Innehållsförteckning för September 2025 från RCM&E

Welcome to the September 2025 issue of RCM&E. I hope our UK readers have been able to make good use of all the wall to wall sunshine that we’ve been enjoying lately. Mind you, sometimes it was a bit overwhelming and sent us scuttling for shade and a long, cold drink! A few days of such heat gives us a taste of what our continental readers must endure on a regular basis, especially those close to the Mediterranean, not to mention modellers who live and fly in places such as the southern and western states of the USA, as well as Australia and other hotspots. I won’t place check you all but no doubt you’ll be unimpressed by reports of us basking in 30 degree C plus heat for a…

It’s hard to believe we’ve hit our thirteenth event and fortunately Helios, Ra, Zeus, Anemoi and all the other meteorological gods smiled kindly on us - the weather was brilliant! However, some modellers (fortunately just a few) are funny onions and we can’t seem to win because it was apparently too sunny on Saturday and too windy (a gentle breeze) on the Sunday for them. Anyway, for the masses who are not afflicted with modelling apathy we had a fantastic weekend of retro revelling, banter and fun. Saturday was most definitely a hat and factor 50 sunscreen day. The first day of the weekend is a general fly-in for all model types and open to any BMFA club. It’s the precursor to the Sunday retro event, making the long journey…

Apart from that no-nonsense appearance several things have always struck me as extraordinary when it comes to Sopwith’s Camel. First, the fact that the rotary Gnome engine operated on a total oil loss system, depositing about 12 pints of spent lubricant an hour on anything behind it, mainly the pilot. Proof that those silk scarves modellers like to see fluttering in the slipstream were anything but decoration for those who flew the full-size machine - pilots had to clean their goggles with something. Then there’s the throttle which to all intents and purposes was an on/off switch (sample a few Camel start up videos and you’ll see what I mean) and not forgetting the impressively lethal torque effect those spinning cylinders had on the airframe. The more you read about…

EXTRA 330SX £619.95 I www.hobbyplastic.co.uk Since the company’s establishment in 1980, Extra Aircraft continue to design and develop world beating, high performance aerobatic aircraft. From the 230 to today’s NG and 330, the Extra continues to garner success at the highest level in both full-size and R/C arenas. New from MacGregor, this 1.9m span Extra 330SX is a high quality ARTF that oozes quality and is sure to whet the appetite of any red-blooded R/C aerobatic pilot. Manufactured by Pilot-RC, the airframe is a hybrid wood/composite a fair adorned in an attractive film covering over an Oracover base. The wings are removable, as are the stabilisers, which feature a no fuss, quick release system. Other features include pre-installed hinges (glued and pinned), carbon fibre main U/C, wheels and spats, axles,…

SLINGSBY SKYLARK SHRINKS! Our thanks go to the folks at Sarik Hobbies who, when preparing laser cut short kits and other parts for anyone wishing to build the Chris Williams Slingsby Skylark 1, as featured in the July and August issues, spotted that some of the sizes described did not match the 1:6 scale model shown on the plan. We unintentionally let slip by some instances where the model is described as 1:5 scale and not 1:6 scale, which would make it a much larger model. We apologise for any problems this might cause however the drawings have been checked by Chris so you will end up with a 1:6 scale Skylark of close to 90-inch wingspan by building from our Pro-Plan. Just to be sure, here is an amended…

The C-17 Globemaster is a large military transport aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). It is also operated by other air forces, including the RAF who use it for the rapid delivery of troops and cargo to bases across the world. Globemasters can carry large and complex items of equipment, including Chinook helicopters and military vehicles. Such an aircraft may seem a strange choice for a model company to take the time and expense to replicate, but XFly apparently did very well with their Twinliner airliner model, which was a taste of things to come from this forward-thinking manufacturer. We’ve also seen models of other large military transport planes before, such as the Lockheed Hercules, so perhaps there’s a bigger audience for such machines than is immediately…

In this, its 50th year of trading, J Perkin’s took the plunge once again and commandeered the BMFA’s Buckminster HQ for a weekend of gentle product promotion, chilled flying, eating, drinking and socialising. And what’s not to like about all of that? Well, from Joe Public’s point of view, perhaps the fact that they weren’t invited? Mind you, in truth, no-one that arrived in error was turned away and those who played their cards and mingled with the crowd were probably fed too! To be fair, the focus of the event on the 31st May and 1st June was on team building and promotion to the trade. You see, JP has a very comprehensive array of major R/C brands within its product portfolio, indeed with everything from Futaba, Hitec and…

In the last ‘One Man…’ I’d mentioned that my Kentish mate Glyn had presented me with a batch of older and ‘small’ IC engines and, as a lifelong engineer and fondler of things mechanical, it was obvious that they needed some TLC to return them to service. With some naff weather preventing model playtime I began to rummage amongst the motors, starting with the relatively rare Kingcat of what looked like around 1.5 cc (.09 cu. in.). Although it turned over freely the report that ‘it didn't run well’ prompted a twitch towards the toolbox. Dismantling a well-running engine is rarely necessary and I won’t usually do it, but motors reported as poor running or showing crash damage are fair game. OOPS! Let me digress for a moment and appeal…

I was keen to get some early flying in this year as the weather in spring 2024 was awful for F5J gliding. I figured it would be a good plan to make the most of this trip and go out a week or ten days early and then spend all that time practicing. This was to prove decisive for me in the Greek leg of the F5J Eurotour competition. TRAVELLING OUT In December I received two more Eternity gliders, bought from Infinity Models’ UK dealer, Flightech. My first order of action was to build these soarers and then I needed to build a flight case so that I could take my gliders to comps. This all took a surprising amount of time and preparation. I used Aaro’s Correx flight box…

So, it’s J. Perkins 50th Anniversary this year and to celebrate they have produced an Anniversary Edition of the evergreen Challenger low wing sports model in a striking gold, black and white colour scheme with matching logos. The Challenger is a well-known and proven design, suitable as a first low wing aeroplane after a pilot has become competent on a high wing trainer. It’s very similar to the Bowman 53” Sportster which I had as a follow-on model not quite 50 years ago, although somewhat more up to date and configurable for either IC or electric power. The Challenger has a wingspan of 52.8 inches and JP suggest a .46 to .55 two stroke glow or a .52 to .62 four stroke, with the option of a 4S LiPo electric…

Top letter For his letter this month Stephen Godber wins a compact e455 multi chemistry AC input charger courtesy of Overlander Batteries: www.overlander.co.uk VENN DIAGRAMS Do you remember Venn diagrams at school? If there was a group titled ‘flew models as a kid’ and another group ‘want to return to the hobby many years later’, I’d be right there in the middle! In the early 1970s I’d catch a bus into Nottingham and visit GeeDee Models, first of all buying Airfix kits, then came a KeilKraft ‘Crusader’ and eventually a KeilKraft control line Hurricane with a glow plug engine. Dad and I rarely managed more than a few circuits and when it crashed it would break the fuel tank, which doubled up as an engine mount. More bus trips…

Well, I never thought that my first plan would be a plane made from flooring underlay, but necessity is the mother of invention. Our club holds an annual Fun Challenge Day with a different event each year. The intent is to involve as many of the club members as possible in the day’s activities, regardless of flying skill. 2023’s event featured a mass build of Spitty models made from 6 mm Depron for Spitty Combat. This proved a big hit and even featured in this publication. Many Spitty models are still being flown regularly today. Building on that success, in 2024 we decided to have another single model type contest. As interest in gliding has grown in the club, I proposed a glider challenge. The idea was to design a…

I have been flying model helicopters on and off for the past 30 or so years, although more off than on recently I must admit! Each time there has been a major development with these fascinating flying machines I have been a bit slow to adopt the new technology, preferring to update my model aeroplanes first. So, it took a while for me to convert my first heli to 2.4 GHz, then a wee bit more time to discover the nimbleness of flybarless machines. But I did catch on fairly early to electric power and so have mostly enjoyed fuss free helicopter flying ever since. Having taken my eye off the ball recently regarding the latest developments in R/C helicopters, which mostly seem to me to be about developing some…

GLOSTER JAVELIN Tony Nijhuis is back with the first of three new models to be published in forthcoming issues of RCM&E. First up is the Gloster Javelin, a particular favourite of Tony’s. His new Javelin has been in the pipeline for a couple of years and started o f as a 38” span model for a pair of 50 mm 4S fan units. But having had so much success with the recent 70 mm 4S Powerfun unit, he decided to ditch the twin EDF design, make it slightly larger at 40” span and then squeeze in a Power Fun 70 mm fan. This single EDF gives a much easier launch through better static thrust, more duration and it’s 40% cheaper than the twin fan option! The original model had elevators,…