Table of contents for December 2024 in RCM&E

Welcome to the December 2024 issue of RCM&E. Brrr! It’s getting a bit nippy out there! Writing this in real time it’s mid-October and the leaves have just started to take on their lovely autumnal hues. But my, it can get a bit chilly first thing, especially when extracting my LiPos from their shedly slumbers. It’s not a good idea to use LiPo battery packs (or any other battery chemistries come to that!) when they are stone cold, so I have broken out my LiPo heater box to warm my packs up, both whilst I have my breakfast and also in the car footwell on my way to the flying field. My heater box has a 12V DC input, so I plug it into a mains power supply unit while…

After three previous weather-related cancellations, White Sheet Scale Secretary Jim Emptage was finally able to call the club’s summer Scale Fly-In on the 14th of July. A forecast promising light winds culled the attendance somewhat, although in the event there was quite a bit more breeze than had been suggested! The first thing of note was to be the bungee launching of Will Hosie’s mighty Arcus, surely a sight to see…? A short length of heavy-duty bungee had been set up on the edge of the slope and after some equally heavy-duty consultation among the launch crew, the hook on the lower part of the fuselage, near the front, was connected up. Then, a rearward march commenced, looking for all the world like the awkward motion of a crab in…

It is always the way when you’re least expecting to get involved with a new project that one comes along that’s too good to pass up. I was browsing an online marketplace when I came across my first Miles Magister. It was an old, very tatty but well-built model, with severely split veneers, looking for a new home. The Bowman Miles Magister wasn’t really on my radar, so I wasn’t sold on the amount of work that would be needed to repair it considering the toll the years had taken. Then up popped a second example, this time an incomplete kit with a part-built fuselage from a family’s house clearance. The family thought that they had cleared their late father’s model collection a few years earlier but after their mother…

I always look forward to the Popham Model Show. The flight line is tucked up in one corner of Popham Airfield, with the A303 to the right and a sloping field opposite, with trees along the far side forming a near horizon and a great backdrop for photos. This enclosed nature of the site gives the show an intimate feel and the pilots and visitors always seem to enjoy themselves. Autumn was definitely in the air on the Saturday. There was a chilly mist and the trees were showing an amber tinge. Sadly, the heavy mist had turned to light fog when I arrived and it was even there during the pilots’ briefing but then, miraculously, it lifted enough for the first slot of the day to proceed, which luckily…

BRISTOL BEAUFIGHTER This is my 70-inch span Bristol Beaufighter built from the Tony Nijhuis plans and is my first plan build. Before this I have built a Galaxy Magician and a Top Flite Sea Fury. It was built with the wood kit and nacelles from Sarik Hobbies. It is covered in brown paper and painted with tester pots of emulsion, using markings from Pyramid Models. The model was weathered using techniques from Richard Wills at Warbird Replicas. I am just waiting to balance it, then I need some decent weather for the first light. I wanted to show that even someone with limited experience can build something that they’ll be proud of and encourage others to give it a go. Chris Meek B&Q SPITFIRE Here are a few pictures of…

The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, when introduced by the Luftwaffe in WW2 in August 1941, caused quite a shock to the allies, being superior to the Spitfire Mk. V, which was the RAF’s main front-line fighter. Parity wasn’t restored until late 1942 with the introduction of the Spitfire Mk. IX. Spanning 10.51 metres and powered by a 14-cylinder twin row BMW radial, the Fw 190 had a top speed of over 400 mph and a range of 540 nautical miles. Armed with four cannons and two machine guns it was a formidable foe. The wide spaced undercarriage made ground handling and landings less fraught than with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and it was well liked by its pilots. These characteristics also make the Fw 190 a good WW2 scale subject and…

The latest FAI Scale World Championships took place in Ploiesti, Romania from August 11 - 17, 2024. BIENNIAL CHAMPS It has been a few weeks since I returned from the FAI Scale World Championships in Romania and it is wonderful that even such a short period of time has managed to elevate the highs and almost erase the lows. So, I thought I had better jot down my thoughts before my dodgy memory deleted them! I covered a fair bit of the logistical issues, with our models being delayed by customs, in my report in the last issue on the control line (F4B) event, so I won’t go into that in any detail. Needless to say, we were forced to wait six days for our models to be released, but…

HAWKER FURY Our pull-out Pro-Plan for the January issue is by Lorenz Müller, for a 48” stand-o f scale electric biplane. When Lindsay Todd’s Skywriter was published in 2013 the thought of a semi scale biplane for everyday use tempted Lorenz, but he wanted his version to closely resemble a full-size aeroplane. So, he set out to draw a stand-o f scale Hawker Fury based closely on the aerodynamics and construction of the Skywriter which turned out to be about 1/8th scale. Lorenz decided on the Spanish version mainly because it has a simple undercarriage that can be approximated by a strip of aluminium, plus it has an attractive paint scheme. The Fury is of conventional mixed wood construction. BEST OF THE BEST Next issue sees the final part of…

I’ve been using my Futaba T16IZ Super transmitter for almost a year now and I am very pleased with it. It has been used to operate several new models, from scale twins to electric EDF jets, and also my 78-inch span Pilot RC Extra NG. (Which reminds me, I owe you all a flying report on that lovely aerobatic model!) If you want to read more about my conversion to Futaba radios, then please take a look at my report on the T16IZS in the May 2024 issue. I did promise myself that the T16SZ would probably be sufficient to last me a good few years and I am sure that will still be the case. However, when Graham Ashby sent me a copy of the new J Perkins advert…

In the July issue I published my flying report of XFly-Model’s 1.8 metre wingspan Twin Otter. Since then, I have flown this good-looking scale foamie many times and I have always been very pleased with its performance operating from my local grass strips. The twin 3541-KV550 brushless motors, fitted with realistic 3-blade 10” x 7’’ props, provide more than enough urge and it’s great fun brushing up on circuits and bumps whilst using the large flaps. However, one of the main attractions of the Twin Otter for me was that it comes supplied with a pair of large floats, so I was itching to try flying her off water. As has happened far too often this summer my plans were stymied by strong winds blowing crosswind across the fishing lake…

For those of you who have seen my exploits over the last few years when trying to get a model Harrier to successfully VTOL, you may be a little disappointed that this offering doesn’t have the VOTL features. However, I would stress that you really won’t be disappointed building and flying this little beauty as it is an absolute peach of a model and performs faultlessly. So, putting aside the complexities of my early VTOL Harrier exploits, it was time to concentrate on a much more simplified and conventional hand launch version. Now, I thought to myself, how hard can this be? Well, it did prove a little more difficult than I had imagined and, unfortunately, I had a few disasters along the way, but you’ll be glad to hear…

I’ve long been an advocate of supporting young people wanting to become involved in this super hobby and had recently been e-poked to see if I was aware of an event being planned near Nottingham specifically aimed at giving up to twenty youngsters a place to ‘strut their stuff’ at a safe and fully supported club flying site, the Langar MFC runway. Dan Hampson was the man leading the charge, with an able bunch of worthies supporting the enterprise, either through sponsorship (of which there was much) or lending a hand to run the event. I was asked to join in and wave the camera, take names and soak up the atmosphere of a meeting specifically aimed at young pilots. So, what did the memsahib and I find as we…