Philip Williams 2

Cheers Andy, I'm not busting a spring to get the engine back together, I am in the process of making a 'Brian Winch' design bicarbonate of soda blaster to assist with some of the more reluctant surfaces. Thanks a bunch for your help, and remember, any costs are my costs not yours. Phil W.

Hi Andy J, I am in the process of stripping and cleaning a very old '35, a 'red head' exactly like the one I bought from 308 Holloway Road in April / May 1961. Yes, I did regret selling it many years ago, however, this one was gummed solid both inside and out. I gave it a 20 minute boiling in a good litre of water dosed with about a tablespoon of the wifes 'non bio' wash powder, which took off all of the outside hardened castor oil crud. It did this without discolouring the finish on the engine at all and all the screws came out without any fight too. I too used a carefully applied heat gun to free up the Head and Backplate, together with the Cylinder Liner and finally the Piston and Con Rod. The Carb' (or should I say 'barrel throttle', - this was the first British production R/C engine after all) came out easily. So, yes Andy if you still have those fibre head gaskets, I would much like a couple please. Contact me via the moderator I think, Phil W.

Well - for drama its got to be 'Zulu', that final fight with them all in the revetment sends the hair up at the back of your neck! For flying - the 'Dambusters', and its worth noting that the two pilots who flew the Lancs for the filming were Polish Flight Sergeant pilots. Richard Todd was taught to handle a Lanc on take off almost up to unstick, to get authentic take off shots. Some film. Makes you wonder what Peter Blake will do with the story...... For drama - Das Boot For humour - 'Don't Look Now, One Of Our planes Is Missing' Little film with the late Terry Thomas paying a straight role as an RAF B17 captain of a crew shot down over Paris and the story is their escape from the Germans with the help of the French. Utterly brilliant, seems to have disappeared without trace.

I am profoundly saddened to have just found out yesterday that our valued friend Brian Winch has died. Like many of us I corresponded with Brian over the years and I too will miss his knowledge and humour, his help with sorting out my second hand SC FS 52 AR was invaluable. Just recently, June and July, I sent Brian some pictures of the 'special' engines seen at Shaun G's single channel event at Ponty, he was most enthusiastic about them but told me he was getting ready for some very long journeys indeed, 1100 Km for one of them - he seemed indestructible. I can only sum Brian up simply as a 'Diamond Geezer' because for me he most certainly was. To bring some of his articles together into a special publication as a lasting tribute of a quite unique character - Engineer and Teacher - as suggested is surely the least we can do - how about it ? Brian was, I felt , my friend and I will miss him.