History of M.A.N.Z
MANZ was established in 1982 as a Chapter of the IMAA organization which was based in the USA. At the time, the world’s IMAA was the leading organization for large model enthusiasts. It had three main principles. One was that flying should be at low-key friendly rallies with no competitive element and a maximum of cooperation and fun. Another principle was that large model flying must be safe. The third principle was that the criteria for being ‘large’ were based on dimensions – essentially the same ones that MANZ still uses today.
The late Chuck Holder had the original idea of forming an IMAA Chapter, made enquiries, and called a meeting that resulted in MANZ being formed. The founding members were Chuck Holder, Russ Johnson, Wayne Cartwright, Kevin Uncles, Ron Cavanagh, and Royce Johnson. The result was that MANZ was set up as a charitable society, the members of which had to belong to NZMAA.
Russ Johnson was elected first President, a position that he held for the 17 years that the MANZ Committee was located in Palmerston North. Since the Committee moved to the Auckland region, the Presidents have been Ken Buckley, Wayne Cartwright and – currently – Colin Kemp. Many people have served on the Committee over the years. Maurice Astill and Stan Honeybun were especially active in establishing MANZ in northern regions.
In 2003 MANZ agreed that its Committee should also be responsible for the NZMAA’s Large Model SIG, with the duties of promoting large model activity – which MANZ was already doing – and running the LM Certification process. This introduced weight and engine-size criteria for certificated large models, but the dimensional criteria for MANZ rallies remain. The Certification scheme was developed with the help of the UK LMA, so MANZ now has linkages with both IMAA and LMA, although the formal affiliation to IMAA has been dropped for cost reasons.
Each year, MANZ has held a major Annual Rally in May, initially at Taonui near Feilding, but most commonly in latter years at Waharoa. The number of additional regional rallies has increased over the years but to date all have been in the North Island. A first South Island Rally is planned in 2008.
MANZ Torque, the newsletter/magazine has been published for members five times every year.
Much of the success of MANZ has come from the sharing of ideas, and experiences, and enthusiasm about large model construction, flying, and power systems. In the early days, the Quadra 35cc petrol motor was thought to be huge, as were the Super Tigre 2000/2500/3000 series when they appeared soon after! Gradually, petrol motors predominated and the average sizes of motors and models at rallies has steadily increased. Turbines appeared for the first time in 2004, and big electric systems are about to arrive. The spirit of innovation and the sense of relaxation, fun and comradeship all remain strong in MANZ.
