David Davis

Bit of a drive from the middle of France to Old Warden! Besides I've added an elevator. My landings are bad enough even with an elevator.

I want one too! I plan to build a light Junior 60 and to power it by a 15 two stroke.

I may be in the market for one of their 15s. Who is stocking them?

I ran the Laser 62 in the Big Guff on straight fuel yesterday afternoon. It still requires a little adjustment on the bottom end but otherwise it flew the model well enough. This means that I will not have to buy fuel for at least three engines in my aircraft. The OS fourstrokes like a bit of nitro in my experience but I still have half a gallon of 15%.

Eight years ago I bought this 1998 VW LT28. I have had the driver's seat repaired and have replaced the brakes, the starter motor, the exhaust and the tyres. It's been eminently reliable but then I only do about 6,000 miles a year. Plenty of room for the models of course!

Dacia Dusters are as common as dirt where I live. If my old VW van fails its controlle technique in February, the French equivalent of the MoT, I'll seriously consider one.

Yes I've noticed that in France you cannot buy glow fuel with more than 16% nitro in it meanwhile in the UK Southern Modelcraft offer a mix containing 23% nitro. Cheaper too! I'll just have to smuggle some back into La Belle France next time I go "home!"

When I left England nine years ago to retire to central France, I bought five gallons of 10% nitro and five gallons of straight fuel from Southern Modelcraft when it was based in Kent, it was handy for the ferry! I have used nearly all of the 10% but still have most of straight fuel. Yesterday I took my Calmato and Boomerang trainer to see how well they would run on straight fuel. The Calmato is powered by an OS 46 AX and the Boomerang by an Enya 50SS. Both engines required adjusting of course but both models flew well enough. The Enya is still a bit rich on the bottom end. Low wind speeds are forecast today so I'm going to try flying the Big Guff this afternoon on straight fuel. It is powered by a Laser 62. No pictures I'm afraid, my camera has stopped working and I'm saving up for another!

Yes you may see my entry, no 247 at 0.38 seconds, silver with British roundels. I didn't do so well in 23. I crashed out in the first round owing to radio failure, pilot error or a combination of the two! The weather was awful that year too. It was even worse this year so the event was cancelled a few days beforehand because of an inclement weather forecast. My favourite video is of the 2017 event which shows all of the flying rounds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYlLvJC-MuE I did not participate until 2019. My record so far: 2019 circlip on the electric motor failed after two rounds. 2020 event cancelled due to Covid 19. 2021 I won the fourstroke class! 2022 I had to "abandone" as Miss Blue Eyes felt unwell in the heat. 2023 crashed out in the first round. Finished second to last. 2024 event cancelled. I am looking forward to the 2025 event. I have become well-known as a fourstroke competitor and have bought a Laser 50 with a view to competing with a Baron in British markings powered by a British engine! However, the Laser is much heavier than an OS52 or OS clone so I'll probably run one of those.

I also hold the French QPDD, the equivalent of the BMFA's B Certificate. In my view it's easier to get the QPDD than the BMFA's B Cerificate, however, their equivalent of the A Certificate, the Brevet A, is more involved than an A Certificate requiring you to loop and roll amongst other things. Incidentally, regular respondents to this forum will know that I compete every year in La Coupe Des Barons, a simple competition for an iconic French three-channel trainer. About seventy pilots turn up from all over France with a couple driving over the border from Germany and Swizerland. The standard of flying ranges from the expert to the downright dangerous. In 2022 I saw several Barons fly over the crowd and I watched a beautifully built Baron fly off down wind in a series of uncontrolled stalls. Someone should have told him about the getting the centre of gravity in the correct position! No wonder most of the entry gets trashed!

I will be going to just such a Fly-In at Gueret on Sunday.

I still feel the need for advice concerning which servos to install in the Outlaw which is a 50"vintage KeilKraft kit. I will be powering it by an old ED Competition Special. I have a Hitec HS55 and an HS5055MG which I could use. Going slightly larger I have a pair of Savox SH-0255MG and going larger stilll I have a pair of Hitec HS225BB servos. I could always buy another HS55 or HS5055MG to produce a matching pair if necessary. Which would you recommend?

In my case it was an MDS. I'm glad it wasn't mine! Someone gave our club and ARTF trainer with an MDS in it and I took it on. I cannot remember how big the engine was. I could get it to start and run up to moderate speed but it would cut out at high speed. Eventually I got it to run at high speed but once I'd backed off the throttle it would cut out. A change of fuel and plug made no difference. I gave the engine to a Rolls Royce trained engineer who worked on the needle valve taper. It made no difference either! I donated a Thunder Tiger GP 42 which flew the model perfectly. The chairman took the MDS away and displayed it in a glass cabinet. I also had a lot of trouble with a Merco 35 I'd used to take my A Test on until I realised that I'd worn it out!

Very calm weather in Central France yesterday. I flew the Big Guff and the Calmato. Chalk and cheese I know! With the Big Guff I just concentrated on flying tight circuits up and down the runway. With the Calmato I concentrated on perfecting every aerobatic manouevre I am capable of! I also took my engine test stand and ran-in my recently acquired Laser 50. I have fitted new piston rings to it courtesy of Gavin Carter. Five of us turned up and for once the number of i/c powered models exceeded tose powered by electric motors. No pictures were taken because my camera is "hors service," but here are some pictures of both models from the archives.

Welcome from me too Bob. I hope that you find a club willing to accept you. You'll find that lots of things have changed since your single channel days: Almost Ready To Fly models, some of them made out of styro foam and powered by electric motors, four-strokes, buddy boxes which allow the instructor's transmitter to connect to the learner's and silencers! Most clubs have a dedicated trainer which they allow you to use before you commit yourself. Though many kit producers from the past are no longer trading, companies like Ben Buckle produce a range of vintage kits which are in my view highly suitable as ab initio trainers if you fancied building your own model. https://www.benbucklevintage.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1. Alternatively, Belair Kits, offer short-kits or plan packs where they cut out all of the difficult stuff and you have to provide the balsa strip, sheet and block. https://www.belairdigital.co.uk/itemsection.asp?id=50

My Veron Cardinal is also fitted with a Mills 75 and in the 1960s I was given all of my uncle's models as he was dying of cancer. These included a Tomboy powered by a Mills 75 which flew it well free flight but the ED Bee was also a popular choice of engine for the Tomboy.

In my opinion it's the undercambered wing section which gives the Junior 60 its grateful flying characteristics.

Both of my Junior 60s have been built off the Flair plan. In that plan the rudder pivots off a piece of 1/4" square balsa located at the highest point of the fin. I will build a similar fin and rudder when I get round to building my next Junior 60. Frans' maroon and white model, built from a Ben Buckle kit has a much smaller rudder. In flight it was not an issue until you were trying to land. The reduced airflow made the rudder very unresponsive.

Geoff if you have a look at the 1955 plan you'll see that there are three 1/4" wing spars. https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=1398, two spars above one another at the wing rib's highest point, connected by inter-spar webbing and another halfway between these ribs and the trailing edge. I helped a fiend build a Ben Buckle Junior 60 which is based upon the 1946 design. His model, the maroon and white one, is pictured below.This only has two spars: https://www.benbucklevintage.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_9&products_id=85. You said that you had a set of wing ribs. By identifying whether you have two or three slots you'll be able to work out which version you have. Incidentally, Ben Buckle's prototype seems to have been powered by an ED Competition Special. I'm surprised that this engine developed sufficient power to fly it.

The Junior 60 was my first successful r/c model built from a Flair kit so I have a soft spot for the model. Bear in mind that there are two sorts of Junior 60: the original 1946 design and the 1955 version which had a wider fuselage stronger wing and larger rudder. These modifications suited the heavy receivers of the period. https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=9995 and https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=1398 They are a great relaxing flyer in calm conditions. I've built two of them and plan to build another over winter covered in doculam and tissue and powered by a 15 glow. Two pictures of mine to encourage you.

A couple of years ago I was bringing my WOT 4 XL into land when it suddenly veered sharply to the left and smacked into the ground. I had no control whatsoever. It transpired that I had replaced the rudder servo with one of another make but I'd used the original output arm. The splines were different so the arm slipped on the servo. As I was low and slow at the time no serious damage was done.

If you scroll down to the bottom of this list you'll find a recommended set up for the Junior 60. It could be a good starting point. https://www.4-max.co.uk/recommended-setups.htm

Paul, when referring to the Inland Revenue I think you meant an inspection rather than "a control." Tu a habité en France depuis trop longtemps! And can we put this "What Laser do I have?" business to bed. Four engines are externally just about identical and the factory rarely stamped the size of the engine onto the crankcase. It's all part of the joy of owning an old Laser! 🙂 PS. My 50 has "50" stamped onto the mounting lug.