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Classic Aerobatic Model Photo Thread


Martyn K
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The problem I have is with text. I believe that you need to press enter twice below the text then click on camera and insert a photo. Right clicking just below the bottom right of this and entering again should allow more text to be inserted, then repeat for each pic. I have done this hundreds of times in the past but everything now comes out in the wrong order for some reason.

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Thanks for the help - I've worked it out now.

Here goes:

Ken Binks' Pacemaker, picture taken 28/8/1980 at the Nationals. Redshift 60, Futaba radio and Rhom-Air retracts. Sorry about the picture quality - bear in mind it is a 33 year old photo captured with an iPhone camera.

Pacemaker

Edited By Kevin Caton on 26/01/2014 18:31:40

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One of my Lightnings (I had a few). This one was built in 1981 and the photo was taken on the same day as the picture of Peter Watson's plane above (24/5/1981). Redshift 60 rear exhaust with ED carb and pipe, Sanwa black custom radio and Rhom-Air retracts. The prop was a 11x7.5 Zinger wood. Note the whip aerial - very trendy in those days!

By the way that isn't my car in the background. I was a poor student in those days and couldn't afford anything that fancy.

My Lightning

Edited By Kevin Caton on 28/01/2014 20:51:25

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Almost Steve - the top deck was formed from rolled 1mm ply but the fuselage sides were standard 3/16" sheet with doublers etc. There was a design around in the late 70s called the Racketeer (a Mick Reeves development of the Gangster) that had a full rolled ply fuselage with a balsa bottom crutch.

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  • 3 weeks later...

dscf0914.jpg

Just pulled this out of storage with a view to finishing it. It's a Flair Super Lightning, started about 20 years ago but never finished because of a bent and twisted fuselage and doubts about the AUW. I have an MDS 61FR and tuned pipe for it in a cupboard somewhere. Only needs a new fuselage, a few holes cut out of the foam/veneer wing to reduce weight and a fin built from balsa rather than oak. If I have time I'll start a rebuild blog for it.

graeme

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This is a great thread with, as others have noted, lots of memories! We moved house a while back and up to now I had not found any pictures of my old models but yesterday I found 'em so now I can bore you with a pictorial summary of my progress through Aerobatics in the late 70s and 80s..... Through the 70s I was mostly into slope soaring but in 1977 we moved to Sussex and I joined the Eastbourne and Hastings clubs where I met Ken Binks who proved to be really helpful and I inevitably bought an engine and started flying Aerobatics....... If I had built a Pacemaker or whatever Ken was flying at the time, I might have progressed rather faster but I had always enjoyed designing my own models and so "Shockwave" was born..... HP61 and an ED pipe.

shockwave 1 001.jpg

You can tell how long ago it was because now I am drawing my state pension! I think this would have been about 1978/9. This model was OK but a bit heavy and I had seen a couple of models with built in pipes so the next year I bought an OS61VF and..... "Shockwave 2" was born:

shockwave 2 001.jpg

I thought this was pretty close to what I wanted so for the next model I built a fibreglass fuselage...... 'Same engine and pipe and with a slightly swept wing......

shockwave 3 001.jpg

Guess who my employer was........ and yes, I did know Clive Weller smiley. It seemed a bit of a shame to go through all the hassle of making a gf mould for just one model so "Shockwave 4" used the same fuselage and engine but had a straight wing........

shockwave 4 001.jpg

This was a nice model and I think this was the model that got me into "Masters". However change was afoot and the introduction of Turnaround schedules required a bit of a rethink....... My next two models were quite large and loosely based on the Chipmunk. Unfortunately I can't find any pictures of them but the second one used the original OS120 4 stroke. Suffice it to say that though I quite enjoyed flying these models, I realised that I was not going in the right direction and a complete redesign was needed. This resulted in "Symphony" for which I invested in a rear exhaust OPS 60 which was the vogue engine of the day and was highly recommended by John Palmer (What has become of John?) The OPS was a fabulous engine and still is! In fact I still have two of my own and one which used to be Ken's. Anyway, this was Symphony.......

symphony no.1 001.jpg

I was very pleased with this model but a new season meant a new model so "Sympony No.2" was born........

symphony no.2 001.jpg

I have a feeling Smphony 2 must have met an early demise because I simply don't remember flying it at all and I know that one year I flew a model which I acquired from Clive Weller........... I don't have a picture of the one I got from Clive but the following year, 1987, I flew Symphony No.3.........

img_0288.jpg

This was a lovely model to fly, it's only vice being that it was difficult to slow it up for landing so you may just be able to see some little "airbrakes" which I fitted to the retract legs. I flew it in the Nats in '87 and I think I came about 9th or 10th. After that, family and then boating meant that I just didn't have the time to practice so I more or less stopped flying. However, "Once a modeller, always a modeller" and now I am getting back into it. I still have Symphony 3 and am in the throes of refurbishing it. Hopefully I will fly it at one of the UKCAA meetings later this year.

As a first effort at getting back to the building board I have recently finished "Symphony No.4" which is a "40 sized" ELECTRIC cross between Symphonies 1 & 3........ 'Quite please with it but it's not yet fully sorted...... and electric takes some getting used to too doesn't it!

symphony no.4.jpg

Sorry this has turned out a bit long...... I bet you're glad I left out all the "other" models!

Paul

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Hi guys, just wanted to say thanks for the inspiration, I was looking through the photos on here the other night and came up with this for my next project, now I know its not a classic or particularly aerobatic looking but I thinks I have managed to get some good lines. So thanks again for the inspiration.

Richiegremlin 1.jpg

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David, thanks for your interest but it was a long time ago and I can't remember too many of the numbers. The span was probably around 64" and if my other models are anything to go by, it won't have been a lightweight! It was powered by an OS 61VF with an ED pipe, it had a fairly thick wing and a fixed undercarriage....... The first Shockwave had retracts operated by a powerful retract servo but they were more trouble than they were worth so S 2 had a fixed undercarriage and I put a small fairing on the back of the u/c legs in an effort to reduce the drag....... a complete waste of time I think! The top deck fairing/pipe cover was made from epoxy/glass by carving/sanding it initially out of blue foam and then skinning it with glass/epoxy...... epoxy because it doesn't melt the foam. Then when it is properly cured, pouring acetone into it to get rid of the foam. I have put a few more pictures of it in my album (Symphony).

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...

Not exactly what we are used to here but it was designed in 1982 by Hanno Prettner so I guess that qualifies it. This one is going to be electric powered and ready for installation weighs 750gm. Instead of bare foam, film covered, I laminated the foam in the usual way with 1/16th balsa. I'll let you all know when test flights are done. Makes a change and a bit of fun.

img_1414.jpg

img_1415.jpg

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Nice model Steve and brings back memories. Built 2 of these a number of years ago and had terrific fun with them both.

Number 1 was fitted with a Thunder Tiger 40. When i'd killed the model Number 2 was fitted with a piped Super Tigre 60 Bluehead.

Word of advice Stratos wont fly on 1 fin!!

Oh.... extract as much control movement as possible.. wink

Owdlad

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