINCHILLA pilot has built himself a unique “bush plane” which he will use in a gruelling attempt to break an Australian aviation record while raising money for a renowned medical service which helps to keep people living in remote areas safe and secure.
Cameron Obst has spent three years designing and assembling a recreational aircraft exactly to his liking, combining parts and designs from various planes to create the perfect recreational flying machine.
The result is the “Kangawallafox”, a light weight, slow moving plane with a box shaped fuselage, an exposed engine and high performance shock absorbers capable of taking flight within just 20 metres and landing in country that’s covered with melon holes.
In March next year, Obst plans to try and break the Australia record for the number of take offs and landings in a single day while raising money for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. DONATE HERE
“I just think it’s a way for me to give back to aviation,” Obst said from his newly built hangar at the Chinchilla aerodrome.
“Living in rural and remote Queensland, the Royal Flying Doctor Service is really important for medical aid, so hopefully if I can raise some money for them it will help keep us all safe and secure if we need medical assistance.
“The previous two people that held the record did it as a charity fundraiser, so I thought it would be a really good way for me to test out the Kangawallafox to see what it could do, and I can raise some money for charity at the same time.
The current record for the number of take offs and landings in a single day is 140, set by Ron Watts in 2013.
Obst is aiming to reach 150, which will require him to take off, climb to 500ft, do a loop, land, and repeat that process 149 more times within daylight hours.
WATCH: Cam Obst shows off his Kangawallafox
“With the landing I just need to get all three wheels on the ground – I don’t have to come to a complete stop – so once my tail wheel is down I can blast off and go again,” he said.
“Essentially I’ll be doing that all day. I think it’s doable. I’ll do a few practice runs to see how long it takes to do a full circuit and then I should be able to extrapolate that to find out if it’s going to be doable in a day.
“I need to be around three and a half minutes per landing and that should give me enough time to have a few breaks throughout the day and refuel.”
Obst plans to make the record breaking attempt on March 3 next year, weather permitting.
Donations can be made via the RFDS Kangawallafox page. CLICK HERE
Success or failure, Obst said he would be putting the Kangawallafox to good use after the record attempt.
“I hope to use it for chasing pigs,” he said.
“All the design features are for that maximum performance to take off and land in short distances.
“It’s only a slow aircraft, it doesn’t cruise very fast but that’s not what it’s for. It’s to get off the ground quick, it’s got very high visibility, it’s just a recreational, fun machine.
“I could land this thing in melon hole country. It’s designed to land in rough paddocks.
“I can legally fly around at 500ft, which is only about 150 metres and from that can I find a mob of pigs. I could put my dog in there, we could land in the paddock, get the dog out and go and catch a pig.
“Some people have boats or jet skies, motorbikes – I’ve got a Kangawallafox.