Table of contents for July 2023 in RCM&E

Welcome to the July 2023 issue of RCM&E. Our town has long had one of those discount supermarkets famed for its centre isle bargains. But it’s a relatively small store and parking is a bit of a nightmare, especially as it seems to attract the kind of driver who tend to throw their large SUVs in at random angles. It’s only a few minutes away but it’s also up a busy road, hidden behind a parade of older shops, so it’s easy to put to the back of one’s mind if you’re the kind of person, like I am, that is attracted to their famous centre isle to scour it for cheap tools and other bargains to populate a model building area with. In fact, I haven’t been in there…

TESTING, TESTING | 4-Max motor set Many years ago, I fell head over heels in love with a beautiful aerobatic lady by the name of Angel S. This 50-size pattern ship, designed by multiple Italian F3A Champion, Sebastiano Silvestri, flew fantastically well but the spatted undercarriage and small wheels did not fare too well in winter conditions at the flying patch I was flying from at that time. So, I put her safely into storage and decided to buy another model from Sebastiano’s SebArt International company, having been very impressed with the quality of the Angel S kit. But this one would be built without spats. This time I decided to try one of SebArt’s 30-size kits, the more compact Sebach 342 (which now goes by the name of Sebart…

Back in the late 1970s when I first dived head long into this wonderful hobby of ours, radio gear was rather rudimental. Trannies mostly had four channels, occasionally six, with just servo reverse and throw adjust and not much more. Servos were generally big chunky boxes, sometimes with three servos in a common block the size of a brick! In those days it was generally accepted that the standard servos supplied with the transmitter/receiver (Tx/Rx) would be suitable and were invariably used whatever the model. In my case, anyway! Nowadays there are a literally hundreds of servos to choose from and it can be quite daunting picking the right one for the job. Looking at the spec sheet for a servo there are lots of parameters to consider. But we…

When Spektrum 2.4g radios first appeared on the scene it revolutionised our hobby. No more fishing rod length transmitter (Tx) aerials to spar with on flight lines, so eyes were finally safe from prodding, and the tiny but effective antenna on receivers (Rx) made installs neater, and no longer did we need frequency control or crystal swapping. However, one thing had changed; unlike 27MHz and 35MHz radios etc. that could, in most cases, successfully use other manufacturers’ equipment (I used Multiplex transmitters with JR, Futaba and Micron home-built receivers with 100% reliability over the years, the only caveat being using the same manufacturer’s Tx and receiver crystals), 2.4g gear was bespoke and manufacturer specific. There’s no denying 2.4g has taken over the hobby as the system of choice and it…

Last year’s Indoor R/C Nationals was a resounding success, with everybody saying they would be here again in Walsall on April 22nd, 2023, and they did not let us down. In fact, we hit the limit of the number of competitors we can handle in a one-day event. With Sunday’s Scale Free Flight Nationals the average flight is only a minute or less so they can cater for larger numbers. In fact, with Free Flight they also launch several classes concurrently, making the time problem less of an issue. Last year we had 13 R/C entrants flying 75 judged flights over four rounds. This year we had 22 entrants flying 111 times, and that was with restricting entrants such that they could only fly in two categories and flying only…

There are two things to look at straight away: one is Kavan and the other is Cumul. Franz Kavan started his kit and accessories firm in Germany in 1965 and the Kavan brand (www.kavanrc.com) is now handled by the Pelikan Daniel firm (www.pelikandaniel.com) based in the Czech Republic. In addition to his high-quality products, Franz Kavan is perhaps best remembered as the designer and manufacturer of one of the first successful R/C helicopters, which was introduced in 1972. Kavan products are available from some retailers in the UK, and I purchased my model from Model Shop Leeds. Now, as to the name Cumul, all I’ve been able to come up with here is that it’s an abbreviation of Cumulus which, to me, sounds more attractive. DLG HERE WE COME I’ve…

I have this ‘thing’ about the early Edwardian aircraft, possibly because I admire the pioneering efforts and courage of the designers, constructors and pilots at a time when flying was in its infancy. I have designed, built and flown three Edwardian monoplanes, one triplane and one biplane in varying scales from 50% up to 66.6%. After building these five models I thought I had got them out of my system but after completing a new, much larger workshop during the first Covid lockdown I found myself being drawn towards another Edwardian aircraft. For many years I had enjoyed a pen friendship with the late Denis Fairlie. He was an extraordinary skillful modeller who knew so much about the Edwardian aircraft, especially the Nieuports and Deperdussins, and he very kindly shared…

Awhile ago I mentioned that I was thinking of replacing the piston ring in an old Super-Tigre .61 glow engine, for use in the 72’’ (1.8m) wingspan ‘Daddy-O’ sport model enlargement that I’m building. Further delving into the motor revealed just how seriously ‘tired’ it was, knackered to the point where I began to look for a replacement. Trawling through that ‘well-known auction website’ unearthed a slightly larger and more modern engine, of greater power and at a bid price I simply didn’t believe. A few days later and only £19 (plus extra post) lighter in the pocket, a two stroke SC .75 (12.5cc capacity) was carefully delivered by our postie. So, what was it like? OPEN SESAME! I wouldn’t normally dismantle an engine if it turns over freely and…

This two-day event of very pleasant flying was held on the last weekend of July 2022 near the picturesque town of Usk on the Welsh borders and is the brainchild of Richard Spreadbury and Paul Lewis. Richard needs little introduction as longtime organiser of the much admired ‘Classic Jets’ days held several times a year at the former RAF Abingdon. Paul runs Limited Edition Models in a workshop just up the road from Usk at Raglan Castle. First held in 2021 the idea was to have relaxed off the peg flying with propeller driven models, chew the breeze with friends old and new, all whilst having breakfast, lunch and all-day tea and coffee provided. What more could you ask for. Maybe on-site camping? No problem: several flyers did just that…

Geoff, a fellow club member, had decided he needed to unload some of his gliding fleet. So never one to miss a potential bargain I went round to see what was on offer. After delving through the pile of gliders and kits in his workshop a deal was done. But just as I was leaving, I noticed a Graupner ARTF Kwik Fly 3 sitting up in the rafters. I’ve been after one of these for several years and, even better, it was for sale. The fuselage came down first and other than a lot of dust and some slackened off covering film it looked in great condition. Grabbing the wing I noticed the rubber tyres looked like they had been subjected to a hard life on tarmac or concrete runways,…

So, this is the second model in this latest Mini Jet series. If I’m honest, this is probably the nicest flyer out of the current four and dare I say the best looking. Certainly, the US Navy planes from around that era of the 1950s and 60s had plenty of exciting colour schemes available to mimic. So, finding a scale scheme that suits the use of bold colour coverings, especially light grey, yellow and flashes of red, wasn’t too difficult to find. It really does make a striking looking aircraft and is something that these tired old eyes of mine can see in the air without too much fuss. So, looking forward, after the Panther, will come the F9F Cougar and ending with the F-16 Falcon. These next two are…

August 2023 Issue on sale 21st July LITTLE & LARGE OF SCALE Next month’s event reports cover two ends of the scale spectrum when Danny Fenton looks at some of the diminutive delights being flown in the free flight competitions at the Scale Indoor Nationals. Meanwhile Shaun Garrity takes a trip to the RAF Museum at Cosford as it throws open its doors to provide some hugely impressive display space under the wings of its famous aircraft as they played host to the Large Model Association’s Static Show. SLINGSBY T.30 PREFECT – PART 2 As promised, after a one-month hiatus, Chris Williams is back to complete the build feature for his 2.5 metre span Slingsby Type 30 Prefect. Designed by Chris to sixth scale, the August issue will contain the…