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Finally managed to get the maiden done on my Beaufighter today. Went really well, flies really nice and a peach of a landing!

2 of my favourite photos of my 110 expertly clicked by good mate Kev. Just goes to show that a ‘proper’ colour scheme is not essential imo.

Yes look what I managed to do yesterday! The mower I borrowed from my neighbour wasn’t ideal as it was quite heavy and not a self propel , but my petrol mower would be too scary and heavy for the immediate future

I thought that I may as well share this with you all. I met Andrew White at the Rochdale indoor flying meeting as well as having a chat with him I took some pictures of his fantastic models including The HP42. Steve.

Klasskote paint and catalyst finally arrived and yesterday was both warm and dry for a change; ideal for cranking up my old dental compressor. Spray gun is a £30 1.00mm nozzle gravity fed job from Amazon. I am told that Hellcats in dark navy blue came out of the factory in a full gloss finish. My Minsi 3 is a restored flying Hellcat and also has an immaculate finish. For the main colour I have used 7:3 parts of gloss and satin catalyst as full gloss is just a bit OTT for me. Looking forward to adding all the insignia which will be sprayed through masks using an airbrush and SMS model acrylic paint.

Anyone interested in a build thread? This will be Typhoon no2 for me, the first one i lost after an engine failure 3 years ago. Pic below. Laser 155 engine Original BT cowl, canopy and spinner. I salvaged the original retracts, pilot, exhaust stacks, but that was about it. I've built a new retractable tail wheel assembly, lighter and better than the previous one. I

If I am allowed to post pictures of C/L models. Two pictures of recently completed Junior Ringmaster. Engine is an MVVS .12. A quite heavy engine and one that requires pressure feed to run right. Something that I discovered yesterday when I wanted to fly it for the global Ringmaster flyathon. Have changed the engine now to an OS 15 FP and have saved around an ounce of weight. About half an ounce lighter engine and removed half an ounce from tail weight. Hope to fly it next weekend

Been downloading Pictures from my camera and I truly believe this one summed up the day....

Video today . Wind 10mph most of the time . Flown at half throttle max . 6lb weight . Underside is improvised for prototype testing . VIDEO-2024-09-24-19-47-15.mp4 VIDEO-2024-09-24-19-47-04 (2).mp4 VIDEO-2024-09-24-19-47-38.mp4

My 100" Lancaster . Looks real and with sound system quite convincing . 26lb so rock steady on a calm day .

Paul Johnson sent me a load of shots . Wont bore you with them too much but here's a couple . I think there were about eight 190s up .

And this is what Brian drives now

Remarkably calm today (Monday 14th) so I took the opportunity to fly my XPS Black Arrows Hawker Hunter F6. Made from 5mm XPS laminate underlay with no reinforcement anywhere so at 16oz is light for its 33" span. It has a rather power hungry but super smooth QX50mm EDF and a modest 1800mAh 3s. Fortunately it flies well including loops and rolls at a good bit less than full power. Easy hand launch, 3 minute flight, no damage.

Paul took some shots of the mass WB flight . I think there was eight in the air . Mostly , as you see 190s . Turns out that Paul is not a bad snapper . Who'd have thought ? I particularly like the one with three in . No set up , just a tail chase .

Great day and great display from Chris Walby and Ron. Was a bit windy but it didn’t stop the flying . Even some great WW1 formations and of course the full Warbirds replicas fleet. Was great to meet quite a few forum members in the very friendly atmosphere, and I enjoyed flying my Chipmunk.

Subject: Work vs. Prison Just in case you ever got the two mixed up. This should make things a bit more clear. IN PRISON... you spend the majority of your time in an 8’ X 10’ cell. AT WORK... you spend the majority of your time in a 6’ X 8’ cubicle. IN PRISON... you get three meals a day. AT WORK... you only get a break for one meal and you pay for it. IN PRISON... you get time off for good behaviour. AT WORK... you get more work for good behaviour. IN PRISON... the guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you. AT WORK... you must carry around a security card and open all the doors for yourself. IN PRISON... you can watch TV and play games. AT WORK... you get fired for watching TV and playing games. IN PRISON... you get your own toilet. AT WORK... you have to share with some idiot, who pees on the seat. IN PRISON... they allow your family and friends to visit. AT WORK... you can't even speak to your family. IN PRISON... all expenses are paid by the taxpayers with no work required. AT WORK... you get to pay all the expenses to go to work and then they deduct taxes from your salary to pay for prisoners. IN PRISON... you spend most of your life inside bars wanting to get out. AT WORK... you spend most of your time wanting to get out and go inside bars. So why is it again that we work?

Well it’s official, book it in your diaries now, 1st-3rd August. There will be some ‘special’ additions to the fun so keep coming back here to find out!!!

This is a recurrent & depressing topic but one observation I've made over & over is how many are totally fixated one one small sub-genre of R/C, never straying outside their niche. We see it at our club - flyers who will only fly jets - "anything else is a toy" - others who will only fly big petrol 3D models, wouldnt be seen dead with an 'ordinary' model. Some who will fly nothing but scale - "your Wot4 isnt a real aeroplane". And "gliders? Pfft. No engine?" - and so on. Terry's novelty models are amazing, Dumbo the flying elephant, the Witch on her broomstick, Superman, etc but try as he might he cannot get anyone to even try a novelty model. How many here have flown a model rocket? When did you last fly C/L? Its frequently electric now!!! Drones. Yes, they've caused us some difficulties, but they're here to stay and flying one 'for real' really helps develop orientation skills. This self-imposed tunnel-vision is an unfortunate limitation - although its a minority hobby, there are a gazillion avenues to explore. At least a gazillion, maybe more 🙂 Locally across several clubs in the area we've coaxed a lot more into our slope soaring group, including many first-timers - all loving it. The Retro R/C scene shows no sign of slowing - the completeness of flying a 1970s model with a Merco and a Skyleader radio is unbeatable! 🙂 R/C-oriented homebrew electronics is also on the up, it doesnt have to be complicated to be satisfying, and its so easy to share now. And of course our roots - single-channel and Reeds. More than anything, all this is brain food, you never stop learning. Maybe we have too much choice, maybe the options are bewildering - but trying something different to your regular Sunday hack really can be an eye-opener, and ultimately, maybe expand the hobby! 🙂 [/2p] Cheers Phil

With the couple of recent worst/best engine threads over the last week, I took a rummage in the attic for the woeful RCV-58, thankfully it was not found but I did re-discover a forgotten BNIB Irvine 39 from about 22 years ago! Cinderella moment or what! Quick ARTF build Friday night, into the early hours of Saturday morning. Purring to perfection after x3 tanks, lovely on a 10x6 and will make a great low wing trainer for the boys.

A man walks into a library and asks for a book on different levels of noise. The librarian says, "Sure, what volume would you like?

Just doing a bit of playful formation flying with Dickie Scarborough. My one is the Spitfire. Obviously someone else took the piccie.

Tail plane almost completed, typical BT design. Just the elevators to profile, hollow out and hinging.

As the subject of its own thread (which may not be everyone's cup of tea), this is still technically my new model, especially having had its maiden flight yesterday. Strange Quark Mk2.

Well I’m on the journey back home, a bit tired but extremely happy at the way the weekend has gone. Thanks to all of you who came along, it’s you guys that really made this celebration of the best of British exactly that. I’m sure that lots more photos will appear so keep them coming, I know Danny took a lot so hopefully we may get to see some of them. But here are a few that sums up the event! Homeward bound Journey break (he needed the loo)

A good day today... a good bunch. Having chance to put faces to forum names and answer questions well one mostly... when's the Mosquito going to be ready?

Peg em out on the line, do not Iron.

Check your trouser pockets......

Glenn , That's correct . I aim to bring the prototype to Buckminster next weekend (unless a freak wind exterminates it this week ) . Its not the kit version , but a proving model and it has , so far , flown very nicely . It will be a lot of work to turn this one into the Mossie I want to offer , as I've always felt that this extraordinary design with its unique history really deserves the full nine yards . But it is important to me , that this Mosquito is actually a practical solution to what is quite a challenging subject . With that in mind , this will not be the usual "put your hands up , who wants one " (although I will offer it to our gang initially ) , rather an on going, continually stocked item . Consequently , in case anyone who is outside of our Forum wants one , then there will be a proper colour glossy manual , more like the Spitfire . Ive flown a few Mosquito's and observed many more and learnt quite a bit about taming the thoroughbred along the way . I think its history is really the ultimate British Aircraft and that is saying something among its peer group . But some of the exploits , in particular the low level pin point attacks on Gestapo and other security force strongholds in occupied Europe , quite beyond what almost any other aircraft and crew were asked to do . One pilot on TV just this morning was saying that on the approach to Amiens Prison , he flew down the approach beside poplar trees at 12ft , and as he swept over the prison glued to his leaders tail , he looked up at the sentry in a short tower who was looking down at him in disbelief ! What a pilot , what a plane ! The new design is 65" span and will have flaps /retracts (available from us ) and a space for a sound system . I hope it will be quick "ish build ", with lots of my usual tricks to get you there fast .

The flying events season started for me this year at the end of April with a trip up to Loch Earn, so it seemed appropriate to bring it to a close at the same venue some 6 months later. The forecast was poor for Friday, good for Saturday and dreadful for Sunday but I reasoned that driving up on Friday and staying overnight would give me a chance for a full day's flying on Saturday before driving back in the evening. This was the view from my car on Friday afternoon when I arrived at Loch Earn: Luckily, a brief weather window appeared about an hour later so I was able to get in one flight with the Skipper before the rain returned: Even better was Saturday morning. This was the view when I went down for breakfast at 8am: I was joined by 4 other Englishmen who had managed to evade the border patrols: @Merry Mark and his son Seb, "Geordie" John and "Northstar" Phil. Mark and I flew sorties with our matching Valiants while Seb went out in the rescue boat, John took the record for the most touch-and-goes and Phil had a ball with his Northstars. I also flew my DB Sea Stormer which was maidened here in April and has now racked up 36 flights at various waterplane events this year: It wasn't all a bed of roses though, as my Skipper was brutally attacked by Phil's Northstar when he joined Mark, John and me in a mini "Skipperfest": Luckily the all debris was collected from the lake so it should be an easy fix and back in the air again soon. We found a section of a prop blade embedded in the underside of the Northstar so Phil didn't get away with it completely! My thanks go to Caroline and the team at Loch Earn who always make us feel welcome and put on a great, laid-back event with plenty of amusing banter. I'm already looking forward to going back again next season!

Beautiful conditions this morning - blue skies, sunny, flat calm. The car said it was 4 degrees and we had a ground frost, but it was very pleasant in the sun. With the indoor season approaching my main mission for the morning was to fly most of the indoor fleet to see if it was okay for the gym. The results were a bit of a mixture - the wee sub 100mah 1s cells are all pretty tired and in the cold the Sopwith Pup and SE5a barely had enough power to get out of their own way. My rarely flown UMX Spitfire IX had a short flight -it's much more scale than my Volantex warbirds and fully aerobatic, but sorry, it's just not as much fun. The EFlite B-17 250mah batteries had completely given up the ghost and this afternoon I've replaced those horrible EFlite 1s connectors on the B-17 and Flyzone SE5a, to let them be used with 400mah 1s Volantex cells. Bob flew his lovely GWS Tiger Moth and Two Bob had a maiden flight of his WM Groovy pattern ship e-conversion, which flew really well until an unfortunate meeting with the electric fence tore off the motor mount - readily repairable and the Groovy is bound to be a favourite. Another outing for my wee Me262 which is now completely sorted and grooves around very nicely - pretty quick but also fully aerobatic. Bob and I took turns to fly the 262 whilst each of us had a stab at grabbing some pictures. All in all a perfect morning,

After assessing the damage this afternoon I realised that it might be repairable as the damage was not as bad as first thought. The fuselage was in 6 pieces but all quite big with clean breaks. After a few hours, some contact adhesive and cocktail sticks it now looks like this. need some filling and a repaint but will fly again.

I flew my Warbird Replicas FW190 a few weeks ago at Buckminster, and as my landing gear was temporarily kaput Ron Gray kindly offered the loan of his very impressive dolly - 3d printed parts and carbon (?) tubes. It was so much better than my sketchy dolly - which with the increased size of the Bearcat versus the FW190 definitely wasn't up to the jop. I got only about one successful takeoff from every three attempts, and the plane was picking up some damage from the failures. So - a couple of hours got me version two. A stiffer wooden structure, bigger wheels, 3d printed wheel carriers and foam board wing supports. The good news is that this worked perfectly! I was able to have several great flights in the light winds - problem solved! Now I can just enjoy flying the Bearcat without worrying about how I'm going to get airborne.

Yes, a great day out and really enjoyed meeting and chatting to the fellow forumites. I was too busy flying and talking to take many pictures but here's a general view of the pits in the morning, with my small selection (RV-4, Spitfire, Wot4 and Vulcan) in the foreground. There were many superb models present (which I'm sure others will share photos of later) but I was quite taken by this giant KK Falcon, just 151" wingspan. Electric-powered with 2 large batteries, flight times were in excess of an hour!

This is not a new model but a total refurb of my Rex which was built 15 years ago so worthy of posting here. A total recover, new blades and electronics. It's had a small trimming flight and I hope to completely sort it over the weekend. Takes a little longer to nail as it has 2 blades and no horizontal stabiliser.

Sorry Richard and Paul - I like a challenge and struggle to just build a kit as is - so here goes with my attempt at turning the WR Tempest kit into a Sea Fury. Studying the comparative fuselage shapes the key difference to achieve the rotary engine nose is a wider fuselage to enable a blend into the appropriate cowl diameter, a longer nose and then a raised top deck / canopy. After a few sketches and lots of head scratching, I decided to widen the fuselage crutch mating into wider formers F1, 2, 3, and then to increase the height and 'ovalise' the top deck formers. I initially planned a completely built up balsa cowl from (a new) F1 forward - but that didn't work (more on that later ) so then after lots more head scratching - built a frame forward of F1, added a new ring former and sourced an FW190 cowl from Richard which happened to be exactly the right diameter (phew). Have to say that even these simple mods were challenging (thinking / realising in 3 dimensions) and reinforced how skilled our kit designers are . Unfortunately my phone crashed catastrophically so I've lost a lot of the early build photos, but these give an idea of the build In this underside view you can just see the tapered balsa width extensions on the longitudinal fuselage crutch I built up the makings of a balsa cowl .......was dead chuffed as the shape appeared, but clearly pressed a bit too hard with the sanding block and the whole think exploded !! So then built a frame and additional ring former ahead of the new F1 and sheeted this (1mm ply on underside around a solid shaped balsa block to improve landing support (no retracts) and balsa sheeting higher up. New formers above crutch to reshape nose deck for hatch. Hatch and crutch width increase shown again Increased height top deck shown - Had to add additional thicker sheet(s) to rear deck to achieve a matching height - otherwise fuz rear is same as Tempest Starting to look Sea Fury ish. Wings kept the same as the Tempest - tailplane will be the same but the fin will be reshaped adding more height. More to come as it progresses