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As with the Fw190 , I will probably send a return envelope out to those that showed interest in the Tempest . I realise that some may have changed their mind , and anyway we are not quite ready to press go on the production line , but I need to know rough numbers . I dont want to send letters to those no longer interested so here is a list of those that expressed interest so far . Rather than PM me at this stage , perhaps if you just click like if you still want one , it will come up at the bottom . Dave B1 Ron Gray Martin Collins Leccy Flyer Andrew Exton Jonathan S Grumpy Gnome Glen Philbrick Peter Atkins Ace Chris Walby John Timmis Graham Bowers Murat Alan Hilton Roger Bird Dave Naylor Goose is the Hero Nigel Whitgar Piers Bowlan Nick Cribbs David Holland 2 David Davies Don Fry Bucks Boy Chris meek Concept 2 Flyer Rotten Row Chris Clementson John Britton .

Right, she's ready* 1/6 scale spitfire Mk1; P9374. This is a replica (let's not be too eager and call it 'scale'!) of the aircraft that crashed on it's second operation onto the beach at Calais and remained there until the 1980s before being removed and eventually renovated to flying condition. This is detailed in a wonderful book kindly given to me by Peter Miller. As happens with me, reading the book (and particularly John Romaine's pilot notes of the maiden flight) inspired me, and I was 'locked on'. This is the latest evolution of my learnings of how to make use of Depron. Particularly laminate flooring under floor insulation. This is sold by B&Q under the Diall brand in white in 3 and 6mm and their own brand in black at 6mm. The construction uses some ply and balsa to put strength where it's needed (a hard structure between wing root and motor mount), and B&Q 6mm square strip wood for the wing spars. It has flaps, retracts and Oleos and is set up with a 5065 320kv motor on 6S and currently spinning a 17x8 prop. I'm yet to do the full power checks, so not sure what the output is, but expect around 900-1000W. The battery (3300maH) sits vertically behind the motor, and it looks to balance without ballast. AUW is 8lb. As this model is 74", this is very light. It's the same size as Mick Reeves' Mk9, which apparently fly very well, and usually come in at around 12lb plus. Jon from Laser reckons this is the correct weight, so I may have to stake it down to stop it floating off! In any case, I should get a nice scale speed. It's covered in 25gsm glass cloth applied with B&Q water based varnish. Paint is good old valspar (again, B&Q) matchpot emulsion matched to the book. It's a tiny bit light, but the effect is good. This is sprayed with my little HVLP gun, and then sprayed over with a light coat of gloss varnish to give a slight sheen for the vinyl to adhere to. Vinyl, canopy, decals and the wonderful dash are all from Mick Reeves. The exhausts are 3D printed. *Some detailing to do, electrical checks, a lot of worrying, and purchase of bike clips notwithstanding... Graham

You are not subsidising them. Not one penny of the £42 you paid for your 2023 membership was used to subsidise them. However as I mentioned previously you have still benefitted indirectly, the BMFA didn't have to spend some of the pennies you paid to hire venues that we would have had to previously because we were able to use Buckminster. Buckminster has also proved very useful in promoting model aircraft flying and helping to put our sport in to the public eye. Something all model aircraft flyers benefit from. In years when the BMFA makes a surplus of over £10k £10k will be transferred to the National Centre reserve. But only if there is a healthy surplus, the BMFA does have some other income streams apart from membership subscriptions though and £10k is probably a lot less then would have to be paid to hire venues annually that now no longer need to be hired. Your subs are not used to fund Buckminster. Clubs are not forced to have 100% BMFA membership, it is a choice they make to affiliate because they consider the benefits of affiliation are worth it. It's actually a bit of a no-brainer when you consider all the benefits that otherwise the club would have to pay for.

A clubmate gave me two rolls of Proficover - it's a bit like Oratex or Solartex, a very good material to work with. So I had to build something with it. The result was a control line stunter (Jamison Special) and the rc plane you see in the pictures. It's my own design and it had its maiden flight yesterday. To my surprise it flew very well despite the not too powerful old open-rockers Saito 30. Karl

Quick update, I am now out of hospital in an amazing rehab centre , and am now doing loads more physio and they have lots of incredible specialist equipment including an exercise bike that has electrodes that you attach to your weaker limb that fire in time with the rotation of the pedddles to encourage your less good limb to relearn it’s role! I am so lucky to get a place here, as sometimes people wait weeks, but I got in last week only about 2 and a bit weeks after my stroke. That is ke, as apparently the early days after a stroke are when you have the best opportunity to improve.

The closure of Laser engines was inevitable. It is sad for me as I formed the company in 1983 with Reg Gross, Geoff’s father. I have not been involved for over 10 years. Geoff is now 70 and there is no one to take over the Company. The good news for Laser owners is that they were manufactured from very high quality materials, will run for many hours and will survive quite serious crashes. With modern fuels there is very little maintenance or wear. Spares or repairs are rarely required. Bearings are standard, easily and cheaply bought from suppliers. Engines made from 1996 are the best made and I am sure will be powering models for many years. Aeromodelling has declined, we have lost most model shops, magazines and the membership of the BMFA has dropped from36,000 in 2004 to 2,6000 now. Skills have been lost, it is far easier to buy a ready made foamie complete to fly. CAA legislation does not help. Thank you to everyone who has made Laser Engines a British success. Best wishes to Jon for a bright future and being part of the Laser legacy.

My latest fun scale build. A il-16 polikarpov captured by the Finnish Air Force during ww2. Cheers Anders

Leccy's Home For Distressed Aeroplanes opened it's hangar doors again this week to accept a few airframes being retired to free up workshop space by my prolific plan builder pal Jim, so that he can create yet more masterpieces. Dropped in on him yesterday to pick up a spinner for last week's donation and the Flair SE5a that he was moving on, to receive another surprise gift, a lovely 1m span twin pusher Vulcan. I can't wait to get these pre-loved aeroplanes back in the air again and to see what will come out of the new found space in Jim's workshop in the coming months. Here's some piccies that I grabbed of these new to me aeroplanes when Jim was flying them. Avro York, built from blue foam from the Tony Nijhuis free plan and handed on to me last week after here final flights under Jim's care. Avro Vulcan - 39" span ,two wee Turnigy 2212 motors turning twin pusher props. Might try this one on the slope. Flair SE5a , Turnigy D3542 motor, 3s1p 4000mah lipo, 12x6" wood prop - lovely model.

An un usual sun set here on the west Wales coast. Sun was going down behind a cloud bank but projecting a river of gold across the sea. My Tiger Moth weather vane in the stream.

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

Given the current weather and long range forecast i thought i would invest in something suitable.

Finally managed to maiden my Sea Stormer, a David Boddington plan from Aviation Modeller International circa 1993. Here it is at the picturesque Loch Earn where I'm spending the weekend enjoying a waterplane event. 69" wingspan, OS91FS, lovely flyer, as you'd expect from a DB design.

50 inch span Depron JU87. All covered in 50gram grp cloth and west system epoxy. Scratch build from scaled up 3 view on Wikipedia, and lots of photos. Started out in white winter camo, didn't like it, so changed to two-tone green camo. Didn't like that so added desert camo which I quite like. 1300 grams flying weight. 35/36 900 kv motor.2200 3cell lipo.

My last project from how she looked when I picked her up to now all completed and looking resplendent with her new cowling, fitted and painted. This was a complete back to bare airframe restoration and E conversion. She is a Bowman’s Model, Miles Magister 1 designed in 1979 with an 85 inch span and an AUW of 13 1/2lbs (recommended 10lbs), running a 6S system turning a 16x8 wooden prop. She fly’s really nice even with the extra weight.

A lovely wee Spitfire - 610 Squadron put of Biggin Hill methinks. Maiden flight of my latest Spitfire yesterday - the 1.2m Flightline Spitfire IXc, which I was very pleased with. Photos courtesy of my pal Derek Robertson, including a nice City of Glasgow 602 Squadron composite with Pierre Clostermann in the lead.

Mother in law was reading the Omen and said it was the most frightening book she had ever read. In fact she never finished it. She took it to a local lake and threw it in. I went straight to a book shop and bought another copy, ran in under the tap and left it on her bedside table. Think I’m going to hell for that one.

Jaydeez an genulmen, I give you... ...Dusty Crophopper. My 2 year old Grandson has taken a huge liking to the Planes movie. If you haven't seen it, it's really rather good and the aircraft are well represented. To stoke his interest, I've built a flying version that if we ever get some decent weather, he'll be able to see in the air. My usual B&Q laminate flooring insulation depron construction. Glass cloth/ B&Q water based varnish covered and painted with sprayed emulsion. The orange in Valspar matchpot, and a story in itself. I had a picture on my phone, but of course you can't match to a phone image, so I grabbed a B&Q bucket. This was too translucnt, so the match was dark, so we scanned the B&Q apron of the young lady operating the machine! Span is 47", 3536 1200 motor and will use 3S 1500 packs. Weight is just a touch over 2 pounds ready to go. I think it might qualify as a scale model... Graham

I spent 30years as a copper in London. When I joined we went out of our way to leave a clean list for the next shift, zero outstanding calls. We dealt with all the calls we could and went out and did our own stops and generated our own arrests; demand was different then. There were no Mobile phones in the 1980's and 999 calls were rare. People did not get offended on social media and cry "Hate Crime!" When I left 6-7 years ago, the lists of outstanding calls for help, each day, for each division, stood at 50-100 calls each and every day. The calls would be priorotised on an emergency basis, which meant I would spend each and every shift racing to the next most urgent emergency. No time any more for motorists doing red lights, shoplifters, petty thefts, minor punch ups etc etc etc.........I am ashamed to say Policing in this country is smashed to bits and there is now so much demand and so few coppers actually answering calls, that as long as you dont kill anybody, nobody is coming to enforce stupid, complicated laws about our "toy planes". Are witnesses and suspects going to hang around for the 6-7 days it will take for coppers to arrive? All of this legislation is not only flawed it's unenforceable. It wont stop a single bad actor, or catch a single criminal who wasn't already breaking the existing criminal law. I hate it! I want to fly my toy planes freely and safely without government interference. KB

Paul, I really don't know why you have started this thread yet in the one above take a swipe at people you call "committee" jobsworths who probably don't actually fly but sit on their folding chairs etc..... Most of those who have pointed out safety issues are experienced RC model pilots. Some might even have full size aviation experience. I'm sure there are quite a few like me who have been flying model aircraft (free flight, control line and radio control) from our teenage years (or younger) and, in my case, am comfortably into my 70s but still flying regularly and in competition. We try and pass on our hard won experience and yet you, with little or no experience, think you can criticise us for our words of wisdom. The issue of flight safety is paramount. This includes preparation for flight, which might cover a wide range of topics, actually conducting yourself in a manner that shows that you do take all the required safety precautions that hard won experience has shown are essential, and learning from the experience of others to make sure you don't unnecessarily do the wrong thing.

Years of reading model mags and huge amounts of balsa dust, Glue fumes and paint fumes have had a negative impact on my resistance levels and ability to think clearly at times. I have just paid for a new airframe that I will only get in a months time when My son is on holiday in Durban. It was built by a very well known and respected South African modeller so I could not help myself as it has been on my must build list for 20 years!

Maiden flight day

My new Antares is waiting for some decent weather to make its debut. It's a replacement for the brown tissue attic-find thar I'd been flying for quite a while until the ancient balsa cement gave way in flight. Anyway, here's the new one, all resplendent white, grey and pink film. Span is 54" and weighs near 5lb, so it'll need to hustle to stay in the air. There's a 700 watt, 4S power train, turning a 10x6 prop - all pinched from original Antares, so that should be ample for some big aeros. An added detail is the milled ali motor/noseleg mount. Fingers crossed.......

Because some of you have been concerned about the on-going situation after my daughter was sent to jail, here is a little update: She has taken it pretty hard and she is refusing all food, she has become moody and is screaming at everyone, has removed her clothes, and is repeatedly banging her mug on the table. Plus, she is threatening violence towards anyone who comes near to her. As a family, we are pretty worried and, as a result, we have taken the difficult decision to not play Monopoly with her anymore.

SWIMBO was having a sneaky look in my workshop. "well she said, thats a nice wing, it'll fit fine onto the car" How can I ever tell her, it was the tail for my Keil Kraft falcon ernie

I made a few more detail items and once again old biros have proved to be a most useful source for such things I made the small air scoop on the right hand side over the wing from an old pen top, a little bit of filler and a piece of thin ply and then the wing tip pitot probe from a biro inner, which still had some red ink in so that might prove messy should I ever damage it! I also made the two little aerials on top of the fuselage using pieces of snake inners which I made a push fit into some soft close cupboard door buffer pads so like the pitot probe I’ll be able to remove these for transportation. I finally decided where to fit my receiver switch, it’s snug but there’s just room for it behind the ejector seat. It’ll be out of sight but just about accessible with the canopy removed. With everything in primer it was now time to start with some colour. As per Phil Cooke’s recommendation I decided to use Lifecolor paints from airbrushes.com. After some research and from their ‘Mimetic’ range I used UA095 – Sky for the underside and UA516 – Dark Sea Grey for on top, along with the Lifecolor thinner. Six of each colour and a 250ml bottle of thinner proved about right for the task. I used the airbrush and compressor I bought last year for my little Alpha jet build I’ve not had much experience of airbrush spraying, all my previous Correx builds have been finished with rattle cans and/or vinyl so once again I’m on something of a learning curve here. That said it all went reasonably well and before long I had everything painted up in the sky colour. It took 4 or 5 coats to get a consistent even finish. Initially I had been using a 0.2mm spray nozzle but soon found the larger 0.4mm provided much better coverage. At times I was suffering with a gradual build-up of liquid paint in the nozzle which if left unaddressed would then splatter onto the surface I was spraying so found that soaking this away with paper towel every so often would help. I was mixing the paint like for like with thinner so maybe a different ratio would have helped or different pressures, I was spraying at around 20psi. With the sky done I couldn’t resist finishing off the arrester hook and applying some gloss. After some careful masking it was then onto the grey. The grey seemed to cover so much better than the sky had done. The blob on the tail fin was a nightmare to mask. I first masked off the plane and sprayed the whole blob in Tamiya flat yellow after which I then masked off the yellow and sprayed the black. I had a bit of seepage in places so there was quite a bit of touching up required afterwards but it didn’t turn out too badly. And then I masked and sprayed the concave exhaust surfaces in silver too. I finished my pilot and ejector seat off, making his harness straps by folding masking tape back on itself and cutting the required width and then painting. Perhaps he could really do with an oxygen mask and maybe a visor too so maybe I'll have a go at that sometime. I added my instrument photos to the unit I had made previously, after which I was then able to spray and fit the canopy. The Callie graphics vinyls were a delight to apply. I had to cut some of them where they overlapped the servo covers and ailerons. I was a little fearful when applying the fuselage roundel that the opacity of the vinyl might not have been sufficient when bridging between the grey and sky colours but my fears were totally unfounded. The ridge from my masking between grey and sky can be seen but the colours of the roundel are completely unaffected by the fuselage’s colour change. I wanted to add some further detail over and above the Callie graphic vinyls so with some assistance from my daughter in the graphics department we made some additional waterslide decals. I printed them onto clear waterslide paper so their colours got dulled down a bit once applied to the fuselage but they look ok nonetheless. I decided I wanted to add one or two panel lines, something else I've never attempted. I’m not sure quite how far I’ll go with them yet but for now have added a few around the exhaust, the trim tabs on the rudder and elevators and the flaps on the wings. There’s more still to do on the fuselage. Initially I planned on using some water based ink art pens I had since there was a good range of colours to be had but found they didn't mark that well and smudged all too easily so ended up using a black ultrafine Sharpie instead. Before finishing the fuselage and whilst the weather was good and warm I chose to spray a gloss finish over everything else instead. I am using Plastikote clear gloss and will probably break into a third can by the time I’m done. So here we now have a little SHINY kit of parts, all now ready for assembly All that remains for me now is to finish detailing and then glossing the fuselage and I’ll then be able to put it all together, if all goes to plan I reckon I should have a finished plane by the end of the month.

Flair legionnaire

Here's an extra flying shot from yesterday provided by my pal Derek - featuring the two Warbirds FW190s pictured above - my Black 13 and Murat's White 4 desert version.

A duck walks into a pub and orders a pint of beer and a ham sandwich. The barman looks at him and says, "Hang on! You're a duck." "I see your eyes are working," replies the duck. "And you can talk" !! Exclaims the barman. "I see your ears are working, too," Says the duck. "Now if you don't mind, can I have my beer and my sandwich please?" "Certainly, sorry about that," Says the barman as he pulls the duck's pint. "It's just we don't get many ducks in this pub. What are you doing around this way?" "I'm working on the building site across the road," Explains the duck. "I'm a plasterer." The flabbergasted barman cannot believe the duck and wants to learn more, but takes the hint when the duck pulls out a newspaper from his bag and proceeds to read it. So, the duck reads his paper, drinks his beer, eats his sandwich, bids the barman good day and leaves. The same thing happens for two weeks. Then one day the circus comes to town. The ringmaster comes into the pub for a pint and the barman says to him "You're with the circus, aren't you? Well, I know this duck that could be just brilliant in your circus. He talks, drinks beer, eats sandwiches, reads the newspaper and everything!" "Sounds marvellous," says the ringmaster, handing over his business card. "Get him to give me a call." So the next day when the duck comes into the pub the barman says, "Hey Mr Duck, I reckon I can line you up with a top job, paying really good money." "I'm always looking for the next job," Says the duck. "Where is it?" "At the circus," Says the barman. "The circus?" Repeats the duck. "That's right," Replies the barman. "The circus?" The duck asks again. with the big tent?" "Yeah," the barman replies. "With all the animals who live in cages, and performers who live in caravans?" says the duck. "Of course," the barman replies. "And the tent has canvas sides and a big canvas roof with a hole in the middle?" persists the duck. "That's right!" says the barman. The duck shakes his head in amazement, and says "What the hell would they want with a plasterer" ???

My rehab continues, and I can now walk pretty well with a 4-pointed quad stick, and I caa an even climb stairs - I climbed to the top of our stairs in a home visit yesterday to help prepare me for going home on June 5th. Scary, but good I think. My legs are basically recovering pretty well, but my left arm is much more frustrating - because upper limbs are just more complex eithmore muscles and ligaments to command, so they do come back much sliower apoarebtlyI can raise my hand up detovshoulderheight now either with a bend if the elbow with my arm on the table, or straight out in. Front of me. Flying is not going t happen eanytime soon though and I will probably have to convert to mode 2 from mode 1 when inff do I have a go

"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.

. . . (Yes, I know it's an aeroplane.)

Leeccy wrote: "anyone who covers a funfighter in glossy film in a completely hideous colour scheme, without paying even the slightest attention to what it is, should be subject to a drumhead court martial, have their covering iron broken over the officer's knee and be ceremonially drummed out of the Brownies." I'd better go into hiding straightaway then! 😀

ken anderson....ne....1..geography dept.

amazing to think that until about three weeks ago I had not even climbed a single stair, andI am now going home to live in our house in pretty much the same way we always have, just with a few minor adaptions to toilets etc. All good in will always remember to end as y my oysuo first took me to the stairs, only about 25 mins after I had climbed my first single step in the parallel bars! It felt like science fiction, and within 25 mins he told me, Sid the stairlift, you’ll be able to do this safely by the time you leave us, and 3 more days later I was on a home visit, climbing my own stairs and sitting on the edge of my own bed again whilst the cat stayed downstairs laying on my jacket and sniffing it thinking, oh, he’s back after alll! Incredible really. I have worked s hard though to get here. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done by miles…

I live in Australia but am considering returning to the UK. We have been through all this nonsense here. I was the guy who was mapping the registration exempt model flying fields for the Australian Miniature Aerosports Society. Commercial drone registration happened. And then recreational drone registration was cancelled. No reason given. We aren't getting it. Reading between the lines of discussions with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, they realised it would be a huge workload for zero return and would be unpoliceable with much unregistered use expected. Also all commercial drone licenses were for piloted flights for surveying, photography etc. All the autonomous drone delivery trials which were operating in some towns for years, have been scrapped. There were loads of noise complaints. Privacy complaints. Drones and payloads going missing. Drones found smashed up and stripped for parts. It turned out drone delivery is a way to deliver something tiny with zero security. So it has to be tiny in weight and value. The dream has died. Also rather pleasingly CASA now understand there is a difference between drones and model aircraft and have become very easy to work with. I hope things go so well for my British friends.

And today I stood up under my own power and can now transfer between bed and chair without the hoist on a natty trolley-like contraption they call the re-turn https://www.directhealthcaregroup.com/app/uploads/return_product_brochure_uk_12pages_1505_low-10.pdf

It really really isn't. The CAA have been given a task by Government to enable BVLOS drone operations, there fore they are making proposals to integrate them into the airspace, which happens to be in the bit we are going to have to share with them. If it was a CAA aim (or Govt) we would be out of the airspace. It really is that simple. Our challenge, and I don't just mean the BMFA’s I mean the BMFA/LMA etc and all of us as individuals is to do all we can to ensure whatever proposals are implemented are proportional and pragmatic so we can carry on our activities with as little impact as possible.

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