mal brewer

 By the way,it was Ron Warring,I think it was spelt with 2 'r's'. By a strange coincidence,I have just built a couple of Vic Smeed designs, a 'Mam'selle', and a 'Ballerina'. I remember building a 'Mam'selle'' whilst at school,from the free plan published in the Christmas 'Aeromodeller'', I think that was 1957.....................Mal.

  Hello Erfolg ,yes you're quite correct,it was an Ian Peacock design,must have been another senior moment on my part! Mind you,they were both prolific designers at the time,and both designed,dare I say it,similar type of models.I know we're going off the original thread a little now,but you seem to be somewhat similar to me,I'm afraid.I too,have just had my loft re-insulated,and as a result,I took literally a van load of magazines to the local tip.I kept the more interesting mags,but I've still got another van-load I'm hanging on to.I also modelled from before my teens without adult assistance,and as a result I read everything I could about aeronautics,building tecniques,and covering and finishing systems.Engines were stripped and re-built,models stripped for any spares,everything was done on a shoestring.I think most older modellers will be rather similar,includig of course,P.M.............Mal.

I'm quite suprised that anybody still has a copy of P.E. Norman's plan of the Blister.Although the engine size of 2.5 c.c. appears small by today's standards,in it's time it was very high powered,most models of that size had only a 1 - 1.5c.c. diesel engine fitted.P.M. is quite correct re. the escapement rubber,it was a loop of 1/8" rubber driving an Elmic 'Conquest' actuator,which gave only 'bang-bang' rudder control in a 'neutral-left-neutral-right' sequence.And yes,the radio was pretty unreliable.I seem to recall that the wings on 'Blister' were secured to the ply tongues with matchstick shear pins,or was that a 'mod' I made to the design,I wonder.P.E.'s anti-crash methods worked very well,my blister survived many high-speed crashes,despite being very heavy,on account of it's nylon covering,polyurethane paint finish,any ample ply in the constuction.However,like I posted in my previous thread,do you not think that the Brian Peckham 'bootlace' design is oh so similar in appearance?....Mal.

Looking at that picture of the Ian Peacock designed Bootlace,I couldn't help noticing how similar it looks to a model I built round about 1969.This model was the Blister,designed by the great P.E. Norman,and was included in the aps (aeromodeller plans service) range.P.E. was well-known for his somewhat unconvential building style,and all his models were very strongly built.The Blister was,believe it or not,designed for single channel radio,and was designed with plug-in knock-offable wings,a knock-off engine mount,and lots of ply in the construction.It was about 45" span,and used a 2.5c.c. (0.15 c.i.) engine.Hot stuff indeed.I don't think anybody would dare attempt to fly anything like this rudder-only nowadays,we must have been a lot braver,or more foolish,then.Makes you wonder,however,where the inspiration for model design comes from.Previous designs must always be in the back of people's minds...........Mal.

my favourite book about ww2 aviation is 'the big show' written by Pierre Closterman.Although he is a slightly contriversial person,his book really captures the imagination,giving you the impression of being in the cockpit with him.Another very fine book is 'lancaster target,written by Jack Currie,which describes his time as a pilot on 26 squadron,flying from raf wickenby '43-44.Excellent book,his other titles,'wings over georgia',describing his training in the usa,and his follow-up book 'mosquito victory',describing his time on thrum flights over germany,are equally superb.Well worth finding a copy,you won't be able to put them down.................Mal.

that aircraft does look similar to Peter Russel's 'Striker',but, from memory,Mick Reeves did produce a kit with a rolled ply fuselage.Can't recall it's name ,however........

I think Basildon Biggles has some of his facts a bit awry.The Beaufighter was originally built with a flat tailplane,as it was developed from the Beaufort bomber.The aircraft was found to be somewhat unstable,and the mk 2 Beaufighter was fitted with a dihedral tailplane to correct this fault.The relatively quiet operation of the aircraft was due to the Bristol 'Hercules' sleeve-valve engines,which exhausted into a large collecter ring which formed the leading edge of the engine cowl.This resulted in the exhaust being cooled considerably before discharge,thereby lowering the exhaust volume and velocity.As regards the torque,yes it was evident,but according to many ex-beaufighter pilots,it was no worse than many other high power tail-dragger twins.But the beaufighter was always known as a Beaufighter,whether mk1 or mk2,flat tail or dihedral tail,Hercules power or Merlin power.Fantastic aircraft,it,s got that lovely ugliness,I've just completed building my model of it,just awaiting it's camoflge paint.......cheers,Mal.

Hello again Heaton,just found the book of words for the 'Taxicup II',and they give balance point of model as being 90 mm from leading edge at wing root, good luck with the model,mine flies superbly,cheers,Mal.

    VERY nice 'Super Sixty',.......................but what engine is that?Obviously a diesel,but is it a DC conversion,or a factory built job? Looks like an Irvine carb............no wonder it can stay up so long,what with the fuel economy of a diesel,cheers, Mal.

Hi Heaton,I was just looking for the instruction book for the 'Taxicup 11',but as normal,I can't find them.I do know that mine,when set up as per,balanced on the rear edge of the leading edge sheeting,i.e. approx 30% of the wing chord.Hope this is of assisstance,if your are still not sure,let me know,and I will have another look for the instruction book,I knoww i've got oi somewhere,cheers,Mal.

Posted by Stephen Grigg on 25/09/2009 15:32:33: Thanks Ernie,I wasnt sure how to descibe what is needed,I put cowl so people didnt think I was looking for a proper rotary engine.Flair do some sort of kit that you make the mock engine out of.The original kit had a mock engine in it but that is missing.My friend feels this is the most impotant part of the kit so wont atart on its compltion until this problem is sorted  Hi Stephen,just to be a complete anorak,the engine fitted to a Stearman is a radial  engine.A rotary engine is the type on which the crankshaft is stationary,and the cylinders and crankshaft rotate around it.These were generally fitted to earlier aircraft (e.g. Sowith Camel,Avro 504 etc.) of around W.W.1 era.Best wishes with your build,good to see there's still some real modellers out there in this ARTF age.........cheers,Mak.