2026 National Electric Flight Rally [NEFR]
West Wyalong, 1-3 May
The NEFR is a jamboree of electric flying activity for friends who fly electric powered models in a range of low key events.
Report NATIONAL ELECTRIC FLIGHT RALLY 2026
It’s always sad to see something die.
Back in 1987 Peter Pine had a vision to gather together like minded enthusiasts in the relatively new sub-sport of electric flight. The first rally was in Pete's home town of Armidale. It soon blossomed into a major national event with large entries in towns as diverse as Nowra, Wangaratta, Wagga and the Barossa Valley then Cootamundra and more recently the sprawling free-flight field at West Wyalong.
But, despite trying different events, and formats and this year a move away from the crowded Easter weekend the participation has been dwindling. Until this year which was nearly a non-event.
There were excuses. We had an international geopolitical situation and relatively high prices for fossil fuels. And the weather forecast put others off. Despite this the camaraderie continued unabated and helped by association with another dwindling contingent from the Society of Antique Modellers and stronger support from the free-flight guys and gals. The latter hosting a splendid lamb-roast dinner in the house on Saturday evening. And if the weather is inclement there is always the well stocked library of aeromodelling magazines and books. A whole room in the house.
For posterity the sparse event results are published here. The rally format allowed participants to fly their eight rounds anytime from Friday to Sunday which meant that not everyone saw the flights of others but at least you could pick your air and snatch some rounds between showers, which worked well.
It’s not dead yet. A revigorated provisional AEFA committee now with Peter Pine returning at the helm and Barry Burke tasked with the NEFR job is committed to keeping the association and its events relevant.
It deserves to survive and our 400+ members to get behind it.
Mel Gillott
Below saved to make editting easier next year
Save the date now for the NEFR 2026 which will be held from May 1-3 2026 at the Adrian Bryant Free Flight field West Wyalong. There is camping on site and many motels and facilities in town.
Details of how to find the field are available on the NSW Free Flight Societies website. https://www.nswffs.com.au/
go to the The Jo & Adrian Bryant Free Flight Field at West Wyalong drop down box.
We have the added bonus of SAM 1788 and NSWFF Society also running their events at the same time on the same field. This offers entrants and spectators and their families the opportunity to be part of a lot more action over the weekend.
We will be sharing the huge field with the SAM Old Timer and Free Flight people. They use the mown RC area, so we will mostly use one of the FF areas and join SAM for camping and socialising.
Our flying area will be mown suitable for glider events. It probably isn’t suitable for ROG models. Accordingly, we have omitted Scale and changed the EOT format to suit.
At this stage we are asking for Pre-Entry to assess interest in each event. A Pre-Entry / Expression of Interest form is below.
Events we anticipate running are:-
Glider : ERes, F5J, LEG
Old Timer : Vintage Glider, Texaco (1/2 A, and open), Height Limited Duration.
Other : RC Scramble
Indicate if you are keen to attend and the category you want to fly in by filling the Pre-Entry form below.
Come along and join in on a great weekend.
Pre -Entry Form
A video of the field at West Wyalong courtesy of the NSW Free Flight Society is below
You can get there by using the directions in google maps below
https://www.google.com/maps/place/West+Wyalong+Model+Aviation+Park/@-33.8257515,147.3022843,14.75z
