John F Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 I was looking through the Ben Buckle website and found the Red Zephyr, a 72" classic style kit. The photo which showed the aircraft is one I immediately recognised; Stanley Airport in the Falklands. Reading the story it would seem that a young chap named Jim Turner sent his aircraft ahead of his detachment to Mount Pleasant and proceeded to make the most of the flying opportunities. An idea was discussed about flying from MPA to Stanley, apparently a first in model aircraft aviation as it flew from one international airport to another! It's a nice story, and they raised money for charity too. I won't plagiarise the story but the rest can be read here: **LINK** Any other stories like this around? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Colbourne Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Back when I was working at RAE Farnborough, I 'represented' the MOD in the Joint Services Hang Gliding Championships on a couple of occasions. There was an article at the time in their magazine about someone who took his hang glider down to the Falklands. He did fly it, but given that this was in the late 1980s, there were still a lot of uncleared minefields, so landings could be a bit perilous. An elderly friend of mine did his national service in the RAF in the mid 1950s. He represented his station, Duxford, at the RAF Model Aircraft Association Championships, and as the communications flight had an Avro Anson, he and three others hitched a ride to the event in Suffolk. Shortly after they landed, a two seat Meteor arrived from Germany, from which an 'erk' disembarked clutching a model box. Next a Shackleton flew in from St Mawgan in Cornwall, so the assembled throng were all eager to see just how many models and modellers would disembark. In fact one solitary aircraftsman got out before the Shackleton turned round and took off back to Cornwall! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Phillips 4 Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 The record set down in the Falklands is unlikely to be broken due to restrictions nowadays . Jim is still modelling in deepest Gloucestershire and the RZ is just about visible through the plethora of models hanging from the roof of his workshop. The last time I was round there for a cuppa he was talking about resurrecting it and flying it again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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