Todd B

I actually read through the whole thread- all three thousand pages. Better than Hello! Magazine - I feel as though I've been round to visit everyone. Here's my underground bunker - devoid of natural light and heating but, like all proper bunkers, a good place to hide from nuclear strikes (the kids) and noise pollution ( the missus) and maybe even glue some bits of balsa together? The painting is one of the wife's relatives from the Great War - he's egging me on to build a Fokker Tripe of course. I've only recently got back into R/C flying after a hiatus of almost thirty years so I don't have any models knocking about like the amazing collections that some people have here. I do have one old relic hanging upstairs which is an early 70s Wik Supercub that I picked up at a fleamarket here. I'll sort it once I've suitably restored my flying abilities.

Nice pictures cymaz. Great models, and the muted tones of winter.

Today was a real pea-souper - you could barely see your hand in front of your face, so this afternoon I drove a few kms out of town, went up to about 800m, came out above the fog and arrived at the picnic table flying club of which I am the only member! In the first picture the base layer of fog can be seen below with Mount Santis just to the left of the picnic table standing at 2,500m in distant Switzerland. The last picture I took by pre-focusing the camera, letting the plane glide then snatching the camera off the table and snapping away before grabbing the controls again. About 20 metres away from the picnic table is a smooth tarmac track along which the occasional combine or tractor runs. As it breasts the hill it has a flat section of 10m and I think this will make a good runway when I progress in a few weeks to the 'Spirit' sports model that I'm currently building.

Hi Folks, Just came back from a quick sesh up on one of the local spots. I don't think anyone flies up there - wide open spaces , not a soul about . Just the wind and the buzzing of the brushless with some great views down to Lake Konstanz today. Thanks to the wife for the pics. She was quite relieved when I had a prang - and the rudder fell off - as her hands were getting very cold. Cheers Todd

Hello Aeronauts, good to see some Autumn scenes of flying from the old country! And the well groomed airfields. Unfortunately I haven't got any club, just a few local fields that I visit usually with the kids and the dog. Yesterday it was a fine day here so the family and I went up to a local slope soaring spot on ' The Old Post Way'. There were no fliers up there, just an eccentric fellow playing his flugelhorn. The view is across towards Switzerland - the border being approx 15km away - and the full rack of the Swiss Alps in the distance. Featuring my Easy Trainer which is the only craft I've got til I pull my finger out and finish building my Spirit. The ole foam bone actually performed quite well, getting some good lift off the moderate winds.

Here's a pic of the Spirit on the cover of RCM&E from June 1982 if anyone's interested?

Hello Cymaz and all, once again thanks for the warm welcome. I already feel at home. I went down to the computer repair/model shop and bought my wood supplies. The range wasn't quite as good as thought - a lot of balsa but mostly in the same sizes - so I'm deferring a millimetre here and there! A la Virgin Galactic. And got the greaseproof paper in. What I've realised that I don't really have all the time that I had when I was a teenager - (pre-driving, pre-pubs, pre-girls) and three small children now too. So it might take a little longer than hoped to get my 'Spirit' together. Once I've got something to show I'll post it up. If it isn't airworthy I'll just claim that it was always meant to be a 'static' model! Cheers Todd

Thankyou for such a warm welcome all and all the great info. I am making my balsa list for the 'Spirit' - good to know that you've been there Gangster. I think it's a suitable choice. I'll ease myself back in - no mad stunts ! By the way I just read an article in another RCM&E from 1982 that discusses the whole 3D aerobatics idea - very early days. I haven't gone to buy balsa for a long time. I started out in the 70s buying 25p bundles from - for these days - the dubiously named local hardware store 'Gaydex'. With a disposible Stanley knife for 12p.

I think perhaps my son is a bit too young - he's only just turned four - but what I remember from my own experience that there was often more excitement lusting after something, rather than actually owning it. When I was a kid I collected all the free Tamiya catalogues and brochures from Beatties model shop and knew all the different models off by heart but my parents never allowed me to have one so I was never disillusioned perhaps? I know there's a few full size prototypes for such car-a-planes whatever they're called. Obviously made of stronger stuff than foam. And Robin - you're a good grandad! Your grandson will be pleased I'm sure ( I don't work for Hotwheels by the way!)

Hello Folks, I really hope I'm not polluting the forum with such whimsy! My small son ( four years) is hankering after one of these new Hotwheels 'Street Hawk' flying cars for Christmas. I must say if such things had existed when I was a young boy, I would have been quite excited too. I can't imagine it works that well but it's quite a funny idea and perhaps will introduce more new blood to the hobby. Todd

Hello Steve, Thankyou for the welcome. Malaria eh? Hopefully I'm be spared the fever, chills and other side effects! I have decided to build a 'compact 'sports aerobatic' model called 'Spirit' by Richard Spreadbury which was featured in RCM&E in June 1982. Is anyone familiar with this design or has indeed built one? I'm sure all the info is somewhere here on the forum, but how do I determine the size of electric motor I would be requiring for this model which originally had an HB25 IC? Cheers Todd

Hello Charles, I clearly remember Mick Charles' wonderful models in his shop as well as a helpful and friendly crowd on Thursday evenings when he would stay open a bit later. I would very much like to head down there again but though I am a Londoner I now live in the south of Germany near the Swiss border , having married a German girl. It's got some great hills for slope soaring. There's a shop here, the main business of which is repairing computers but the boss' hobby is model planes. What is interesting about his model corner is that he aquired a load of stock from a model shop that closed down.There's a very comprehensive selection of balsa and loads of old fashioned accessories - Graupner and Robbe stuff. I appear to be the only customer for such items as they really only shift ready to fly stuff , quads and drones etc Todd Edited By Todd B on 02/11/2014 16:53:26

Hello Simon and Pete, thankyou for the welcome. When I was starting out - the first time - I was very covetous of all the scale models that would hang from the celings of those model emporia. I couldn't afford any of them of course - I would get a kit for one birthday, an engine for the next and so on. Now I've got a bit more spending power however I find myself drawn back to the simplicity and the meditation of sitting at a building board. My interest in model planes began from buying seemingly ancient post war model magazines from jumble sales in the late 70s - Ben Buckle style planes. Then I found Boddington's Radio Control Primer in the local library and I was hooked. That's the era I'm stuck in I suppose! With a Lipo pack replacing the clunk tank, though I've got a couple of old OS and Irvine engines laid down in the loft. Todd Edited By Todd B on 02/11/2014 14:22:47 Edited By Todd B on 02/11/2014 14:25:14

Hello Folks, after finding my old stack of RCM&Es in the loft yesterday I thought I'd have a look to see if - almost thirty years since my last read - it was still around. I was pleased to see that it's still here and now has this forum too. For my birthday a few weeks back my wife bought me as a surprise an FMS Easy Trainer set and I was back in the air for the first time since the 80s. Things have certainly changed with the miniaturisation and efficiency of the electric systems. My heart remains with the traditional balsa construction however so I went up in the loft to find my old RCM&Es that I had a subscription to from 1979-1985 when I was a lad. I have a few of the free plans that were given away with the magazine and I am considering which one to build from the point of suitability for electric power. Reading those old back issues has been a real nostalgia trip taking me back to my first flights at Hanworth Air Park and Richmond Park in W.London and shopping trips with my father to Radio Control Supplies in Hounslow, Mick Charles in New Malden and - special occasions - Henry J. Nicholls in Holloway. There seems to be a load of info and enthusiasm here and I'm glad I've found my way back to the hobby after all the usual diversions. Cheers Todd