Our latest Lockdown Project is from Cliff Whittaker, who fancied a slightly bigger version of Hawker's famous jet
The December 2019 edition of RCM&E included the plan of a Hawker Hunter, designed by Tony Nijhuis. The plan looked straightforward and I considered having a go. But with a wingspan of just 25 inches, it looked small, fast and twitchy and I decided it wasn't for me.
To start his Bench Blog workshop column this month, Tim Hooper looks at a capacitor powered micro model.
Just in case you're wondering, 'WSAT' stands for Wooden Shoe Aviation Toys. Obvious, really. This Netherlands based company is headed by a gent named Vincent Merlijn, who has seen an opportunity in the market for a growing range of small free flight model kits.
Alex Whittaker takes a sideways glance at our beloved hobby and is thoughtful...
When I look back at the 1970s, I am amazed how things have changed. As a young bachelor (remember that word?) I used to get up early on a Sunday morning. Down dusty lanes not far from the sea at Southport, I would drive unmolested into deliciously flat and un-encumbered rural West Lancashire. I would knock on a random farmer’s door and ask if I could fly my Keil Kraft Outlaw over his land.
Keith Jackson returns with more F3A flying news. Additional pictures by Robin Trumpp, Adam Debowski, Thomas David, Kevin Caton.
Its great to be finally back flying! I wasn’t really sure about this until I attended an impromptu flying session at Hurley the other week. Even then it was only until eight flights into this that I realised that I’d actually really missed being able to fly F3A.
In his retro column Shaun Garrity fettles some basket case models
A silk purse from a pig’s ear? Yes, I know it’s a strange proverb. Originating from Scotland, its first recorded instance was apparently in 1699: "Ye can ne make a silk purse of a sows lugg (ear)”.
Alex Whittaker twangs on his Marigolds and gets to grips with cleaning up a much loved but tatty sports model.
Most radio modellers are 'Airframe Retentive'. I have had always had trouble throwing out old models, partially pranged models or those high-hours airframes that just need a little tender loving care. Like Darling Greta, I do want to save the planet. Mainly so that I can carry on flying endlessly repairable, eco-friendly balsa wood and glow plug engined models.
Alex Whittaker delves into a scale masterpiece from the secretive 'Spartacus', his 118-inch span Miles Gemini
Conceived as a four-seater light touring aircraft the Miles Messenger twin first flew on the 26th October 1945. The prototype was powered by a Blackburn Cirrus Minor engine. It was of wooden construction and had a retracting undercarriage.
Tim Hooper fits a top spec motor to his R/C assist Keil Kraft rubber model.
Skipping back a couple of episodes to the ongoing saga of my Keil Kraft Gipsy (as recently re-kitted by Ripmax), we'd reached the giddy heights of winding several hundred turns onto the five metres of rubber that lay within the fuselage. We'd also reached the conclusion that winding all that rubber by using a finger pressed against a prop blade was a definite no-no.
When slope soaring in light winds an E-Assist system can help stop an unwanted trip to the bottom of the hill, as Chris Williams explains.
There exists, amongst the more austere members of the scale soaring fraternity, a tendency towards pursed lips and muttered imprecations when a propeller is observed on the front of an otherwise scale glider.
Kevin Powling describes how he replicated the varied all metal finish of his Mick Reeves Spitfire using just one base colour
For many years I have had an interest in aviation. This was sparked by the fact that, in my early years, my parents had a farm that was situated at the end of the runway of Martlesham Heath Aerodrome, in Suffolk. It was close. One of the landing lights was outside the kitchen door! At that time, in the early 1950s, it mainly had Lincolns, then later Meteors, Canberras and other jets.
Danny Fenton looks at charging and temperature management of LiPo batteries.
For this coming flying season, if indeed there is one, I will be competing in 'Flying Only' with two airframes, a Black Horse 85” Chipmunk and a Seagull 80” Chipmunk. The Black Horse takes a pair of 5S LiPo packs, giving 10,000 mAh and the Seagull a single 5S-5000.
Shaun Garrity offers up a few ideas for adding simple but effective effects to your latest scale creations
A modelling pal of mine Ken had a simple philosophy regarding the art of scale detailing model aircraft. His planes always looked realistic, yet he took an uncomplicated approach to achieve great results.
