Robin Colbourne

Its amazing how quickly single channel disappeared. In the 1971 RCM&E back issues I bought later, there were still plans for single channel models, yet when I first started getting RCM&E regularly in early 1976, the only reference to it by then was in the title of 'Sport & Single', although I don't recall any single channel actually being covered. I appreciate that more recently Phil Green & Shaun Garrity have done a grand job of getting single channel back in use.

4/5 this time, although I did see on the News today that the Pandas from Washington DC are returning to China, so maybe the answer I didn't get is either Washington or Bejing? 😄 I used to work near the former site of the Sportsdrome, and often tried to work out exactly where it had been.

4/5, I think.

The Sussex Model Centre have the Flitetest 5/16" foamboard in stock: Flitetest Foamboard If you're going to be peeling the paper off, would Depron sheet work?

I think I got the web page address and description of it transposed in the link above. Maybe this one will work? HMFA Swapmeet, Sunday 19 November 2023 Romsey, Hampshire

The Hampshire Model Flying Association are having a swap meet on Sunday 19 November at Mountbatten School, Romsey SO51 5SY. Details here: https://hmfa.bmfa.club/auctions-sales

There was a Joker pattern model by Dave Smith Models, later produced by Marvic Models, there is also a Joker 60 designed by Wolfgang Matt and kitted by MK models of Japan. MK Models Joker 60 on Outerzone This cowl is available: Joker 60 Cowling

I agree how frustrating it is, having seen many bargain-priced models that I would have liked, if it didn't entail a trip to Eastern Lincolnshire to go and get it. I do sympathise with the seller though. A private seller may not charge their time to pack it at a commercial rate. Packing of items which are different every time and being secondhand, difficult to prove the condition before they set off without taking large numbers of pictures is expensive in terms of time and materials. The seller is also vulnerable to unscrupulous buyers who change their mind once they see the model and damage it to claim a refund or discount.

Thanks Roy, that's a big help. Very interesting that they may still see the light of day again.

Roy, I thought Bowmans moved to the West country in the later years. Did they then move back to East Anglia? Maybe you could add a timeline for them if you know it; I certainly don't.

A new in box Sunduster here. Note it is misdescribed in the title: Bowmans Sunduster unstarted kit

If you can't find the article anywhere else, then the Magazine Exchange have a copy (April 2017 RCMW): T-Bird RCMW April 2017 Magazine Exchange

There's a thread about the Paper Aviation Ezee Peezee, which was a 1990s 76"-ish span trainer typer model built largely from foamboard here Paper Aviation Ezee Peezee Outerzone has a plan for an Ugly Stick -type model from cardboard, although it should adapt to foamboard too. Card Stick

They're living breathing things that appeal to all the senses. The purr at idle to the scream/roar at full power, vibration, smell, exhaust coming out the back, taste too, if you had to suck the fuel through (not recommended). Get something like an open rocker four stroke and you've got the valve gear to watch too. The same reason people go to steam rallies and heritage railway lines. I used to start my Indian Mills 1.3 in my hand, just to feel the thing come alive. BTW, if you're going to do this, don't fill the tank, as the engine gets rather hot!

Why do you say that Peter? Is in-store vandalism a thing where you are? The green cabinet was simply a product display within a shop, not a vending machine out on the pavement.

One thing that hasn't had a mention is the massive rise in single parent families. A lot of model clubs insist on a parent being present when a child is at the club, so if the parent has other children, or works weekends, the opportunity for regular attendance is limited. If that same child can go to a local park with an electric foamie without the parent's involvement, that is what they will do. Maybe the answer to the lack of local model shops as an outlet for low volume, low cost consumables, is a return to a cabinet of those items in other forms of retail outlet which have sufficient space? This is what Fred W. Megow did with his 'Green Cabinets' in the height of the Great Depression as at the start of his modelling empire as described here: AMA -Fred W. Megow :

Could the motor brushes have worn down to the point that there is no longer enough pressure for them to transmit the current to turn the starter motor? I've had this on a number of car starters and the equivalent problem on alternators. As Piers suggested, check every connection along the route from the battery to the starter and the same on the negative return side. Undo the connection, clean mating faces to bare metal, smear with Holts No-Crode or vaseline (the connections, not yourself... 😄 ) and retry. One more possibility is that the starter ring gear and/or the gear on the starter, have worn to the point that they have jammed. All the wear is in one place (coming up to compression) so worth taking the starter off to check this, if you don't find the fault elsewhere. I had a Morris Ital on which the ring gear fell off the flywheel(!). We did the usual shrinking it back in place, but even when cool it could be slid around the flywheel. A few tacks by the welder at work cured that! If the oil really hasn't been changed in the engine after six years, its about time it was! If you do need brush gear, then 'Mid-Ulster Rotating Electrics' are my mail order 'go to' source for anything starter or alternator related, plus they do some Briggs & Stratton bits too: M.U.R.E Briggs & Stratton parts

The Quaker Flash (67" span) is a scaled down Flying Quaker (84" span), which was originally released as the Megows Gas Model. Delicate wooden propellers plus slender, petrol engine crankshafts with extra length for the contact breaker gear, meant a noseover could be an expensive business. If doing a rise off ground take off, the model would already airborne before ground handling was a concern.

I had never heard of the Keecat 65, so I'm sure there are others in the same boat. Here's a picture of one: Richmodel Keecat 65 Quote: "... Keecat 65 is a well designed pusher prop jet. It is stable and easy-to-fly. It tracks great and slows nicely for landing. After it takes off, pull the supplied retracts up, and it's ready to rock! It has three undercarriages that can be retract. It is constructed with high quality laser cut parts and assembled under the most demanding quality control. With retracts and double boom tail, this plane will fly like it is on rails. Fast and smooth! The kit comes with all hardware, retracts, canopy, fuel tank, wheels, wheel wells, and more. Get yourself a professionally constructed and covered beauty! SPECIFICATIONS: Wing Span:1400mm(55.1″) Length:1640mm(64.5 ″) Weight:7.5 LBs Wing Area:49.2dm2 (763sq in) Wing Loading:69.1~71.2g/dm2 (24.3~25.1oz/sq in) Engine: Glow (.60 - .89) Radio system: 5ch(Not Included) Servos: 8 servos (Not Included) Controls: - Throttle - Elevator - Rudder - Ailerons ..."

Hi JD8, thank you for your reply. Yes, I'm conscious of the fact that the main loads from the wire legs are taken up into the fuselage by the vertical portions, and the transverse parts of the legs across the bottom of the fuselage, secured by saddle clamps, act as torsion bars, helping to dissipate the highest loads. I suppose the ideal would be to retain the upper few inches of each leg and somehow attach the carbon undercarriage to them.

Our club has been donated a Hobbyking Bushmaster for use as a club trainer. In many respects it is ideal, however the piano wire undercarriage gets distorted in anything other than a perfect landing. I'm proposing to swap the hard foam wheels for some low bounce air wheels, but would like to fit a carbon fibre undercarriage, as it would save me having to correct the tracking every time and also give our pupils at least a fighting chance of a non-squirrelly takeoff. Have you or anyone you know already done such a conversion on a Bushmaster or a similar EPO foam model? If so, how did you do it and what was your experience of its survival once done?

Gary, Is it like this: Sky Soldier The battery appears to be a three cell Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH), in which case you should find a chargers on Ebay which can be set up to charge them. If you have an Imax B6 charger that can be set to charge anything from 1 to 16 NiMH cells. Some cordless phones use 3 NiMH cells, so maybe you could use one of those, although it may be a bit slow and there's no easy way of knowing when the battery is fully charged.

Erflog, given that EPO probably isn't the best material at the front of a model anyway, how about reproducing the front end in liteply or balsa and gluing it to the surviving back end? I would be inclined to include the undercarriage mounting in the wooden structure too. The alternative is to set up a search for 'Wot 4' on Facebook marketplace. Thereare a considerable number on there from new in box to well flown.

I've now used a sliver of yoghurt pot to push some Deluxe Materials 'Foam 2 Foam' adhesive into all the joints, and this has really stiffened everything up. I have yet to do the gap between the front of the transverse metal plate and the foam in front of it, but that may not be necessary. The brown goop appears to be some sort of epoxy used previously to effect a similar repair previously, however it had delaminated from the EPO foam. I've chiselled off what I could of it, but some that is stuck to the metal is providing a bit more contact area for the Foam 2 Foam, so I've left it. Here are a few shots post repair.

Thanks for the reply Colin. I'll see what I can do with shims and pushing glue between the mount and foam for now then. I'm glad to hear its a nice flyer.