Innehållsförteckning för January 2023 från RCM&E

Editor: Kevin Crozier. Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR kcrozier@mortons.co.uk Welcome to the January 2023 issue of RCM&E. Since this is the last issue before the Yuletide holidays, I would like to start off with a quick salutation to wish all our readers, contributors, advertisers and staff a wonderful and truly Merry Christmas. Season’s Greetings to you all. Last month’s ‘Kick the Tyres’ made me chuckle, in which Graham Ashby mentioned his penchant for keeping his models ultra spick and span. If Graham was to cast his eyes over my current flying fleet, I think he would be horrified. They aren’t that bad, to be honest, but they do display the signs of wear and tear that you could rightfully expect some very well…

Well, I finally succumbed to Covid. The upside is I am now full of antibodies, along with all the good stuff from the vaccines and looking forward to being able to go to the first BMFA Model & Aircraft Auction at the Buckminster National Centre on the 29th October. The main problem I’ll have is resisting the temptation to bid on items I don’t need but want. MYSTERY MODEL We’ve had a request from John Taylor for the identity of a model that featured in Alex’s final Weekenders Column in the October issue of RCM&E. I initially thought it was a low wing version of the Super 60 but after checking Ben Buckle’s website I realised it wasn’t. So, if anybody can help, please let me know and I’ll ensure…

The Kestrel’s wing has been designed in three sections, with two aluminium tubes set into 16mm phenolic tubes spars, with the centre section being bolted to the struts. The centre section is built first by pinning the lower 6mm square balsa spars over the plan and then gluing the ribs and associated ply doublers in place. The phenolic tubes can be cut to length and slid through the holes in the ribs and glued in place. The leading edge is a strip of 6mm balsa glued to the front of the ribs, with 6mm triangular scrap fillets added to the internal faces. The top 6mm square balsa spar can now be glued together, with additional 6mm square to the rear spar either side of the centre rib. The centre cut…

During my 27 years living in Germany, I was a member of several different model clubs and naturally I became absorbed into the local modelling fraternity. Of course, this included knowing where all the best model shops were located. There was no online shopping then, although I did mail order with UK and American model shops. I still keep in touch with the German modelling scene through the FMT (Flugmodell Und Technik) monthly magazine. Helped by a local model maker/translator I have had several features published in FMT. Like RCM&E a free plan is included each month and often material packs are available. In the September 2021 issue one model caught my attention… “Puri is an eye-catching 650mm span flying wing” MULTI ROLE The Puri is an eye-catching 650mm span…

Nearly six decades ago my apprentice school training officer said, ‘Keep a child’s sense of wonder about you and learn something new every day’, causing me to think back then, ‘What..?’ In retrospect, and after a lifetime in the engineering game, I’ve come to realise what a wise chap he was and what a young know-nothing twit I had been at the time. But one thing stuck–the ‘learn something new’ line. (My memsahib will attest to the other part as I’m still a big kid!) The years of fettling, fitting and faffing have taught me much, including the need at times to find a way around things by either manufacture or artifice, something our august editor wants me to expand on in the future But first… PICKING UP THE BATON…

The next two articles will cover the finishing of the crankcase, the crankshaft and its installation, the oil and water pumps and finally the cylinders. As this isn’t a step by step ‘how to make it’ kind of piece I shall stick to generalities, concentrating on the more interesting design matters rather than detailed machine set-ups. Needless to say nearly everything about the crankcase is of fundamental importance to the stability and truth of the components attached to it, especially the individual cylinders and cam shaft. Being in the form of a closed box it is inherently very stiff, while all faces are well ribbed, so setting it up in both the milling machine and lathe did not present many vibration problems. A major dilemma was whether to start by…

Get in touch... kcrozier@mortons.co.uk EXHAUST EATING ENZYMES I thought I would put pen to paper and share a tip with all your readers. Recently I had an ASP 61 to repair. Sadly, it was covered in the byproducts of burning glow fuel, leaving an old gluey residue that was not easy to remove. I asked around to see what was available to remove it and I tried all the usual things -methylated spirit, thinners, Gunk, WD 40 and other ideas, but nothing would work. I didn’t want to use anything which had caustic soda in it as I thought it would affect the aluminium of the engine. So, I wondered if washing powder would work? I tried Persil Bio and to my surprise it did. I used a cup full…

“SIC, Portugal’s largest independent TV network, had asked Mário if they could cover his model in some detail” As you may remember, last time we covered the Fairey IIID construction in some detail. But as you say, ‘the proof of the pudding is in the eating’, so we now turn to flying the model. Spoiler alert - it flew beautifully. There, I saved you the trouble of going to the last page to know how it went. But first a little background on the proceedings. There had been numerous plans to commemorate the first South Atlantic Air Crossing centenary, amongst these the construction of a full-size flying replica, but several factors prevented this coming to fruition. However SIC, Portugal’s largest independent TV network, had asked Mário if they could cover…

I think most indoor fliers are very familiar with the Horizon Hobby E-flite Vapor/Night Vapor. At our indoor sessions the Vapor slot sees more aircraft in the air than any other; I think the record is around fifteen! This model has been around for over a decade and I have always had a Vapor or two on hand to often fly in ridiculously small spaces. Following the original Vapor there was the Mini Vapor, the Night Vapor, the Vapor Lite and the FPV Vapor. So why a new Vapor in the form of a UMX Night Vapor? SENSIBLE UPDATES If a design is popular, it makes good commercial sense to continue to produce it. It also makes sense to introduce improvements electronically and structurally where appropriate and this is what…

“Could it be practical to produce a scratch built, moderately sized ‘jet’ model” While gently working up to my winter project (an electric powered Avro Shackleton with lots of ‘toys’), I needed a fill-in job to keep me occupied on non-flying days. Electric Ducted Fan (EDF) models have been around at my club in many guises for several years, from tiny (very fast) hand launch versions to much larger (and expensive) high spec types. For the average club pilot these seem to come with one or two features that make them less attractive to the older pilot, whose lightning reflexes and sharp eyes are a distant memory. The small versions, although keenly priced, and these days well built, have an alarming tendency to quickly become very, very small in flight.…

The one location for flying model aircraft of which I never tire is Old Warden. There are several reasons for this: I have been going for as long as I can remember, the airfield is relatively close to my home in Cambridgeshire, all model flying disciplines are (or have been) flown there, and there are some of the most iconic full-size aircraft on display in the Shuttleworth Collection’s many hangars. I attended on both Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 September 2022. It was windy over the whole weekend, but did this stop the flying? Oh, no. We had Free Flight in its many forms, we had Control Line flying, including Carrier Deck, and there was Radio Control flying, including dramatic 3D helicopter displays. To top it all, we had children’s…

Retro plan build Back in the late 1940s one SMAE competition used to get the creative juices flowing in aeromodellers. Known as the Pterodactyl Cup it was specifically for tailless power models, with contests held at Fairlop and Eaton Bray. These were free flight aircraft with no radio guidance, so stability and excellent flight manners were crucial. The competition winning Manx Queen was designed in 1947 by A.H. Wilson (they were very formal back then – no first names) but what made this model very different is that it used an L.S.A.R.A. wing section. A quick look at the plan will make you think it’s been drawn incorrectly. The ribs appear back to front but this is quite correct. As mentioned, the original model was designed for free flight and…

MAKE IT SCALE A couple of years ago fellow modeller Chris Bott and I decided we would both get 81” Seagull Chippies. The choice of colours was a bit strange in that you could have the yellow Canadian example or an Army version in camo colours. I do think that Seagull would have sold more if they had considered the silver RAF and/or the red, white and grey scheme. The Chipmunks were our steeds of choice and whenever we wanted to go for a fly they were in the cars before you could say De Havilland! We powered the models with the same 4258 Turnigy 500 kV motors, 15 x 10 prop and, in my case, a 5S 5000mAh LiPo; Chris opted for a bit more power and went 6S…