Nightflyer Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 Loved the article, and having still got the original magazine and plan the snapshot and overview of the July 76 issue of RCM&E covers it well. I built the Nieuport 24 as did a couple of others in the Hastings club back in the day and the model probably weted my apetite for the small scale models such that I built the Fokker DVII that DB and RCM&E published later aswell as some of Gordon Whitehead's designs that were in Radio Modelelr a year or so later. I always had a hankering for the Grumman Traveller and wonder how popular the model was. I saw only two in my old club. The MiJet was also very popular for those who frequented the South Downs slopes and was a nice model to fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J D 8 Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 I am not a model mag collector but I still have that one. I think it was the Grumman that did it for me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 I still have the wings from my Nieuport and the cowl is currently on my 1 1/2 Strutter, building a new fuselage and tail to go with them is on my 'one day' list. I also have the matching DVII that I was given, another for the 'one day' list. 43 years ago, just Wow! That went quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurice Dyer Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 I started RC flying this year. Very hot and dry at Bembridge Airport, where I still got today. And still enjoying it, despite the changes. I still build from plans, but it's getting harder getting bits. Too old fashioned U suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightflyer Posted July 17, 2019 Author Share Posted July 17, 2019 I think what appealed to me as a lad was the size and fun and ease of building. I really liked the DVII but only I think because of colour schemes. My grandfather scaled up the plans for a 40 sized version of the Nieuport or me too. I think from the mid or late 70s radio was smaller lighter and more reliable and 20 size engines prolific that models could fit in cars assembled and rigged and size was also convenient for the magazines of the era. The look back I find good as you have not seen many plans for rc helicopters, but then Dave Nieman and Len Mount were synonymous with helicopters in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 Interesting to be reminded about how popular gliding, both on the flat and slope was back then. I remember entering BARCS competitions with maybe a hundred pilots at that time or perhaps a year or two later. Still going now to some extent and I recognise names that are still on the circuit from that time. Open glider was hugely popular, mainly I think, because at that time even with a resonably low tech glider and given a modicom of ability and a dose of luck, one could do well and even beat the big names once in a while. For me, the fun went out of it when things got far too serious, big bucks were being spent by the 'pot hunters' on exotic foreign airframes and the general atmosphere of those once laid-back days out, become far too intense for many of us. I met up with one of my old gliding buddies from the 80s a while back, he was still very active in the competition world and showed me his latest machine...........a £2500 all moulded , carbon, kevlar and goodness knows what else creation from an eastern European manufacturer. Highly specialised and very efficient, but not my cup of tea. Nothing wrong with being highly competitive of course, that's the way the breed improves and a lot of our modern gear and techniques have been directly developed from various specialist areas of aeromodelling. I recall when glass cloth and epoxy finishing was regarded as highly complex and only for the experts - nothing special at all now. The electric stuff in the advert made me laugh. They were really hopeless and they must have had their fingers firmly crossed when writing the advertising claims. OK for a powered glider of around two metres or so (Balsa Cabin Sonata E was a good model, still going today but without the widened fuselage of the original to to take the half house brick of a nicad ) Edited By Cuban8 on 18/07/2019 09:41:20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Christy Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 That's true of any form of competition, C8! I remember the early helicopter events where if you could take-off, fly a circuit and land in the same field, you stood a chance of winning! (My flying is still a bit like that! ) Nowadays, a contest machine with all the radio gear, batteries, chargers etc runs to a thousand or two! No wonder competition flying is dying.... -- Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 Posted by Peter Christy on 18/07/2019 09:31:01: That's true of any form of competition, C8! I remember the early helicopter events where if you could take-off, fly a circuit and land in the same field, you stood a chance of winning! (My flying is still a bit like that! ) Nowadays, a contest machine with all the radio gear, batteries, chargers etc runs to a thousand or two! No wonder competition flying is dying.... -- Pete It's a difficult one to get right, the very esoteric free flight reports that we see in the BMFA mag are a case in point. So highly specialised, they appear to remain popular with a small world-wide group who are clearly good at their stuff, but for the fun-flyer over his local club or park, (most of us?) they are way off the scale. I think that's probably true for most of the comp stuff that we see in the mag - as interesting and informative as it is. Didn't Andy Sephton mention something about the very poor uptake in the light scale class? Strange , as the fly-in type meetings still attract good numbers and with some superb models and building skills. Something wrong somewhere? Or simply a different mindset to what we had back in the 70s and before.? Edited By Cuban8 on 18/07/2019 09:59:06 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 I think one of the biggest influences on the interest in our hobby has been the loss of places to fly. When I was a kid there were fields, common land and parks nearby where you could fly free-flight gliders, rubber powered and small I/c engined planes, let alone early radio control, with no restrictions on time and place. Other kids saw this and they became interested, apart from the considerable level of adult model aircraft activity that set the example. The general public was mostly tolerant and the country was air-minded. Nowadays you probably won’t be able to fly anywhere without being a member of a club which in itself probably has restrictions, unless you are a large private land-owner or remote from civilisation. I have recently knocked up some free-flight models for fun but don’t know where I can fly them any more. The last opportunity was MayFly at Old Warden for me. Free-flight is great fun if you can find somewhere to do it. Edited By Colin Leighfield on 18/07/2019 11:29:10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightflyer Posted July 18, 2019 Author Share Posted July 18, 2019 I totally agree with Cuban, Peter and Colin's comments. When I was young free flight and control line were very popular and lots of places to fly. Nowadays with developers and noise and anvironmnet 0h and cost of land rent it is a lot harder. I agree about competition be it flying or model cars or boats. I used to race rc cars at world, european and national level. What started off as a cheap alternative to flying snowballed in cost as I became more competitive and started racing not just at club level but then regional, to national, etc. Each step saw an increase in cost until my flying was a shadow in terms of cost. At the same time the fun and love of racing gets impacted when with the level of commitment theere became legal challenges on legalities etc, which is when I stopped racing. I love flying most forms of aircraft but gliding has always been a fun thing for me be it slope, thermal or electric powered. Trying to keep it simple encourages people. You only have to look at F1 and how they are now trying to cut costs etc to improve racing, and encourage other teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurice Dyer Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 Aahh.....1976. Learning to fly radio with the Sandown Model Club here on the IOW. Lots of screaming Gangsters, and Peter Rjussel's Striker. If you turned up at the patch with a kit built model ( never mind artf) you were classed as a cheque book modeller. Anyone remember the Ripmax/Aviette Moonshiner biplanee ?. Wrecked one of those too. Good shows at Sandown and db,s Plumpton bash. Life seemed simpler, even though modelling was somewhat harder than today's buy it and fly it. Or maybe it's just my rose coloured again...... Maury Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin b Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 1976 ? I had recently discovered an alternative to model aeroplanes - GIRLS. They could be just as awkward as your average diesel. Probably as expensive as airframes, but lots more fun to hug than an RC transmitter ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin b Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 2006 ! Back to model aeroplanes Ic engines, very reliable and not as expensive to run. Model planes, cheaper than taking someone out for a meal and my tranny is now the love of my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex nicol Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 Kevin B, your posts made me laugh, very similar to mine 72 -76 control line combat 76 - 85 life got in the way 85 - 88 ventured into rc 88 - 2006 family 2006 - 2009 dusted off the old models and ventured back into RC 2009 - 2016life and work 2017 - present - ventiured back ....... still flying ic artf and plan built sports ............what the heck has happened to the hobby ..........shops & kits disappearing ........ lots of leccy wiggly amp things ........... foamies. IC engine manufacturers disappearing like snow of a dyke .......... not to mention those drone things happy flying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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