Peter Christy Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 I've finally got round to editing up the 8mm film I shot at the British Nats at Hullavinton, between 1966 and 1968 (may have started in 1965 - its a long time ago!) I've captioned all the people and models I remember. No doubt you guys will tell me who I've missed or got wrong! Enjoy! -- Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Palmer Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Excellent, thanks Peter from someone who was at the last Hullavington nationals as a teenager. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outrunner Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Thanks for sharing Peter, great film. Bit scary though, lots of people dodging aeroplanes! Taking off towards a crowd seemed to be order of the day and the pylon racing looked like it was around the crowd! Interesting stuff. Phil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff 1959 Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 That Maserati plate is currently sitting on an Aston Martin DBS, I wonder if it's the same owner, and I wonder if he/she is still into model planes? Great video for us 'youngsters' to watch. As Outrunner pointed out the lack of health and safety is ... and I'm not sure if this is the right word ... 'refreshing'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Cuff Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Brilliant Pete! absolutely superb! would you happen to have anything with Mike Birch and his models? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Cooper Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 WOW, the Nats at Hullavington. . I was there as a kid in the crowd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Thanks for sharing Pete, most enjoyable Cheers Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Christy Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 I was a teenager at the time myself! After 1968, real life intervened for a few years! Getting a job, training, getting married, having kids etc. I'm afraid I missed the Mike Birch years! Although I never stopped building and flying, it was only much later, when my son was getting interested in competing that I started going back to the Nats! Thanks for the positive comments, and I'm glad you enjoyed this glimpse of yesteryear! -- Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SR 71 Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 I was there one year in the 60s competing in the c/l stunt, two of us in a tent models in the car, it rained so bad we finished up models in the tent and us in the car trying to keep dry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engine Doctor Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Excellent footage. All it needs is a BBC accent commentary of the time ! Interesting how many men still wearing suits wth collar and tie ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Dance 1 Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 I was there in '66 and '68. Health and safety? Remember the vast majority attending in those days were aeromodellers and well aware of the potential risks and used to dodging models.Also remember back then R/C models were in the minority at the Nats. There were far more control line and free flight models than R/C. Those were the days were it wasn't unusual for a F/F model to land in the C/L team race circle whilst a race was under way! The Dave Platt T28 was the stand out model of the '66 Scale event. Stood looking at it for a long while and stood about 3-4 yards away when Dave took off for a competition flight! Not any more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Posted by Engine Doctor on 14/06/2020 10:17:21: Excellent footage. All it needs is a BBC accent commentary of the time ! Interesting how many men still wearing suits wth collar and tie ? and not a pair of flairs in sight! That was the period when I started my apprenticeship with the Prince of Darkness, Joseph Lucas Ltd. Everyone wore shirt and tie, management down to shop floor, much emphasis on keeping ties tucked into shirts, and much now banned cutting oil in evidence. The Sheila Scott Commanche(?) bought back memories of a magazine article on her feat and possibly coverage of that model. Aeromodeller maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Christy Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 Interestingly, Sheila Scott's Commanche ended up being owned by Max Coote, then the proprietor of RipMax. It was damaged beyond repair following an engine failure shortly after take-off from Elstree, though all the occupants survived un-injured. What is left is on display in a museum in Scotland somewhere! A sad end to a beautiful aeroplane. Speaking of Dave Platt, I think that Douglas Dauntless at around 09'37" and again at 10'06" was his. IIRC, he hadn't had chance to test fly it before the Nats. I know it crashed heavily on take-off on its first flight, and I remember seeing him carrying armfuls of matchwood back! Someone had just got the first batch of 5-minute epoxy in the country, and he stayed up all night gluing it back together again! The result is what you see there! Not a man easily discouraged! -- Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dickw Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Thanks for posting that video Peter. I was a regular competitor (and camper) at the Nationals in the 60s but never saw any of that because I was always at the CL combat circles with my mates. Nice to catch up with what I missed at last! I do remember the evening "free for alls" - great fun. Dick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mal brewer Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Speaking of Dave Platt, I think that Douglas Dauntless at around 09'37" and again at 10'06" was his. IIRC, he hadn't had chance to test fly it before the Nats. I know it crashed heavily on take-off on its first flight, and I remember seeing him carrying armfuls of matchwood back! Someone had just got the first batch of 5-minute epoxy in the country, and he stayed up all night gluing it back together again! The result is what you see there! Not a man easily discouraged IIRC the Dauntless of Dave Platt was the first scale model to incorporate 'weathering' or 'battle-worn' finishing techniques to a model,as opposed to the usual,at the time, pristine or brand-new appearance of most models.Caused a lot of comment at the time,and of course,changed the process of model finishing and judging.You're correct about the aircraft being virtually written-off on the first day,and being rebuilt overnight,although a picture in the 'Aeromodeller' magazine showed him with four large tubes of 'Britfix' balsa cement...…………………..Mal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Stephenson Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Posted by Dickw on 14/06/2020 12:26:22: Thanks for posting that video Peter. I was a regular competitor (and camper) at the Nationals in the 60s but never saw any of that because I was always at the CL combat circles with my mates. Nice to catch up with what I missed at last! I do remember the evening "free for alls" - great fun. Dick At Hullavington I saw C/L combat for the first time and it was the best spectator sport at the Nats. They were going all out, no-holds-barred and damn the damage. Some of the competitors had long trailers containing racks of may be a dozen models in various states of readiness from fully rigged down to bare airframes. Then there was the thwack of a combat model going into the turf at full bore and the pit man hauling it out, wiping off the mud and hitting the prop and throwing it again all in one movement, best entertainment. A. Edited By Andy Stephenson on 14/06/2020 14:13:47 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Lee Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Thanks very much Pete, I was another one who was there as a teenager and it brought back good memories. Latterly a few years ago I was able to go to the Weak Signals RC Expo in Toledo, Ohio. In the hotel bar I found myself standing next to Dave Platt and my opening remark was ‘Last time I saw you, you were crouched on the ground gluing together a Dauntless!’, we had a good chat and he said the gentleman leaning over the rebuild was Eddie Keil (of KeilKraft). For me, alongside catching up with Eric Clutton, it was the highlight of the weekend. And you memory does not fail you Mal, the Britfix tubes are visible here: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Lee Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Posted by Bob Cotsford on 14/06/2020 11:43:36: The Sheila Scott Commanche(?) bought back memories of a magazine article on her feat and possibly coverage of that model. Aeromodeller maybe? Great excuse for once more going though my archives: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Lee Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Lee Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Posted by Engine Doctor on 14/06/2020 10:17:21: Excellent footage. All it needs is a BBC accent commentary of the time ! Interesting how many men still wearing suits wth collar and tie ? At that time I was competing in motor cycle trials and always wore a tie! I only wear one now for weddings and funerals and not always then. I have a very worn MCC tie (Motor Cycling Club - oldest motor sport club in the world - not cricket) still. I didn't get interested in aeromodeling until relatively recently. I was besotted with motor bikes, sailing and pedal cycles before I got too old and injured for them. Still fascinated to see all the models and people from the period. Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Sadly Sheila Scott`s Comanche was written off when it had to put down in a school playing field just short of the Elstree runway due to engine failure caused by a severe oil leak. My father was the sec at the aero club at the time and i have a number of pics of the stricken aircraft in the field about an hour after it happened. The crew walked away unhurt, i believe the remains are now in a museum in Scotland. Sorry i see i have more or less duplicated what someone else has posted, that will teach me to read the full thread! Edited By martin collins 1 on 14/06/2020 17:08:49 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymaz Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Posted by martin collins 1 on 14/06/2020 17:05:17: Sadly Sheila Scott`s Comanche was written off when it had to put down in a school playing field just short of the Elstree runway due to engine failure caused by a severe oil leak. My father was the sec at the aero club at the time and i have a number of pics of the stricken aircraft in the field about an hour after it happened. The crew walked away unhurt, i believe the remains are now in a museum in Scotland. Sorry i see i have more or less duplicated what someone else has posted, that will teach me to read the full thread! Edited By martin collins 1 on 14/06/2020 17:08:49 THIS might be of interest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.