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A quick post to share the 3 projects I've been working on recently, or rather most of the last 12 months. I have been away from the hobby for far too long! The largest of the 3 is a Castle Models "Hercules", designed originally as an 35mm SLR camera ship or glider tug. It lived in an attic for 40 years until I completely rebuilt and recovered it during lockdown 1. Thanks to Peter Miller for identifying it and sharing his original review in RCM&E. It was built from foam covered veneer which had completely delaminated over the years. As such, I reskinned it and covered it in Deluxe Materials glass cloth and D.M Eze Kote. Also occupying the same attic space for 40 years was this Cambria Instructor, the smaller of the 3 planes. 15 year old me only partly completed it, so 4 decades later, it was about time to finish it. Traditional balsa and ply fuselage and foam core wings. The fuselage and tail surfaces are covered in doped on Diatex (from SkyCraft) and the wings are covered in glass cloth with Easy Composites laminating epoxy. Last but not least is a new SLEC Sky 40. Fully built up wings with balsa and ply fuselage. Probably the most satisfying build, as I have learned I'm not a fan of foam. I followed Guðjón Ólafsson's Sky 40 build log on YouTube as it was extremely helpful. All three are brush painted in KlassKote epoxy paint from Fighter Aces who could not have been more helpful. Since all three are glow fuel IC powered I didn't want to worry about fuel proofing and this paint system seems to fit the bill 100%. It's a delight to work with and all three models were completed with just one 1/2 pint can of red and one 1/2 pint can of white. A little goes a long way! These models were meant to be learning exercises where I've tried to bring myself up to date, but all I seem to have done is to decide I still love the smell of cellulose dope and thinners! As such, my next project will also be fully built up balsa, doped on Diatex and then spray painted KlassKote. No prizes for guessing what that will be, all you have to do is look at the paint scheme I have been practising to know what it is! All being well, it will be started next week and I can't wait to start. Last but not least, a massive thanks to the Tadcaster Model Flying Club for all the help and advice getting these models back in/to the flying condition, not to mention teaching me to fly again! Regards to all......

Ok so another couple of months have past and i am cracking along to finish of the Moth build, it has not been the most enjoyable of builds due to the poor fit in a number of areas, this is no reflection on the current D.B laser cut kits, by all account they are a great fit with good wood selection. My guess is that this kit dates back to the 70`s by the box and sparse instructions, the ply parts are also delaminating with age! These disappointing areas have caused me to lose interest on several occasions and push it to one side for long periods, i am sure it will look the business once finished and fly great as all the D.B Moths do. I have a couple of kits i am itching to get on with but i am determined to finish the Moth before i get going on something else otherwise it will never get finished! A lot of work has been done in the last few days and construction WILL be finished by the end of next weekend and covering will then be started, i enjoy that bit so i am only a week away. I rested the top wing onto the cabane assembly to get a bit of inspiration, it is starting to look like a bipe now.

Made the trip to cocklebarrow today, 330 mile round trip, it's the first time for a long time and it's the only time I've ever flown there when there's been next to no wind, thermals in abundance and my southerner major dead sticked as I ran out of fuel that's a first for me. Lovely landing if I say it myself but that's always the way with dead sticks. It was the first time the os 52 surpass had been run for many years, probably around 10 so I was pleased it lasted, but that's always the way with OS isn't it.

Ron, the timing on the page listed is wrong for the 150v. Its a half tooth different (tooth in the middle of the lobe lobe not a space) so you need a count of 6 not 7 on the inlet cam. Call me if you like, it might be easier to explain. Last effort on this nose up thing. It does not revel tuning errors. It simply does not do this, anyone saying so is incorrect. im not trying to be rude, its just a fact. If the engine is running flat out in a level condition and holding power (good long blast to check it), it is tuned correctly. If it stops for some reason, the problem is not the tuning. Most of my models will fail the nose up test. I have tried it out of idle curiosity and got bored after they all failed or at the very least faltered. As all of the failed models fly perfectly, it again demonstrated the pointlessness of the whole thing. To everyone saying engines are hard to tune...they arent. Yes i tune mine to the last ounce of their performance, but getting an engine to 98% peak is easy for anyone. I forget who posted saying it, but there is a band where you can go rich or lean on the needle with no effect on the engine. Anywhere in this range is fine and its very easy to find it. Setting slow runners is easy too if the proper method is used. I have even considered doing a video of a tuning speed run. Main and slow run needles removed from the carb and sat on the bench. How long to install them, start the engine and tune for max power with no factory settings to work from. I think it can be done in 2 minutes just by listing to the response of the engine and making adjustments as we go. If i can do it in 2, everyone else can do it in 5 surely. takeoff fuel surge. I used to hand launch one of my models. Got more acceleration than a normal roll and didnt quit. Usually failures connected to fuel surge are not that at all and its back to slapdash tuning done on a cold engine. Engines take time to warm up and they cannot be accurately tuned when cold. Tank placement can also be another root cause. The test does no harm...other than running engines rich all the time, making them messy, prone to rusting, less economical and less reliable. All the things people moan about when it comes to glow engines. Also, and this is not intended as an insult to anyone, the level of understanding of engine operation within the hobby seems to be at rock bottom and i have noticed a sharp drop in the 10 years i have been at laser. Some of the questions i get at work blow my mind. It seems a great many people got either very poor, or no instruction on model engine operation when they were being taught to fly. All they got was the modelling folklore lecture just passing on the same bad advice the instructor was given way back when. If there is to be any hope of raising this level of knowledge we must weed out these old and incorrect assertions regarding model engine operation. Every time they are repeated the whole thing just keeps going. Please dont be afraid to ask questions, im not judging people who dont know, but please follow the advice given and not run everything past the 'club expert'. After all, if he had all the answers why ask me in the first place ? I am an expert and posses skills beyond those of mortal men...no, just no. Nothing i do is beyond the ability of anyone else armed with the right knowledge and operating practices. Yes i have great experience, but none of what i do is hard and there are shortcuts you can take to get the result without having to know all the in's and out's. Getting the thing installed correctly, with the tank right, the cooling etc. Get all that done and you are 90% there. Its not black magic, just simple steps.

Really nice work Peter ? but I I am sure there is one missing ?

Evening all - I'm running behind schedule again... ? I made the most of the good weather today by recording the race, going flying this afternoon, and finally a 52 km bike ride before watching the recording of the race. So after all that, let's see how we all scored today! Pos League Rank Team Manager Pts 1 4 1 Igoronic racing iqon 192 2 2 0 GASTON Formula Chris McG 184 3 5 1 Oyster f1 Glenn Philbrick 182 4 6 1 Team Charles Picd Charles Pic 179 5 1 0 Pitts Specials john stones 175 6 3 0 Essex Racing Tony Clark 170 7 8 1 Revers Racing Pete B 128 8 12 0 The JP Specials johnpflyrc 121 9 9 1 teewrex John Tee 120 10 11 0 Norfolk Flyers Kevin Fairgrieve 113 11 7 1 PSS Power Flyer 110 12 10 0 Torque of the devil Stu 98 13 13 0 DMFC Racing Team Simon Webb 77 Today's top scorer is Iqon on an impressive 192 points. Next up is Chris on 184 points and Glenn takes third, only 2 points back on 182. Well done to today's top three! Has John S done enough today with his 175 points to hold off Chris? Let's find out! Pos League Rank Team Manager Pts 1 1 0 Pitts Specials john stones 1894.0 2 2 0 GASTON Formula Chris McG 1848.5 3 3 0 Essex Racing Tony Clark 1691.5 4 4 1 Igoronic racing iqon 1683.5 5 5 1 Oyster f1 Glenn Philbrick 1674.5 6 6 1 Team Charles Picd Charles Pic 1622.5 7 7 1 PSS Power Flyer 1577.5 8 8 1 Revers Racing Pete B 1536.0 9 9 1 teewrex John Tee 1534.5 10 10 0 Torque of the devil Stu 1489.0 11 11 0 Norfolk Flyers Kevin Fairgrieve 1477.5 12 12 0 The JP Specials johnpflyrc 1371.5 13 13 0 DMFC Racing Team Simon Webb 1240.0 There's a few mid-table place swaps, but the top three are unaffected by today's result. John S holds first place from Chris, but with a slightly reduced gap. Tony holds third. Behind them though there's a flurry of changes... Iqon's win today is enough to take him up to 4th, displacing Glenn down to 5th. Charles moves up to 6th at the expense of Ade who slips to 7th, and finally Pete moves above John T - by the slender margin of 1.5 points - to take 8th, moving John down to 9th. The remaining places remain unchanged. It was good to see a return to racing today, rather than a procession behind the safety car! Next up is Imola next weekend. Don't forget your predictions!

Very nice, back in the day I learnt on a Cambria Instructor, initially a 3 channel and then 4 channel, great flier. The 3 channel wing was flat bottomed, but the 4 channel changed section from flat at the root to semi symmetrical at the wing tips.

Very nice. ?

The Parkzone P-47 wasn't really on my radar, though my Parkzone Spitfire is probably my most flown model. However on mf the guys I chat to online had been raving about how it was the best PZ model - but discontinued, I searched for one for a while then pretty well give up. Once I stopped searching one showed up online and was brand new in the box - the parts were still in their sealed plastic bags. I'm so impressed with the Thunderbolt - the sit in the air is great and, like the FW190 doesn't seem to want to hit the desk -dive at the field and she levels out on her own. Pretty quick on a 3 cell pack too -definitely a real favourite now.

Super model, what these guys do is so impressive. Great knowledge, nice fella. Was at elvington and saw it, tough conditions, hats off.

Hi all the site is quite easy to find the nearest post code is DE61LR which will get you to the lane our entrance is off the name of which I can imagine is the only one in uk Ladyhole Lane, our site entrance is on the left about 1/2 a mile after turning in from the A53 Ashbourne to Derby road for those new to site we have a large ashphalt runway also a large grass patch tell yer mares it’s gonna be a good un chris

Great photos and well done gettinh all the refurbs done, with successful flying! I have the same P47, snorting Bull, it is one of my fabourites to fly, really docile and looks great in the air!

Putting in a liteply tray to hold lipo will replace any lost strength. I have found it's so easy to cut holes into liteplay tray for connector and velcro straps BEFORE fitting and a lot harder after! I cut spare holes in case lipo goes in wires front or wires back. ( Liteply can be cut with a stanley knife)

Hound Dog will be test flown today. It is the best day for months.

I use Thixofix impact adhesive. You can find that aliphatic or other similar glues may take quite a while or dry in the middle of the joint area. Test flying Hound Dog today!!!!

Hi , Here is my Video of the Gyroo, Here in Manchester we get the best of all the weather conditions so we have to live with it. The Blades I used for this test flight are 650mm x 55mm although shorter than specified by Richard they work well. Cheers Steve.

Tim it would be great to see you chris

Flair Legionnaire maidened yesterday it was modiified to look like a Nieuport 27 with inspiration from an old build blog from Geoff2wings. Powered by an OS 48 Surpass and covered with Oratex with painted markings and weathering. it flew OK but needs some down thrust adding but has plenty of power with the 25 year old OS. Next up is an Aeolus 3 slope soarer from the Dave Woods plans probably followed by a Krier Kraft from the Gordon Whitehead plans and I need to do something about my building addiction because I’m running out of space.

First flight on my Smith Mini plane today, bought it second hand and it was obviously built quite a few years ago and had already been converted to electric. I have put a 900kv motor in it on a 3300 4s pack and 11x8.5 APC e prop, performance is good but flight times are only 4 mins on this set up. Handled this breezy conditions very nicely and despite being a portly 6 lbs 2oz it slows up nicely when landing.