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Hi All, Recently finished my TN Sunderland and took some photos last night Just for fun I made her some legs and trolly scaled up from the Airfix kit. Wingspan 72" weight: 3.7kg or 8.15lbs Covered in encapsulation film and sprayed with Halfords white primer and Flair Spectrum paint on the upper surfaces Power uses the 4 max setup and a 3s 6000 and plenty of pull on the bench I made some access hatches in the nacelles to get to the speed controllers The cockpit lifts out to get at the battery now waiting to maiden Regards Robert

Just completed a couple of test flights all seems well , just a couple of trim tweeks. I enjoyed the build, covering was a challenge

Nice shots Neil Latest successful maiden flight in a series for me this morning of my Flightline FW190, which zoomed around quite nicely in the increasingly breezy conditions.

Maidened yesterday - sport scale Morane Saulinier type "N" from Radio Modeller plan. This is the second one as I built the first one sometime in the late seventies. Using the very same engine ,Enya 35, from 40 years ago. 3 channel, all moving elevator as per original.

Just finished my new design. A modified Taylorcraft call "tumbling T-Cart" If you want to google the full size search for N6685C. The model is 47" span, for electric power. Weight 48 oz. wing loading 17 oz per sq.ft.

BMFA Centenary Video

Shorts Sperrin from the Chris Golds plan, 74" wingspan. 4 x 55mm Vasa fans, running on 6S, 53,000rpm producing over 800g of thrust each and using 450W. Successfully maidened today. Will take off from grass runway (not bowling green smooth) but would be better of tarmac. Will happily cruise around on 150W per fan so 9 minutes flights are possible. The Sperrin was designed late 40s early 50s as a fallback in case the Vulcan, Valiant & Victor, all revolutionary designs failed to live up to expectations. The Sperrin was very much a conventional design, rounded rectangular fuselage, basic wing with the unusual (in hindsight) stacked engines rather than side by side. 2 prototypes were built and ended up being used as test beds for other engines and for flight research.

Hi All, Just finished my Flair Black Magic, covered in encapsulation/laminating film. Powered by an SC 30fs, I still need to add 100g lead in the nose to balance it. I bought the lit on a well know auction site and was listed as new, however, parts were missing which I replaced using the drawing and the bowden cables and I had to use snakes which is probably why I have to add the weight at the front. Note to self, check kits when bought and not leave them for years in the cupboard. Looking forward to the maiden Regards Robert

It has been a long time since I last posted on this site. A few weeks ago Byron flew the DC3 for Mel who originally built the DC 3 and it was the first time he had seen it since the rebuild.

Hello all ! First ,with a heavy heart , i need to express my condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Alex whitacker who sudden past away just now ...Even though we weren't friends for years i will miss this man.Whenever i was in the UK for flying or a show , he always came to me to say hi ! Once , i was driving to The Orme with no place to stay for the night , he offered me one .I'm very sorry now i didn't take that offer...It would have been a chance to get to now better ''our'' fotographer ALEX'' AL'' WHITACKER !! Bleu skies , calm waters and the perfect light would be the perfect reward for him. RIP Alex , I'll never forget you. Life goes on as they say so here's the report of glueing the first two wingshells together: I cleaned up the mould halves and the wingshells, gave them a coat of wax and a thin coat of pva to prevent the exess glue sticking to them. Pushed the shells back into their mould and blowed everything dustfree with compressed air ,ready to glue ! I made up 80 gr epoxy resin mixed with 40 gr hardener and a lot of cotton flakes and microballoons to get a non dripping glue and spreaded it with a tipless candy bag over the ribs and every touching point. Nothing left to do then closing the moulds and bolt them together. There is nothing more you can do now ,not even check the fit ,hate it !! After a night curing i opened the coffin again to find a perfect half fouga wing !After a good clean up i'm pleased with the result ! It weighed in at 1286 gr where i expected round 1500gr. clean seams too ! enjoy ! See you later for the second wing !

This weekend's maiden flights - my venerable Vmar Ju52, which has been wrapped in bubble wrap for at least twelve years, but finally took to the skies on Sunday. She flew like a big trainer - loads of wing area and easy ROG - really nice to fly. Picture credits Derek Robertson = thanks Derek!

I had another practice taxi test today at the field. The wind was moderate to gusty and the direction was from the south which meant using the short er runway but at least the wind was right down the runway. I had earlier checked that the model ran straight on a tarmac area. The rudder travel was adjusted as Richard suggested. Putting on half rudder for the first taxi run made it much easier to control. On the second run I managed to keep it down the middle and made the decision to continue the take-off. She flew off perfectly with only some right aileron trim needed. The gear retracted ok and soon it was time to think about the landing. I dialled in some flap expecting a trim change in pitch but none needed and in fact there seemed to none needed with full flap which was a pleasant surprise. Landing was affected a bit by the gusts but helped by Paul’s advice to keep some power on. Absolutely delighted to find such good flying qualities and to have finally completed the first flight! Thanks to all on the forum for the sharing of tips and advice and to Richard for such a fine design. Gordon P.S. the sheep were trespassing on the other runway.

I knew Alex very well, well he certainly knew me! Strange to think when I spoke to him last, know what we talked about, the day (at Shuttleworth), what he was doing(Having tea in his command module) before going away to another venue the next day. Also his voice, what he sounded like, but that is no more, all the past events and meetings that Alex and I had, are now living in my memory, with me until I depart this world. Makes you think about mortality - do this whilst you can, you never know when i might end. Alex did, always busy, till the last...

The Boulton Paul Defiant had its maiden flight at last 12th. July. the model flew great well pleased

I have had this model for a number of years, but yesterday was the day. Maiden went well, a few clicks of down and right and big loops and rolls were the order of the day. VQ/Hobbyking Sea Hurricane. RCGF Stinger 10cc rear exhaust two stroke petrol. FrSky X20 with R8PRO 8ch RX 5x 6.5kg standard metal gear digital servo`s

3rd model maidened in the last month - I’ve been catching up on building which was delayed by bad health last year! This one is an ASH26 from Composite RC Gliders, 1/6th scale at 3m wingspan and mostly carbon fibre. After being set up exactly to the instruction sheet flew off without requiring any trim adjustments. Very happy with its performance in 15kt wind and the wing has both flaps and spoilers which were very effective in slowing it down for landing.

Second in line was my E-Flite 1,2m P-39 Airacobra, which really lived up to the cliché of flying on rails, with not a click of trim needed. Derek really captured these two models well and I'm delighted with the pictures.

Here's my Eyelash. Not exactly new, I built it in 1975(!) from a MAN article and plan, (which I still have) and flew it extensively then over the next few years in Bermuda. Powered by a Cox TD.049, it was fast, with no throttle on the TD! A miniature Pattern plane, it was a very small version of the .60 powered Eyeball, 0-0-0set up, exciting to fly. I remember a 50 turn power on spin from a height that I could just see it (it's very small- good eyesight required!) Anyway, we returned home, the Eyelash went into the loft, in lieu of other models, and I only brought it out a year ago, after a 20+ years period when I was too busy working to fly. I now had entered the new mystic world of electric motors and lipos! So, on advice, the TD was hauled out, and replaced with a (Banggood) cheap and cheerful 2212 2200kv electric motor on a 1300mah 3s battery and a 6x4 prop. Wingspan 38 1/4" Area 215sq in Weight 24oz. Ace rigid foam wings, with fibreglass tape top and bottom. Solarfilm finish Well it flies as I remember it, with the added luxury of a throttle! It's fast! On flying it again, it still requires quick reflexes- and good eyesight, but it behaves perfectly, like the small pattern model that it is.

Byron has completed this project and it has been very rewarding. The aircraft looks great and was well worth all the hard work. It is now electric as it was easier to fit the motor in the narrow cowl. The test flight was done in poor conditions and has been posted on you tube under 1/4 scale Macchi 72 test flight. I hope someone clever can post the link as I could not figure it out. We chose to do the test flight there as it would be easier to locate the parts if it did not go well! Lucky all went well. The painting is now complete and flown again off our local dam to test for a float fly to be held in 2 weeks time.

Hi All, It's photo time I gave her some legs, scaled up from the Airfix kit, static only Meet the crew We had our club meeting last night and instead of our usual venue we held it at the patch and I took up the Sunderland. She created a lot of interest. Another model to add to the list awaiting a maiden flight. hopefully it won't be too long but will have to wait a little as I have an issue with my transmitter, no screen text. I hope you all have enjoyed the build as much as I have That's all for now regards Robert

Finally got to fly the barnstormer from the mass build a few years ago,it's really pleasant to fly and looked great doing loops and stall turns in the blue sky Also got to maiden the powerhouse leaks a bit !

Hi all ! After getting the aileron halves free from their moulds , i made up the internals to support the horn , hinge tube , additional hinge and side reinforcements The second foto shows the gap in the hinge tube to accept the third hinge point Closing the two halves is always very satisfying as it gives you a new part ! Drilling the holes for the hinge tubes in the wing is very time consuming as it determens the position of the aileron. I decided , when i designed the wings , that the aileron would need a third hinge point close to the horn. The position is provided in the wing. I made a support out of polyester board , dubbled up and fitted it in the wing and aileron. This system leaves a gap in the aileron but is often seen with hidden hinges. This was the last post before my vacation ! Happy holidays !! See you !!

That might just be acceptable on a laptop but would be disastrous on a smartphone. I really struggle to see - other than as a matter of principle to some - how these occasional adverts, which can be skimmed past in an instant, are causing such angst.

My Flightline P-38 Lightning, which has been sitting in it's box for a few months but which I assembled last week for the club Scale comp in the ARTF/RTF category. I say assembly rather than built as the only gluing was the tips of the horizontal stabiliser and the plastic cover for the massive number of leads in the wiring loom under the wings. The attention to detail and quality of fit and finish of these Flightline models is a step above earlier generations of foamies, the major airframe components are pretty much finished off and assembly is a matter of a few screws into hard points. Photo credit Derek Robertson -no maiden flight as yet, but I'll follow up with some flying shots when that happens.

There is no good thing about adverts between posts, they simply should not be there.

This forum may be free, but it is still first and foremost a commercial enterprise. As a wise man once said, if you’re not paying for the product, you are the product. Ads are undoubtedly critical to this sites existence, so if you do enable an ad blocker or leave to post elsewhere be aware of what that could mean in the long run. Remember what has happened to many UK forums in the past, most notably RCMF, who couldn’t cover their costs. Is there even an “ad-free” alternative anyway at this point? I’m not aware of one. If we all want a free, UK focussed, general RC model flying forum to be available long into the future then a few ads are worth stomaching IMO.

Managed to get Alan's Spitfire down to the Golf club for some pictures today . There is always room to improve , but I think we are getting to the point where the photos are quite convincing . I think we should give ourselves a pat on the back when we get to the final result especially when we compare our modelling with that of the plastic construction world . After all , ours have to actually fly ! Rabbit Leader getting impatient for start up :

Jemina

The news of Alex's passing filtered through to BMFA Buckminster on Saturday morning during our centenary weekend and the WarBirds Fly In. We had anticipated Alex would be with us on Friday so the news was received with shock and universal sadness. Later in the morning Ian Pallister, Chair of the BMFA, gave a warm tribute and we held a minutes silence to remember Alex, his family and close friends. Alex has made an enormous contribution to model flying through his photography, journalistic skills and warmth of character. His great report in RCM&E, which arrived this morning, on the Indoor Free Flight Scale Nationals reminded me of the last time we spoke and laughed together. He will be greatly missed for so many reasons. Very sad. Paul Hoey Chair of the BMFA Centenary Planning Group

Finished this plan built Chris Golds Kawasaki KI-61 yesterday, waiting to maiden it later this week. 36" span electric on a 1300mah 3s, flying weight is 1lb 1 oz.

Personally I'd rather have an ad in between the posts that I can easily scroll past, versus a pair of sidebars that massively narrow the area reading the posts and pictures that I enjoy. That was one of the things which detracted from the old forum, the real estate occupied by ads in sidebars. I don't use Adblockers as I fully recognise that a free to use forum needs to generate revenue to support it and I have no issue with that.

I have been away without email / phone for the last two weeks and quite literally just found out so like everyone else I am truly shocked. Alex was a friend and colleague and i have worked (if you could call it that) on so many occasions over the last 20 years. His passion overflowed for model flying and this shone through in his writing and personality and to say he will be a loss to the magazine and the model flying community would be an understatement. I have very fond memories of photo shoots of some of my designs with Alex shouting at me 'lower' , 'slower' ; it was always such good fun and i will miss that so much. I have done the occasional show and event as a photo journalist so have a true appreciation of the effort and skills required and Alex taught me so much over the years. I can't believe he has gone so swiftly. He will be forever with me I am sure as will he be with so many others. My deepest condolences to his family, friends and everybody whose lives were touched and marked by him. Lindsay & Sandra

As you probably already got an idea of how to hinge the flaps and ailerons ?? yes ,with a hinge pin over the total lenght , one for flaps , one for ailerons. The only (and major) problem is : drilling the holes for the hinge tubes in the wing... I had to think this one over !! Special jobs require special tools , so i made a 60cm drill dia 5mm.(!) the first hole , on the inner side of the wing was easy : drilling from the outside To drill the second hole , i made a template on the first hole and used this to guide the long drill Exelent result ! Great step forward wich gives me peace of mind as i didn't know this hinge system would work when i made the wing plugs ! Next few weeks i have to prepair my gliders for a holiday in Switzerland !! Happy holidays !!

And some more.

My Double Trouble and ASP61FS. No cowl yet - to be fitted when: a. I am happy with the engine / model match b. engine is tuned. Can't be maidened until our landlord cuts his wheat crop Think I'll finish my P47 next (have stolen the engine from my MiniPlane for the DT above...)

As the weather has been so hot I asked the Hermes deliver driver if he’d like a bottle of water. “Love one”, he said. So I drop kicked it over next doors fence and said, "I’ve left it in a designated safe place for you, mate".

Woo-hoo, I am a dinosaur. I wonder if there is a badge or a T-shirt available for other dinosaurs to wear to show our pride.

Yesterday somebody told me that Dwarf jokes are politically incorrect, but Hey-Ho.

Hello All I am the new Publisher of the title, so thought I would add some thoughts to this post. We don't want to change your experience, but we must also recognise that this forum is free to use but not free to run. So at this stage we are promoting the magazine that this forum is built around. We very much hope that this will help increase our membership and therefore ensure that we keep this resource free. I know how important that this forum is and therefore, we will tread carefully - so rest assured changes will be minimal and researched. We will also ensure that we listen to what is said here and adapt as needed. So, in summary I really hope you don't find the change to problematic, understand why we are doing it and keep talking as we will listen and act if needed. If I can ask 3 things, please fill in the RCM&E survey as this will help with how we take the magazine and forum forward. Secondly, why not have a look at setting up a membership on www.classicmagazines.co.uk, we would love you to enjoy the full experience of what we are doing. If a full membership it not for you at the moment, you can buy single copies here: www.classicmagazines.co.uk/issue/RCM Finally, our advertising partners are essential to our success - please support them where you can. They also play a huge part in keeping things free. Regards Steve

That’s interesting. Some time ago, I wrote a feature on the Supermarine Spiteful/Seafang and the 1/10 scale model I had designed and built. David Ashby was interested and I sent a copy of the plan and a wooden pattern for the canopy, but he said the flying photos weren’t high enough resolution. Danny Fenton very kindly came along to the field to take some pictures, but I got nervous and flew it into the hard runway in a low pass that he asked for and did some damage! Danny said that the pictures he had got weren’t good enough anyway. I did repair it later, but haven’t flown it since. Perhaps I should have another go, but I don’t have an answer to the photo issue.