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.
Nigel Cartwright describes his own-design turbine helicopter
Not one for off-the-shelf models, I do enjoy building and flying the quirky and unusual. My background is in industrial modelmaking, engineering prototyping and the like, and in recent years I’ve been getting more into 2D and 3D CAD, as well as 3D printing. If I can, I’ll make a part rather than buy it!
In a Model Magic double header, Alex Whittaker celebrates two models from ace scale man, Gerhard Reinsch
I was told about the death of Gerd Reinsch in early August 2020. Gerhard was loved by many involved with the UK large scale model circuit. His lovely manner and ready sense of humour endeared him to his many UK fans. Most of all, he was famous for his large scale, highly detailed model aircraft which he flew with consummate skill.
Out of lockdown, Tim Hooper heads for the flying field to test fly some recent new builds and refurbs.
Flying wise it was a no-go for several weeks. Our field was shut, just as you'd expect when the weather turns gloriously sunny. Yes, I know that it would be possible to maintain the required social distancing on the flight line, but the clubhouse and pits could be problematical, and it simply wasn't worth the risk.
Shaun Garrity takes advantage of the lockdown to have a clear out and uses some rediscovered plumbing parts to make some model racks
Lock down has actually had a number of benefits in the Garrity household. With all this time spent inside the home, I had finally run out of excuses for all those jobs I’ve been repeatedly putting to the back of the queue for far longer than I would care to admit.
Who says size doesn't matter! Bruce Corfe checks out a mega-model in sunny Western Australia
Whoever said 'size doesn't matter' had obviously never heard of Perth modeller, Andrew Herzfeld. Andrew has created, from scratch, not one but two enormous turbine-powered scale model airliners; the one featured here is his awe-inspiring four-engine 747-400 'Queen of the Sky'. Andrew claims it is the largest flying model Jumbo Jet (dramatic pause...) in the World!
Alex Whittaker admires Ken Sheppard’s ex-ARTF cartoon scale Italian trimotor
The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero (Sparrowhawk) first flew in September 1934. It was a low-wing, triple-engine cantilever monoplane of wood and metal construction. Operated as a medium bomber it was easily recognisable by its distinct fuselage hump. Indeed, its crews, who generally seemed to like the aircraft, dubbed the design 'il gobbo maledetto', or damned hunchback.
Chris Williams kicks off his new scale soaring column with a rare Fly-In report.
As we all know, there was precious little to be pleased about in 2020. But one thing happened that stimulated even my normal dystopian cynicism. The White Sheet Club (or White Sheet Radio Flying Club, to declare its full title) had lost most of its scheduled events by the time we got to September. All that was left was the proposed Scale Glider Fly-In on the 13th. (The 13th? You can’t make this stuff up!)
To add to the tension, the following day was when the existing 30-person rule was due to be chopped down to six, so the stakes were very high. You can imagine the surprise all round when the forecast was one of such perfection, that it’s never happened before, or since. I was a little worried that the 30-person rule might be breached, but on the day a manageable 20+ plus turned up to make hay whilst they could.
