Table of contents for June 2023 in RCM&E

Welcome to the June 2023 issue of RCM&E. In the last issue I recalled watching, as a young lad, a segment on radio-controlled aerobatics on ITV’s ‘World of Sport’ programme. I was unable to access the ITV archive to find a clip of this event so I wondered if the BBC had any similar clips. After Googling ‘Model aircraft BBC archive’ I was rewarded with some segments from 1970 editions of Nationwide, their early evening current affairs programme (long before the One Show), with one item showing the UK’s top scale modellers of the time, namely Mick Charles, Terry Melleney and Roy Yates. A later episode the same year featured the 1970 Scale World Championships, hosted by the SMAE (Society of Model Aeronautical Engineers, forerunner of the BMFA) which was…

At last, we’re at the end of this journey to build the somewhat unusual Boomer Bus, which hails from the pen of Henry Struck, way back in 1941. We’re up to the final assembly. Those 2 1/2” wheels are treasure from a swap meet. They are genuine Keil Kraft rubber streamliners and heft in at over 3oz for the pair. Obviously, relics from the short-nose days of aeromodelling when heavy wheels could double up as usable ballast. The plan shows some rather swoopy, streamlining fillets of 1/32” balsa sheet to cover the fuselage joins and these were next on the agenda. I opted to complicate things by using 1/64” ply for these fillets as they’ll help to reinforce the joint betwixt pod and boom. Given that the fillet pieces would…

TOP RC FW190 £86.99 I www.jperkins.com New from Top RC this eye-catching, 4-channel RTF gyro-equipped version of Focke-Wulf’s ‘Butcher Bird’ is available in both Mode 1 and Mode 2. Perfect for the park thanks to a suitcase-friendly 15.75” (400mm) wingspan, the airframe is crafted from EPP to a high level of detail and everything needed is supplied, including AA batteries for the Tx. A more than respectable flight duration of around 12 to 15 minutes comes by way of a 1S LiPo, which is plenty of time to enjoy the superb flight performance on offer from this very wallet-friendly ‘190. IWATA HP-TH2 AIRBRUSH £409 I www.airbrushes.com Bridging between an airbrush and mini spray gun in both capability and performance, Iwata’s HP-TH2 Gravity Feed Dual Action Trigger Airbrush features a unique…

TESTING, TESTING | Rocket model “…the model has a wingspan of 1.9 metres so let’s agree on a scale of 1:6” Let’s look back almost 100 years. Aviation was in its infancy and aviators learned primarily through ‘try and error’. At that time many German pioneers also showed great interest in propulsion using solid fuel rockets - it was almost a national sport. However, this was forcibly ended before and during WW2 because rocket technology of all kinds was ‘nationalised’. Only state institutions were allowed to deal with it, civilians were forbidden. One of the very active pioneers at that time was Fritz von Opel, the grandson of the company founder Adam Opel from Rüsselsheim. Opel brought rocket propulsion to the streets in cars, to the rails in handcars and…

Super‘Phatic! needs explaining. It is a glue that has not one, but many benefits and lots of applications in model building. Whether you are a traditional builder, assemble and fly ARTF kits, work with wood or foam or need to make repairs, I hope you will be encouraged to get to know what this glue can do for you. As with CA, with Super‘Phatic! you can pre-assemble structures and then apply the glue, which will penetrate deeply and re-enforce the joint. Bonding is not instant like CA so you can continue to position the joint after application if needed and bonding on porous materials is much quicker than conventional wood glues. When gluing porous materials, especially balsa, and particularly if the part is subject to high stress, reinforcement around the…

There’s a nice park not far from my house. It’s a bit rude not to fly there and the best times are early mornings or late evenings (the golden hours as they’re known to photographers) when it’s calm and quiet. Keeping a low profile is the aim of the game when you fly from a public space so, obviously, fast, noisy or large models are out of the question. Small and quiet is de rigueur. Sometimes a curious dog walker stops to chat and I’ve made a few friends this way. It’s surprising how many (usually men of a certain age) tell me they’ve tried model flying in the past or know someone who has. Despite my fears, in over 20 years I’ve never received a bad word or hostile…

Having successfully electroformed all the cylinder water jackets I decided to carry on using the same technique to create the copper induction pipes before putting the plating bath away and forgetting how to do it. Study of the original engine strongly suggested that this was the method they used, the pipes being obviously thin (badly dented in places) and without the usual crinkles on the inner radii caused by bending machinery. The heading photo shows the finished structure: four main pipes leading from a central distribution chamber and four branches. There is a diagonal symmetry meaning that each pipe is repeated once. There was therefore a need for two designs of longer pipe and two for the shorter one, four patterns in total. Each pipe has an OD of about…

Get in touch... kcrozier@mortons.co.uk QUICK BUILD KESTREL I thought you might be interested in my build of the Kestrel, featured in RCM&E recently. (Pro-Plans, Dec 22 & Jan 23 - KC) I have made a few mods. The wing is in one piece instead of the designer’s three piece as the wingspan is not very long. The struts are functional, and I elongated the front fuselage to accommodate a 5055-size motor and 4S Lipo. The hatch is hinged to one side, leaving plenty of room for the 60A ESC. The vent louvres are from B&Q, providing a large air outlet area. The model is yet to be flown but ‘looks’ right on the workbench. Kevin Routledge STURMOVIK SOURCE I noticed in Lindsay Todd’s article in this month’s RCM&E (Apr 23)…

F9F PANTHER This is the second model in the latest Mini Jet series from Tony Nijhuis. Tony says that is probably the nicest flyer out of the current four and, in his opinion, it is the best looking. Certainly, US Navy planes from around the 1950s and 60s had plenty of exciting colour schemes available to mimic. The Panther was tested on a 3S FMS fan unit, which gives a very scale performance. If the builder wishes to install a 4S version there really isn’t a downside except the 3S 2200mAh LiPo, which many modellers will have several of, will have to be substituted for a 4S 1600mAh battery; the key is to avoid adding too much weight when moving up to a 4S setup. Please note that part two…

This is nothing to do with contrary club members (who has those anyway?) but is to do with flying models using contra-rotating electric motors. In general, if you fly a model with contra-rotating props you are likely to be an F3A pilot or indoor F3P ultra-light wizard. If so you will be using high end units designed specifically for a demanding style of flying, often in a competitive environment. For the average modeller contra-rotating motors (CR from now on) can be a complication too far and it offers few advantages over a conventional power system. So why use this motor system? As far as models are concerned it eliminates the torque action and for competitive aerobatic flying this is a valued function. For indoor models larger and slower revving props…

A great many of us have a flight box/field caddy with a large 12V battery inside. How many of us remember to charge the battery between field visits or during that long workshop episode called winter building? Yes, I’m looking at you, the shame-faced owner of yet another expensive dud and thoroughly sulphated (internally corroded) lead-acid battery/door stop/recycling centre entrant. A recent fumble through the varied contents of ‘a certain online auction website’ saw me gazing at small solar panels… CHARGE ACCOUNT I had again been bemoaning the lack of available volts in my flight box car battery and just where the heck I’d left the charger, during the previous workshop muck-out. Being strong of arm and thick in head, it took a while for the connection (sorry about the…

NORTH STAR My husband, Jonathan Hall, is a member of the BMFA and a keen flyer and model aircraft builder. We are attending the meet at Lochearnhead 28th to 30th April, along with several other flying enthusiasts, for a maiden flight of his North Star on the lake. He built this model from scratch, adding his own personal touches to enhance its performance. Being ex-RAF and an engineer, Jonathan has built many planes over the years. I have attached some photos of the build of the North Star, along with one of it complete. Kathryn Hall THREE TIMES FUN There’s only one thing better than a Fun Fighter and that’s a brace of three of them! They are quick to build, look great and are brilliant fun to fly. Mind…

My home club of about 60 members is not huge, however it is friendly. For the record I’m lucky enough to belong to a few very friendly MFCs but always refer to the Maidstone crowd as my home club on the grounds that I’ve been a member now for over 40 years. Anyway, I hope I’m right in saying that new recruits also find the reception friendly and enthusiastic. All receive a warm welcome, which I wholly attribute to a hard-working committee and core membership of folk who are genuinely excited to be there and keen to offer newcomers a positive start in the hobby. Crucially, no-one exists in a position of power to fuel any warped, egocentric delusion of grandeur and lord it over the masses. I’d be lying…

PRETTY IN PINK This model, built by Richard Docketty, is a 2.5m Champion 46 glider originally designed by French aircraft designer Emmanuel Fillon for free flight competitions in 1946. The free flight plans were converted to R/C and electric flight by Chris Dunning, who has also built one. A complete scratch build, it was worth all the effort. Control is via rudder and elevator, with modular airbrakes. Power for the 4lb 10oz glider is supplied by a 3S LiPo. The open structure is built from ply and balsa, covered in transparent Oracover. The Champion has successfully flown several times on the slope and now from the flat to test the motor when this picture was taken. Photo by: Chris Williams Camera: Panasonic DMZ-FZ100 Aperture:…