MartinN

Morning to you all, Thanks for the warm welcome along with your thoughts and recommendations. It’s a horribly soggy day here today so plenty of time to look up the noted models Martin

Hi all, Not completely new to the forum but haven't been around in a good few years. I first joined up in 2009 when I wanted to make a move from buggies into flying...then child number 1 turned up not so ling thereafter. Roll forward to 2015 when I popped back but I then got scuppered by work sending me to work in the US every 6 weeks or so which meant there really wasn't time for much. 2016 was the year of redundancy, 2017 the year of moving to the Norfolk coast (from Buckinghamshire) and 2018 is the year of being 40 and therefore time for the midlife crisis; thought it time I get my finger our and get on with this long lasting desire. I'm no longer in possession of any of the 'kit' I had previously so starting again. I'll be getting in contact with my local club (Acle) in the next few days and hopefully get to visit in the not too distant future. From what I see they have their own training plan available so there's no need to rush into buying anything in a hurry...but where's the fun in that! I'll not bite the bullet until I've been to see them as they have some noise restrictions so unsure whether to head down the IC or brushless route - they do allow both. I work away 2 or 3 days most weeks so doubt I'll head down a built route and will stick to some form of ARTF model. IC is my preference so hope to find myself a .40 trainer. We shall see!

Hi Chris, Ah, a good point to raise. I remember losing interest in LiPo when people were charging in fire-proof bags and storing in old ammunition boxes; started to get a bit too exciting for me! I assume many of the Trainers such as Thunder Tiger 40, WOT 4 and Irvine are available in electric flavours...I shall no doubt answer my own question with a Google search Martin

Morning all, Many thanks for the replies - great advice. I'm off to the US for work in a week so hope to male contact with a few clubs on my return. I'm lucky that Buzzards and Chesham both have flying sites within 10 minutes drive of the house. There's also a soaring site even closer should I decide to skip power all together. I need to educate myself on the electric front. I've been a fan of buggies on and off over the years and have always stayed away from brushless/Lipo. At that time they seemed to be quite volatile with lots of horror stories. Sounds like things may have moved on significantly. Thanks once again Martin

Evenin' all, I'm a returning member from Buckinghamshire (Near Leighton Buzzard), UK. I was last here in 2009 I believe which was then my second attempt at breaking into the hobby. However, life took over (two kids and nearly a degree later - mature student), and I never quite got around to it, so at the tender age of 37 I think I'm about ready to give it another go. I'm going to be starting from scratch on the model front and think I'll head down the IC route, however I guess that'll depend largely on the rules of local clubs (I think I have three (Aylesbury, Leighton Buzzard or Chesham). I think that's all I have to share right now Looking forward to picking your brains relatively frequently. Martin

Phoenix on Windows 7 is not a problem.  If anything it runs better than it did in XP, 50% better than it did on Vista

Running XP on a bootcamp partition would look to be the most simple way; either that or by running a Virtual Machine using something like VM Fusion.    

HI Steve,   Not a problem I've come across; I assume you're all patched and up-to-date?  I understand the support folk at Phoenix are very good so it may well be worth dropping them a note at  support at phoenix-sim.com 

PS good luck with the move!

It may well be worth dropping in to Al's Hobbies in Milton Keynes and have a chat with the guys there.  http://alshobbies.com/info/findus.htm   Al is very active in the UK modelling arena I believe and I've no doubt one of his helpers will be able to provide advice on a local club which will meet your needs as well as BMFA membership etc.   BMFA licenses aren't compulsory (by law) in the UK but many clubs do request that one holds a grade before they can fly solo.  The primary reason however is it means you're insured should somebody get injured.  You may find that one of the instructors will request you prove your abilities and simply request you have BMFA membership for insurance purposes.   I can't imagine many clubs are THAT specific as many do allow visiting pilots etc. 

Oh and here's another http://www.modelflying.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=34234

I'm not too sure of Milton Keynes itself but I believe there's a good and well established club in Aylesbury (about a 20 - 30 minute drive)   http://www.admfc.co.uk/   There are also clubs in the Luton area which is about the same distance.   Both locations are an easy jaunt from MK.   I live about15 miles from MK and am a member at Chesham although I've not managed to pay a visit yet due to a bunch of boring reasons.  Chesham seems to have a really good reputation and has a number of flying sites, one of which is a couple of miles up the road so it may still be an option. 

Gone. Cheers  Martin

Doh for the spelling mistake .... they're not their!  Hi All, I've got two tickets for the BTCC at Silverstone if anybody wants them.  They're free but you'll need to collect from just outside Leighton Buzzard.  Been today for practice but unfortunately can't make tomorrow; shame to see them go in the bin.  Martin Edited By MartinN on 29/08/2009 19:10:04

Cheers Austen...will give that a go! Martin