Member Profile

Tim Hooper

“Definitely not dogmatic!”

Member Offline

Name: Tim Hooper

Country: United Kingdom

More about me:

Little bit of a website, covering my interests in aeromodelling & photography here; http://www.electricwings.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/

I started aeromodelling as a kiddy in the 1970's, and got as far as radio-control by the time the hormones kicked in and lured me into the strange new delights of girls, cars, mortgages etc.

Moving on 25 years to the year 2000, I entered a model shop for the first time in a quarter of a century, and noticed some models hanging from the ceiling that were absent of the usual cylinder heads, silencers and castor oil stains. When it became apparent that the y were powered by the new form of electric power, I became very interested very quickly!

Now, 10 years ago e-flight was a real challenge. Big, heavy cells, allied with weedy tincan motors meant that every design that staggered around the sky was hailed as a brilliant success, and that degree of dificulty made the e-power option all the more attractive!

After a couple of foamies (Twinstar, Zagi), I started building the designs of others from plans - Peter Rake's scale designs particularly. In 2003 I set about very first own-design the AW FK10 Quadraplane. Probably a bit ambitious for a first attempt, but the model flew very well (and still does).

Since then, I've had several designs of unusual aeroplanes published (by both Traplet and RCM+E), but I'm also more than happy to acknowledge the role of ARTF's and fly them too.

These days, with the advent of Li-po, cheap outrunners and micro-RC gear, the original challenge of e-flight has all but vanished. Any model shop will now be able to sell you a complete power system for virtually any model - and that's probably a good thing - but I still get my greatest satisfaction from seeing one of my own-design models take to the skies, whilst confident that there aren't scores of the same design lined up in the pits!

Me? I'm 52, twice married, twice divorced. Working as a sort of technician in an electronics service centre (although I have zero knowledge of electronics), and sharing my life with my partner of the last 3 years, Netty (who has also embraced this ridiculous hobby).

Tim Hooper - Dec 2010