Company founder Gen Saito with one of his first model motors, a pre-war spark ignition unit.
There will be few readers of RCM&E to whom the name ‘Saito’ is unknown: even those modellers who, like myself, have not yet bought or used a Saito motor will recognise the marque. Unlike the other ‘big’ Japanese model aero-engine manufacturers such as O. S.
Barry Sherborne’s own design 1/3rd scale Fokker D6 patrols the skies above the Woodvale Revival last summer, held at the Liverpool and District Model Aircraft Club field in West Lancashire
We had a great time last year, so we thought we'd do it all again and, this time, the event will mark the magazine's 60th anniversary too! We’ve decided to resurrect the relaxed, friendly format, again at the BMFA National Centre, Buckminster.
We love the place, it’s bang on the money and for those who haven’t seen it, take our word for it, the facilities are top-notch. We love the immaculate flying site, the campsite, the new showers too, and we’ve even ordered good weather.
Do bring your new designs (as prospective plans for the magazine) as we'll have magazine photographers at the event along with any historic or interesting models you'd like to share.
Tranquility in the heavens as Dirk Nething takes in a stunning Alpine view at sunset high above the Austrian village of Fiss, base of the annual Flying Circus soaring event, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary in June. Read more in Simon Cocker's regular On Silent Wings column.
In this month's Model Magic, Alex focuses his lens on Brian Wood's superb hand-crafted Thunderbolt, which spans 92”, scaled up from the Brian Taylor plan. Powered by a gorgeous Saito FG 90 R3 radial engine this splendid Razorback took Brian 18 months to compete
1. Aerodynamic appreciation. You don’t have to become an aerodynamicist, but it helps if you can appreciate some of the basic principles of flight and how they affect your model’s performance. Do you know why aircraft stall? What about the difference between ground speed and air speed, and why differing wing sections work the way they do? Having a good general appreciation of what can affect an aeroplane’s flying characteristics is something that most aeromodellers develop over time, yet any extra you can do to enhance your aerodynamic awareness is all to the good.
Fast jets are always tricky to photograph, especially little 25" span ones like this Hunter flown by Tony Nijhuis, and the subject of one side of this month's free pull-out Pro Plans!
There are ARTF kits and there are ARTF kits. Some require little work and fall together without too much effort or added expense, others are more of a ‘project’, requiring time and patience to complete, along with a few extra purchases. This falls into the latter camp and while that’s not to criticise Hangar 9’s new P-47, you should definitely do your sums before purchase. Has there ever been a time when E-flite or Hangar 9 didn’t have a P-47 in the range? In one form or another it’s the warbird that those brands always seem to produce, but you can’t blame them.
RADIO CONTROL MODELS AND ELECTRONICS
December2019
ON THE COVER. . .
As 2019 comes to a close we thought we would warm you up with a picture taken on a hot summer's day of the VQ Models Piper Tri-Pacer, reviewed in this issue by Mike Austin.
Even apparently simple things, like starting an engine, often assume a good bit of inter-related background knowledge. Of course, the problem for the newcomer is acquiring that know-how quickly. So, I want to look at the underlying fundamentals one by one and then go though a typical and practical start-up procedure step-by-step. Buckle up tight in the back now!
We’ll be starting a standard sport glow engine in the modelling equivalent of the missionary position.
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