Alex Whittaker admires Ken Sheppard’s ex-ARTF cartoon scale Italian trimotor
The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero (Sparrowhawk) first flew in September 1934. It was a low-wing, triple-engine cantilever monoplane of wood and metal construction. Operated as a medium bomber it was easily recognisable by its distinct fuselage hump. Indeed, its crews, who generally seemed to like the aircraft, dubbed the design 'il gobbo maledetto', or damned hunchback.
Shaun Garrity updates a plan for a small pusher, jet style model that doubles up as a stiff-wind slope soarer
What has a Jaguar XJ6 (with the roof cut off), a steel pole and Octopussy got to do with this month’s free plan? Back in 1967 Jim Bede and his chief designer Paul Griffin sharpened their pencils and started creating a design for an aircraft that would become the BD-5, also referred to as the Micro.
Dave Batchelor finishes and flies his 98" Vulcan V-bomber built from the Tony Nijhuis plan.
Running fuel lines and wiring in the fuselage was going to be very untidy as only the holes in the ribs and bulkheads could be used to run them through. Good visibility inside is afforded by the large air intakes so I wanted it to look good inside as well as out.
Dave Batchelor describes his modifications whilst building a 98" Vulcan V-bomber to the Tony Nijhuis plan.
Following the demise of my MB339 back in 2016, I was left with (thankfully) a spare Jetcat P100 turbine looking for a home. I could not afford an ARTF model to put it in at the time so the idea of building something came to mind.
Chris Williams kicks off his new scale soaring column with a rare Fly-In report.
As we all know, there was precious little to be pleased about in 2020. But one thing happened that stimulated even my normal dystopian cynicism. The White Sheet Club (or White Sheet Radio Flying Club, to declare its full title) had lost most of its scheduled events by the time we got to September. All that was left was the proposed Scale Glider Fly-In on the 13th. (The 13th? You can’t make this stuff up!)
To add to the tension, the following day was when the existing 30-person rule was due to be chopped down to six, so the stakes were very high. You can imagine the surprise all round when the forecast was one of such perfection, that it’s never happened before, or since. I was a little worried that the 30-person rule might be breached, but on the day a manageable 20+ plus turned up to make hay whilst they could.
Roy Thompson rescues a once popular Brit kit from a clubmate's loft and launches it to lofty heights.
Back in the late 70s my then model clubmates and I were into thermal soaring, flying R/C gliders (pre-electric) at Cranford Park in West London. My club was the Hayes & District MAC. Throughout the summer Wednesday night was club competition night, with trophies to be won at the end of the year. A typical comp would be a six-minute duration event with a spot landing bonus.
At the time Bowman Model Kits of Ipswich advertised widely in the modelling magazines, being one of many small kit manufacturers in the UK. They had a good reputation for their no fuss designs and model kits supplied with good quality hardware.
Andrew James snaps together a quick build, semi-scale glider from FMS.
At 2.5 metre wingspan this quick assembly kit follows in the footsteps of FMS' 3m and 2.3m Fox gliders. In full size terms the Fox is an out and out aerobatic machine while the ASW-17 is an Open Class thermal hunter. Both models look the part, but I am guessing that more compromises have had to be made with the ASW to make it a tough and durable R/C model.
Mike Bell describes his DIY film tacking tool for difficult to access areas.
When it comes to film covering an airframe, I'm sure that, like me, you have come across loads of annoying areas where the covering iron just can't reach properly. Areas like air intakes and air exit slots, together with fillets around wings and fins, all immediately come to mind.
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