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The price of a good quality, glossy magazine that caters to the needs of the users of this forum is £44 per year for print-only subscription. I don't think I want half my subs spent on the BMFA magazine. On top of that, the RCM&E version of the hobby is only one aspect of what the BMFA covers. I value what BMFA does as a governing body, I don't expect the magazine to be all that interesting, but I do expect it to cover some of the administrative (boring but necessary) stuff and have news from across the hobby. A couple of other sport associations I have belonged to updated their magazine offerings and they became even less use by trying to be 'interesting'. As members of any voluntary organisation, I also think that we should remember that there is not really a living breathing entity "the association". Actual people, almost all volunteers, are doing or not doing what we complain about. We too could volunteer, help, and then build the BMFA as what we really want. If I have not got time or inclination to do any more for the BMFA than skim through the magazine, I am profoundly thankful to those that toil away making this all work.

Call me old fashioned but I like the magazine. As an examiner, it keeps me up to speed on all sorts of topics related to our great hobby. I like the "chummy" way it is written. Having editited a magazine in the past, I know how much work goes into producing a copy every month. Well done the bods who put it together, long may it last!.

I must be one of the few that find it interesting. Not many of the articles pertain to my particular branch of the hobby, but I like to see what other people are up to as regards other aspects of the hobby.

Functional struts shaped to profile from spruce and wrapped in self adhesive vinyl. The "Robart" hinges will be bonded in to the hard points under each wing, the plans show modified plastic control horns for the fuselage attachment point, I chose to fit threaded eyes to give me some adjustment: Fuselage has received a first coat of paint, Oracolor brush applied. After it had dried I couldn't resist a quick rig up to see what it all looked like:

Hi Tony As a tyro flyer you will be unaware of the importance of the BMFA to the future of flying. We have just gone through a process leading up to the implementation of Drone :Laws. Had it not been for the BMFA, and their CEO, Dave Phipps, in particular, we would have had our hobby decimated by the rules that now apply to drones as opposed to model aircraft. The BMFA, in conjunction with 3 other model associations, was able to get in front of a parliamentary committee reviewing the implementation of drone laws and then in front of Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, in order to put our case for a differentiation for the operation of model aircraft for sport and recreation purposes, we would have had our sport/hobby pretty much destroyed by the originally proposed drone laws. The BMFA also took the initiative to form a pan-European grouping of their equivalents in all other European countries in order to influence the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) who were responsible for drafting the EU rules on drones. Indeed, Dave Phipps was asked to front up the new organisation and speak to EASA on their behalf. At the time, the UK was still part of the EU and so we would have had exactly those rules. The esteem in which EASA and our own Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) holds the BMFA, and Dave Phipps in particular, is one of the reasons we in the UK have ended up with a situation that is essentially business as usual. It could quite easily have been a very different outcome and you might not have been able to become a tyro flyer quite so easily. Please don't take this as a criticism of you, I am merely trying to explain to you, and to a good many others at the same time, that the BMFA is more than just the provider of insurance for flying model aircraft even though it might not seem so to you. There are a great many other things the BMFA does but I won't bother to go into them at the moment. Returning to the magazine, you should not confuse this with the type of commercial magazine that is represented by RCM&E. BMFA News is the only way that the BMFA has to communicate to all of its members. The magazine is used to distribute information on changes in Air Law, changes in the Achievement Scheme (very topical to you as you will be taking an A test in the not too distant future as part of your being able to fly solo unsupervised - usually a Club ruling and not a BMFA ruling, I might add) vacancies on various BMFA Committees and so on covering all the model aircraft disciplines. As a new comer, and presumably flying radio control fixed wing, you may be unaware of the other disciplines such as Free Flight, which at one stage was all there was! I hope that has helped you to understand that the BMFA is more than just a provider of insurance. If it didn't exist, the sport, or hobby, as we know it would be faced with an existential crisis post the Drone Laws. As it is, you are now able to enjoy the hobby in a way that you would not have been. I hope that has helped you to understand the wider role that the BMFA performs and the rationale behind the magazine. Enjoy your flying.

Microaces supply a complete brushless power system and radio set up, all powered by a single 1S lipo; https://microaces.myshopify.com/collections/brushless-electronics/products/microaces-brushless-1s-electronics-pack I have one of these systems fitted in a 18" Jodel from the Vintage Model Company; https://www.vintagemodelcompany.com/jodel-d-18.html AUW is a shade over 2oz, and the model is cheerfully overpowered. Is this type of thing you're looking for? Tim

Well 6 years on and she's ready! Got fed up of moving the box of wood around so completed the Tiger 72 as one of the winter projects. Whilst under the plan target weight of 10lbs, she is a porker at 9.5lb! Unfortunately I obtained a fibreglass undercarriage from Carbon Copy and this weighs a ton so there is some room for reducing weight. I am worried that the Saito 115 FS I have carefully built the cowl around will struggle to provide enough power. If it doesn't I may have to consider a 2 stroke as I don't have any bigger 4 strokes. Won't be able to maiden for a while because our strip is very rough until dried out and rolled later in the year.

Off the top of my head... The feel of the mag is old fashioned and although I'm over 70 myself, sometimes I think it's aimed at average readers even older than me! Lots of historical photos & articles with pics of Fred Bloggs flying his steam-powered Clodhopper in 1947 - that kind of thing. The fairly regular coverage of social events with elderly/old blokes in DJs handing one another trophies and certificates - it's not the sort of thing I ever associated with flying model aeroplanes, frankly, and I don't want to read about it. (I did buy a DJ myself in the 1970s, a cunning plan to impress a girl. Never wore it after 1978...) The amateurish and deeply unamusing cartoon inside the front page - if nothing more professional and funny is available, scrap it. I've done lots of writing (freelance) and editing in my time - many of the articles are too long, disjointed, and badly need editing. I mean, people lament that too few youngsters get into this hobby, and it could be that one look at the magazine helps to put them off - despite there being a few pictures of young modellers. Added to that, the mag seems very definitely aimed at long-experienced modellers - those old blokes in DJs, probably - and much of it passes over my head since I hadn't built a flying model aircraft in around half a century when I joined BMFA. There could be fewer photos - but bigger images spread across big chunks of the page, maybe a full DPS even, good quality images too. Yes, I'm a former pro photographer and not everyone can produce the goods, but there are an awful lot of modellers out there with good cameras producing huge file sizes, so... The technical articles tend to be esoteric, specialised - need more "intro to" articles, covering basics, features on individual model builds - that sort of thing. I could go on, but...

Small updates tonight. Started on cockpit panels but then found a guy who does them so I will be getting him to do once I can find some decent photos of a P39 cockpit. Exhaust stacks have been given a coat of finishing resin with micro balloons, sanded back and filler primed. The center line tank has been filler primed, filler applied and will sand back tomorrow for ? hopefully finishing coats. In other news I’ve decided I will be running a Turnigy Rotomax 100cc (167kv), 200a speed controller with x4 6 cell packs at 6200mah. I will have to go with a two blade prop (27x12 Falcon) opposed to the three blade ?, this is mainly to do with motor cooling. I am having a back plate made up with an impeller which will take air in through the cannon opening in the spinner and push it across the motor. Other cooling options have been considered but will not be as effective. Retracts have finally been sourced, CenturyJet in the US should have the mains on sale at the end of the month so I better put something aside for them

Nothing like a twin 4 stroke, but you can smell my video,,,?

Plenty in there to read. Mannys columns are not full of drone/reg issues nor Covid, so that's a plus, hopefully weather will be good and normality resumes and the Center is booked solid all year. Mike Cawood flying his models at the Knavesmire event. ? F3A. My the models have changed, not sure what to say. Duncans article. Collision avoidance maneuver ? Not for me I think, I thought the test was about personal achievement Where's this fit in ? Seems like change just to be doing something. Examiners and RCC. States only a small number stepped down, good news for me, numbers going up for examiner tests also, good news again. 100th anniversary events. Posted on our forums for Ideas on how our club can join in, deathly silence. ? Good issue. ?

I didn't intend to dismantle the engine, just to remove the backplate to check for swarf. I've only started doing this recently after a bad experience with a new engine that gouged the piston very badly on the first flick with fuel in it, but that's another story.

Thanks Paul, you inspired me to cut metal, well, file and polish it at least. First prize goes to Alan! I think I took about 0.25mm of the higher surface (although I didn't measure before/after) and then worked my way down to 1200 wet and dry and metal polish. It's not a mirror finish and there is still a slight crevice/dimple in the middle but I didn't want to push my luck. Many thanks for all the comments. I don't think we will hear of many conrods snapping any time soon but they won't win any beauty contests either!

Can we assume you'll put your name in the hat kc? You'll only see an election if there are candidates for the position. I may be wrong but I believe Pete Christy, who often posts here, was largely responsible for the policy change some years ago, enabling per member postal voting for these positions but it's many years since the need for a vote arose.

Looking very good

Looks more like a casting fault on that shot, my pals is the same !!

Very well put Tony, the only thing I'd go further with is to say that intro articles and beginners subject matter are already well catered for in other magazines and where most younger modellers (under 50 these days) get their info and that is on-line and on YouTube. To their credit BMFA are embracing new tech and social media, so that can only be a feather in their cap. The hard copy mag does seem to be out of place. I don't mind reading about the good old days of Aeromodelling - and with our 100th anniversary this year, to have a few pictures of old blokes flying compressed air models and whatever else is fair enough and quite amusing. Whether the average teenager or 20 to 50 years old make much of it in terms of relevance to their hobby is debatable.

Soon be spring, and we can all get out flying again..

I don't disagree with you John, but having so many of our members clearly not interested in anything other than their insurance for their forty quid cannot do the Association any good in the longer term. On the main subject of the magazine, I do feel that its contents, no matter how well written and produced is not addressing effectively the problem of the majority of our members being so disengaged. Next time you're over the field, ask around your clubmates what they think of the mag. I bet that you'll get most replies in the form of " Well, it's OK.......but".

Well the BMFA News is OKish as far as it goes, lots and lots about the new magic Centre, but that is not much use unless you are reasonably local to it. However the major missing stuff is about what the BMFA is doing, or going to do about pro actively protecting our existing flying sites and rights. Even making it mandatory for local councils to provide suitable places. Within a mile of where I live there are acres of public football sites, all nicely mowed by my local taxation money, but with very little use. There are no local flying sites! So let us see equal space in the BMFA News page for page regarding the "Center" and "Protection of our sites and rights" Model flying must be the least protected and funded and encouraged sport in the UK (or in the world). Go look at model flying sites in the USA or Germany to see the difference. It is common to find hard runways, club houses and other facilities. So buck up BMFA stop going on about the Centre and tell us what you are going to do for the majority of your paying members!

Speaking as a tyro flyer I have to say that frankly, I find the BMFA mag dull and hardly ever useful. I wonder what proportion of the BMFA membership appreciates, values or enjoys the magazine? I wonder by how much the sub could be reduced by ditching the magazine? I belong purely for the insurance and because my club requires it. If the magazine was better - and I've worked professionally with many magazine titles, UK and abroad - it might provide added value to membership, but really, it's hopelessly old fashioned and amateurish.

Hi Outrunner. Yes run it before I anodised it as didn't want to waste time. The Boddo's performance will ever settle world aligh but it runs fine. I also took the opertunity while it was stripped to remove the contra piston as it was far too tight. A quick clean of the cylinder and a bit of 2000 grit wet and dry on the CP got it to a better.

Ian built this beautiful little model a couple of years ago, a fair weather model that looks superb both close up and in the air.

My quarter scale Jungmeister, a beefed up Seagull kit, flies nicely and aerobatically on a Laser 155, 17x8 prop. Steve.

The Boddo Mills is now finished . F rom pic 1 engine as it was when I bought it Pic from internet . to pic 2 a melted mess after case started to melt at same temp as the LOW temp alloy rods i used to try and repair it . To pic 3 and 4 the finished engine reassembled . The Green Anodising is not as bright as I would have liked but its OK The anodising on the spinner nut is horribly and flaky probably due to the rubbish material its made of . So glad I left the cylinder fins and the backplate in natural ali finish . I'll make a new spinner nut later as it now spoils the apperance .

on my top glazing the edge has a 5mm lip that fits into a groove cut into ribs and tucks under front glazing held by a small magnet and two small magnets at back, as hi Tec as that but works. power is a Laser 80 4 stroke. plane weighs about 9ibs approx. last flight ended with a tip stall when turning (pilot error) got away with just damage to cowling new one on order . will try harder next time.

certainly makes mine look second rate.

I don't think any heat will be needed, once its the right shape it will be fine. It is a shame when you get a kit you expect the difficult areas like this to have been addressed, as nobody else has ever complained re the shape then I must have just got a mis-cut one. Anyway as I say we are virtually there now with test template no 4. Cheers Danny

The existing tank will have a vent in it, probably in the cap so that will need to be blocked off. As long as the existing tank is airtight then feeding it from, in effect, a header tank will be ok. However, I’m not too sure how leakproof the existing cap to tank seal is!

Another photo attempt...

That was the first thing I did - disassembled one of the engines, and it looks like a crack. I was hoping it may be a casting line but its jagged and goes down each side of the rod thickness for about 1mm. New photo is not great but it gives you an idea.