CACH - Chile 2016
Through Powerbox-Systems, I was invited to attend the bi-annual CACH Airshow in Chile, with the opportunity to just turn up and fly, without need to ship a model. I would travel with good friend Ralph Losemann from Germany.
Not really knowing what to expect, and with Ralph not having visited Chile before either, we were both amazed once we arrived at the flying site. This place wasn't a scrap of land, it was a paradise for model flyers!
It turned out, that the previous club was in the centre of Chile, and as the city grew, it became too dangerous to fly. In the years that they had owned the club, the land had been reclassified from agricultural to buildable, and as such increased in value exponentially.
The result, 12 million dollars becoming available to buy and build a new club. As such, the club owns hectares upon hectares of land, so you actually always fly within the plot. It has multiple very long tarmac runways surrounded by grass, each with their own pitts area with running water, electricity and even mini control tower! In the central area of the club are dozens of shipping containers used to store, build and repair models on site.
Not only that, but also has its own on site restaurant, boat lake, x4 rc car circuits and even go-kart circuit! Put it on your bucket list, if you like flying or modelling, you need to visit this place!
The hospitality couldn't have been better either, Ralph and I were made to feel at home with everything that we did, as well as eating like kings.
The event itself saw locals visit the field, and even bus loads of children taking a school trip out on the Friday to visit the show.
I flew the models of Nico and Arie Gulfenstein, a great father and son team. Nico, AKA "NicoShow!" is a great pilot in his own right, having also competed at events such as the XFC in USA. They kindly allowed me to fly their J10 and Pilot-Rc Extra 330Sc.
Ralph didnt have a great show, due to having a problem with his J10 causing him not to be able to continue flying, however Nico once again saved the day providing Ralph with his version, so the show could continue.
I was also fortunate enough to be offered to fly the vide-president's Ultra Flash, which must be one of the fastest Ultra's I have ever flown and loved it! I also flew a Mig15 and was asked to assist in fine tuning it and was challenged to try and land it without bouncing! A few flights later and a few changes to set up, had both the challenge met and a very happy owner.
All in all, it was a really great trip, even if it was only a short one. Very happy memories and I hope to return very soon!
