What are your special model flying moments from 2014?

[David Ashby - Moderator]

I always get reflective at this time of the year and although we've a month and a bit to go, the poor weather has made me think about 2014's model flying exploits.

Trying something new every year is something I do so I've been progressing my slope flying, generally glidering a bit more, training beginners at the flat field and flying from water.

It's been a good year for our club with a team spirit evident and an influx of youngsters (for the first time in many years) helping.

The Greenacres fly-ins were another highlight, both the RCM&E bash and the August event, great flying and good company.

ooh, neary forgot Eager Beaver, my first proper OD which flew really (and surprisingly) well.

What are your 2014 highlights? (or moments you'd rather forget! )

 

 

Edited By David Ashby - RCME on 13/11/2014 10:54:01

[malcolm woodcock 1]

2015? are you having a 'Senior Moment', David.

[Pete B]

Probably - he's a busy man.....

I've fixed it now....

Pete

[David Ashby - Moderator]

14/15...what's a year?

[Andy Meade]

Best moments for me were the PSSA events - the May/June JP and the August Lleyn Peninsula meet. My first OD scratch build flying so well (MiG 29) and lots of high energy flying on those coastal sites.

Also some great weather in March - every weekend I was slope soaring on both days, great lift even for my local pimple.

Lastly, my first decent FPV footage from the quad - it's great when everything just clicks.

Having said all that - the season is far from over! Another Orme trip planned for the end of the month, and a Welsh slope tour planned for December too.

[Martyn K]

My highlights:

1: Attending the UKCAA events - just watching helped improve my flying and flying in distinguished company improved my flying.

2: Greenacres was absolutely wonderful.

3. Building and Flying the Aquila Classic thermal soarer reminded me just how much fun flying a glider can be. It was where I started - and it was one of my 'WHAT WILL I DO in 2014' targets - anyone else remember that thread?

Downers:

Not many:

1. I wrote off my beloved Astro Hog due to an inflight power failure - even worse it was a UKCAA event

2. I haven't done my 'B' yet - I still don't think I am quite ready and it was also one of my 'WHAT WILL I DO in 2014' targets

[Rene Wallage]

2014 Highlight? Hands down, my first F5J competition. Also the moment I'd rather forget...

First flight I caught a boomer, and specked out at 580 meters. Just hung there for 8 or so minutes, while murmuring to the timer "I never fly this good". First landing 5 meters out.

Second flight, right into a boomer again, topping out at 620 meters this time. Again murmuring something like "I never fly this good" to the timer, who now goes like "yeah yeah..." Landing on the spot.

Third flight, wind changing direction and no thermals at all. We all landed again in 3 to 5 minutes. I got 235 seconds, landing 7 meters out. To the timer "see...?"

Fourth flight, managed to hook and work some small thermals, and at the 8 minute mark (felt like 2 minutes to me) find myself at a comfortable 154 meters. Landing on the spot! I turn apologetic towards the timer who now rolls his eyes...

Fifth and last flight. On launch I have a Rx failure, and plant my glider in between two parked cars. No damage to the cars, but my pride and joy was reduced to little pieces. To the timer "see...?"

[Mark Kettle 1]

Yes what a year, like Andy above the JP PSSA event at the Orme May/June and Lleyn PSSA meeting in August.

The Jet Provost event was good for me in many ways, it was to build a scale model from a plan, I chose the epp foam route and I learnt a lot. Normally I'm left to my own divices' when I design and use foam and end up with a sports model. It was great to follow someone else's lines, it was a great discipline for me I learnt and I enjoyed it a lot, and at the event met some great people and many I treat as friends.

The Lleyn event, was so exciting for me went I took along two models. The wind played ball and we had two brilliant days. Great people any and slopes!, what more do you want.

What made it special for me was the lead up to the event. I had messed with the Vulcan design for many years and have 3 sized drawings I have done in the loft. For the event just 3 weeks before I dusted off the the plan and started the 44" span one and proceeded to try and get not one but two built for the event. At the event I wanted to get both of them flying together so I could get a new avatar picture, which occurred thanks to Phil Cooke. Once balanced they 'flew off the bench' and I let others fly them so I could enjoy just looking at them.

John Hay took some video, and edited what he captured of the Vulcan's for me:

Many of you may have seen the build within this fine web / blog site - if not you can find it in the top right search button by typing - Avro Vulcan B2 -

Many Thanks to David Ashby RCME - for starting this recap of 2014.

Edited By Mark Kettle 1 on 13/11/2014 10:24:49

Edited By Mark Kettle 1 on 13/11/2014 10:36:37

Edited By Mark Kettle 1 on 13/11/2014 10:37:24

[Terry Walters]

Well you probably expect me to say going to the World Scale Champs at Marmande and believe me that was good. But really the highlight was going to Greenacres for the first time. Why do I say that? Because it was the first time I have been amongst a gathering of modellers speaking about RC in english, meeting 'names' in person and the welcome was great. I did feel very much part of it even if I didn't fly. I came back with so much more knowledge and a stronger sense of 'belonging'.

Maybe next year (SWMBO permission forthcoming) I'll have a go at the UK 'A' cert if someone is daft enough to let me loose on their plane with Mode 1. !

Terry

[buster prop]

One of my best flights of 2014 is, I'm afraid, another thermal catching tale. I was flying my Orion-E which is a basic 60" soarer and managed to catch good lift twice in one flight. There's something satisfying about just rudder/elevator and motor flying without flapperons, crow braking and lots of channels and mixes.I've discovered that climbing the model much higher improves the chance of finding lift. That day I had shut off the motor after a long climb and was flying slow circles when I realised that the model wasn't losing height. I checked with my left thumb that the throttle stick was off and continued to circle, now definitely getting higher. After about 10 minutes the plane was getting hard to see so I flew away from the lift and gradually lost height. Flying round and thinking of a landing approach, it flew through a bump so I circled again and it went up and up... When I finally landed (on the strip about 5 yards away) I was amazed that the flight had lasted for nearly 40 minutes. A light glider like the Orion-E with a small brushless motor on 2 cells is really only flyable in calm weather but it's great when there's lift about.

[Engine Doctor]

Favorite moment of 2014 for me was our clubs 40th Anniversary day In September. We had a great days fly-in with an evening BBQ and then night flying with a firework display .The fireworks that evening were really good . Watch them here and watch out for the lazy Bee Night flyer narrowly missing the quad copter filming the show . 

A great day with great people . Lets look forward to the next 40 

E.D.

Edited By Engine Doctor on 13/11/2014 12:12:22

[David Ashby - Moderator]

Posted by buster prop on 13/11/2014 11:44:34:

One of my best flights of 2014 is, I'm afraid, another thermal catching tale.

 

Nothing wrong with that, reminds me of another highlight this year when we got dad's old 40 year old Monterey glider going again, two-channels of course. We set it up using a hand tow-line and it caught a great thermal over the adjoining field. Dad was delighted of course and some of the newer lads who've never seen older models like that were impressed by the way it flew.

 

 

Edited By David Ashby - RCME on 13/11/2014 12:09:51

[David Ashby - Moderator]

Posted by Rene Wallage on 13/11/2014 09:54:02:

2014 Highlight? Hands down, my first F5J competition. Also the moment I'd rather forget...

First flight I caught a boomer, and specked out at 580 meters. Just hung there for 8 or so minutes, while murmuring to the timer "I never fly this good". First landing 5 meters out.

Second flight, right into a boomer again, topping out at 620 meters this time. Again murmuring something like "I never fly this good" to the timer, who now goes like "yeah yeah..." Landing on the spot.

Third flight, wind changing direction and no thermals at all. We all landed again in 3 to 5 minutes. I got 235 seconds, landing 7 meters out. To the timer "see...?"

Fourth flight, managed to hook and work some small thermals, and at the 8 minute mark (felt like 2 minutes to me) find myself at a comfortable 154 meters. Landing on the spot! I turn apologetic towards the timer who now rolls his eyes...

Fifth and last flight. On launch I have a Rx failure, and plant my glider in between two parked cars. No damage to the cars, but my pride and joy was reduced to little pieces. To the timer "see...?"

Excellent, I felt guilty laughing after that

[IanN]

Finally getting to fly again with an Uncle and my Dad - didn't do much, and it was stupidly windy, but it was the first time the three of us have managed to get together at the same time on the same field since we flew control line every weekend the best part of forty years ago

And also the return of the excellent Much Marcle show - one of the most enjoyable events of the year imo

[Lee Smalley]

highlights

1. flight of my 2 year long build DB spitfire

2. greenacres bashes

3. flying my jet whilst one of the lads blasted out the theme tune to TOP GUN from his car...awesome

Downers

1. losing my mate Colin Nolan as you have all read about ....sort of takes the shine off everything

[Pete B]

A great weekend at Greenacres, where I met a good number of forumites, saw lots of impressive models and managed to slip in an 'A' Cert flight in one of the evening sessions. Worth the trip, too, just to see Chris Bott flying his DH88 Comet - a rare treat indeed!

The World Scale Champs at Marmande have to have a mention - another rare treat and another opportunity to meet forumites for a proper chat.

More thermalling moments, as well - a PB for altitude of 2515ft back in April with my humble Phoenix 2000 and later, in the summer, 2365ft with my Reichard Champion.

Pete

[Andy Green]

Some good memories of this year from retro flyins / Greenares of course, and the night flying at Weston but what sticks in the memory the most and its a bad one is crashing my Chevron at the NCMAC's flyin.

Glad to say its all repaired and still fies great.

Andy

[Keith Evans 3]

Designing building and test flying SHIFTY.

SHIFTY has the capabilities of---

Being high wing or low wing-----

Having a straight or dihedral wing ----

Trike or tail dragger configuration----

Uses only one wing to achieve all this----

Has flaps---

Has the capability of adjusting the C of G while in flight----

It was called SHIFTY because you can " Shift " every thing about into any configuration you wanted at the field.

All this required me to get to grips with a Futaba 14 S G set up which was a bit of a challenge after my old Futaba 6EX

2015 sees me doing the same thing with another SHIFTY design that can do all of the above but with a three position wing .

I've already drawn it up and the fuselage is on the building board .

[Jim Mchugh]

My picks are going to be a little biased.

1) Joining Greenacres MAC, and being trained by some of the best and definitely friendliest guys on the scene.

2) Getting my A Cert, again thanks G-MAC.

3) The Greenacres shows, all three of them. Even got to camp at the last one! Just belly laughs with the Muckley / Goule crews, all morning, day and night. Wicked!

4) Having Andy Johnston explaining the the build of his Bentley rotary engine for his Avro, while I helped him get the aircraft out of his caravan. Literally brought tears to my eyes. I'm welling up now writing this.

Told you it would be a little one-sided, sorry!

Edited By Jim Mchugh on 13/11/2014 13:30:25

[Rene Wallage]

Posted by David Ashby - RCME on 13/11/2014 12:12:06:

Excellent, I felt guilty laughing after that

You've got to laugh. We do this for fun...

[Gordon Nicol]

Not so much a flying experience, but dipping my toe into the water of importing kits, helped by the nice people at GWS Taiwan, disappointing part was there were no Formosas available until next year. Surprised that there is still so much interest in them

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

My best flying experience of 2014 has been the fact that I've done a lot more flying than the previous few years.

That and the Greenacres Fly Ins, where the weather really looked after us.

There, the range of models was just immense and the friendly atmosphere contagious. I enjoyed flying everything I took, from the little diesel powered vintage model to the twin that scares me to death.

Looks like I enjoyed it though, don't you think?

Another dimension this year has been training, I've really enjoyed that too. Although by the time I got involved, Jim was pretty much training himself - well done Jim.

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Seeing this for a change

John

[Cliff Bastow]

It has been a good year for me, with lots of flying. I have been instructing for the first time this year and I have really enjoyed the experience.

However I particularly remember one summers evening. A great flight with my large Tiger Moth. Just pottering about and trying to fly it in a scale way, then coming in for a landing, with the evening sun warming my back, to pull off an absolute peach of a landing to a round of applause from my clubmates!

Shame I haven't quite managed it since though!

[Jon Laughton]

Finally getting the club a new flying field........only after 14+ years of waiting