Stevo Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Not a happy man today... So, maybe it's my own fault. I'm trying to track down a Be2c, - one that FLIES or at least I cen get close up. You know, the Boddington one at Sywell. Aeroplane magazine stated that it is flying over Kent to France to celebrate the actual flight in WW1... I've emailed them for more details. TBH I've given up as they choose not to reply or even acknowledge. A trusted colleague passed my details onto the co-owner of the Biggles Be. He chose never to contact me. I offered my completed model to IWM, Hendon. Sorry, they said, no room, where it would have sat quite nicely under John McKenzie's Be2a. I wouldn't of minded if it dripped oil on it ... Tried to exhibit it at Ally Pally last January. My back sustained an injury and was unable to do so. Then I read, again in aeroplane that there were two Be2es in Stow Maries & Old Warden, piloted my Mr DeMarco of TVAL (Sort of what I'm basing mine on). Missed them again. Looked at Shoreham - there's to be one there... I've got my fingers crossed. What disaster will now befall me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 I may be wrong but I thought I read ages ago that Matthew Boddington ( Boddo's nephew and an aeromodeller when younger) was restoring the Biggles bipe. If so there may be someone here who could put you in touch with the owner. Stevo's magnificent model deserves to be exhibited at one of the model engineering exhibitons, maybe as a competition entry at the Sandown Model Engineer which is normally in December. We all want to see it finished and many of us will make a special trip to Sandown or Alexandra Palace just to see it! Stow Maries airfield is open to visit and there is the potential for photos of the model with the old airfield buildings as a background. So it would be worth a visit. Although there is no model club flying at the actual airfield now a few people have permission to fly there I think. Another club flies at an adjacent field so a visit may be well worthwhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo Posted July 26, 2014 Author Share Posted July 26, 2014 Yes Keith it was Matthew who had my details... alas nothing ever happened. Even just to smell the timber would be enough... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Colbourne Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 The title is apt although it pre-dates this: I've just had a message from a friend in the LAA that Matthew Boddington had a sudden engine failure in his BE2c replica, which then stalled and spun in. Apparently Matthew has fractured vertebrae, broken ribs and what my friend described as 'instrument face'. I and I'm sure all aviators, both model and full-size, wish Matthew a speedy recovery. Edited By Robin Colbourne on 03/09/2020 11:02:41 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 Saw this on FB this morning. A lucky escape, thankfully. BTW is Mathew Dave Boddington's son or nephew? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Gorham_ Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 Matthew is David Boddington's nephew. The current editor of Aeromodeller is Andrew, who is David's son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 I am sure we all wish Matthew a speedy & full recovery. Didn't he write an article for RCME quite recently? He certainly built some of Boddo's models for the articles in various magazines, Interesting to see the photos on the Daily Mail website showing the pilot holding in a lot of up elevator just before the crash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 I guess that if you find yourself really low and stuck in a spin the last thing you want is to recover without height to pull out of the ensuing dive. Better to try and flatten the spin maybe, or just mans natural reaction to get the nose up? Flying these replicas is not a job for the fainthearted. Best wishes to Matthew for a speedy recovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 Posted by Alan Gorham_ on 03/09/2020 11:13:41: Matthew is David Boddington's nephew. The current editor of Aeromodeller is Andrew, who is David's son. Thanks for that Alan. There was one of those antique restoration type programmes on one of the freeview channels the other night that I came across by sheer chance, and it showed one of DB's own Sopwith Tabloid models from the 1970s (apparently his prototype in a bit of a mess that had been bought on Ebay for forty quid or so) being rebuilt and flown again and valued at £4000 by one of the programmes 'experts'. DB's son was also on the programme , but I couldn't recall his Christian name, must have been Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Gorham_ Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 It was Andrew, as he mentioned the programme in his editorial in last month's Aeromodeller mag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 Posted by kc on 03/09/2020 11:19:15: Interesting to see the photos on the Daily Mail website showing the pilot holding in a lot of up elevator just before the crash. I'm sure this comment wasn't meant as a criticism but I think it's a little unfair as it stands. While we all (should) know that stick forward to reduce the AoA below the stall angle is an essential component of any spin recovery, at 50 feet above the ground is there any logic in counteracting the last second instinct to reduce the speed and angle of the impact in order to get a reduction in AoA and higher air/impact speed too late to recover? The only good thing is that the pilot appears to have survived an will hopefully make a decent recovery and I'm sure we all wish him well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J D 8 Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 All the best to Matthew for a good recovery. The cockpit being well back and the forward structure collapsing and absorbing much of the impact will have helped . Hope it can be rebuilt. [ again ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 That looks a horrifying picture and it's amazing the pilot survived at all. I wish Matthew a full and speedy recovery. Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 Wish him a full and speedy recovery from me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 The accident seems something similar to the accident that befell Charles Boddington ( Matthews father I think) almost 50 years ago. Not as bad though. see Wikipedia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 duplicated Edited By kc on 03/09/2020 15:42:19 Edited By kc on 03/09/2020 15:58:04 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 It would seem that the plane that crashed yesterday was the one built by Charles & David Boddington then restored according to this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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