Leaderboard

My latest maidened yesterday. A Warbirds Replica Spitfire MkIX adjusted to a later MkI / II version

My new studio / modelling room backdrop has arrived, I love it!

Just come back from flying her for the first time. Everything was great. I had to mix in throttle / rudder to help with keeping it a bit straighter on take off. The plan cg of 5 5/8” (143mm) was dead right The Evolution 33gx and 20x6 Aerostar prop is just the right combination for slow, scaled controlled flight. Needs a tiny amount of power on landing and a blip of throttle to flare out.

Finished it and maidened yesterday. 812669143_spitfiremaidenlanding.mp4

The first time you take a new model off it can be nerve-wracking. We had one today. I thought you might all get a little thrill out of this. These have been selected from along burst.

Big thanks to Andy Meade for making the most detailed and accurate pilots. A bargain at £10 each. Although they are 1/10th Scale, they are printed very lightly, and smoothly. Just in case there is any doubt, I am only putting one pilot in the cockpit and the other is for my mate Keith, who is also building a Spitfire Funfighter. As the weather was so nice, I took Bill and Ben out onto the patio and painted them in the sun. The Acrylic Paints however do dry very fast in the heat. First I gave them an airbrush coat of grey primer, which was identical to the colour of the plastic but helps the paint adhere. Whilst I used flesh base, I toned it down as otherwise these chaps look as though they have been using foundation. Painting, and shading all done

The event report from the Orme 21/22 May is now uploaded to the PSSA website and linked below. Big thanks to Al Gorham for the description of Sunday nights activities (after I'd left for home!) and to Shona Meade and Noah Barlow for some superb photographs also employed in the write up!! Orme Event May 2021

Very nice Cliff and a very talented daughter!

Very pleased to report the first two flights of the rebuilt TN Spitfire took place today. (ironically, now it is the Dark Nights at this end of the world!) Flew absolutely brilliantly, hauled around with authority by the .28 in it. Retracts worked flawlessly, and ground handling also very good, so i must have got something right there. The colour scheme worked well, as i had hoped it pretty much looked black at any distance, and supposedly black aircraft are easy to see (well during daylight anyway). The white stripes also helped too though. Certainly no problems. Definitely has presence in the sky, and certainly has the look when banked over in silhouette. Can use up a surprising amount of sky, big flowing loops and rolls, Derry turns etc showed it off well. Of course i hooned around at full throttle the whole time ? Looking forward to flying it again soon, special thanks to the originator of this thread for the motivation, and thanks Tony Nijhuis for the excellent design.

I hope this policy refers to a club test Jon, not the BMFA Achievement Scheme A test. My understanding is that it’s an absolute requirement that the manoeuvres must be demonstrated to an acceptable standard. The examiner may ask a candidate to repeat an aspect which falls short of the required standard but only to a limited degree. Your pilot of known ability shouldn’t have any problem repeating the test if he messes up the first attempt if he’s at A standard. Accepting lower standards “because he’s usually OK” devalues the value of the scheme as it is not a true recognition of their achievement.

In order to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the BMFA, why not hold a festival/event at the National Centre on the following lines: 1 - A static exhibition of historic models and equipment and the history of the SMAE/BMFA 2 - Ongoing demonstrations throughout the day by some of the kit manufacturers in the UK, showcasing their products. 3 - A Trade Village like the NATS, but focused on UK manufacturers and suppliers 4 - A sort of Airshow demonstration of the 'history of model flying' starting with say FF A Frame pushers, through Wakefield, FF Scale, CL, Early RC, maybe a select slot, 10 minutes or so of RC models from each decade from 1950s to 2020s showing how the hobby has changed. 5 - A 'fly in' session in the evening. RC, CL, FF as conditions and numbers permit. 6 - A bbq/bar/food stalls available all day. 7 - A night flying demonstration. 8 - Firework display to finish. Charge BMFA Members £25 and non-members £35 or something. Just a thought.

For clarity, if a club feels the need for a new examiner, they put the name of a B certificate (6 months minimum) holder who they feel is a suitable candidate to the Area Co-ordinator who then assigns an Area Chief Examiner to test the candidate. The candidate meets the examiner who assesses both the candidate's flying standard, normally by flying through a demonstration B test, and judgement by either a mock or real test. They also have their general knowledge of wider aeromodelling matters assessed, particularly as they can examine at "A" level in all disciplines (B tests must have a lead examiner qualified in that discipline). Each year, part of the club's renewal process with the BMFA is to ratify their examiners. How they do it is up to them - collectively or simply a decision by the committee. In extreme, it could also be the person who fills in the renewal paperwork but I suspect most clubs would at least rubber stamp any decision via their committee. Whichever way, it is "the club" who are responsible for confirming the continuing competence and integrity of their examiners.

Hi Matt Great to hear your thoughts on how we can celebrate the SMAE/BMFA Centenary next year. We have a number plans being worked up at the moment by a working group and it's encouraging to know that your thinking is the similar to our own. More information will be become available in the lead up to 2022 but our aim is to celebrate the past 100 years and look to the future including raising our profile and encouraging newcomers into model flying.. Paul Hoey Chairperson: BMFA 100 planning group

Cut all the fuselage sections ready for gluing together ...

Yes

I think my favourite show, or one of them, was when the Sandown Park expo was on. A nice mix of flying slots, a good trade presence and a really good atmosphere. The Nats round about 1990-1995 seemed to be a bit of a golden time in my memory. I just think that there is a danger of the general club flyer being a bit isolated. There's a wonderful sense of camaraderie watching a demo slot and everyone wincing at the same time, being able to be a 'plane nerd' openly and talk about the hobby without the blank faces one normally gets! That seems more vital to the hobby than watching the BMFA's favoured few flying 75% scale jets around at 300mph.

The cockpit canopy/battery hatch. The very soft surface of the XPS foam is significantly 'hardened' by the emulsion paint and clear lacquer so unusually for me it will be painted before the maiden. A start on the painting. The pale underside will need two coats over the grey XPS. The underside is sky blue but the camera does not see it in artificial light. The tail is yet to be painted.

A club can test to whatever standards it wishes to apply for its own testing requirements, and if anyone wishes to write their own certificates and get someone to sign them that is fine. If the holder of such a certificate is happy, then I have no problem with that. BUT I would strongly object to anyone applying their own examination criteria and standards and then issuing a BMFA Achievement Scheme Certificate. That just seems completely wrong to me. If anyone is claiming to issue BMFA Achievement Certificates then the requirements of the tests should be adhered to as all examiners should know. We know applying common standards is not easy but it should at least be attempted for a National Scheme. Dick

the nationals is suffering like most things at the minute due to the CV-19,but all been well i imagine it will re-surface in due course(i hope) anyway...will it be the same,i doubt it as during the course of CV-19 i think a lot of peoples habits and way of life have changed and i doubt they will go back to what we had previous. as to the shows,they went from been a showcase/meet up of of hobbyists to large commercial(ker-ching) affairs..with models been flown which mere mortals could never aspire to or afford.......all well and good watching someone flying the "nearly full size" model under radio control but a lot of people want to also see something they can afford and master themselves. and of course costs come into shows now.....cost of fuel to get there and entrance fee's and dosh for some food.....bacon sandwiches at caviar prices.... ken anderson...ne..1...my view dept.

Thankyou for your good wishes John. Interestingly enough the Thunder Tiger in the RNAS Baron is side mounted and has never posed a problem. The OS is mounted upright in the Russian Baron. That said, I bought the Thunder Tiger new and the OS second hand so maybe it's got a lot of mileage on it.

We live in hope.

Personally, I would rather watch a selection of demonstration slots of 'normal' models with some commentary/Q&A over the PA. Think of all the kit manufacturers and distributors who could use a big showcase for their products rather than, dare I say, the showline being dominated by the same few people every year. Imagine what a few 30 minute slots would do for any of the companies in the 'british kit manufacturers' thread, especially if the BMFA got on board with technology and live streamed the event on Instagram or YouTube, and made those clips available for kit manufacturers to embed on their websites. Have a go slots with buddy boxes? A return to indoor flying, especially the BMFA Dart building tables etc? A Raffle? Toffee Bomber? Some interpretative material at each 'event' like a sign board describing each event? Live drone aerial footage? A club level 'bring and fly' competition, judged like aerobatics but for artistry rather than precision and a concours static element? If we are serious about promoting our hobby, we need to make that promotion relevant to the club flyer and particularly the novice.

Nice to read some good times being enjoyed by our Kiwi friends. Just served to remind me of our South Island cycle tour back in February 1999 (is it so long ago?). Loved Christchurch where we started and ended the tour, and Wanaka where a group of us visited the Fighter museum. I'm told we were lucky with the weather on the west coast - glorious sunshine all the way north and over Arthur's Pass (the hardest col I've ever ridden, I actually had to resort to the 24" gear - ie 2 feet! - for part of it) back to Christchurch. Meanwhile, in the UK, I sit in my workshop contemplating my as yet unflown DB Sopwith Pup (last winter's build project!) and wonder if I'll ever fly it. Geoff

Although the model moves in all orientations, there is sometimes a tendency for pilots to point the transmitter in the direction of the model. In this case, a non "straight up" aerial orientation does give a better signal radiation pattern as end on is the worst case. It's certainly time that all manufacturers should do away with vulnerable external aerials! I do find the sellotape arguments amusing though - while it might look untidy, it has absolutely no detrimental affect on the function of the aerial.

Re OP . Its the very reason that welded packs came into fashion back in the late 60's early 70's as the spring contacts could often loose contact without warning and zinc carbon batteries of the day often leaked and damaged the contacts. Most radio gear especially low to middle range sets like the Futaba Challenger and similar were made for use with dry cell connectors fitted and were converted or ordered from the makers with welded packs by the distributors like Ripmax etc . The higher end sets back then were made for re-chargeable batteries with no evidence of connector mountings in the cases Only the cheap two channel surface use radios used for boats and cars continued to be supplied for use with dry cell batteries. Welded packs every for me . Using dry cells in the much improved radios of today is a fundamental backward step., Dry cells might be ok for small cheap rc toys but with continued use the connections will fail Converting to welded re-chargeable packs is usually a simple conversion

Is that sellotape holding your Tx aerial together Graham? Exposed wires, sellotape fixes? I've got to be honest, it's not a Tx that inspires confidence.

Sadly, my SFM SE5 (my original entry) is in pieces again. The lead necessary to balance it decided to become detached and relocate itself into the tail.... with expected results! Now we're in flying weather, the pile of pieces (and holes where the tiny pieces are missing) will languish in the pigeon coop (no Pigeons present) until the dark nights return. GG