Andrew Thomson

Even better than Peters idea ( this avoids messy / smelly / dangerous chemicals ) - use your all in one scanner/fax/photocopier that most of us have on our pc's to copy the parts from the plan . Cut them out individually and place on copier to produce the minimum number of A4 sheets for all the parts . Then take a trip to Staples or similar and get yourself some A4 size full sheet removeable laser labels by Avery (pack of 25 sheets) Avery ref L4735REV - around £8-9.00. Now copy your "refined" parts sheets direct onto the labels , cut out , peel the backing off and stick onto your balsa . The "sticky" level is just right for the job. Using this method you have a master set of parts templates to file with the plan that you can reproduce ready to stick on the wood in short order . Ideal for repairs or for group building .

Hi ,      As a trainer the Junior 60 is hard to beat. You can set it up for 3 channel ( no ailerons , less twitchy ) and later build a second wing with ailerons . If you do start as a 3 channel ( Throttle , rudder , elevator ) then remember to set the rudder up on the "aileron" stick on your transmitter . The rudder will produce the turning effect in 3 channel. By putting the rudder on the aileron stick the trainee will get the same effect from the same stick when moving to 4 channel , it will just be a bit faster in the turn with ailerons ! When building the second wing modified to have ailerons , reduce the dihedral by at least half . Fit it with a nice .25 two stroke and a bit of downthrust and it will be perfect for those nice summer days - it will climb like a rocket on full throttle , pootle around nicely at walking pace almost , just above idle ( circuit and bumps are a joy ) and given the help of a thermal will float around for ages.With a blue coded slec tank and a sunny day mine has been known to stay up for 30mins and we all sit on the flight line passing the tx along taking turns ! A perfect alternative to warbirds and fun-flys. It can handle strong winds too !

Dear Adam ,                    You say your new project is a DB kit . You should have no problems there . I recently built their Tiger Moth and what a joy ! My Father in law has built their Auster , lovely ! Given the model sizes , the kit quality and their completeness , they are really well priced too ! Great range of kits and plans. Customer service if you ring them is first class . Well worth supporting. We do not hear enough about them or their good quality - I hope it is because they are too busy.                    It is a great shame when uk firms don't do a good job , aren't interested in solving the problems and overprice to boot ! 

Having decided I am here and not there and fried my brain with permutations for different letter groups - going back to where this all started(or was it finished ? - depends on your point of view on here or there !) - There can sometimes be a very cheap and effective way of extending access to throttle screws etc which is pushing on some fuel tubing as a tight fit . This has the added advantages of being clear and slightly flexible as to access line . It is also a great way of getting the metal connector started in the neck of Slec fuel tanks ( fingers cannot get access )or for removing or fitting glow plugs in hot or awkward access situations. Regards , Andy.

To clean the sole of the iron use surgical spirit from the chemist , it works a treat. Regards , Andy.

No sarcasm directed at you at all my friend - keep it coming . They ask because it is politically correct to have such a facility on a website , however , they really don't like it and cannot accept it when they get to find out what a lot of us really think !

Careful Tony ! You are telling it like it is and not toeing the party line.God forbid someone should use a mechanism for feedback to tell what they think ! Who knows , the largely arrogant current keepers of the monthly mag may eventually learn to fully read and understand such responses and see why they alienate a large proportion of the readership so easily and regularly , whilst charging nearly £4.00 a month. Keep it up.

Referring to earlier comments - electric power evangelists are extremely offputting . especially when they proclaim that e/p is more widespread than it clearly is in reality when you look round most flying fields ! With commiserations to those who may be restricted to e/p only , e/p is best described as most suitable for the niche areas of multi-engined models and small jet replicas .Otherwise it is still a short but generally novel and amusing interlude at most fields , executed by the very well off , before getting back to flying real model aircraft.As such it only deserves very limited coverage . Not the levels currently seen. That said , it is nice to see a short and constructive set of articles re edf , which is one of the niche areas e/p has something to offer scale and sport modellers .

The old Balsacraft Limbo dancer is a fantastic easybuild funfly too . Just lengthen the nose by approx 1.5 inches to improve access for tank and batteries up front and reduce a slight tail heavy tendency . Ballistic on a .46 . Plans often advertised on ebay for about £6.00 from memory.

Apart from upsetting all those who support your distribution network via model shops and newsagents , you display an overwhelmingly unseemly money grabbing first attitude with little or no thought for actual service provision ! It would seem that those who wish to subscribe are not being furnished with the necessary info to gain the advertised benefits - not good practice at all ! I would urge all newsagents and modelshops to stop stocking this mag as it now looks to bite the very hand that feeds it. The mag would be nowhere without newsagents and modelshops stocking it. Nearly everything on this website has been or is very delayed . How long have we all been waiting for the plans service to resume online after so many promises ? It seems from all the comments you are offering too litle to the majority , too much to the minority , mostly done late or badly , or not at all.

AVRO VULCAN (I/C PUSHER OR PULLER) HAWKER TYPHOON HAWKER HURRICANE

Dear Steve , Condemned from your own mouth - read your own words - You claim electric is mainstream yet in your own supposedly electric area club you admit only 35% at most fly electric - that is a minority in anyones' language and certainly not enough to justify the level of electric content in any mainstream mag.It most certainly shows electric is NOT mainstream. Model flying is not all the same as the basics of airframe and power design etc are fundamentaly different and NON compatible . A free electric plan is of absolutely no use to a traditional modeller. You condemn the comparison article I referred to . Frankly , from prices most of us observe locally and in mags , I doubt many gave your "follow-up " letter much credence as it was obviously not as well researched , grounded in fact and coherently presented as the original article . You present a scenario where all mags have to follow the same path because of the emergence of some new ( and from your own words minority ) trend , however incompatible , or face dire consequences . You could not be more wrong if you tried ! This all started because of Mr.Ashby wondering why he had falling subscriptions in essentially a growing market (bmfa MEMBERSHIP BASED ).Now you know why ! Continue as you are or not at your own commercial peril . You (collectively)posed the question and got the answer . If you don't like it then tough !We have already largely lost a reliable desirable monthly hobby mag , certainly one worth subscribing to. We trad modellers can only gain financially if you do not put your house in order by keeping our money in our pockets , even more so than now. As previously stated we do not want to change , there is no reason to or need to .Electric power is different , inferior , but does have a place - on its own outside of trad modelling. You will end up losing your job by not listening to ( by your own admission ) the majority. Make your choice ,we already are and the clock is ticking for you.

Dear All , David , your home location and the number of indoor flyers you know may be a good indication of why you know 50/50 . To those who still fail to understand - those of us who are for want of a better term , traditionalists , who believe a real plane requires a real engine unless there is an excellent overiding reason why this cannot be so , do not want our monthly hobby magazine filled with articles month on month which we consider of nil interest and for the free plan and build article to be useless to us as it is not i/c and therefore too light and frail without much modification . Mr Ashby , why should we part with our money for a magazine that in the most part fails to interest us much any more apart from the occasional issue ? The drop in regular buyers and subscriptions is because the only thing we can be sure of more months than not is that it will dissapoint !! We therefore take it , or more often leave it , on a monthly basis. Electric modelling IS different and NON compatible with traditional modelling , the airframe design , power design and method and subsequent performance are all different . If there are so many "mainstream" electric flyers then let them subscribe to "Electric Flying" or similar , there should be enough of them to make it viable according to you ! Leave our magazine alone . We wish you well with your interest , but do not compromise or interfere with ours - we do NOT want to join you !

As a newbie I would recommend you save a lot of money and buy a secondhand Futaba 6 channel Tx either a Challenger or Skysport or an FF6 ( 52 aniversary version ). The FF6 is a far better computer set than the horrible EXAP that replaced it.Even an FF6 would only cost you around £40. Only spend big money later when you know it is for you and you have a bit more knowledge about what you need / want. Regards , Andy T.

I think you have picked a great model , which with its' wide undercarriage will be a sturdy model.With regard to some of your supply questions ( I too am currently one !) order the laser cut pack direct from B Holman in the states - look him up on the web , check californian time on the web , and ring him .This will save you a fortune - do not get from Unitracts - their prices are ridiculous.Get your plans , cowl , spinner and canopy direct from Brian . His Somerset address is advertised in the back of most mainstream mags .Unless you want all the agro and heavy cost of 100% scale , then I would suggest fitting just standard mech or air retracts as these are a small fraction of the cost (£170 +) of the Unitract scale retracts for this 190 .You can build the entire model for less than that ! Best of luck and pick another B Taylor plan for your next one - you won't go wrong. Best Regards , Andy T.

To messrs Wright and Jones , If you read the whole article as sent then the rationale for electric flight being "niche" is given - less than 10% of 300 flyers in our immediate area fly electric powered models.That is niche by anyones standards ! It may be more popular down south but that is just a small part of the country ! Lots of trade advertising and lots of largely dissapointing experimentation with electric flight does NOT make it mainstream . The only exception would be for indoor flying. Before you spend a not so small fortune equipping for electric flight , find and read an excellent article in one of the mags about 6 months ago about the relative costs and benefits of ic vs electric.This truly reveals electric to be the lame duck second choice on cost , power and realism.On noise grounds I concede it is a clear winner and fot those unfortunately constrained against their will , I concede a silent plane is better than no plane at all . Back to the bunker.

Typhoon Hurricane Magister. Andy T.

At the risk of generating much discussion I would like to pick up on a few comments and add my contribution. As a lifelong modeller who has participated in most traditional areas ,I would firstly like to agree with the gentleman who pointed out that this and all the other model mags are failing to satisfy their core audience most of the time . This in turn is why so few subscribe to ANY model mag. Beware Mr Ashby et al , you are all to a greater or lesser degree in danger of losing your way by trying to be all things to all men ! What is it that annoys the usually silent majority so much that we actively dicriminate and refuse to purchase mags on a monthly basis , dependant on content? We hate what we perceive to be specialist niches taking over the majority of the mags such as ....Electric powered models ...the majority of free plans being electric powered and or small scale ....Kit reviews that are artf reviews month in month out....usually very little on skills or tools or techniques both basic and advanced in terms of traditional building or indeed artf repairing ...pages of electronic power babble. What would be wrong with detailed build articles over say 3 months of popular plans both sport and scale from your own or other major recognised ranges for people to follow ? Don't worry too much about repeating building topics after say 18 months because your audience moves on , also requires reminding and a fresh pair of hands on a topic will be new anyway . Ditch the constant diatribe over electric power , etc .This is a niche area , there is a mag specially for those who wish to indulge in becoming electronic engineers !If this mag has now ceased then take heed - there is insufficient demand .Many months it seems there is little else in the mag but this .It may be popular down south but be aware that in the four clubs I have been a member of and would encompass some 300 modellers , less than 10 ever flew electric powered models Whatever , keep it out of our mainstream mags except for occasional articles with some special merit or crossover interest , ( more than likely a scale item from Mr Nijhuis !) Do in depth features on kit and artf suppliers , particularly UK based such as DB Sport and Scale ,Warbirds,Galaxy Models , cover the ranges , production techniques etc. How about in depth interviews etc with major figures such as Brian Taylor , David Bryant , Ali Maschinkski(apologies if wrong spelling ), Peter Kent , David Boddington , Colin Hammond , etc.Modelling is as much about the people and skills appreciation and social intercourse as it is about products - witness the flightline action at any decent well run club ! What about more talk from the trade , both retail and wholesale . Why can we not have free plans of models of a decent size , say 50 inches plus ? - use your imagination and initiative a bit more ! Your audience is not getting smaller , according to BMFA membership it is getting larger .They are however far more discerning and demanding better value in terms of %tage content they identify with . Just remember you do not exist to support the trade/importers , you are there to satisfy the needs and demands of the mainstream majority of we traditional modellers .If you want more regular readers and subscriptions , then meet our demands or we will keep our money in our pockets ! I will now put my tin hat on and retire to the bunker. Who knows , in another 20 years I might dare speak again !