Peter Christy Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Watford Wayfarers club activities in the 70s and early 80s! A while ago someone asked about the "Battle of Britain" models. Well, you'll see the Messerschmitt 110 in action here! You will also spot some well known figures and forumites before they were famous! Enjoy! -- Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Carpenter Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Ah yes ! Following your chopper round the field whilst attempting control !! I remember that ! In Bath MHC we all stood around the field hovering in little spaces at the same time !😫😫 Fantastic ! Colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Thanks for posting these. They certainly bring back memories! I remember watching your first solo film at a club meeting far too many years ago. Was the "new field" the one at Chenies? I think I spotted myself around the 8 minute mark but it's worrying as I don't remember the day at all! Was the skinny blonde youngster John Greenfield - I know I had trouble recognising him when I got back into the hobby at the turn of the century... Edited By Martin Harris on 15/11/2017 20:37:21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josip Vrandecic -Mes Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Dear Peter, these are precious and invaluable filming. I am from your generation and therefore very well understand and appreciate your RC engagement in those long pioneer times... Note: John Sharman in 9:18 ...a weak engine, tall grass ,short runway and a strong wind did not mind him in wanting to take off. Appreciate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Scrub the last question - I've spotted John now...I think I'm in that shot too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Stevens Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 All looks pretty chaotic - pilots standing all over the field - those were the days............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 thanks for sharing peter...indeed happy days and memories.... ken Anderson...ne...1.... last century dept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Laughton Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 Peter - thanks for the nostalgia I really enjoyed it! Oh for the days when we were slimmer and had hair.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Lee Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 Wonderful Peter, I could smell the castor & nitro impregnated on the rally jackets. Whilst I was at the other end of the country the parallels are such that it brought back many memories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle 899 Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 Posted by Jon Laughton on 16/11/2017 09:53:44: Oh for the days when we were slimmer and had hair.... And it appears that November Juliet is still airworthy **LINK** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan H Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 Pete, I've got some standard 8mm video from the late 1960's somewhere up in the loft that might be fun to see again. How did you go about digitising your old film? Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Christy Posted November 17, 2017 Author Share Posted November 17, 2017 Thanks for all the comments, folks! Quite a few questions there, so I'll try and reply to as many as possible! Percy V: Yes, it was a long time ago, and as I captioned, "Elf'N'Safety" didn't loom so large back then! Nowadays no-one would dream of taking off towards a crowd line, or so close to houses, but it was a different era, and I don't think we ever had an accident that involved anyone outside the club! No Achievement Scheme back then, either! Martin H: Yes, the "new field" was the one at Chenies. I thought you would probably be in there somewhere, but bearing in mind all this was shot over 30 years ago, there are a few faces in there I couldn't marry up to names! Apologies! Josip: IIRC, that Tiger Moth was powered by an HP 61, probably the most powerful motor of its era, but still barely enough to haul that Tiger Moth aloft! Mind you, the real thing wasn't much better....! Eagle 899: Yes, I know NJ is still around! We had two of them, G-ARNK as well. That is also still flying, but has been converted to tail-dragger configuration. They both clearly survived my early attempts at landing! Alan H: One of the WW club members was a fairly senior engineer at BT, and he constructed a home-made telecine machine using a stepper motor, an old projector and a webcam! He passed it on to another club member - a former BBC video tape editor - who transferred the films for me. Its a fairly slow process, running at only a few frames a second, and because of the slightly Heath-Robinson nature of it, it needs to be constantly monitored to avoid damaging the film. But it produces excellent results, auto-focusing each frame before capturing it! Youtube has softened it slightly, but the original video is pin sharp! It does need to be slowed down in a video editor after capture, as otherwise it will run at 25 or 30 fps instead of 16. Its certainly much better than my original technique of simply pointing a video camera at the projector screen! There is now a factory in China (where else?) manufacturing a high end domestic 8mm telecine: **LINK** There are some youtube videos showing excellent quality from it, though some users report problems with over-heating belt drives and faulty preset focus. Also, it reportedly suffers from compression artefacts, though the youtube videos look OK. They've just announced a new (and probably more expensive) version, which has a higher resolution and can handle bigger reels. One of those is on my "must get" list, as I also have a stash of 8mm films, including quite a lot taken at the Nationals in the mid 60's at RAF Hullavington! We probably won't see the new version in Europe until the New Year, though. -- Pete Edited By Peter Christy on 17/11/2017 14:47:09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seraph Posted November 17, 2017 Share Posted November 17, 2017 Ha! Hullavington in the 60s. BristolRCMAC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan H Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 Pete, thanks for all the information regarding the digitizing of the old 8mm film. For the small amount I have I will try pointing a camcorder at the projected image but with frame rate differences and an angle between the projectors view and that of the camcorder I don't expect much. The projector has been up in the loft for years so goodness knows whether it will even work. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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