Nick Cripps

Excellent. Thank you for sharing that.

I think you're confusing airspeed and groundspeed, a common misconception for learners. A model trimmed for constant airspeed at a constant height and fixed throttle setting will appear to be flying slower into wind and faster downwind, from your stationary position. Whatever you do, don't throttle back on the downwind leg!

Full-size flying boats never seem to scale well to model size, they always appear to have handling problems in the water unless a non-scale step position is used. I don't know why this is, someone with better hydrodynamics knowledge than me could probably tell you! The S6 looks great, would love to see some video of that.

I plan to be there from the Friday afternoon. I'll try not to forget anything this time 😉

Just finished another free-flight model, this time it's a Vic Smeed Tomboy. This was my first attempt at tissue over mylar covering (many thanks to @PatMc for the mylar) with Eze tissue applied using acrylic floor varnish on the wing and some cheap tissue paper on the fuselage. Engine is a Boddo Mills 0.75 Mk2 with Kavan 7x4 prop which should be plenty. First flight will be soon hopefully, once this run of bad weather (must 6 months now!) is finally over.

An amazing achievement, Peter. The first Aeromodeller I bought was in 1974 and contained your article on biplanes for control-line aerobatics. I was fascinated by the subject and must have read it dozens of times and even pencilled in my own design on your sketch showing recommended dimensions. The Duchess published the following month is still on my "to do" list fifty years later! I think an enlarged version for RC would be a great choice for your next design (hint, hint).

DD's link was for Formula Irvine Sport 5 fuel. This is the one you want.

Converting the Tempest kit to produce the Sea Fury seems an absolute no-brainer to me as it would be so easy to do and I'm sure would get plenty of sales so definitely top of the list. Thunderbolt is an interesting idea but not really for me so my vote would go for the Mosquito as the next "new" design. It's about time I had a twin-engined model.

And another at Wollaton Park, on the west side of Nottingham.

Field waterlogged? No problem, take up waterplane flying! Here's a few pictures from our regular flying session at Kitridding Farm on Wednesday. Many thanks to clubmate Mark Newburn for the excellent photos.

It started off bright and clear this morning so it certainly felt like spring even though it was a bit chilly at first. The field was really busy and parking was difficult trying to avoid the soggy areas of the site. I spent the morning flying my Wot 4 ARTF which has been something of an engine testbed having flown with an OS52FS, OS46FX, OS55AX, ASP40 and now a brand new Force 46. I haven't bought a new 2-stroke engine for years (there's plenty of cheap used engines at swap meets) but I thought I'd give this one a try after reading about Toto's trials and tribulations last year. The engine seems to be well-made with a squeaky tight fit initially on the ABC piston/liner set. I had a brief attempt earlier in the week but struggled with a broken throttle trim switch on my trusty (up 'til then) DX9. Today's session went well, running the engine on a Graupner 11x6 prop, Laser 5 fuel and an OS no.8 plug. I had a dead-stick on the first flight but a bit of tweaking of the needles, especially the idle needle, had it running happily throughout all 3 subsequent flights. It could probably go a tad leaner at the bottom end but rain stopped play soon after lunch. Overall a good flying session and I'm happy with the little Force 46 so far.

A shame to hear about the closing of AGC Engineering and Laser Engines. Quality products like this and the level of support provided by Jon are getting increasingly rare in modern times. All the best for the future, Jon, and your new career at Martin-Baker. I hope we will see at Buckminster in September.

A shock to hear this. Hope you make a quick and full recovery.

Sorry to hear this sad new. My condolences to you and your family, Iris.

Like I said, it's not immediately obvious but there is a long-dashed line just below the spar, along the edge of the centre section and along the edges of the cap strips. The sheeting is also shown on the tailplane cross-section. I think it's down to how you interpret the drawing. Certainly I understand it now having seen Steve's build from the supplied parts but I probably would have missed it if building just from the plan.