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Gladys International 21C

The Almost Quarterly Journal of The Sheffield

Society of Aeromodellers Issue119: 2018

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Contents

Editorial………………………………………....3

To The Ceiling and Beyond: Ed………………..4

Sheffield’s Other Green ‘Un: Tim Scowcroft....8

Why Gladys is Gladys: Ed……………………..10

Barks in The Park:WoofEd……………………13

Well Done Gordon: Ed………………………....22

Quad Race Results: John Broadhead………....22

The Percival Q6:Phil Barrett………………….25

Endpiece……………………………………….. 28

Acknowledgements:

Thanks to all contributors and this issue’s sponsor : Woofychunks L.t.d.. All

photos by Neil Carver unless otherwise credited. Photos on pp 25-27: P. Barrett

Disclaimer: All views expressed in articles are the authors’ own. Articles are

published in good faith however the editor and club committee accept no liability

for any errors or omissions. Readers are responsible for independently checking

the accuracy of any information given, especially about Gordon buying drinks.

Cover and Below: An Elvington Lightning and a Nats. Yak 11 circa 2017

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Editorial Jazz fans among you, and there are many will no doubt be aware of the

now rare habit of some sax players jumping onto the venue bar and

continuing to solo while striding past the beer pumps. It was called

walkin’ the bar. Well we won’t walk the bar this issue but we will walk

the ceiling; courtesy of a length of rubber and some tiny bits of balsa. We

shall also take the customary tour of the years past events by way of a

reminder that the same events ( or at least most of them) are on this year.

As well as the usual suspects the tour takes in our new national centre no

less, but no kennels.

Not only that but we cast an eye further back to the nineties and reveal

the truth behind the rumour of the mystery of the story that explains how

Gladys came to be named so. Then we have the twins: two of them no

less. Those of you with a weak stomach should avoid the piece on the

large green thing belonging to Tim Scowcroft and which has confounded

medical experts across the country. Our other twin build is by Phil Barrett

who uses the last yellow Solartex in the world to complete a rarely

modelled thirties Percival (just to be clear that isn’t code). We also have

racing results from the quad racing and congratulate Gordon Smeeton on

becoming a club Life Member !

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It was a long, long winter and during one bout of stir craziness the phrase

‘ceiling walker’ jumped into my head. These things happen. I had several

ceiling walkers as a child so this particular bout of stir craziness was also

tinged with that most evil of ailments; nostalgia. Ceiling walkers are

interesting in that many people of a certain age swear blind everyone had

one but you keep coming across folk that have no idea what one is. If you

aren’t of a certain age or had a childhood bereft of ceiling walkers then

take note. Ceiling walkers are effectively the modern version of one of the

earliest ever man made flying devices. They are basically a simple

helicopter. Versions of this device are credited to a certain man from

Yorkshire; Sir George Cayley, who in turn based his design on a 1784

model of 2 Frenchmen M. Launoy and M. Bienvenu. Other versions

To The Ceiling and Beyond: Ed

The ‘Tayler’ Walker

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probably flew as far back as the 14th century

( see for example: http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/cayley.html )

Early models had 2 rotors made of feathers stuck in corks and were

driven by a bow. Penaud powered his version by rubber. In 1878 this

Penaud flying machine gained a place in world history as the toy which

gave the child Wright brothers their first experiences of flight: although

the rumours that it carried Orville to the ceiling of a barn might not be

true.

History is littered with flying toys that simply didn’t, but the thing is that

I remember mine flew amazingly well. It rose slowly up to the ceiling and

simply stayed there for ever. It didn’t bounce around, break things or

scare the budgerigar. Outdoors, as long as it was calm it would leave

The ‘Dolby ‘Walker

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earths atmosphere and still come down on the right side of the

neighbours’ fence.

David Tayler was one of those folks who was deprived of the ceiling

walker experience as a child and being a little stir crazy himself instantly

said: ‘I’m going to build one’: and he did, in minutes. It flew well and

inspired Pete Dolby to build another from scratch. It flies well too. Alas

the indoor hall is not conducive to ‘ walking’ the ceiling but you can’t

have it all.

When I first mentioned the ceiling walker to David I wasn’t quite sure if

that was what they were actually called but lo and behold my memory

was accurate. The incarnation I remember as a kid was almost certainly

designed by American aeromodeller Jim Walker and sold from the late

40’s through to the late 60’s through the ‘American Junior Aircraft

Company’. They can still be found at :

http://www.americanjuniorclassics.com/index.html

The pic above is from the website and includes the variety of Walker

walkers ( as it were). Jim Walker died in 1958 but left a varied and

sometimes bizarre legacy of invention, including the U-Control in 1940,

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which enabled commercial control-line flying to become a reality. Even

more impressively though he experimented with radio control

lawnmowers. I will repeat that: radio control lawnmowers. Now at this

point I should warn readers they should be carful what they Google for. It

doesn’t take long to discover that there are of course, small groups of

people dedicated to preserving, displaying and writing about lawn

mowers. So far it seems they have managed to escape the attention of the

authorities. Oddly enough the idea of radio controlled lawnmowers seems

absent from their many worthy discussions on lawnmower history.

Shame that.

Anyway below is a photo from the Walker website of the beast in action,

apparently doing circuits bumps and a light trim round an unsuspecting

sapling. I will say only one more word on this matter: Shillito.

Alright , a few more words: what we would really need is for someone,

perhaps crazed by weeks of bad weather to say: “I’m going to build one”.

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Two years ago I acquired from David (Tayler) several bags of pre-built

parts for what I originally believed to be a large single-engined IC tail

dragger. It turned out to have a tricycle undercarriage and although

obviously a bought kit I still have no idea of the manufacturer. If you

recognise it please contact me !

Initially I made a single

engined nose and fitted a

large motor but this

didn’t feel quite right. As

I had in stock 2 vac. form

nacelle cowls for a

Dakota that were surplus

to requirement I then

decided to convert the

model to a twin ,along

the lines of a BN-2

Islander or a DH-6 Twin Otter. The motors used were 3842 1450K.V.

with a pair of 60 amp speed controllers. I carved the nacelles from pink

foam and coated them with fibre glass and epoxy. The nacelles housed

both motor and ESCs.

The model required 5 standard

servos and a 5 amp 4s battery.

Having assembled the model

some 600 grams of lead were

required to achieve a

reasonable c.of g. , even with

the battery in the front of the

nose. Except for a nosewheel

there was no undercart with the

kit but Terry Gregory Model

Supplies of Greystones Rd

were a able to furnish me with

a suitable carbon fibre unit.

Sheffield’s Other Green ‘Un: Tim Scowcroft

A green plane, and a greener man

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W h e e l s w e r e

obtained from a

s w a p m e e t .

Construction was

comp l e t ed l a s t

autumn but winter

put paid to the

maiden flight.

Incredibly this Easter the weather warmed and the wind dropped; so out

came the Green Giant. This was the largest powered model I had ever

flown and a crowd had gathered at Castle Dyke to witness either my

success or humiliation. The model stood at the end of the runway, all

checks completed. There was no going back. I opened the throttle : the

model accelerated away and for a second I thought it was not going to lift

off. Then, with a touch of up elevator it took off in a smooth, scale like

manner before climbing away at surprisingly high speed. Throttling back

showed the model be stable, controllable and docile. I completed three

circuits and decided that discretion was the better part of valour and

decided to land. This 3 min flight only used 30% of the battery capacity.

Lining up over the pavilion the model flew straight and level and landing

was achieved by throttling back until the main wheels touched the ground

and I could breath again. Since then there have only been two more

successful flights which have showed the nosewheel leg needs to be

stronger but other than that flying this giant has been nothing but fun.

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Every now and again someone asks me why is Gladys called Gladys ?

Well here is the answer.

Until spring 1995, and before this current editor was born, the newsletter

of the Sheffield Society of Aeromodellers was called: ‘The Newsletter of

the Sheffield Society of Aeromodellers’. Then in the May edition a new

title appeared: ‘Gladys: The Newsletter of the Sheffield Society of

Aeromodellers.’ Spot the difference.

What had happened was that club members thought the original name was

drab and wanted another. Fair enough said then editor Phil Lockwood:

think of one. He also said that if members didn’t come up with something

the newsletter would be called ; ‘Gladys’. So : Gladys it was, and Gladys

it still is.

Several months later Gladys took on physical form when Phil drew her on

the front cover. Page 3 of that issue also told her tale. Believe it or not,

Gladys, the Siren of the Slopes was, in Greek legend a cook to Aelous, a

minor God. Aelous was in charge of the northern office of the Greek

Gods of Mount Olympus which was based at first on Mam Tor. After a

terrible accident in the kitchen that resulted in a massive landslide on

Mam Tor, Gladys set out to take her revenge on aeronauts and

aeromodellers alike. Her modus operandi was to tempt fliers, to a fate

worse than ‘having to do the decorating’, with unbelievably delicious

food.

Now, there was something in that picture of Gladys that rang a bell. So,

as an ex archaeologist I started digging; not out in the Peak though, but on

my bookshelves. You see I suspected someone else had also written about

Gladys. My research paid off and I can now reveal the astonishing story

of the wartime exploits of our Siren of the Slopes. The writer in question

is the stuff of legend, none other than W.E. Johns. Yes, you may well

know he wrote about Biggles, but fewer of you know of the stories he

wrote about Flight Officer Joan Worralson, better known in the W.A.A.F.

as ‘Worrals’.

Why Gladys is Gladys. Ed

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W.E. Johns wrote fiction though, I hear you protest. This is true, but

dendroscatalogical research (see Bigglesisreallyreal.com.). has shown his

stories were based on real events that really happened. Worrals first

appeared in print in 1942. Johns wrote of a character; ‘casual in her

behaviour’, with a ‘deep courage’, ‘no vanity’ and who ‘took nothing in

life seriously’. This was not a description of Worrals however but of her

best friend and companion, Betty Lovell, nicknamed Frecks. I can now

reveal that Frecks’ real identity was of course, Gladys.

In 1941 Gladys hated the Nazis as much as anyone. Her ancestral home

of Greece had been invaded. She felt compelled to act and in heavy

disguise joined a secret WAAF unit ran secretly by a secret woman

whose identity remains secret to this day, but is known to us as Worrals.

Not only that, but there is reason to believe Gladys ( secretly) visited to

W.E.Johns in his study one evening in late October 1941, as he worked on

that never published volume; ‘Biggles Flies Undone’.

Johns was captivated,

enthralled and mesmerised

by her. The smell of

delicious food permeated

the air, assaulting his

senses and rendering him

powerless. The siren spoke:

‘Biggles’, she said, ‘has a

limited market. What if I

told you I can double that

market?’

Johns could barely speak;

his mouth now full of those

rather nice pork and

venison sausages that were

a bit pricy and had been

impossible to get since

1938.

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‘How?’ he blurted.

‘Simple’ the siren said silkily (or is it silkily said?). I can get girls to buy

your books’.

‘Girls?’ said W.E Johns

‘Yes, girls’ said Gladys…. You know, the other ones’.

He looked puzzled

‘Oh I see,’ said Gladys, ‘you really don’t know do you? Let me

explain…..’

And that is how the ‘female Biggles’ came to be. Gladys had found a

way to strike back at the Nazis and at the same time she would pay

homage to the Classic Greek Myths by having her contributions to the

war effort documented, albeit as fiction. The first story; ‘Worrals of the

W.A.A .F’ made Worrals a hero and was followed closely by ‘Worrals

Carries On’.

Despite the fact Worrals was always the central character, Gladys, under

her pseudonym Frecks was always in the thick of the action. ‘Biggles

Sweeps the Desert’ was to have been a Worrals book but Gladys

intervened. She convinced Johns that the original title ‘Worrals Sweeps

the Desert’ was unacceptable as it would merely reinforce existing

gender stereotypes. Her views on this matter were not entirely progressive

however. As she said to Johns ‘ I think men should sweep and even sew;

BUT THEY STAY OUT OF MY KITCHEN!

( With Gladys )

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With Weston Park round the corner ( presuming I hit my deadline) here

are a couple of shots as a taster of events to come. Terry didn’t make the

2017 Weston show, much to the disappointment of the canine visitors .

The more vocal of these four legged friends proceeded to take ‘pining’ to

a new level, at one point drowning out the displaying Pitts Special.

I gather a group of concerned mutts have got together as the ‘Dogs of

Weston’ and have set up an online support group for those hounds

suffering from ‘Terry Withdrawal

Syndrome.’ There is however no

truth in the Daily Mail Story:

‘Poodle Hit By Propeller.’ The

desperate beast, stricken by

Terry’s absence was in fact saved

from Certain Death as it attempted

suicide by running into a taxiing

1/4 scale Lancaster. Some quick

thinking individuals prevented ‘the

fur from flying’ by administering

some emergency tickling under the

chin.

Barks in the Park: WoofEd

I just

miss him

Where’s Terry ?

Ich habe keine Ahnung

mein herr !

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The show at Elvington, visited with David Taylor and John ‘the quad’

Broadhead was blest with blue skies, and an even bluer Fokker triplane

which was flown in a most un-scale-like manner by Steve Carr. It’s

actually an ARTF kit but is powered by an engine of Mr. Carr’s own

design. Not my bag but a very popular display. I did like the

Constellation however. It didn't loop or do anything other than look

wonderful. Fine by me. There is a huge amount of detail and a nifty film

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at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSBZVfBHoKI.

All I will say here is that the undercarriage alone took 1,000 hrs to design

and build.

Although there were more dogs than trade stands Elvington was an

enjoyable show. Another favourite of mine was the 1930’s Heston

Phoenix, its undercarriage housed in unique stub wings/ struts. There

were only ever half a dozen of these and 3 actually survived to be used

by the RAF in WW2. The Elvington plane was modelled on one that

crashed in Australia. The thirties were eccentric times in the design of

light civilian planes, which were built by dozens of optimistic but short

lived companies. I have a lovely aircraft recognition book from 1935 and

the Phoenix is sandwiched between the Foster Wicko Monoplane and the

Hillson Praga. You won’t find an Airfix kit of those in a hurry.

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Elvington also

featured couple of

flypasts by a BBMF

Spitfire that were so

close you just had

to put the camera

down and watch,

and duck.

And so to the

Nationals. There

are, in reality many

Nationals. There is

for a instance a

N a t i o n a l s

frequented by Stan

and Robert Thresh who are out at dawn ambushing early traders before

they have got their act together, then disappearing into the chilly morning

mists with armfuls of bargains. There is then the Nationals frequented by

Tim who, arriving a few hours after Stan and Robert have gone announces

it’s the worst swapmeet ever with damn all to buy. Three weeks later he

purchases a glider from Stan…..Some buyers are luckier however. Neil

Stewart managed to beat Pete Dolby down to £250 for this antique oak

table.

There is also a Nationals

featuring loud music of

the popular type I believe

known as ‘ beat’ music,

and an announcer who

said things like: ‘This is a

big jet’. Then there is the

scale Nationals which, in

the heat of the afternoon

had all the zing of a

Home Counties bowling

match circa 1956. Me, I

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like bowls. At one point I thought I heard a twin, only to realise it was the

slightly out of synch. snores of Gordon and Terry.

There is also the ‘Dark Nationals’. I managed to obtain just one

photograph of the sordid reality of goings on behind the trade stands. It

shows what happens when our undercover ‘punter’ made the mistake of

suggesting these ‘gentlemen of the afternoon’ were charging way too

much.

Back on the comparative safety of the scale flight line I spotted one of the

most aesthetically pleasing aircraft ever built: the equally wonderfully

named Blackburn Blackburn ( pic. over page). I’m not sure if the test pilot

for Blackburn was still H. Blackburn in 1922 but if he was then you can

say Blackburn flew Blackburn's Blackburn Blackburn. Oddly enough the

pilot Blackburn ( Harry) was no relation to the manufacturer Blackburn

( Robert). The plane of course is named after the town: Blackburn, which

is no relation to either Robert or Harry.

The classic history of Blackburn aircraft has a fine shot of a Blackburn

Beverley flying over the Cathedral at Beverley. A bottle of Scotch goes to

the club member who can show me a photo of Blackburn flying

Blackburn’s Blackburn Blackburn over Blackburn.

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Alas we didn’t see the rc Blackburn fly at all but you can enjoy that

pleasure at :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVZP04EiIPw

When it comes to describing the Blackburn the excellent history of

Blackburn ( the firm) by A. J. Jackson says: ‘...functional considerations

took absolute priority over refinement of aerodynamic shape.’ So it was

that the Blackburn was: ‘..little short of grotesque in appearance and

ungainly and slow..’ Looks aside though , as a three seater spotter for the

navy it was very successful and remained in service for over a decade. It’s

worth watching the video just to see the level of detail in the crew

compartments, even including scale charts and a Labrador mascot.

It seems aeromodellors are attracted to the ‘interesting’ design

characteristics of ‘between wars’ Blackburns as yet another turned up at

the excellent velodrome event in March, along with a 1912 Blackburn

( opposite; top). The latter Blackburn was a conversion to rc. from the

Aerographics rubber/ co2/ electric free flight model. It flew very well, as

did the rarely modelled scratch built 1916 Blackburn G.P. ( General

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Purpose) seaplane (below). There were small wheels on the floats

enabling a landing to be managed in the hall. The first time the full size

version flew at Brough there was drift ice on the Humber. The wading

team sent to drag the plane in became so frozen they had to be carried

ashore on planks and thawed out in front of fires in front of the hanger. It

is cause for celebration and relief that there is no Blackburn Aircraft Test

Flight Re-enactment Group. Alas I failed to note the names of both fliers/

builders, so apologies to them.

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Although there were some thirty or so

fliers, including six or so club

members the velodrome air never

really got crowded and the twenty

minute slots alternated between small

rc electric models and free flight.

Despite the hall’s size it is still

possible to get a model stuck in the

roof lighting or the nets separating the

cycling track from flying area. It’s

worth turning up just to watch a

rescue ( left)

There were no dogs at the velodrome

but these two disreputable characters

from the Nationals.( see page 17).

had got past security and set up shop

in one corner of the hall. They had

even brought a

selection of planes as

cover for their real,

and less salubrious

activities. When I

took this shot it

sounded to me as if

they were discussing

charging even more

than they did at the

Nationals. Although

their minder was not

to be seen I kept my distance.

And so to the B.M.F.A. National Centre. Mr T. Scowcroft, T. Gregory

and myself, under the supervision of Gordon Smeeton ventured to the

new centre on the day of their swapmeet. It was cold grey and we got lost.

The centre is located just outside a small village charmingly called; ‘In

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The Midd l e o f

N o w h e r e ’ a k a

Buckminster. This isn’t

a criticism; I fly model

planes and I think we

should be banished to

Nowheresville too.

(Just for the record, we

got lost because no one

could understand my

navigating; which was perfect.) The centre occupies an impressive 43

acres of very open flying space. This makes it just a tad bigger than

Redmires. The combat control line event taking place that day was tucked

in one corner and you could have wandered round the field all day

without even seeing them : almost.

The whole event felt a

bit like the resident

farmer had gone on

holiday leaving their

sixty year old son to

throw an alternative

rave event. There was

no drum ’n’ bass but

many a thing was

swapped and many a

folk were met. I

managed to get £25

for Terry, with Tim thrown in but Gordon went and bought them back for

£30. That was with a couple 4 cell batteries mind, so I think we broke

even. I also bought a plough with what was left of my pocket money.

The meet seemed well attended ( some 200 butties had been sold by

12:30: I asked) and stalls were set up both outside in the courtyards and

inside a large modern shed. A small anteroom housed a rather tasty

collection of ‘old stuff’ being sold to raise money for the centre. There

were several wonderful forties airframes for sale, mostly in shades of

brown that ceased to exist in about 1955.

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I felt enthusiastic about the centre

and also asked my fellow visitors

for their views :

“I was impressed with the flying

field… but I was disappointed

with the buildings which are

typical old farm buildings which

will take a lot of maintenance. I

liked the general situation but we

had difficulty in finding it. That

might have been our fault. Probably enough dogs.” (Gordon).

“At the swapmeet I bought a few old Aeromodeller magazines and

having a quick browse through them I noted that in 1946 the SMAE had a

dedicated flying site at Eaton Bray. 70 years on we are back in much the

same position but with more positive foundations. I hope we can make

full use of the facilities on offer there . It is just a pity that it is 70 miles

away. There weren’t enough dogs” (Terry).

“Fantastically big flying field, ample camping caravanning space ,

pleasant place to be, great swapmeet with folk from all over .Could have

been more cats.” (Tim).

At some point the centre will house

a museum which at present is

under development. Coincidentally

Pete Dolby mentioned he had an O/

R model for the museum. Built by

Derlon Morley, probably in the

nineties it weighs all of 120 grams

and flew on 16 strands of 1/4” flat

rubber, 100 cms long and weighing

120 grams. This gave flight times

of around 20 mins. Alas Pete only

managed 5 seconds in the indoor

hall. Only joking.

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In case you missed it the Committee has, following a motion put forward

by the Chairman, made Gordon Smeeton a life member of the club.

According to Para 1 Subsection 35 of the Rulebook this means he has to

buy all club members a drink every second Thursday in the month. Here

is a photo of Gordon with his new model for the next indoor season. It

was taken before he knew about the drink buying thing. See you in the

bar.

Over the page are this season’s indoor quad racing results ! The quads we

use are about 65mm, have 4 ducted fans and run brushed motors on a 1

cell battery. Most will run for about 4 to 5 minutes. You can get a ‘bind

and fly’ version for about £45 including camera and FPV transmitter. In

the races we have gates and flags to navigate. Good/ace flyers also have

a handicap ( ie tunnel to fly through )and have to do five laps, as opposed

to novices who fly one or two at first. Each race has three to four pilots

depending how many are flying. The scoring is complex but we run about

3/4 heats with the winner goes into a final, with ‘A’ being the toughest.

Some of Brian Clayton’s FPV laps can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/DdERkwfpQrU

Well Done Gordon:Ed

Quad Race Results : John Broadhead

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25

The Percival Q6 was the company's first twin engine light transport

aircraft, designed to operate as a feederliner. Contemporary

advertisements claimed that 7 persons and their luggage could be carried

at 186 mph in saloon car comfort. It was powered by twin De Havilland

Gypsy VI engines, giving it a top speed of 195mph.

The low wing monoplane was built mainly from wood, with a fixed

spatted undercarriage with oleos and a tailwheel. The design was

remarkably clean, especially in comparison with its obvious competitor

the DH Dragon Rapide, with its biplane configuration and rigging wires.

It first flew in September 1937, and production started early in 1938. In

total 27 were built, included in the total was an order from the RAF for 7

aircraft to be used for communication duties and shown above. Only one

Q6 survives, which is currently being restored in England.

I had never heard of this aircraft until I read an article in the February

2018 issue of RCM&E. This featured an electric powered model in the

RAF colour scheme, with a span of 112”. I was really impressed with it,

The Percival Q 6: Phil Barrett

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but recognised that it needed to be smaller for me to build it. I searched

the net and found some excellent scale drawings, which when scaled up 7

times gave a convenient wing span of 48”.

Using the drawings as a base, and many measurements, I was able to

create plans for the construction. I used the same construction methods as

the Miles Hawk Speed Six, with a fully sheeted wing covered in 1/16th

balsa and wing ribs of 3/16th balsa. I used a simple flat bottomed Clark Y

wing section, drawn using an aerofoil drafting program I found on the net

to handle the wing taper. I built a modest ¼” washout in the tips, as the

planform is not heavily tapered so hopefully tip stalling will not be a

problem.

The fuselage was relatively simple, with 1/8th balsa sides and the curved

sections created by planking. Past experience building a Mosquito told me

that the flight battery would have to be as far forward as possible, so I

designed a battery box in the nose to be accessed from below.

The hardest part of the design and build were the engine nacelles which

also enclosed the undercarriage. The rear of the nacelles tapered in two

dimensions, so that needed a bit of thinking about !

I was always intending to cover it with Solartex, only to hear the shock

announcement that Solartex would no longer be available as the

manufacturer was ceasing trading. A rapid call to Leeds Model Shop got

me their last Solartex in Vintage Yellow, and enough Solartex in cream to

allow me to finish the model. Once covered I used Tamiya matt acrylic

paint, brushed on. It needed two coats, but the overall effect looks good.

I had a couple of E-Flite Park 450 brushless motors and appropriate speed

controllers salvaged from my deceased DH 88 Comet Racer. As they

provided more than adequate performance for a larger and heavier model,

I was confident this power system would be fine for this application.

The flight pack selected was the 3 cell Overlander 2,700 mah lipo which

seems to be my battery of choice these days. The packs are relatively thin,

which helped in the design of the battery box in the nose.I had a spare

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Spektrum 6 channel receiver, so I only needed to source 4 Hitec HS82

servos for the two ailerons and rudder and elevator surfaces.

I kept the wiring simple, using a non reversing Y lead for the motor

supply feeding individual speed controllers and motors. As I didn`t need

any complex aileron movement, a reversing Y lead was used for the

aileron servos.

The finished model came in at around 3.5 lbs, and I was quite happy with

that. Interestingly the 112” version in RCM&E weighed in at 22lbs, so

with a 48” span my wing loading is going to be a fraction of the original

model. Designing and building this model had been really interesting, and

has kept me occupied through this rubbish winter when flying has been

impossible. I am looking forward to bringing it out when the sun shines

and the patch is fully dry!

Savour that Solartex.

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At the indoor

hall Ian

struggles to

master his

launching

technique...

..and at the

Nationals

Tim and

Danny are

unimpressed

by the

quality of

the

swapmeet.

Endpiece