Model Herc 1978 RAAF Base Edinburgh
"I starting building the model in 1973 at Williamtown and every time a Herc landed, which was twice a week, I would go and talk to the aircrew. I was basically allowed to walk all over the entire aircraft to get all the miniscule details, to get all the information I needed to make it look as realistic as possible. That included going out of the hatches on top of the wing to look at the colour schemes, to look where the life crafts were stored in the wing area, or where the lights were situated - and I got to know a lot of the aircrews personally." - Tex
In October 1978, permission was granted by the Federal Transport Authority to fly the model Hercules. At the time it was deemed to be too big to be categorized as a 'model airplane' so it was approved as an unmanned aircraft. Members of The Federal Transport Authority, government officials, senior RAAF members, WRE (weapons research department) members, visiting members from Boeing and multiple media outlets all attended the 'maiden' flight.
The week before was the practice run, and the model was only supposed to taxi and test the engines. The Herc got too much speed during the testing and the aircraft lifted off the ground. So in reality, what was supposed to be the maiden flight was actually the second time the model had been in the air.
TV stations, including Channel 10, filmed the flight, and the in-depth interviews came during the charity telethon some weeks later. The full story of the construction and flight of the Hercules was published in an American RC model magazine and was listed one of the largest flying model Hercules in the world.
"We had a meeting with the members from Boeing, and they were so impressed with the flight of the model that we were invited to go to the US to fly over there. Unfortunately, RAAF duties took priority at that time and we weren't able to go. The model was such a success and was considered to promote the RAAF in a good light to the public, so there was also a bit of discussion about us to taking the Herc around to the various RAAF bases to do demonstrations. Again, that also fell through for various reasons including the fact that we were expected to front the cost of the fuel for the model, which was very expensive each time we flew." - Tex
On 31 October 1978, Tex Bryson was awarded with a Certificate of Outstanding Service, in "appreciation for outstanding service which you have rendered to the Royal Australian Airforce while servicing in support command". Tex's mates gave him a ribbing about getting a commendation for flying model planes, and this may have been partly true. The Herc created a huge amount of positive publicity for the RAAF, and the commendation was coincidentally timed only a month after the flight at Edinburgh.
After all of these wide-ranging successes, Tex never built another model aircraft, instead moving on to focus on model warships. Tex gave the Herc away, donating it to the Air Force Cadets in Elizabeth, South Australia, where it was looked after for years and may even still be there today.
