martin collins 1

Yes, secret development by the Germans in WW1, never made it into production as it would only fly in circles..........

Having got my Baronette airworthy and now just waiting for warmer weather to paint it i have pulled out another Dark nights fix up model, this is a 50" span Fokker DVII. I bought it about 6 years ago at a local Swapmeet, it was pretty grubby then and even more so now as it has been hanging in my barns since purchase as it looks good but needs sorting out to make it useable again. Obviously not a Flair one being too small and it looks like the nose might have been extended, it certainly needs shortening to make it more scale. I haven`t pulled it apart yet to see what is involved in shortening it, i may just leave the nose as is as i`m hoping to pick up a larger Flair one to put my Laser 70 in to, certainly i will be aiming to just make the current covering good as i love the lozenge finish. It will get replacement servos, tank and probably a 48 or 52 four stroke engine, hopefully in the air in the next couple of weeks. Will take some better pictures once it is outside for clean up and dismantling.

Thanks Maurice i had seen that but i would need a second mortgage to pay for the two different types of lozenge pattern covering!

Looking at the possible options for lozenge covering a German WW1 model other than the very time consuming drawing it out and painting it by hand. I know Arizona Models used to do it (at a huge price) but it seems they are no longer in business. I know the Flair DVII kits sometimes had printed templates to hand paint the lozenge pattern, are these available elsewhere?

Yep same here, usually takes an age to load a page, the only website that is an issue but has gone super fast now........

Thanks Adrian, Richard`s bipe is a modified DB Mannock, mine is a Flair 1/4 scale DR1, my favourite model to fly, sorting out three more of them for this summer 😂.

Seven at our patch today, more WW1 skirmish`s with four soties over the lines which resulted in a crumpled wing tip, broken flying wires and wing dowls for Richard`s RFC machine, downed by the twin Spandau`s on my 1/4 scale DR1 🤪, either that or he was caught out by a nasty gust on final approach ..........

Yes it is that letter Brian (and Richard).

Baronette successfully test flown today, now the weather needs to warm a few degrees so i can get a scale scheme painted on it.

A good selection of WW1 models at the club field today with an ASP 160 Twin powered Hannibal, a Four stroke SE5a, and my Puppeteer and Baronette Triplane both electric powered, the Pup on 4s and the DR1 on 3s. SpottyDog the Tripe got through it`s maiden flight with no issues and i pulled off a greaser landing in the gusty conditions which was very satisfying, just got to wait for some warmer weather to get a scale type paint scheme on it.

Nearly ready to test fly now, couple of small jobs to fiddle with tonight and then Baron Von Spottydog will be taken to the strip on Wednesday for a test flight. Balance looks slightly nose heavy which i am fine with for the first flight, once the model gets repainted it should put the balance a bit more rearward. Running it on a 4s Lipo, i may have got away with a 3s and larger prop but we will see, feels a bit porky with the 4s 4000mah in, the airframe itself feels ok, it does have three wings so we will see once it is in the air.

NOW SOLD.

Two Tiger Moth sightseeing flight aircraft are now based there and during the summer months these may be quite busy so shutting the airfield for two days per ModelAir event has probably swayed the Shuttleworth hierarchy, as spread across the year this firm are paying a lot of money into the OW bank.

A lot of trees and undulating ground, not enough open area for r/c or free flight, control line would probably manage.

This sad news arrived this morning, the drawn out negotiations between ModelAir and Old Warden was a warning this may be coming but very sad to hear it confirmed, with the loss of Wings & Wheels at North Weald last year my two favourite shows have now gone. For me in this part of the country it is now Buckminster Events or Elvington LMA that`s it 😓. A statement from the ModelAir team. Since the July model flying event, we have been working very hard trying to secure the future of Model flying events at Old Warden, that we ran on behalf of Shuttleworth, but unfortunately to no avail. Our last course of action was to appeal to the Shuttleworth trustees who have replied as per the letter below, which basically says that Shuttleworth will no longer host model flying events on the airfield. You will see in the letter that the trustees mention the use of the parkland for modelling events. We have thoroughly investigated all the locations proposed to us on the parkland, and it is our opinion that these areas are unsuitable for the majority of our model aircraft disciplines for both practical and legal reasons. Therefore, we do not feel that relocating the model aircraft disciplines into the parkland is a viable option for us. We will, however, continue to monitor the situation at Shuttleworth with regards to any future aeromodelling events. Whilst we explore alternative options for 2026 for a full event, this year, we would recommend all our disciplines, apart from RC, attend the SAM 35 events at the National Centre (details can be found at https://sam35.org.uk/sam35-event-calendar/). These events at Buckminster also include swapmeets for all attendees, traders and car booters to get involved in. We are in discussions with SAM 35 to hopefully bring some of the Old Warden atmosphere to their events, especially at their June event this year. More details to follow. The National Centre also has lots of other events throughout the year to suit all modelling disciplines, so please take a look at the calendar https://nationalcentre.bmfa.org/ We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported aeromodelling events at Old Warden over the many decades and if July 2024 was the last model flying event at Old Warden, we are glad it was such a great weekend, enjoyed by so many of you. Emma Chase on behalf of the ModelAir team. All reactions: 20You and 19 others

Yes one on my DR1's has a 120 in it, not sure it may be lighter than the VQ version which is why they are specifying a larger engine than that.

Great flyer with a very reliable engine and all Futaba servos, been flying this all winter and still flying now till sold but i already have a Puppeteer and just finishing a Baronette so time to sell this on for someone else to enjoy. £130, pick up from Spalding in Lincs.

Lovely looking Spit Eric........

I have an unused Laser 150 here though that is earmarked for one of my Flair DR1`s which i have taken a Zenoah 20cc off. Also like the look of their Fokker DVII, a nice size as a 1/4 scale one is surprisingly MUCH larger than the DR1 and a bit big for me to store and transport. Wonder what size Laser would fly that nicely, i have an 80 sitting here looking for a WW1 model to go into but it might not be enough for the DVII, it would certainly fly a Flair one but that is a bit smaller and probably lighter. https://www.vqmodel.com/NewVQModel_60-90size/fokker-dvii.html

Not had a VQ model before, how is the quality, not sure how the weight compares with your average Flair DR1, not weighed mine. You could pay more than that for a Flair DR1 kit nowadays..........

https://www.vqmodel.com/NewVQModel_20-30cc/fokker_dr1_25.html Anyone bought one or thinking of getting one of these, i already have too many DR1`s but they are tempting.............

Three of us enjoyed light winds this afternoon, a bit chilly but what do you expect this time of the year.

Here is my winter fix up project, Flair Baronette, cheap Evilbay buy with a dodgy paint job. I am converting it to electric on 4s, motor mount installed this evening, old servos removed and sheet ply put on the top of the soft balsa servo bearers that were in it. The elevator hinges will need cutting off as they are not secured properly and the elevator joiner has excessive slop on one side, the model was fitted with a 2 stroke engine hence the cut out for the silencer down the side of the model, this has been filled with soft balsa this evening ready for re shaping. Broken cowl mounts will also be replaced, once all these jobs are done i will probably test fly it before painting then re balance as the paint will add weight to the tail end.

Not imagined i read the article too, an impressive model, afraid i can`t help with the issue it was in, if i turn it up before you get an answer i will let you know.

Those box tops were the last type before the company ceased trading for the last time i believe.