Th club conducts competitions, fly aways, quiz nights, barbecues, pilot presentation nights and open days and other events from time to time. In addition, each year various pilots from the club attend the ALACS (Australian Light Aircraft Championships) which are held by the RFACA (Royal Federation of Aero Clubs Australia).

You can see video clips from some of the clubs previous activities on the Video Gallery page

Club Competitions

Flying competitions are held regularly, usually once a fortnight on Wednesday evenings, and also on Sunday afternoons. Usually there will be a barbecue at the competition.

At the end of a series of competitions, prizes are awarded for the winners.

Competitions are fun, help to improve the accuracy of your flying and a good way to socialise with your fellow aviators.

Events are generally a variation on a flight with a forced landing or spot landing.

Points are scored for accuracy in flight (eg maintaining exact height & airspeed), safety procedures (eg proper look outs and check procedures) as well as landing on or close to a prescribed spot.

ALACS (Australian light Aircraft Championships)

(Also TLACS - Tasmanian Light Aircraft Championships)

These are run once a year. In 2011 they are at Maitland, NSW in March.

In 2005, ALACS (the best ever!) was held at Cambridge. Unfortunately, due to the now much more restricted space and conditions at Cambridge, it is most unlikely to ever be held here again.

Events are similar to the club competitions, but also include streamer cutting, aerobatics and formation flying.

Usually the club will have from two to half a dozen club and private aircraft going. The ACST historically has been one of the largest supporters of ALACS, often fielding the largest contingent of participants.

An ALACS trip is not just about the competition. The flight to and from the competition venue is half the fun. Those flying aircraft to the competition usually stop at a few places on the way to or from the venue and do a bit of touring and sightseeing.

The TLACS is less formal than ALACS and provides a venue where we compete against pilots from other clubs.

TLACS have in recent years been held at Cambridge, Wynyard and Font Hill airstrip.

Have a look at the picture & video galleries to see some of the pictures and stories from previous ALACS.

Fly-aways and Navigation Trials

Weather permitting, there are usually a few fly-aways and a navigations trial each year.

A popular fly-away is with the TAC (Tasmanian Aero Club) from Launceston who have an annual fly-away to either Longdown (near Cressy) or Boobyalla (near Tomahawk).

A problem we sometimes have is of course the highly variable Tasmanian weather. Some events require a large amount of coordination with other organisations and arrival at specific times (eg the Carrington Mill opening fly-away) and if the weather is marginal they may be called off.

For less time restricted events, it's a case of see what it's like on the day.

A great fly-away is to the "Flying Teapot" airstrip at Bridport.

The Soaring Club of Tasmania welcomes fly-ins and will put on a barbecue for visitors if some notice is given.

A Nav trial is a handy way to have a bit of fun whilst brushing up on your navigation accuracy and timing.

Presentations, Quiz Nights and Other Social Events

Once or twice a year, CASA or ATSB will come down and do a presentation to pilots. This is usually held at the club house unless they expect a large number of attendees.

Quiz nights are fun and we usually have one or two a year

The annual dinner is a more formal get together where we present awards to various members for achievements through the year. This year (2010) it was held at the Balmoral Inn and a very enjoyable night was had by all.

From time to time, other events may be organised such as "Jazz on the Deck" where we have a lunch at the clubhouse with jazz music playing.