diff --git a/src/Objects/newmat.cxx b/src/Objects/newmat.cxx
index 106e910c8..1b2fcd531 100644
--- a/src/Objects/newmat.cxx
+++ b/src/Objects/newmat.cxx
@@ -144,6 +144,7 @@ FGNewMat::Object::~Object ()
 int
 FGNewMat::Object::get_model_count () const
 {
+  load_models();
   return _models.size();
 }