stevep Posted October 2, 2022 Share Posted October 2, 2022 hi has anyone heard of cotswold modle kits , as I have a shuttle pylon racer and a new boxed one , I've ben on google but can't find anything out about the company that produced the kits , would like to know more about them if anyone has any info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wookman Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 Cotswold Models was rung by Sid King. A friend of mine had a Cotswold Novice as a slope soaring trainer built as a pure glider back in the late 70s. Ben Buckle lists a kit of the Novice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wookman Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 I have a vague recollection that they did a Club 20 pylon racer too, Cotswold Tracer. Glass fuz, Foam veneer wing and balsa sheet tail. I think I had one in the early 80s. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Clark Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 16 hours ago, Wookman said: I have a vague recollection that they did a Club 20 pylon racer too, Cotswold Tracer. Glass fuz, Foam veneer wing and balsa sheet tail. I think I had one in the early 80s. You can still get them today through Barry Lever at Pylon-line. Now they are powered by West 32's in the club 32 class. Absolutely brilliant fun to fly as an adrenaline rush, even if you don't want to race them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wookman Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 Mine was mental enough with an Irvine 20. With a West 32 I can imagine that essential field box equipment might be a couple of pairs of clean pants. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Jones 15 Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 Yes , as Simon says they are available from Barrie Lever at Pylon-Line. I make the fuselages for him. Sadly Sid King passed away very recently. These are made from moulds made by the man himself. Steve. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Jones 15 Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Clark Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 The Tracer is certainly a brilliant plane and is a cheap way to get your thrills. If you race them, then you have to use an APC 8x8 prop, but if you just want to fly them for fun, like myself, I would recommend using a 9x 6 prop which is nearly as quick in a straight line but makes hand launching much easier - I just get airborne with an underarm lob. I would highly recommend giving these planes a go 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perttime Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 I suppose it is quite possible to put an electric motor and battery pack in it, if you really want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Clark Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 6 hours ago, perttime said: I suppose it is quite possible to put an electric motor and battery pack in it, if you really want to. In theory yes - although there is no battery hatch and so this needs to be thought about. As a coincidence, I have just started building a Tracer for electric as an experiment. I am changing the way the wing is mounted with two cap screws a couple of inches back from the LE and another two at the rear. This means that with suitable ply spars (a recommended mod anyway), I can remove a bit of the front of the wing, hopefully enough to get a battery through and then have the top fairing / canopy a removable hatch cover. At the moment, it is just a few thoughts and I don't know for certain if it will work, but I am fairly confident. I've got a lot of things on at the moment so not sure how long it will take me to get it done but it will probably not fly until next year now. If it works, then I'll put some pics and more details on the forum Simon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitts64 Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 In the 80‘s, the Cotswold Tracers where very popular in Switzerland and i flew one with a 3.5 ccm Novarossi. It was very hot and fast for me at this time, cause i was not so experienced. Some time ago, i could buy a new-old Tracer kit by Paul Bardoe and was gone back on the 80‘s again. Exactly everything the same as 40 years ago. I decided to insert an electric conversion instead of the Novarossi by using a HET 2W20 motor in combination with 3S 3200 Lipos. Maiden was in October and very succesfull. Very very fast but easy to land - absolutely my favorite plane. In the meantime, i received another one from Barrie Lever - Pylon Line. He add lasered balsa parts, new instructions and balsa veneered wings in top quality. Absolutely good! I hope many Tracers will flown the next season 🙂 Daniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin peacock Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 My dad built an electric tracer back in the '80s. I have two mint kits. One of them is a light weight one off made especially for my dad by Sid king himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin peacock Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 My dad built an electric tracer back in the '80s. I have two mint kits. One of them is a light weight one off made especially for my dad by Sid king himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin peacock Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 I also found this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Clark Posted April 29, 2023 Share Posted April 29, 2023 I finally got round to finishing off my electric Tracer. I have flown it with the following setup and it is absolutely brilliant: Motor: Overlander 3542/05 (1250KV) Prop: CAM folding 9.5 x 5 ESC: Overlander 60A Battery: 4S 2200mAh, 45C I used this prop to make sure that hand launching was easy at the possible expense of top speed. Although the speed is probably a little bit down on the i.c. version in full race spec, it is not that far short and a real adrenaline buzz. To launch you just hold it in one hand, apply full power, hold with nose up a few degrees and let go. I have made a cut-out in the wing to allow the battery to be put in without removing the wing and this needs it to be reinforced with ply spars. The whole wing and tail are covered with lightweight glass cloth put on with epoxy. I have built it with no side or downthrust but it does climb under power so would have benefitted from a little downthrust. I have got round this with a simple throttle to elevator mix (although I haven't got it right yet). A couple of pictures are attached. Give it a go! Simon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter1953 Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 On 06/03/2023 at 23:22, Pitts64 said: In the 80‘s, the Cotswold Tracers where very popular in Switzerland and i flew one with a 3.5 ccm Novarossi. It was very hot and fast for me at this time, cause i was not so experienced. Some time ago, i could buy a new-old Tracer kit by Paul Bardoe and was gone back on the 80‘s again. Exactly everything the same as 40 years ago. I decided to insert an electric conversion instead of the Novarossi by using a HET 2W20 motor in combination with 3S 3200 Lipos. Maiden was in October and very succesfull. Very very fast but easy to land - absolutely my favorite plane. In the meantime, i received another one from . He add lasered balsa parts, new instructions and balsa veneered wings in top quality. Absolutely good! I hope many Tracers will flown the next season 🙂 Daniel Daniel I owned one in 19xx, and I‘m very interested to have one again. Please let me have more details about present supplier. Peter, MG-Weinfelden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted May 21, 2023 Share Posted May 21, 2023 Is this one of them ?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Jones 15 Posted May 21, 2023 Share Posted May 21, 2023 Paul , that one is a Flair "Dara" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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