J D 8

This cox thimble-drome [says so on the tank] came in a box of bits I bought a while back. Gave it a clean and put some fuel in [5% it's all I use] and a squirt through the exhaust,a few flicks and away it went like a good un. I did have some cox's in my younger days a TD 0.51 and a medallion 15 in control liner's and a Pe wee in a free flight that I lost out of sight I had forgotten what a racket they made like an angry wasp.Don't suppose many are operating them these days given the noise.

Nice,I was running my PAW 1.5 RC the other day hoping for some flying weather.

The same here.

When I lost the exhaust from my Irvine 46 I drilled the holes all the way through and fitted an ASP one with cap head bolts and nuts. The old nylon body carbs of the mk1 could be a pain gumming up but the later black metal body one's were good carbs.

Hi David,I still have my Irvine 20,it was my first RC engine with a throttle. Purchased in 1979 for £41.94 still written on the box. Good luck in the competition. John.

If your car has never had its rear dampers changed at that mileage I would advise replacement.

Some are now putting electric motors in old IC engine case's,this keeps the original look of the model but makes operating them simpler. Also less vibration would be kinder to the air frame.

Another vote for Raymond Baxter, he flew Spitfire's towards the end of WW2 mostly on ground attack missions. His original comments about his wing man who opened fire on V2 rocket rising from a wood in front of them are not printable!

A good program,well worth a watch and not just for those interested in aircraft.

I had a very near miss thirty five years ago while flying a microlight, Flying at 50 mph at 500 feet, off to my right I noticed two black dots getting bigger very quickly. Two RAF Hawk's shot past the lead aircraft just in front and slightly below,the wing man went directly beneath me. To this day I still have this picture in my minds eye of the pilot who was looking forward his hand on the stick and the backseater looking down at his clipboard ! Edited By J D 8 on 28/03/2018 09:18:36

Cane toad DT, that made me smile, .

At that size I would say flying over long grass would have very little risk. Lovely looking model. If I remember right was the full size launched from under an airship?

If you want something model flying that looks totally idiotic,then look no further than the evening free flight session at the BMFA nationals.  Also I would be there if job and distance would allow. Between the feet Cliff. Ace.   Edited By J D 8 on 26/03/2018 17:29:49

From 1943 onward 617 Squadron were equipped with the SABS "stabilized automatic bomb sight" and with practice could regulary put their bombs with in a hundred yard circle from 16 000 feet. This was needed so as not to waste their expensive and hard to make Tallboy and Grandslam earthquake bombs. The SABS may have been gyro stabilized and automatic but needed great skill to set up and also accurate flying hight and speed on a ten mile run in to target. Not nice when being shot at. To limit time over the target aircraft would circle like Indians around a wagon train before heading in at the same time at different hight's all crossing the target within a few minutes. The mind boggles at timing it so as all aircraft and bombs miss each other ! The only other types of bomb to match or improve this level of accuracy were the German Frits X and American Azon bombs,both steered to target by an operator in the aircraft which had its own problems. Accuracy only improved many years later with the introduction of Paveway laser guided types. I also bomb drop from my DB Major Mannock, wIth two bombs that can be independently dropped.The target is usually myself and am lucky to get within 20yds from about 100ft.

Two Red Kite's.

It burning with a clear flame is another danger, I roasted some fingers before I realised my model flight box was on fire!

When I converted my free flight Mercury Matador to RC I used litespan to recover the tail,weighed no more than the original painted tissue an is a lot tougher.

Feasibility studies Jobs for the boys and girls. What a waist, you are right there Piers. The amount spent on one for the proposed Motor circuit of Wales could have built half the track! John.

That is a good one Don. A friend of mine also in the REME recounted experiments with dropping vehicles from aircraft on parachutes.His job was to shove them out of an Argosy mounted on different pallet designs. As a result a good number of Mini Moke's were splatted over Salisbury plain before they got it right. John.

There was even an idea for a piloted slip wing that could be glided back to earth and reused !

The slip wing was one of those blind alleys of aviation,one that could carry extra fuel to extend range was an idea overtaken by other developments noted by Simon.The Germans operating in Spain during the Spanish civil war experimented with drop tanks but they were unpopular with pilots, the extra weight made for uncomfortable takeoffs with the engine power available at the time. [ Would have been useful during the battle of Britain] The British experimented with towing Spitfires up behind a Wellington bomber,a tow line from below the rear turret attached to a bridal that was fixed to the Spitfire's wings,this allowed the fighter to run its engine to get to hight before shutting down and being towed as a glider. Later the engine could be restarted and the tow released. The snag was getting an engine restarted because of the cold. After the experiment someone took a tape measure to the Wellington and found it had stretched several inches. Any one fancy a model version?

Its the ESC,clever the way cooling is built into the pylon.

I remember trolley buses in Cardiff,one problem they had was idiots parking under the overhead pick up cables. In Germany they have trolley buses with on board battery's so they can leave the overhead lines and travel several miles to pick up passengers before returning to the grid and continue the journey while recharging.

Welrish.

Well done Ireland. Can hear the cheering from the Pembrokshire coast.