Cameron ‘Sparrow’ Obst breaks Australian record for takeoffs and landings in one day for Royal Flying Doctor Service

A local pilot has completed 145 takeoffs and landings in one day while raising money for an important cause.

"I named it “Kangawallafox” because its a mix of different planes" : Cameron “Sparrow” Obst's 'Frankenstein' aircraft used in record breaking flight.

A Chinchilla pilot has set the Australian record for most takeoffs and landings by a single plane during daylight hours while raising money for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Earlier this month Cameron ‘Sparrow’ Obst completed 145 takeoffs and landings in his unique and one-of-a-kind home built ‘Kangawallafox’ 19-1678 plane at the Chinchilla Airport beating the previous record of 140.

Mr Obst’s bush plane was specially designed to be able to fly slow, takeoff and land in short distances, have high visibility and be able to handle landing in a rough paddock.

“I spent a few years designing and building my own aeroplane and I wanted to put it to the test to ensure it was a safe aircraft and having a go at that record was a good way to test that,” he said.

Australian Record Broken: Chinchilla's Cameron “Sparrow”€™ Obst completed 145 take offs and landings at the Chinchilla Airport.

“A lot of work went into this, it took me about a year to design, I took bits of other aircrafts that I liked and tried to Frankenstein it together to serve the purpose as a short field landing aircraft hence the name ‘Kangawallafox’ because it’s a mix of different animals.

Mr Obst who has been flying for six years and plans to open his own flight school said significant work went into breaking the record.

“The only issue was the wind, the first hour was pretty good but as the day progressed the wind got strong and gusty with a 30 knot crosswind which made it challenging,” he said.

“I started at 6am and it was 3.30 in the afternoon when I finished, it was seven hours’ worth of flying but I had multiple breaks for fatigue management and refuelling.”

“The guy who held the previous record who I didn’t know personally contacted me the following day to congratulate me, he was also raising money for charity when he first set the record.

“I am now looking at selling the plane, last year I completed my instructor’s course and I am in the process of starting my own school, so I will sell it to fund a training aircraft.“

"I named it “Kangawallafox”€™ because it’s a mix of different planes": Cameron “Sparrow”€™ Obst's 'Frankenstein' aircraft used in record breaking flight.

Mr Obst said he wanted to support an organisation which had helped so many people in rural areas.

“I haven’t personally needed their services, but I’ve had friends that required their help and I thought it would be a worthwhile charity, it is so integral for people living in rural Australia,” he said.

“Online we have raised $12,000, we took $800 on the day and I work for Origin Energy and they did an internal fundraiser and are matching any employee donations dollar for dollar. So far there is a couple of thousand employee dollars so I am hoping to raise around $20,000.

Donations can be made here.

Originally published as Cameron ‘Sparrow’ Obst breaks Australian record for takeoffs and landings in one day for Royal Flying Doctor Service