Cameron ‘Sparrow’ Obst in his own plane ‘Kangawallafox’ takes home silver at Oz-STOL flight competition

A Chinchilla pilot who last month set a world record for most take offs and landings in a single day has used the record setting plane he built himself to compete in a national flight competition.

Chinchilla pilot Cameron ‘Sparrow’ Obst (centre) takes home silver at national flying event

A Chinchilla pilot who recently set the world record for most take offs and landings by a single plane during daylight hours has placed second at a national flying event.

Cameron ‘Sparrow’ Obst competed in the Oz-Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) event in the Hunter Region town of Luskintyre narrowly missing out on the gold.

Mr Obst flew in his ‘Kangawallafox’ custom plane, which just a month prior he had taken off and landed 145 times to secure the world record.

The competition tests competitors’ ability to take off and land from the same spot on a runway.

“The aircraft starts on the start line and we have to take off and the judges take a measurement from when our wheels leave the ground and that’s our take off round, we then need to land on or after the line and stop as fast we can,” he said.

“Wherever your wheels stop that’s your score and whoever gets the smallest distance overall wins.”

Chinchilla pilot takes home silver at flying event

Mr Obst said this was the first time he had competed at the event and was pleased with his score.

“I’ve done a lot of take offs and landings but I haven’t tried to accurately hit the exact mark before,” he said.

“My combined score was 75m and the winner scored 67m so I wasn't far off.

“The aircraft that the winner had was 180 horsepower and I have 120 horsepower so he had a power advantage.

“Once my wheels hit the ground I could stop quicker than him but I floated past the line because I didn’t want to land short which gets you disqualified.

“If I would've landed closer to the line I could’ve got a better score, but he was better on the day.”

Australian Record Broken: Chinchilla's Cameron ‘Sparrow’ Obst completed 145 take offs and landings at the Chinchilla Airport.

Mr Obst said he planned to get some more practice in and chase the gold medal.

“The aircraft is absolutely capable of doing it (and) I’m really happy with that amount of horsepower I have,” he said.

“If I was going to put a different engine in it would but a lighter one because with less weight I can get off the ground quicker and less mass means I can stop quicker.

“It’s what the plane is built for it’s a bush plane but it lends itself to this sort of competition, the competition proved my aircraft is capable, I just need to refine my skills.

“It was the first time I’ve competed at this competition, and the lads who came first and third had both competed before.

“I just need more practice, I’ve only done two to three hours of practice to hit a mark. I can land it short but to put it down where I want it takes skill and technique.”

Mr Obst said it was great to meet like-minded flyers at the event.

“Meeting all of the other like minded people was great, the lad I just beat for second for the last few month has been mentoring me and giving me advice to improve my performance and he was so happy for me so that camaraderie is great,” he said.

“We camped out, I set up a tent under the wing, sat around and had a yarn and for me that was the best part.”

Originally published as Cameron ‘Sparrow’ Obst in his own plane ‘Kangawallafox’ takes home silver at Oz-STOL flight competition