Glen Dore and his son Andrew are model aircraft enthusiasts.
Glen Dore taught his son Andrew to fly model aircrafts and said when his son crashes them, he fixes them.
A model constructed by Glen Dore.
A model constructed by Glen Dore.
A model constructed by Glen Dore.
ROSEWOOD resident Glen Dore builds replicas of military airplanes; he’s a hobbyist who was instrumental in getting a multi-million-dollar military museum off the ground.
Glen served in the Australian Defence Force but not the Air Force, he was in the Navy, so why planes and not ships?
He explained he liked the look of big aircraft carriers and how they carried planes and acted as runways over the ocean.
“I’ve been building models since I was knee high to a grasshopper,” he said.
“I’m an aviation nutcase and have been for as long as I can remember.
“When I was in primary school, I joined the Air League and then tried for the Air Force but they didn’t accept me, so I joined the Navy.
“I was in the Air Arm of it so the best of both worlds, I believe.”
He was a Navy man from 1964 to 1976; the last two years were spent getting the Fleet Air Arm Museum at the Naval Air Station near Nowra in NSW, off the ground.
“I was instrumental in starting the museum and it’s now a big $50 million plus project,” he said.
“Some of my models are still in there and it was one of my models that started the museum in 1974.”
The Navy had two gate guardians, two different propeller driven aircraft from the Korean War, on either side of the main gate.
“Because plans were not available, I climbed all over this particular airplane which is a Sea Fury,” he explained.
“I climbed all over holding a tape measure and drew up my own plans.
“I built the model and when I was getting it painted a friend told me the boss wanted a word.
“I was worried something was wrong, but it turned out he was interested in starting a museum and he liked my models.
“I spent the next two years starting up the Fleet Air Arm Museum.”
Glen’s love for building models that take off and fly has never faded, he still builds and flies them.
“The scale varies, they started off small but now the biggest one I’ve built is a one third scale.
“It’s a big plane and nine foot across the wings. I built it around 1986 and I still have it.”
Glen is retired and said he now struggled with some of the more strenuous aspects to flying model aircraft.
“My son Andrew lives in Canberra and he has most of my models there,” he explained.
“I’d say the hobby is more of a joint venture now because we are two peas in a pod and he enjoys it as much as I do.”
