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"Spin" The BMFA says quite openly these are difficult times, the numbers re membership are there, the various changes we are fighting against are there. Updates on the NFC and how it's being used and who pays for it is there, the proposed increase of £3 pound is there and the fact that the floor voted it up to £5 is there, and here's where I suspect the "Spin" comment comes from, the BMFA are actively saying collectively that the changes to come we can deal with and survive as an entity, what other position or comments would any sane person expect them to be saying ? We are doomed ? Also there's comment on the various social media containing a constant negative attitude from some, which they feel is damaging to our own wellbeing, I agree with that view. Only thing these people will achieve, is a reduction in our numbers. Article on the Drone photography, I like, here's a positive article someone took the trouble to set in motion and produce, exactly the kind of thing we need. Moaning is easy, dealing with difficult issues takes work.

The nail hit firmly on the head. Very well said. All aspects of society, including our hobby (sport) are full of those who sit back and moan at every opportunity but do nothing to contribute to fixing what they perceive to be "problems".

Or use any opportunity they can find to air their anti-BMFA views.

As has been said many times on this forum, the regulations and authorisations are complex, and difficult to understand for many people. The 'spin' (more accurately called interpretation) is possibly the only information some will take in, so has a purpose which better serves our hobby applauded, not ridiculed. Others will obviously disagree.

Perhaps if you just flicked through the BMFA Magazine before putting it in the bin, you would see that it certainly isn't just adverts and there is even a chance that you might see something interesting, maybe even something important and become better informed about the hobby.

Ultimate head tracked FPV. Looking forward to some formation flights with Red 2 in near future.

Jeeeez... It must be so demoralizing for the authors of BMFA News content to read the negativity in this topic. Paid, or unpaid, if their response was to to say 's0d-it, I'm not bothering anymore for those ungrateful whiners, then it would definitely die a death. Not everything in the BMFA News is of interest to me, indeed, not very much is of interest to me. The least appealing being pictures of various dignitaries posing at some black tie event. But, like having to make polite small talk every once in a while, I do think it's polite to at least thumb through it and have some respect for the effort that's gone into producing it. It is being done with the best intentions and for our benefit. I recently wrote my first article for RCM&E and was astonished that only two or three members of my club (100+) regularly bought the magazine and/or read the article. It takes a great deal of effort, but the majority bemoan even the free plans these days and won't even buy the magazine for them. Being retired, I tend to browse the BMFA News in bed in the morning with a cuppa surrounded by my three cats, or in the WC (when I'm not logging my flights) also surrounded by my cats 😺😸😹 I think that, like a good manager it's best to praise in public and scold in private.

Building my Correx planes to look more scale takes on a new dimension. I thought I’d share a few photos and info on another Correx build I have been working on over the Winter, but this one's a little different for me. As you may know already I have built quite a number of Correx PSS aircraft over the past four or so years and over that time have gradually attempted to transform them from the normal vinyl covered 'fun' plane to something a little more scale in appearance and worthy of gracing the skies alongside more traditionally built planes at our PSSA events. This time I decided to turn my attention to the Aermacchi MB-326 Impala. There is something about planes with tip tanks that just seems to make them look so good in the air. The plans for this particular model have been about for years and are freely available to download, along with many others, from RCgroups.com https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?1445391-Correx-PSS-L39HawkF-18FoxxU-2ImpalaA-10SpitfireF4USeaFuryP-51VulcanFW190-free-plans! The construction method has been covered many times before so I won’t go into detail on that. My build is already complete and now ready for a primer coat. The build was mostly to plan other than my usual approach of using 2.4mm ‘Correx’ for the wings rather than 2mm plus a few adjustments along the way to fuselage former sizes and positions to aid assembly. In my more recent builds I have taken to closing off any exposed flutes to improve the look, either with thin ply, balsa or filler and that is what I have done again here. I have also produced the ailerons with a folded piece of Correx rather than just a single 3mm thickness: this not only reduces the amount of exposed flutes but also makes for a smoother blend between the wing and aileron surfaces. The nose is made from a ply cruciform with balsa infill. When I first commenced this build knew I would want to improve on the tip tanks; to plan they are simply made from a few thicknesses of Correx glued together. Plus there were no air intakes either – something else I wanted to add. These were invariably going to be produced in balsa BUT then, mid-way through December I was offered a second-hand 3d printer – something I had been thinking about for some time..... My builds are never going to be the same again! Much of my past career revolved around Cad modelling so before long I found myself downloading some free Cad software and although it was a different package to that I’d been accustomed to I soon got back into the swing of things again….and then there was no stopping me! The tip tanks are HUGE – 400mm long! But after a fair few iterations I had something that fitted neatly over the ends of my Correx wings. For retention I included holes to accommodate both 6mm and 8mm magnets, in case the 6mm ones aren't strong enough. My first attempts were printed flat on the bed and had way too much infill and consequently weighed well over 100g each. After much help and advice from Tim Mackey (Thanks Tim!) I ended up printing the tanks vertically with thinner walls and a much reduced level of infill. This not only produced a far better surface finish but also reduced the weight by more than half, down to a little over 50g each. This was using PLA+ print filament. A test performed by Tim suggests this weight could be further reduced by another half again if lightweight LWPLA were to be used. For now though I’m happy with what I have. With the tanks sorted my next challenge were the air intakes. I opted to make each one in two pieces; a lower piece which I bonded to the underside of the wing with the upper piece held in place by yet more magnets. My thinking here is that the upper pieces will easily detach, should the wing bolts ever shear and cause the wing to twist out of the fuselage, rather than directly impacting the fuselage sides. These weighed a little over 60g for the pair which didn’t seem too bad. A part-pilot and seat added another 20g The particular Impala I’m modelling had cannons so I decided to have a go at modelling and printing some of those too. Trying to create the correct shape to mate to the underside of a folded Correx fuselage proved quite challenging but I eventually had something that fitted reasonably well and weighed in at around 35g for the set. I made a pair of wing strakes which weighed in at under 5g and also made a little instrument binnacle to suit a photo of the instruments I found. This weighed just 6.5g Another feature of the plane I’m modelling is what I presume is some kind of aerial – a hoop-like structure on the tail fin. Recreating this would invariably result in something exceedingly prone to damage in transit so I wanted to make something which was detachable. I ended up modelling some tiny grommet-like pieces that will be glued together sandwiching the tail fin and with suitably sized holes to accommodate some black wire sleeving (with the wire stripped out from inside). A trial piece suggests it should work. Adding all these detail parts (and filler) of course comes with a weight penalty, something in the region of 250g for this build, taking a more normal build up from around 1400g to where I am now at 1650g (fully balanced to the plan CG point and including 50g of nose weight but without paint). Hopefully it’ll all be worth it though! Here are a few more photos of the whole plane as it is currently. Thin ply and filler used to cover any exposed flutes around the exhaust (Not the best place to be adding weight admittedly). Filler applied at the joint between the turtle deck and fuselage Thin ply edging of exposed flutes and 6mm x 2mm magnets to retain the tip tanks...hopefully! Predominantly balsa edging strips around all tail surface edges. Also visible are 2.5mm carbon stiffening rods inserted through the flutes. Those within the fin penetrate down through the fuselage formers for extra rigidity. Hopefully it'll soon warm up and I'll be able to make a start on getting it primered and ready for the finished colours Phil

Some people just like to rant and complain.....

Maiden flight today. The big foam spitfire flew! Off the ground in 30ft, gentle climb out and flew like a big trainer. Once my vice grip is relieved on the sticks, I'll be getting to know this big beutiful lump of underfloor insulation! Graham

Fellas I have flown my helicopter with it having full potential in the wind,I was a idiot the other day I should have put it into intermediate difficulty mode on the controller so it can push harder and faster,had it high in the sky no problem and it banked and turned in the wind beautifully,handled so well even for a novice like me,these pics don't do it justice at all but it was fantastic,don't need indoors just set it to higher difficulty,I tried top settings but it was abit too much for me yet,but I had the best time 😏

I managed to get down to the patch this morning for the first time for a few weeks. As I am a bit ring-rusty I decided on flying my trusty GW Sbach 342 50cc electric. The conditions weren't ideal with it being dull and a 10 mph semi-crosswind, but beggars can't be choosers. The sun did try and show itself briefly but that was about it. Despite the conditions and a plane that can be a bit lively at times, I had a great time and it was good to blow the cobwebs away. PS. I must work a bit harder on the right roll as for some reason I get her to wobble a bit first session for a while. The left roll is perfect, however. . Cold fingers I imagine. 🥶

To claim that one simply bins the mag without even a cursory glance is, with the greatest respect, rediculous. True, I don't read it all from cover to cover, but following on from my comments regarding 'News', a lot of important stuff that we as members pay the BMFA to act upon on our behalf is covered and needs to be read by everyone.

I suspect that the hard copy version is seen as a positive communication medium to demonstrate the BMFA's commitment to educating the general membership on regulation changes and developments and reinforce the level of professionalism that has contributed to our Article 16 exemptions. The general interest articles may be there in an attempt to make it more attractive and professional than a dry communique about legislation by encouraging the avarage member to at least flick through the magazine. There will always be those who are unwilling to educate themselves...you can lead a horse to water...

My local site has been waterlogged for a couple of months now making the strip unusable. 🥲 However slope soaring has been the answer to getting some airtime, Sunday another excellent day on the slopes and I got to fly a Wild Wing 60 picked up second hand which flew in the moderate to strong breeze very well and was a pleasure to fly.

Regarding the c of g stick to the plan. Mine is about 2mm behind and is very sensitive on the elevator, I have have no ballast also no pilot or any cockpit detail the logic was to fly it then add detail later if it would allow. I have 4s 3600 battery power these just fit in without cutting anything away. The Ali spinner is a great help for adding nose weight, I would strongly advise its use, the main thing is to balance to the plan far better to loose a little performance than the aeroplane. Mine flys well between 1/2 and 3/4 throttle.

Lovely day today - though the car thermometer said 2 degrees C it didn't particularly feel cold - high overcast and an overall bright sky, but the sun never broke through. However there wasn't a breath of wind and that helped - not a bad turn out for a winter Monday morning, with half a dozen of us there. For some of us it was the first flights since before Christmas, such had been the state of the weather this year in the NE. My fifth outing in January, but I wasn't taking any chances with any of the long queue of models waiting for a maiden flight, so the old faithfuls were on parade. Super conditions, lots of blether but lots of flying too - 8 different models logged 14 flights and everyone else had at least 2-3 models each. The day wasn't marred by a couple of retract related mishaps - PZ Corsair twist and turn retract is playing up and leaving a leg dangling, which is a bit disconcerting and only got worse when it wouldn't function at all after retracting it to put the model back in the car. My larger Corsair also tore out a retract unit when I lost power - stretching out the flight to the limit (well beyond the limit) such that I lost power 10m short of the strip and landed in the rough, without time to put the wheels back up. Battery was down to 3.3v/cell when I checked it. A smear of epoxy on the retract mount and she'll be good as new- should have lopped a minute off the flight time to allow for the cold.

Hello Nigel...consider Poundland and Screwfix for Super Glue...good value and does the job. Ken Anderson..... ne....1 ...glue dept.

It's fascinating that each time the BMFA News is published there are the familiar rants about 'waste of money' 'never open it/ bin it' etc. Those people seem to forget that there are other forms of aeromodelling; control line, free flight being the obvious ones. The BMFA supports all forms of aeromodelling. Therefore it is hardly surprising that the BMFA News reflects this in its editorial pages. I would add to that by saying aeromodelling is much more than flying an ARTF foam electric model around gently on a Sunday afternoon. Also to those who feel the slightly increased beaurocracy we have to deal with if we choose to fly radio control models can be overcome by flying a control line model.

Unfortunately many who can’t be bothered to read the magazine when it’s presented to them ‘on a plate’ in paper form will hardly be likely to make the effort to look for it online. Even with an e-mail informing of its availability. It’s a pity that the economics have caused the BMFA to cease sending the paper mags. Brian.

Perhaps these are the people who don’t read the BMFA news and haven’t seen the simplified explanations of the new requirements.

There are quite a number of posts on the bmfa Facebook page this morning about giving up the hobby because of regulations, boring forms to fill in, and complex tests to sit. Although on FB, these folks are presumably bmfa members, so quite where they are encountering all their issues I haven't the faintest idea. I loathe the regs that we are saddled with - the rights and wrongs are quite something else - but it's not difficult to jump through the hoops.

We’ve got a couple of good tosses at my club so will be enlisting their help for the maiden (in the next week, weather permitting).

Here you go . Beta build complete.. Another great model Rich . If it flys like yours I flew last year it’s going to be fantastic 🤟

This morning made the 4th time I've managed to get in 1/2 day's flying in January! That being said, the cloud base was low and marred by even lower clumps of cloud. I had wanted to check on the KE mix, it's no more than 1 to 3 clicks, and to sort out the KE loop mix so that I don't have to lean on the elevator or aileron stick to get a perfectly planar half loop. However, the cloud was sufficiently low to stop that little game but I did work out a tweak to two so that might have done it. The next thing was to work on the roll combination. That is 3 x 1/4 roll in the same direction. So a definite line between each element and then 3 x 1/4 rolls in the opposite direction. Between rolls in different directions the change of direction must be immediate - FAI Aerobatic rules. However, after the first flight, when I disappeared into cloud clumps occasionally, the cloud all seemed to get much lower so I sat for an hour waiting for an improvement. Eventually, one came and I got in 3 more flights before I ran out of time. Only 2 of the roll combinations were dead level with no variation in direction of travel so more practice needed.

Don't think a wot 4 foamie would be a step up. Why not try a Ruckus, think its 20mm shorter wingspan than Riot so in your masterplan you could get all Riots banned for being too big as well!

Do you think your good enough to fly your riot in a 100 ft radius circle?

Here I've sheeted the tailplane. This is a closeup of the trailing edge of the tip of the tailplane, along the hinge line with the elevator. You can see the snake now embedded in the structure. The snake emerges into this rectangular pocket (which I haven't sheeted, for reasons). The clevis will live inside the pocket, as will the rudder horn. Hopefully this will be better illustrated a bit later on. The sheeting over the pocket is done using a 1/32 ply insert. I figured that would give me just a touch more space inside the pocket. This shot is from the sheeted side of the above structure, with the ply insert on the bench. More soon.

My magazine "Flug Modell" commissioned me to assemble and test the Dauntless from Phoenix.The model has a wingspan of 144cm and has a retractable undercarriage

The Dauntless is quickly assembled and is ready to start after approx. 1 week. The building instructions are international and anyone can build the model.At the moment the airfield is still too wet and you can't fly yet. A flight report will follow later.I don't know if you can get the kit in England. If you do, you get a very nice model at a good price. In Germany the Dauntless is distributed by D-Power. The Engine is a AL4206 by D-Power.

You can fly the dauntless with a fuel engine or electrically.Both are included in the kit

Your test pilot should be able to diagnose the fault ie to much or too little incidence. Then simply pack the LE or TE with balsa shims until it flys correctly then go home and build it in by adjusting the wing seat. Simple on an electric model as no oil contsmibation to worry about.

I've just uploaded to YouTube a more comprehensive demo flight of my original Top Quark design, taken at Epsom Downs Racecourse yesterday in 10mph winds. Just to prove it has some moves. As featured in the 'Seven Day Challenge' article in RCM&E Dec 2023. Enjoy.

The router's working fine as it is. I have adequate data speed for both my wife and me to watch any video streams separately and simultaneously. The only s/w updates I want are those relating to security. I've written enough s/w in my time to be aware of the temptation to do just a bit more for personal amusement and satisfaction to be wary of it in commercial environments. I use an ancient version of MS Office Pro (97) which does more than all I need, and an equally ancient version of Photoshop likewise. As hardware gets more powerful, much of the power is absorbed by programmers and data hungry high level s/w packages. I only use what I need or what I find useful.

Bought mine in @1976 and it's still going strong - that was definitely a good year for hot air though!

My friend Russ put one of these together in 2019 and it's still going strong today. The moment I saw it I knew it was the solution. It only took me four years to get around to making mine. I fly aerobatic electric models up to 6000W/50cc size, so I've bought more than my fair share of LiPos over the years. There had to be a better way - and there is. It's a 40,000mAh (just scale it to suit your needs) Li-Ion pack at 24v connected to one or two ISDT 20A chargers, to allow a pair of 6S 5000mAh LiPo packs to be charged simultaneously at 4C, all housed in a Screw-fix metal carry case. For a single charger system it cost £285 including various delivery charges but not including my time. Each pack took about 2 hours to solder up, with about the same again to sort out the cases & wiring. I should note here that I'm a known incompetent relating to all building matters, so Russ supervised me and very kindly finished off the wiring and cases when I fell over exhausted at the end of the day due to inhalation of too many solder fumes. I made three packs in all - two for me and one for my mate Pete. Final pic is the 12S flying day version but usually it's just one charger and a pair of LiPos for 6S flying. I'll try and get some better pics of how it's wired in the box. There be fuses. I've got the component list knocking around somewhere if anybody wants to make one. It doesn't take much to spend £285 on LiPos, and the advantages are huge: you can leave it charged up all the time and it doesn't complain. This totally changes how you go about flying. Charge the box as soon as you get home, leave the LiPos at storage charge at the field (I generally land at 3.75). The Li-Ions will last forever because they're barely breaking a sweat - Russ built a 2nd box a year ago and can't tell which one he's using. So you can go flying at the drop of a hat, and leave all the decisions about which plane you're going to fly until the minute before you leave the house. No more "Oh if I knew the weather was going to be like this I'd have charged those other batteries." It's like having a can of petrol, only less smelly. And the bit I was nervous about - the high C rate charging - has proved to be worry free. At the moment I'm flying 6S 3300mAh Heavy Duty Turnigy packs and charging them at 12A, which takes about 10 minutes. I cap my flights at 7mins30 so you can pretty much fly non-stop if you don't mind being a patch-hog. Previously I've always, always, always charged at 1C or below, like I was a member of some death-cult, but I'm 250 charges in and I see no performance issues or increasing internal resistance - the Zippy 4500s hover around 0.9 and the Turnigys around 1.3 per cell. Happy batteries - and they had a couple of hundred cycles on them pre-chargebox. Only charging to 4.17 makes an amazing difference to battery life. That Phil Lewis knows his onions. I've been using this for 4 months now and waited to see how things turned out before posting. I can honestly say that, for me, there is no other way of going about electric flight. Just my two 4 port chargers would have paid for this box, let alone the dozens of LiPos. This is the first topic I've started so please excuse the mess. Long time lurker. Thought I'd contribute for once. Oh... and definitely use the balsa sticks to assemble the initial cells all nice and tidy. The masking tape was like herding cats.

After years of thinking I was buying the best then having to replace it when more than half full I've finally got fed up of paying big bucks for Zap. Just wondering what you guys recommend - I think the key for me is to buy smaller bottles as I don't use that much. Cheers, Nigel

I can confirm that - all displaying correctly now.

Very impressive Dom.. Thanks for sharing.

Geoff, my router supplier gold me not to turn the router off overnight as that'svwhen they upgrade the software router. You may want to check your router's sofware standard with what your supplier tells you is the latest version just in case your router has not been updated.

Just stand near an open window of the House of Commons/Lords you will get all the hot air you need.

Lidl sell a digital hot air gun, fully adjustable temperature and fan speed, it's very good.

Wind-chill down to minus five didn't deter the SRFC Hanky-Panky formation dancing team this morning. Lovely and sunny but oh-so cold!! Tom