Welcome
Welcome to theDecember 2024 issueofRCM&E.
Brrr! It ’sgetting abitnippy outthere!
Writing this in real time it’s mid-October
shedly slumbers. It ’s not a good idea
Writingthisin realtimeit’smid-October andtheleaveshavejuststarted to take on theirlovely autumnalhues.But my,it can get abitchillyfirstthing,especially whenextracting my LiPosfrom their shedlyslumbers.It’snot agoodidea to use LiPobatter ypacks(orany otherbattery chemistriescome to that!)whenthey are stonecold,so Ihavebrokenout my LiPo heaterboxtowarmmypacks up,both whilst Ihavemybreakfast andalsointhe car footwell on my wayto theflyingfield. My heaterboxhas a12V DC input, so Iplug itintoamainspowersupplyunitwhileit’s stillintheshed andthentransferit to the car,swapping to acigarettelighterstyle plug fortheoutwardjourney.This works well andmeansthat Ican start aflying session withsomenicelywarmeduppacks. At oneclub Iamevenluckyenough to be able to plugtheboxintoone of several 12Vchargingpointssuppliedfrom large batteries kept toppedup by solarpanels on theclubhouse roof,which keeps my packs nicely warm rightthe waythrougha flying session. Luxury!
Don’tworry,Ihadn’tforgottenthatthis istheDecemberissue, whichshould reach most of youbymid-November.Butthat’s still fartooearlytogetin afestive vibe by my reckoning(despitewhatthehighstreet shopsmightthink!)soI’llsave allthat until nexttime.
Okay,it’stime to takeaquicklookatsome of themain articlesinthismonth’s magazine.It’smypleasure to startthings rollingwith alookat Futaba’sspankingnew T26SZtransmitter.Next isChrisWilliams, whoenjoys another wellattendedscale glidereventfrom atop WhiteSheetHill.Our mainshow reportthismonth is from the PophamShowcourtesyof MikeFreeman; thiseventgot o�ftoamistystartbutthings soon cheeredup andagreatdisplaywasput on fortheassembledspectators. Yourstruly
wasfinallyable to trythe XFly TwinOtter, reviewedin previousissues,on�loats andit took to thingslike, well… aducktowater! Buying andrefurbishing an oldmodelisa popular waytoadd to amodeller’s�lying �leet; RoyThompson specialisesingiving Bowmankits anewlease of life sojoin him ashe workshismagic on aMiles Magister from theIpswichbasedkitcompany.Our pull-out Pro-Planthismonthistheeagerly anticipated HarrierEDFjetdesigned by Tony Nijhuis andthen we joinDave Keen andSteveHollandastheyputDave’sbig Fw 190throughtheLMAOver25kgScheme, narrated by FrankSkilbeck.Dave Goodenoughhasbeenout andaboutwith his cameratocover abrand-newevent,Big Up TheKidz,which wasespeciallyaimedat youngerR/Cpilots.Wrappingthingsup, DannyFenton,a�terwinningsilveratthe controlline Scale WorldChamps, filesthe second of threereports from Romania,this timeconcentrating on theF4Hstand-o�f scaleclassmodels.
Ihope youenjoyreadingitall. HappyFlying!
Editor: Kevin Crozier
MortonsMediaGroup,MediaCentre, Morton Way, Horncastle,LincsLN96JR kcrozier@mortons.co.uk
On thecover
Photo: DannyFenton
DannyFentonisbackwithhis second report from the2024 ScaleWorld Champs held in RomaniainAugust, this time concentrating on theF4H stand o� fscale event This lbatrossC �lew superbly,piloted by ladimir RynesSr from theC ech Republic The lbatrossdida bomb drop as oneofits tric s
Regulars
8 SWITCH ON
Ourlatestround up of model� lying news
44 PILOTS’PICTORIAL
Send us apic ture of anew or favourite modeland it couldappearinour readers’ models gallery
63 COUNTERPOINT
Aselec tion of newkit s, bits and gadget sfor youtobuy
78 ALLWRITE
Have your sayinRC ’s monthly chat room
92 GOINGPLACES
Ourupdated list of modelevent sand competitions foryou to visitoverthe next fewmonths
94 MARKETPLACE
Sell o� fyourunwanted airframesand enginesormaybe buya fewnew ones
95 NEXT ISSUE
Ta e aloo atwhat’scominginthe anuar y issueofRC
Reviews
10 FUTABA T26SZ
38 MILESMAGISTER
RoyThompsonaddsanother
Bowman’s modeltohis expanding collec tion originatingfromthe pswich kitmanufac turer
64 MODELMAGIC
FrankSkilbeckdescribes amasterful largewarbird construc tedfromthe ailly viation plansbyDave een
72 BIG UP THEKIDZ
Dave oodenough oinsthe partyata �ly-in arranged especially foryoung pilots
Columns
16 SCALEGLIDING
Thespotlight fallsonChris Williams’ latest quar terscale glider andanother mighty scalesoarer� lies aboveWhite SheetHill
82 MAKE IT SCALE
DannyFentonfileshis second report from the2024Scale WorldChamps, concentratingonthe F4Hstand-o�f scaleevent
Free Pro-Plan
48 HARRIER GR7
� teren oyingusing hisT ST the ditor movesupapeg with Futaba’s new -channelair radio
32 WATEROTTER
We complete oure tendedreviewof XFly- odel’s mm Twin Ot terby �lying it o� fwater
Features
22 POPHAM 2024
i e Freemanheads alongthe to seelot soffabulousaircra� tinactionat this nowwell-establishedmodel show
Tony i huisisbac withanother easy to build, hand-launch DF model, this time modellingthe classic ritish ump et
DM YOUNGPILOT SP ONSORSHIP
At the recent PophamModel Show, DeluxeMaterials were delightedto beable to announcetheir support of the father andson partnership of Finnand Trevor Hennesey.The combinationofTrevor’sbuilding s ills andtoplevel�lyingfrom his 12-year-oldsonFinnmakefor areal treat on thedisplay�light-line wherevertheygo.
Most RCM&E readerswill knowDeluxeMaterials fortheir modellingglues andfinishing products,which Trevor alsoloves, butperhaps youdidnotknowthey arealsoexpertsinlubricants.So, at the PophamShow, Trevor andFinn usedtheir PowerModel2TS, which is afullysynthetic, highdetergent twostro eoil t wor satall recommended ratios fortwo stroke petrolair andwater-cooledengines. f youhavebeen�lyingpetrol poweredaircra�tfor many years youwil probablyhavetriedmany twostrokeoils,fromthebasiclawn mowervariety to highend power sportsynthetics.Thereare ahuge range of optionsouttherebut,says John Bristow of DeluxeMaterials, most arejust acompromisewhen itcomes to usingthem withour R/Cengines andtheabusethat they o�tenreceive ower odel T-S o�fersmany advantages
t handleshighengine temperaturestopreventengine damage andextendlife.
Special additiveshelp reduce wear inextremeconditions.
Givesimprovedthrottle response.
Suppliedin an easy to mix bottlewith ratioguidance on thepackso is easy to useatthe �lying field
Attractive odour.
t theshowFinn�lew aS ywing ARSconstructed by Trevor.The modelis91”wingspanandis poweredbyanair-cooled76cc,8hp Great Powertwincylinderengine lubricatedwith PowerModel2TS oil. Thislubricantwasusedbecause itdeliverstheextraheat protection needed forfullycowledair-cooled engines wor ingin aconfined space andbeingdisplayedunder highloadswithconstantthrottling Finn’smodel’ssmoketrail was createdwith PowerModel Smoke Oil, recentlyreleased by Deluxe aterials Featuresinclude vailablein oneand fivelitre packsizes.
Twoyearsindevelopment and testing,backedup by extensive field testing by top uropean andUSpilots.
carefullyformulated, refined
�luid to ensure compliance with health andsafetyregulations worldwide.
Negligibleemissionsof aromatics,sulphurand,of course,odour.
Lightlycolouredred and odourised foreasyrecognition atthe�lyingfield
Deliversdramaticwhitesmoke ensuring longlasting white smoketrailsintheair.
Proven inbothjet andgasoline engines.
DeluxeMaterials products are distributed to the modeltradeby Ripmax. ThepicturesofFinnand his model arecourtesy of MikeFreeman.
HEATHFARMHOLIDAY WINNER
Thewinner of theHeath Farm holidaycompetitionfeatured on page 47 of theAugust ’24 issueofRCM&Ehasbeen
announcedasStephen Heath from Sta�fordshire Steven’s prizeisfor atwo-nightstayin Hazelnut Cottageat Heath Farm,whichhasits ownmodel �lyingstrip available to guests between Mayand September. Heath Farm Cottages are awardwinningself-catering cottagessituatedinthebeautiful OxfordshireCotswoldsbetween Banbury andChipping Norton.
POWER&SAILPLANE SINTERNATIONAL RELAUNCH
Longtimereaders of RCM&Ewill nodoubt rememberthemodels o�feredby owerplanes nternational andSailplanes nternational f youare afan of either range(orboth!)then you’ll bepleased to learnthatthese much-lovedkits arebeingmade available onceagain n their announcementthenew ownerssay
Welcome to the2025 relaunched and reloaded Power&Sailplanes International. We have purchased theoriginalcompanyfullsetupand exclusively ownthe Intellectual PropertyRights to thecompany alongwithalltheoriginal manufacturingmoulds.
We areincredibleexcited to have unearthedthis worldwide renowned and respectedmodelmanufacturer of bothpowermodelsandgliders. Our visionis to bring youbacksome of the
muchlovedandoriginal planesand glidersfrom Powerand Sailplanes International,stayingascloseas possible to the originaldesigns created by CliffordNancarrow whilst makingsomesympatheticchanges to theoriginaldesigns to make improvementsandbringtheminto 2025withoutcompromisingthe originaldesign.
In 2025 we will be focusing onbringing youback four of the mostpopular classicsandthen moving forwardwewillbefocusing onbringingbackmoreofthe much-lovedclassics:
PowersetterMKIII
Osprey100MKII
SitarSpecial88 &100 MKII
DeltaDaggerMKII
We hope youare as excitedasus forthe relaunch of aoncemuch-loved playerintheR/Cmarket.
Thefirstdesign to be relaunchedwillbetheSitar Special ,availablein -inch and100-inch wingspanversions. Turn to Counterpointinsidethis issuetofindoutmore aboutthis graceful andclassicglider.
BOND LOOSE DECALS
JohnBristow from DeluxeMaterialsshowshow to reattachloosestic ers to amodelaircra�t
Havingtroublewithloose or li�ted decals fthedecalhas lostits adhesive there arenotmany gluesthatwilldothisjob. Sealingwitha hotiron isalsonotpossible on afoammodel. PVAwon’t dryandsuper glue cyanoacrylate is toobrittle,sohereisa simplesolution
Pressinplaceandslide to adjustposition.FIX‘N’FLEXhastremendousgrab butallows easymovement.Remove any excessglue withsoapywater.
FUTABAT26SZ
�teren oyingclosetoayear’sworth of e periencewithhis T S transmitter, the ditor movesupa pegwith Futaba’s -channel air radio
Words hotos Kevin Crozier
I’vebeenusingmyFutabaT16IZ Super transmitter foralmostayearnow and Iam very pleasedwithit.Ithasbeenused to operate severalnewmodels, fromscaletwins to electricEDFjets,andalsomy78-inchspanPilot RC ExtraNG.(Which remindsme,I owe youalla lyin re orton thatlo ely aerobatic odel fyo want to readmoreabout my conversion to Futaba radios,thenplease take alookatmyreporton the T16IZSintheMay 2024issue.
Idid promise myselfthattheT16SZwould probablybesu�ficient to lastmea good few yearsand amsurethatwillstillbethe case However, when raham shbysentme acopy of thenew er ins advert forthe ugust issueofRC ,which featuredFutaba’s shiny newuppermid-rangeT S transmitter, my nees went abit wobblyand usthadtota e acloserloo at one had to wait afew wee s forstoc to arrive atthe warehousebut
eventuallya well-wrappedbo arrivedfor me to delve into
FIRSTIMPRESSIONS
To give ititsfullname,the Futaba T S -Channel ir Radio, ulti- ode,with R 4S R ’is anotherattractive piece of techfrom thismuch respectedradio control manufacturer sthenamesuggestsit comes completewith aFutabaR 4S receiver, as wellas ashortmanual, a S -C charginglead, anda screwdriverand llen eyset Thisisa -channelset,the completechannelallocation forwhichcan befullyutilisedusingthe additional channels o�feredbythe R 4S ’s S us outputs
TheT S issuppliedwith afactory fitted 4 m h i- onbatterypac whichis chargedvia a S -Cportlocatedbehinda �le iblecoverunderneaththe T antenna
would cautionpullingthecoverbac asfar asshowninthenearbyphotographbecause when tried to replaceit,itdidn’t want to sitdown�lushwiththe topofthe T case However, somegentlemassaging andbending thecoverintheoppositedirectionsoonhad it lying�latagain
f youta ea loo at my T report,then you’llnotethat didhave abit of agripeabout thenec strapsuppliedbeing abit of as inny a�fair rahamcametomyrescuewithamuch better- uality wovenstrap,invivid orange withthe Futabalogo printed in white With theT S had nosuchcomplaint asitcomes with oneofthesehigh- ualitynec straps asstandard llthesebits andbobs,plus theT andR , aresuppliedin acube shaped, glossblac bo , safely ensconcedin eggbo stylecardboard innertrays
Neat displaybox comeswithegg carton styleinner packagingso is easy to recycle.
ClassyT26SZ comeswithanequally high-end receiver.The R7214SBisa14 channelunitwithS.Bus2capability. UsingS.Bus2extends it to 26 channels,thus makingfulluse of thenew transmitter.
AROUND THECASE
swiththeT transmitter,the T S sports a gunmetal’frontcase attached to ablac plastic rear panel The sidegrips arerubberised and canberemovedtogain access to thestic tensionad ustment screws Two more smallcovers on thebac panel coverthethrottle ratchetscrews, whilstmode changes canbemadeusingtwosmallscrews in thecorners of thestic be els lsoinsetinthebac of the rear case is aTrainer Cord ort andanS- us nterface ort, both beingcoveredbya rubbercover Furtherstic personalisationispossible by means of ad ustingthe stic lengths andalsothestic angles,movingthem slightlyinwards or outwardsfrom thesupplied centralpositions The stic unitsmove smoothlyandfreelythan s to halle�fectnon-contactpotentiometers and they promise fine,ultra-precise,long-lastingoperation’accordingtothe website
On bothshoulders aretheusualselectionofuserdefinable switches, withlong andshortthree-positionunitsatthefrontand apair of long two-positionswitchesattherear, thesprungone on therightbeing momentary Thereare four switchesoneachshoulder,aswellastwo sliderswitches on eachside of the T , ustbehindeach switch ban Ofnotehereisthe factthattheshoulderswitches canbereplaced or upgradedwith your ownpreferredswitches,bethey two-position, threepositionormomentary types t the topofthe case,eitherside of thesmall sub-display’ screen, area pair of nobswhichcan be used to controlthe volumes’ of mi esandtheir directionofmovement The antennanestlessafely in aneathousing
Accessoryspread. Theshortmanualishandy to keep in acarry case (not supplied) forquick referenceatthe feld.Afullversion canbefound on theJPerkins website.
Batterycompartment is at thebottomofthe case.Nexttothe labelisthe microSDcardslot.
Underneaththe antennayou will fndthe USB-Cchargingport. Best notpullit back this farthough!
Antennamustbeswung outand swivelled downwardsbeforeuse to maximise signal strength.
Shoulderswitchescan be swappedaroundorreplacedwithalternative typestosuitpersonalpreference.
“ThemicroSDcard is alsousedtostore thesmallflesused todisplaycolour picturesofmodelson the mainscreen”
ustbehindthese nobswhilstnotin use t needs to be rotatedbac wards andthen�lipped upwhen�lying sis usualwith 4 H aerials itgiveso�fitshighestpowertothe sides andis lowestatthetipso youshould avoidpointingit directlyatyourmodelin�light The best wayto dothisis to inclineitdownwards;in fact,thereis aconvenient step’that canbefeltat4 degrees to encourage youtodothis nderthe antennaisthe S -Cchargeport whichalsodoublesas a Cport The Cport allowsthe T to beusedas agamecontroller by connectingit to acomputervia a S cable, mostli elyfor usewith an R Csimulator s previouslymentioned,the m h iion battery pac is readyfitted andisaccessed via aslidingpanel on thebottom of the transmitter This coveralso protects aslot fora microSD card notsupplied whichisused for bac ingupmodeldataas wellas forupdating thetransmitter’sso�tware ThemicroSD card isalso usedtostore thesmallbitmap filesused to displaycolourpicturesofmodels on themainscreen Themanual refers to Windowsbitmapfiles, 4-bit color, si edat pi els,whichconcernedmeatfirst becausethe only computeravailable to meisa acboo utfearnot pple fans,you canbling up your screen too simplyfollowedthe above instructions to resi eapicture of an pilogue
Arubbercover on thebackofthe case protects the trainercordand S-BUSinterfaceconnectors.
,whichwillbethefirstmodel�lownwith this T
TWOSCREENS
One of themostnoticeable di�ferences betweentheT S andthe T S isthe provisionoftwo screens The maindisplayisa 4 -inchcolourtouch screen, whilstuptopisa -inch CDsub-display
Themaindisplayisusedtoshowa picture of themodel,as wellastrimpositions and twolargetimerdisplays Smaller indicators aroundtheedges of thescreen show R battery voltage,Conditionname, T battery,System mode,RFindicator,System timer, enu access buttons, R to T signal receptionand,finally, sername hew -that’s uitea list
Obviously, some of thatinformationistoo small to seeat a uic glance so the subdisplayo�fers an alternative less cluttered waytodisplaythe timers or telemetry data However, whilstthetimers on thelower screen canbeactivatedusingthe touchscreen,the sub-displayinnot atouch panel long the topofthe sub-displayare foundthe Telemetry receivingstatus, R voltage, travoltage sourcedfrom avoltage sensor,typicallyone attached to a i oused to poweranelectric model andT voltage elow thisinformation youcan call up either arepeatdisplayofthe two timers or an alternative displayshowing three pieces of telemetrydata
POWERUP
ressthemainpowerbutton andthe set wa esupwith abeepwhilstilluminatingthe bac lights on bothscreens hori ontallightbarinthemiddle of the switchacts as an RF indicator fthethrottlestic is raised or aswitch isin an active position,saygearup, when the radioisswitched on thisindicator willlight up pin to showthatRFis o�f Closing the throttle or resettingthe o�fending switchwill switchRF on andtheswitch barwillchange to blue oucan also forcethe T to start withRF o�fbyholdingthe -menu button down, located undertheright-hand stic unit This is recommended to save batterypower, especially whenspending alot of time programminga newmodel or ma inge perimentingwith changes to an e istingsetup
PROGRAMMING
rogrammingtheT S isviathe touchscreen, using the System, in age and odel Select
Smooth operationofthe main sticks is helped by the useofhalleffectnon-contact potentiometers.
Rearmounted slider switches fall easily to hand.
virtualbuttonsshown on thele�t of the Home Screen swiththeT , use astyluspen not supplied to accessthe touchscreenaswithmy sausagefingersit’sall tooeasy to press ad acent screenfunctionswith amisplacedfingertip icturesnearbyshowmanyoftheoptions availableineachmenu andtheyincludeall theusualfunctionsthat youwoulde pect from amodern radiosystem,so won’t rewrite themanualwithe planations of thingsli e ServoReverse andSub-Trim Thereare also some Futabaspecificfunctionsli eD HSetting,which relatetothecompany’sDual R in owerHub Thiscleverdevice allows dual receivers anddualbatteries to be connectedbutagainthisisbeyondthescope of this article
Thereare also acouple of physicalbuttons, underneatheachstic unit,which canbe used to accessthe Homescreen andprovide shortcuts Theseare the -menubutton to theright andthe itbutton on thele�t The -menu usermenu allows youtocallupall your most accessedfunctionsin oneplace and is accessed by a uic press of thisbutton press andholdwill bringuptheservo monitor display The itbutton isused to return to eitherthe previousscreen or the Homescreen; if uic pressedfrom Home,then it will bring upthe Telemetrydisplaybutisperhapsmore usefulwhen pressed andheld,whichwill thenloc the touchscreen oc ingthescreen is recommendedwhen amodelis�lown to avoid unintendedchanges to itssetup whilstairborne won’t dwell anymoreonprogrammingthis radio,su�fice to saythataswiththeT S, foundit very easytoinputall my favourite setups Theseincludethrottlehold,athreepositionrateande poswitchusingthe FR functions,aerobaticmi es anda voiced countdowntimer f candoit, then ’msure youcan
COVERUP
Soon a�terreceiving my T S set, er ins announced aseries of Futaba branded T cases, so uic lyplaced an order forthe arge So�t version ricedat , considerthisa worthwhileinvestment to protect my newpride and oy t’s uitecavernousthough,as youcan seefrom thepicture,with more thanenough room to storeallthe accessoriessuppliedwith theset y only gripeisthatthere’snointernal poc ettostore theshortmanual nstead, ’ve hadtoresort to usingthee ternalside poc et, whichmeansthatit’ssure to getabitdogeared Still,hopefully won’tneed to referto itatthefield formuchlonger, a�terwhich it canfind along-timehomeintheboo casein my o�fice
AHELPING HAND
efore signo�f, wouldli etoe press my than s to my FCclubmateRob ennett,whois my goto’ manfor helpwhen performingthingsli erangechec swith Futaba radiosattheclubfield Robhasbeen usingS systems formanyyears andsohe nowsinstantlywhichbuttonstopress,whilst it wouldta emea lotlongerwhilst rooting
Betweenthem, the System,Linkage and ModelSelectmenus of fer allthe functionsyou’d expect to fndprovidedby amodernR/C system–plus abit more!
Home screen showsa wealth of information, plus aneatlittleimage of your modelusing abitmapfle stored onamicroSD card.
LCDsub displaycan be used to either repeat thetimerdisplaysortelemetry informationsourced from sensors ftted to amodel.
Futaba’slarge soft case of fers plenty of spaceand protection forthe T26SZtransmitter andall its accessories. Icould probably getapackedlunch in theretoo!
Alastlookatthe Futaba T26SZshowing theswitch litupblue. This givesaclear indication that RF is switched on.Ifit’spink, then RF is of f.
throughtheshortmanual or even callingup thefullmanual,which havedownloaded to my phone
Robalso recommendedthat buy aboo on S radios called Futaba S rogramming forFi edWing ircra�t’ by alcolm Holt lthoughwrittenaboutearlieriterations of theS familythisboo stillcontains awealth of usefulinformationfor T andT S users nfortunately, itappears to beout of print,butitisstill available to downloadon indle,whichiswhere purchased my copy Readerswithlongmemoriesmayremember thatthisboo hasbeenmentionedbefore inthismaga ine,most recentlyinaletter
Thecarry strapcan be fttedeithersidewaysorupright.It’sa pity that there’snointernalpockettostore theshort manual provided with theT26SZ transmitter.
DATAFILE
“Lockingthescreen isrecommended when amodel isflowntoavoid unintendedchanges toitssetupwhilst airborne”
from Tony a erinthe September issue Than s,Tony
FINALTHOUGHT
t ashade under , thisisnot acheap radiobutassoonasyoupic itupyou now that youhavea uality bit of itinyourhands t is advertisedasa high-end,future-proof transmitter and certainlythin that’s averyfair description now ’vesaiditbefore, but adding this onetomyalready very capableT Super trannieshouldseeme well cateredfor inthe R C department formanyyears to come ■
ame T S -Channel ir Radio anufacturer Futaba importer er ins https www per ins com products F TRR , SelectionofKey Features
channels 4
F SSTest , F SSTest , F SSTest ,S-FHSS
T-FHSS protocols
Fullcolour4 touchscreenwithmodelimage
CDsubdisplay
Smoothnon-contactstic potentiometers
Telemetrysystem icro SD cardport m h i- onbattery
S -Ccharging
�lightconditions pre-programmedmi ers free programmablemi ers
S S F enabled oice,sound andvibrationalerts
Wirelesstrainersystem
fi edwing types
fi edwing tailtypes
fi edwingrudder types
helicopterswashtypes arphone ac
Supports 4 telemetry sensortypes
Examples of Futaba telemetrysensors,withaVario on topand aVoltage sensor below. Telemetrydatacan be fedbackeitheronscreenorbyvoice announcements.
BARGING AROUND
Thespotlight falls on Chris Williams’latestquarter scaleglider,plusChris looks on as another mighty scaleglidersoars aboveWhiteSheetHill
Words& PhotosChrisWilliams
Afterthreeprevious weatherrelated cancellations,WhiteSheet
Scale Secretary Jim Emptage was finallyable to calltheclub’s summer Scale Fly-In on the14thofJuly.A forecast promisinglightwindsculled the attendancesomewhat,althoughintheevent
therewasquitea bitmore breezethanhad beensuggested!
Thefirstthing of notewas to be the bungee launching of Will Hosie’smighty Arcus,surely asight to see…? Ashortlength of heavy-duty bungeehadbeensetup on theedge of the slope anda�tersomee uallyheavy-duty
consultationamongthelaunch crew,the hook on thelowerpartofthefuselage, nearthefront, wasconnectedup.Then,a rearward marchcommenced,lookingfor all the worldlikethe awkwardmotionofacrab inhandcu�fs When theline wouldstretchno more,the Scale Sec, whohaddrawntheshort
CW’s newquarterscale SlingsbyT.21sailsaway fromthe WhiteSheetslope’s edge.See ‘Project Conclusion’.
straw,hunggrimlyonthebase of thefinwhilst Willengagedin Holy Communionwithhis transmitter Declaringhimselfsatisfied,he gave Jimthenod,theductedfan roared and the Arcusspedalong theground,partingthe grassli ea supertan ershrugging o�fa rough sea. Thesurly bonds of Earth were nottobe overcome on thisoccasion,however, andthe airframeskidded,groundlooped andcameto restpart waydownthehill.
More consultationensuedand areset wasordered. Thistimethebungee was reconfiguredtogivemoreurge andas im grunted andstrainedagainstthepull of the fin,hemusthave beencongratulatinghimself on allthosehoursusefullyspentinthegym. Thistimethesurlybondsdidnotholdsway andthe Arcuscommitted aviation,climbing away,seemingly with areasonable amount of powertospare.
This wasquite asight to see,consideringthat the Arcusspans6.6metres andweighsinat42 lbs! Forthosewith an interestinsuch matters this modelisfullymoulded,sportseight aileronsandtwo�laps The ducted fangives 8.9 kg of thrust on two65006SLiPos andthe recommendedpowerdurationis30seconds duetothe possibility of overheating.
“…this model isfully moulded,sportseight aileronsandtwo flaps”
ill Hosie’smightySchempp-Hirth Arcusispreparedfor light.
Second time does it.The Arcusgetsaway.
SteveFraquet displays hisPI 2 before itsmaiden lightatthe hiteSheet event.
FR AQUETRETURNS
Thereturn of along-timeparticipant to these a�fairs,butsadlymissingsincethepandemic, sawDevonianSteve Fraquetoncemoretobe numbered amongstthose present. Stevehad broughtalonghis recentlycompletedPIK20
foritsmaiden�light andbetweenus we spent several tenseminutestrying to decidewhether or not to addorremove weightfrom thefront. In theeventthe PIK20, amodelwith along anddistinguishedpedigree,wasthrustinto thevoidwitheverythingset up wellfrom the
get-go t wasshamethat a�tersuchaperfect startshesu�fered about of TFCS Terra Firma ConvergenceSyndrome)duetoapparentlossof radiosignal.
Nottobeoutdone,Motley Crew hadbrought along his mightye-poweredK8fromthe hoeni odelsstable Whenthis itfirst cameoutsome yearsago,itprovedpopular butsu�feredfrom aslightlac ofstructural integrityinthe area of the wings,sowedon’t see toomanyofthemnow, atleastnot in these hereparts.Motley’s versionhad been stripped down andbeefed up in aprocess we came to call etting aCertificateof ottification’,but who wasgoing to pullthe shortstraw when it came to launchingthebeast? In my view Bill Ebdon’sbigmistakewas once admittingthathe wasakeencyclist,thusstampinghimas super fit,especially when comparedtothe rest of us Therefore, theshortstraw on theseoccasions is usually his andthusitwasthistime around believehe’sout of therapynow).
Duringthe course of thedayMotters handed methe Tx andtoseethisbehemoth cruiseby atclosequarterswhilstbeingthe onetosupply thenecessary controlinputs is asatisfying experienceindeed.
DOWN,DOWN
TheLord,itissaid,giveth, andthe Lord… Well, youknowthe rest,andit has to be saidtherewereoccasionallysomeworld class patches of sink andmylittleKite1became avictim of oneduringthecourseofthe a�ternoon t isdefinitelya discombobulation whenthishappensbecauseit’sasifaninvisible �lyfisherman has cleverly hoo edontoyour rudder andisintent on reelingherin.All forwardmomentumceases,asdoesallcontrol authority,and your gliderseems to headina downward directionata greatrateofknots whilstgivingtheappearance of stillhavinga normal�lyingattitude nhindsight it easy to realisethatthe only waytoregaincontrolisto dive withthe utmostalacrity,but alifetime’s strict avoidance of LandingOutalways seems
BillEbdon giveshis alltoget thePhoenix K8 away.
BobCookhad some epic lightswithhis AS 22
Author’s ff th scale e-poweredBergfalke IV wasanobvious choice forthe prevailing conditions.
to gainascendance andthusit wasthatthe Kitewasgracelesslydumpedhalfwaydownthe hill willpasslightlyoverthethrobbingofmy kneeswhen Igothome:whereare allthesuperfitcyclistswhen youneed one
Thisdaymarkedanew chapterintheclub’s longandillustriouscareerwhenitcomes to thehostingofthese scaleglidingevents.Of thetwentymodels present,ten were of the glasspersuasion, andten were woodies,thus
reachingparity forthefirsttime classicsummerday’s�lying on thehallowed hill,then, andcongratulations to Jim formaking thecustomaryfinancial arrangementswiththe Weather Gods.
PROJECTCONCLUSION
�tertheslee ness of the Fo a itseemedthatitmightbe agood idea to dosomethingdi�ferent, whichishowitcameaboutthat Ifound myselfbuilding asecond versionofthe venerable Slingsby T21,sometimes fondlyreferred to as the‘Barge’. Thistime,I thought, 1/4 scale wouldbe ahandy sizeandsoon themouse wasscurrying around my desk. Blimey,Ithought,asthe printerdisgorgedthefirst of the printouts,thisisbiggerthan Ihad imagined! Telling myselfthatmost modelslook biggerin print form thaninreality,Iploughed onward and,beforeIknewit,itwastime to covertheairframeinfilm
At thisscaletheBarge spans amodest4.1metres andweighs inat around12lbs,butmembers of theposse founditabit ofa challengecomelaunchingtime to gettheirdigits aroundthe fatfuselage!
This,asyoumightexpect, ispussy catintheair,withno discerniblevices andagreatdeal of atmosphericpresence.Tosee her actionGoogle‘Flying the Barge’andsee foryourself.
FAIR WARNING
�ter aseries of well-spaced andrandomincidents of radio failure overthe years, Icame to the conclusionthatthe
Viewofthe glassglidersection in the hite Sheetpits.
Firststage of the T.21’sconstruction.
Barge’airframeready to beflmcovered.
Members of theposse found it abit challenging to gettheirfngers around the fatfuselage!
Thequarterscale T.21risesonthelineduringanaerotowmeeting.
“Ithought1/4scale wouldbe ahandy sizeandsoonthe mousewasscurrying aroundmydesk”
only constant factor betweenthem wasthe phonein my pocket.It’snot my intentionhere getintothe veracity of thephone/transmitter interferencetheory,but insteadtorelatewhatI tried to doaboutit.
My initialsolutionwas to print out in large redletters on asheet of A4paperthe word ‘PHONE’ andplaceit in my Tx case on topofthe transmitters.This worked well, initially, but a�terawhile found myselfstartingtorelapse Smallpiece,the‘Taranis Whisperer’, came
At 1/4scalethe Barge spans 4.1metres and weighs in ataround12 lbs.
upwith ajollygoodwheezethat Ithinkwill definitelydothe tric ow, everytime switch on atranny, avoice tellsme: ‘Don’t forget to take yourphoneout of yourpocket.’ Brilliant!
Nowall Ihavetodoisput anothersheet of A4in my Tx case to remindme to turnthe volumeup…
c_williams30@sky.com ■
Sheis apussycat,withnovices,butlots of presence when lying.