Steve Colman

Thanks for posting this Stuart. Brings back such great memories. The Caprice was my first "proper" model; an Xmas pressie from my parents circa 1971 when I was just a kid of 12. I built it on the living room table while the rest of the family did more mundane things. I can smell the PVA, tissue paste and dope as I write. I flew mine in the local park. After a few hand launches for trimming I climbed the steps to the top of the big park slide and launched it from up there before finally using a towline. After a few successful flights it finally flew into a copse of pine trees next to the park. Sadly, even my most skilled tree climbing friends couldn't manage to climb high enough to rescue it so there it remained. The following May ( Birthday pressie this time) it was replaced by a KK Chief. A friends dad built a home made simple 1 channel non proportional Tx/Rx which we installed controlling the rudder. Together we flew the model most of that summer until it flew away never to be seen again. Oh such simple happy days ! Steve. Edited By Steve Colman on 19/11/2012 21:56:28

Thank you Dave and Alan for your replies. The dilemma is sorted ! One of my aforementioned friends sold me his Calmato for a good price. He is going to move on to something a little more advanced. Steve.

Thanks very much for your reply Dave. You've confirmed my doubts about the Acro Wot; too many niggly little problems it seems. Now, I'm going to think long and hard about the Kyosho vs the Hacker. As you pointed out, I know how the Calmato flies, and setup would be a breeze with my friends help. Both points in it's favour. The Hacker would be cheaper by about 80 - 100 Euros in the end, which is a compelling argument in it's favour. Steve.

A very good afternoon to everyone. I have a dilemma about which first low wing aerobat to buy. I currently fly a variety of foamies from 600mm span up to 2.3m. My current favourite is a little known 800mm low wing model from Jamara called the Eppler. I like it because it goes where I point it, can be flown slow or fast, flies wonderfully inverted, etc, etc. My mates at the flying field keep asking me when I'm going to stop playing with toy planes? And, urging me to get a "proper" plane! I think in may respects they are correct, and I do need to move on from my current comfort zone. Two of my flying companions fly a Kyosho Calmato ST EP and this is what they recommend I buy. To which, they let me fly their planes, and I must say, I was impressed with how easy they were to fly and their smoothness in the air. In addition, I can walk into my LHS and get one with motor, off the shelf for 135.00 Euros. I would then need to add ESC and servos bringing the total near to the 200 Euro mark. So far so good, but I would also need to buy a minimum of two, preferably three, suitable lipos which adds to the cost considerably. Looking around, two other models take my fancy as I have a number of suitable lipos which would bring the overall cost down considerably. Both are very different from the kyosho. They are: Acro wot foam-e; RTF @ 185 Euros delivered. And the Hacker Models Extra 330 SC; RTF @ 165 Euros delivered. I recognise that the three models are totally different in many respects and perhaps I should look at others. However, living in Spain the cost of shipping is often prohibitive. Of the three models I think the Kyosho may be the best long term bet despite the extra cost. However, I would appreciate the views and suggestions of others before I make a final decison. Many thanks in advance, Steve.

The weather over here this weekend has been refreshingly cooler at 25-27C. Over Saturday and Sunday I flew in no particular order: Telink Tetra, Jamara Eppler, MPX Fun Cub, St Model ASW-17, FMS 2.3m Fox and a friends Fournier RF-4. Brilliant weekend! Also been out this evening and did two gentle flights with the ASW-17 in dead calm conditions; lovely.

I've added more pics to the album. Steve