kevin b

Personally I think that if the site is officially "shared", then the two club's committees need to sort it out and not individual members. If it all turns nasty I know who is going to lose access to the site. There are more youngsters involved with go karting than model aeroplanes. I've never met a grumpy old go-karter.

Not for free anyway ! 😂

Ok Pete, Break over. Now can you get back to designing some more aeroplanes ? 😂 Seriously, I (along with many others) am impressed by your commitment to this hobby. Also, it is nice that you haven't lost your enthusiasm (or even your marbles). Keep up the good work. 👍

We are also very fortunate here in Nidderdale with very similar facilities and an equally friendly farmer (and sheep !). Always on the lookout for new members and BMFA affiliated. Only restriction we have is no cameras on models, due to our location near a sensitive military site. Our field is a typical North Yorkshire site with a stone wall at the end of the runway to concentrate the mind !

Hi Andy. I'm not very experienced with 4 strokes myself regarding rebuilding them, but you've come to the right place. Plenty of very helpful enginistas on here. 👍 They will put you right i'm sure.

The way it is going for 8 stamps you could probably buy an aerobatic team ! 🤣

Excuse me chaps, but aren't we supposed to be talking about model aeroplanes and their propulsion methods ?

Ebay loves em !

This was not intended to be a doom and gloom topic. I have been most enlightened by some of the comments and the positive attitudes of most of the members. At least the topic is relevant to the hobby that the forum is dedicated to. What is the point of a forum if you don't discuss matters of common interest ? With regards to ic engines and building being " on the up", I would sincerely like to believe so however I don't think the figures available actually bear that out. It would probably be true to say that people are building more, rather than more people are building. Mainly due to the poor flying conditions over the last couple of years. There again that is only my opinion and I would be quite happy to be proven wrong.

Airsail kits are currently in limbo whilst Jotika are settling into their new factory / warehouse. There might be some spares left from the old stock. You can contact them here. Jotika JR Airsail are a completely seperate company and are a NZ model distributor / shop.

Does she have a sister ? ☺️

Ah. Another member of the unmarried modellers club. 😂

Ok. Done that. I was contemplating a short while ago buying a new one, but now I think those that are left should be bought by someone who appreciates them enough to build a model them and fly them. Engines are for using, not sitting in a glass case (until they are worn out). These days I mainly fly electric. Just read Jon's latest post. I think he will need a removal van just for the Spitfires. 🤣

Following the demise of Laser engines there has been a lot of discusion. I feel however that those discusions should now be held on a more general basis covering all manufacturers and systems. I think steam power might be stretching it a bit, but what the heck ! As with all historial hobbies (yes, that's what we are now), if there is a demand someone will endeavour to supply that demand - at a price. Unfortunately our particular hobby has now moved beyond the point where the demand for our favoured power system is not sufficient for the required ongoing investment commercially to be viable. Not at least regarding mass production. Note for example that O.S. no longer manufacture small capacity glow engines. How long before they stop producing all glow engines ? Somebody mentioned in a thread earlier PAW engines. An excellent example of what is possible in our hobby. But it is a niche market within a niche part of our hobby. That particular company has found a way to make it viable. However there is very little forward development and commercially it is totally reliant on us continuing to buy new ones. People resurrecting any extinct manufacturers product will need extensive technical information in order to do so and in many cases that is no available. So to do so would require somebody who has a passsion for engineering as opposed to that for aeromodelling (unless they have extremely deep pockets !) However I do see potential for those with engineering experience to provide a service, such as we see in vintage motoring and sailing as specialist restorers. Then also we must accept the realisation that our branch of the hobby will not be in the "buy a lump of fridge packing and throw it in the air cheap" bracket. Ok. Over to you.

Sorry, but I thought that the more we dwell on the subject the more it is going to have a negative effect on Jon. After all he did put a lot of heart into the company that employed him. Having reread the thread I now agree that a lot of you, like me are 100% behind Jon. Unfortunately there are a lot of people out there who do not understand the workings of commerce and commercial decisions. With regards the state of play following the closure of Laser. I think you will find that small internal combustion engines suitable for our hobby will become a lot more expensive and very soon, due specifically to supply and demand. In addition the raw materials to build them will also be more expensive due to the alternative demands for them (just like balsa wood). This is not doom and gloom for our hobby, but a wake up call that ours is catching up with others and that if you want quality it comes at a price. May I suggest that to continue this conversation regarding the future of model ic engines we do so on another thread. In fact I think I will start one, if anybody is interested.

Excellent post Jon. You have now said enough on the subject. It is time to walk away from the past and move forward. You still have a lot to gain (and possible give) from this hobby and though you currently have a very sour taste in your mouth it won't last. Soon you will be able to look back and realise that you aren't one of the losers. Everything has its time and that of Laser Engines has now passed. The reason so many people are complaining. They will now have to pay the price for quality. My message for all those who own Lasers. Stop complaining. Jon has offered to assist you. He does not have to do so and can walk away from it at any time. If you have a negative comment, keep it it to yourself and not on here. We do not want to lose Jon (or anybody else) from the forum who offers help and advice freely, which in other circumstances could be costly. Maybe it is time to close this thread.

Has anybody considered asking how many engines were actually sold last year ? Any business where the owner is retiring always looks to maximise the return on their assets. Remember Solarfilm anybody ? That was a lot more viable business than Laser (with all due respect), yet nobody took it on. The obvious way forward was petrol engines. Nobody really enjoys cleaning the gunk off of their high hours build scale model and all the aerobatic people are flying electric now. At this moment in time (and for the forseeable future) the investment required in time and finance to produce small petrol engines is not justifiable and Jon will tell you that converting an existing engine is not a small job. Also I doubt that the market is there for them anyway. The same can be said about Flair kits. If there was a viable market with the manufacturing costs involved, they would probably still be being produced. I think you will find that most (if not all) the model aircraft and kit manufacturers in this country are "hobby", or to put it another way "cottage" industries. In my opinion I think there are a lot of peopl out there who do not realise the costs involved in manufacturing anything in the U.K. Particularly where the market is very small (such as ours).

Hi from North Yorkshire.