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The above was a broadcaster who featured in Tomorrows World on BBC and was a dedicated modelmaker. Passed away on the 19th January aged 92. R.I.P. I met him a few times and he had many very interesting tales to tell.

Blanchard crossed the channel in a balloon in 1785, I wasn't there, but it sems to be well documented. Bleriot was the first across in a heavier air machine, but I do believe that a balloon is defined as flying when in the air. (Oxford English Dictionary). In May 1919 a NC4 aircraft flew across the Atlantic (in stages) roughly a month before Alcock & Brown did it non-stop, so Lindbergh certainly was not the first. in fact he was quite late. Pedantic maybe, but the subject of the piece was about broadcasters getting their facts right. (they just leave out the bits they don't like, to suit themselves, to make their 'job' easier.) Yes I am a grumpy old man ..................

The favourite aviation 'fact' is 'Bleriot -the first to fly over the English Channel', or, Lindbergh the first to fly over the Atlantic. Or, mountain biking, a sport apparently invented by the Americans in the 1970's! My dad was riding cross country on rough trails and footpaths through woods, heathland and over hills in the South of England before WW2. In the 1950's I joined him and great fun it was too. Admittedly the bikes weren't purpose built, just ride to work drop handlebar hacks.

Answer, yes it was Carbon Copy.

I was looking for a carbon fibre undercarriage for my electrified Acro Wot to replace the alloy one. The CF item actually weighed more than the original. Whether the drag reduction of any flat or airfoil section over a round wire would be significant unless extremely thin would be difficult to measure................................and any advantage could be offset by the extra weight. Edited By Chris P. Bacon on 30/09/2013 00:19:29

This seems to be a bit optomistic even if it has got a new engine in it...............**LINK**

For the facts about the Mike Hawthorn crash look into the Surrey Constabulary website where there is a lot of first hand and contemporary information. I know exactly where it happened, I was 15 at the time and went past the hole in the hedge where the impact was, a number of times. The car was taken to Stag Hill Motors nearby and a number of press photographers had to be cleared off the embankment at the back of the workshop where they were trying to get pictures through the high windows of the building.

Multiplex Blizzard. No competition. 4+ in one machine. Nothing else on the market in foam can do Powered Glider, Warmliner, slope soarer in gentle winds, all out hooligan in 70mph winds off the slope, if you dare. Waits for abuse...........................

The first AcroWot I had, years ago, was fitted with a Enya 50 helicopter engine, not the largest in the recommended range. Never had any problem taking off at all. But I did think at first that I couldn't land it satisfactorily, probably because I was not letting it slow down enough. As a result I kept knocking the undercarriage off. I then learned to slow it down before the final approach! If it is set up correctly it will be easy to land if you give it a chance to settle. My second, electrified AcroWot takes off in about ten feet, probably because of the greater torque available from rest...................

According to Lufthansa, the JU52 is theirs. **LINK**

Daithi, it's not on the Lufthansa page, but from other web pages it is confirmed as Lufthansa's plane.

This morning I heard the sound of a piston engined aircraft nearby. Just caught sight of it as it passed between some trees. It appeared to be a Junkers JU52. It certainly had one engine on each wing, was low wing with pronounced dihedral, it was distant and going away from me so couldn't see if there was a third engine. Squareish fuselage section. This was in the Portsmouth area. Anyone know if there was one in the region? Edit, just realised it was the Goodwood Revival, so it was a JU 52....Owned by Lufthansa. Edited By Chris P. Bacon on 15/09/2013 23:48:38 Edited By Chris P. Bacon on 15/09/2013 23:56:07

The best bargain I have managed was a clean, fully working Olympus OM 10 SLR Film camera with 50mm Zuiko lens for £1.24.

Effolg, for small items use recycled padded envelopes, bubble wrap, cardboard, cardboard boxes. The only expense apart from postage is then adhesive tape, ink and paper if you print the postage label, and brown paper if you use that. My local £1 shop sells brown paper, tape and bubble wrap much cheaper than the Post Office or W.H. Smith. The buyer pays for the P&P so it should never eat into your selling price. If you need to pack it in a large new cardboard box, add the cost of that to the P&P. When you list it! --- The buyer either wants the item or not. If they want it, they will realise that it has to be packaged and that the packaging has to be paid for. (You can explain that in the listing). The important thing is to weigh items accurately, then calculate the postal and packing charges from there. The only thing I don't factor in, is my time packing and sending. (Some sellers do.) It is a hobby and I take my walk to the Post Office as my exercise. I don't use delivery services other than Post Office for reasons I have stated elsewhere on this forum.     Edited By Chris P. Bacon on 15/09/2013 14:43:28

This was my BV 141B.   Edited By Chris P. Bacon on 15/09/2013 14:02:41

I built and flew a Blohm & Voss BV141B about 15 years ago from a Nick Ziroli plan. It was 54" wingspan and was alright to fly but a bit sensitive on the elevator. It was pictured in RCM&E magazine and I sold it about 3 years ago after looking at it and deciding that it would be difficult to convert to electric as I had converted completely from I.C. I have been trying to sell replica workshop manuals for the Luftwaffe BV141B on ebay if anyone is interested.

Nice model, never heard of it before. Did you think of fitting a sound generator to simulate the engine noise?

I had no c/g problem with mine, I put a bell-crank in the tail where the elevator servo should have been and located a standard size servo just behind the battery. The motor was an AXI 2820/12. The main difficulty was getting it stopped!

What I was trying to say is that a particular make/model of model aircraft becomes very popular for a time. Then gets neglected then, sometimes, comes back into fashion for some reason (Wot 4, Panic, Breeze, Bullet, etc.) I was not saying that Hotliners are out of fashion. The Sprinter was well regarded about 8 years ago, I was reminding people that it is still available.

Hotliners, like all consumer products go in and out of fashion. I found that thr Reichard Sprinter was quite fast enough for me. As it still seems good value for money I will make a case for that.

Looks like this might have been an A.M. diesel, once............**LINK**

Well hidden valves on this one. **LINK**

What's a 'quinton'. I am an ebay user. One of the main points in its favour is that nowhere else do you get such a wide exposure to the items you are selling. Everybody knows the name. If you list an item, whether you want to post it abroad or not, it potentially can be examined by potential buyers from all over the World. I buy items from my local car boot sale, within walking distance. on a casual basis. About half an hour wander most weeks, it is good excercise, costs me nothing in petrol or parking. Normally I never spend very much, twice I have spent £5, usually 25p. or 50p. After 18 months I am more than £250 up. One book went to Norway for £41. A plastic model motorcycle kit bought for £2.50 sold on ebay the same day I bought it for £22.50. A camera accessory that I just picked up and the seller offered to me for £0.50 sold for £50, if I had waited I probably could have got more for it. I don't buy antiques such as pottery or jewellery because I don't know anything about it. Ebay make money out of it, that is what they are there for. Their charges are listed.

  A cloud with a 'tail' today. Edited By Pete B - Moderator on 10/09/2013 19:00:25

No problem with ebay except for the occasional untrustworthy person who wants to mess with the system. I have never been able to place a reserve price of less than £50, does it vary by type of item?