Messages

1

Slope Soaring / Re: Has Anyone Built One Of These Kits.

« on: July 07, 2019, 09:45:50 AM »

I look at this thread occasionally to see if there have been any updates. Kurama seems to have vanished?

I was hoping to see something of how the project is/was going? Any news Kurama???

I may get the chance to fly my Baby this summer as we are now settling in to our own place at last, so here's hoping? 

2

Scale / Re: Schweizer 1-26, thirteen years later!

« on: September 04, 2018, 16:32:05 PM »

With some luck Fred one day I'll get around to finishing this one   

One of the interesting parts was bending the 3/8" square main spares on the 'gull wing' camber change. They run root to tip top and bottom. Just as well it's a fairly gentle bend!

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Scale / Re: Schweizer 1-26, thirteen years later!

« on: August 29, 2018, 11:33:50 AM »

That is quite some model Wight!! Is there any updates on it please, like photos of it in the air?

I too have been away from modeling for 13+ years and getting back in to it. Still a little while until I can get back to building due to a house move, but my unfinished job is a 1/4 scale Habiche. I have some photos of it and when I can find them I will post.

But I would love to know how you are getting on with yours!

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Scale / Re: 1/4 scale Grunau baby

« on: August 20, 2018, 08:24:57 AM »

Any updates on your lovely Baby Joe ??

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PSS / Re: Something on the workbench :)

« on: August 13, 2018, 21:18:36 PM »

That looks like a Meatbox canopy. One of the early models. A Gloucester Meteor peut etré

Come on, giz-a-clue!

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Scale / Re: Solartex

« on: May 18, 2018, 23:01:17 PM »

I'm a bit late coming onto this thread, but when I wanted to recover ny 10' semi scale rudder/elevator Minimoa I went along to our local glider airfield and found the bloke who does most of the repairs on the fabric covered full size jobs. I asked him what the lightest material they used and he showed me some lovely heat shrink nylon stuff. I asked him if he had any off cuts that I could possibly use and what it was for. He gave me what he called off cuts and there was enough to cover the Minimoa, Grunau Baby and a lot over. so, what I am coming to is that if you are near a full size site it could well be worth a look?

Carefully cut to size and stuck down with balsa lock glue and ironed it is about as close to bullet proof as you can get. Clear dope covering and it looks the total dogs what-nots!

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Slope Soaring / Re: has anyone heard from fred

« on: April 27, 2018, 23:08:11 PM »

Can I send a list to pretty please 

I'll start with a new shed and ....

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Slope Soaring / Re: Has Anyone Built One Of These Kits.

« on: April 27, 2018, 23:06:11 PM »

Ta Fred. I have had that model for a long time now and it only comes out when the conditions are right 

I covered it originally with tissue, but as some of our sites have bracken and other 'poking bushes' I got fed up with the repairs. So I went along to the local 'big boys' glider club and spoke to the guy who did the full size repairs and asked if he had any of the light weight heat shrink material used on the full sized jobbies. He gave me enough to cover several models. So I did the Granau and my Minimoa with it and now they are bullet proof against rips and tears. Now I have to land vertically to do them damage

Roll on summer and I will get to fly it again? I'll see if I can get some more photos when I do. I still have the same box as you have Kurama. It's got loads of plans and Solar Film in now.

9

PSS / Re: COMET

« on: April 21, 2018, 21:20:46 PM »

Thank you Fred, that's really good to hear!  I would love to see some video of it if there is any?

They were beautiful, graceful aircraft. Their hydraulic oil for the systems was a vegetable oil. The Britannias were a synthetic oil. One day a rigger (airframe bloke) went out to one of our aircraft and topped it up with OX38  oil because the level was down. OX38 and wrote the aircraft off! It's a synthetic oil for the Brit and it would have meant changing every hydraulic oil seal on the aircraft!

10

PSS / Re: COMET

« on: April 11, 2018, 23:07:18 PM »

M. Pope I have just found and read your thread here. That is an impressive model. I believe that it is a Comet 2. The Royal Air Force used to have 6 of them back in the late 50s early 60s and I was lucky enough to work on them at R.A.F. Lyneham for 5 years. Those along with the Comet 4C and Bristol Britannia. The 2s were so very simple to work on and so safe, comfortable and reliable to fly in.

I still have the scar on my right shin, called Comet leg! It was caused by me stepping into the hole that should have been the hatch to the forward equipment bay. The hatch was just inside and to the left of the crew entry on the front starboard side of the aircraft. It was in the baggage area between the cockpit and the passenger area. It was dark with few windows and one day 2 of us boarded via the crew door. My mate was talking to me and turned to say something. I was not there because I had stepped into the hole! I found it so funny that I had done such a stupid thing that I couldn't get back out for laughing!!!

Did you know that they carried 37 passengers? BOAC had a big say in their design and that is the pax load they wanted. Why? Because the buses they used to transport the passengers out the the aircraft carried 37 people!

You have done a beautiful piece of work to produce such an aircraft and I hope that is back in the air and still flying.

11

Wanted / Re: Very Thin Ply

« on: March 29, 2018, 10:25:10 AM »

Hi FF, I have only just joined this forum and am looking around at the various threads. I am interested in how you got on with you 1/64th ply? I have used it on the ailerons on a 1/4 scale Habiche I have been building for years now ?? Don't ask? It forms the leading adge of the ailerons and goes through an almost 90º curve. I had to soak it and wrap it around a broom handle for a couple of days. It worked well and forms a very strong structure. One of there bright fine daze I will get around to it again.

The complete rear of the fuz is skinned wit 1/32nd ply and is a lot more difficult to bend! But I think that the most interesting (?) job was the one piece main spar in the 'gull wing'. It too had to be bent!

12

PSS / Re: Fouga Magister PSS - Build up wings

« on: March 28, 2018, 23:51:50 PM »

John, I had no idea that Ray had died? He came out with a few very good kits of which the Magister was one.

Fred, how did you make the tip tanks? Mine are well past their use by date and I really need to make some more. Also, how did you attach them? I used velcro, but if I was flying on certain slopes with long rough grass landing areas they weren't used as they came off and I didn't want to loose them!

Yours looks fantastic both on the deck and in the air!

Mine being launched off Frocester Hill.

13

The French Corner / Airtec Pixel.

« on: March 28, 2018, 23:42:40 PM »

I have just returned to England to live after 13 years in France. We lived about 10 km NE of Carcassonne in a lovely little village called Malves en Minervois. Whilst we were there I bought a lovely French model called an Airtec Pixel. It is an wingeron model with a fixed 'V' tail. Elevator and aileron are both done by a swivel wing system, a similar idea to a flying wing. I never really got chance to fly it there because of low flying military aircraft near to the village and the nearest flying site I could find was close to the Basin St Ferréol near Revel. It was just too far to drive to fly. A fantastic site, but!!

Now, I live in NW Wiltshire and within easy distance of the flying sites around Stroud Gloucestershire and now I have had chance to fly it and really enjoy it! It flies cleanly in just about any conditions from light winds to quite strong and the biggest problem is slowing it down for landing. I just wish that I had been able to fly it in its home country.

I have honored it though with the colour scheme of the Tricolour

P.S. I am sorry that after all my time in France I was not able to post this en français. Speaking is no problem, but to try to write it would take me a week!

14

PSS / Re: Fouga Magister PSS - Build up wings

« on: March 23, 2018, 23:43:03 PM »

Hi Fred, I have only just joined this forum and did so on the strength of seeing both your thread and the one  on the Granau Baby. Both quite old now. So please forgive me for being so late.

I too have a Magister, but mine was bought as the complete kit and has the foam wings. You have done a fantastic job on yours and it looks the total biz! Mine was got after I saw a mate of mine in the SCSA with his. That was about 20 years ago. It needs a 'little' bit of TLC now, but on seeing yours I would love to see mine back in the air.

From the photos yours seems to have an all moving tail? That is what I have on mine and it certainly stops me getting bored! I also did mine with the rudder too and almost smacked it in when I tried too much stick on it! I found that when a lot of rudder was used it went into a sudden dive. On a left rudder command a hell of a lot of up was needed on the left control surface compared with the down on the right surface. Obviously the opposite on the right command!

One of the problems I had when landing was slowing the thing down. I finally fell on the idea that if I put both ailerons up to land it became a real pussy cat and so much easier to get down safely and a lot more slowly.

Here's a few photos of mine. Not as detailed as yours and I didn't fit the tip tanks on a couple of flying sited as they would almost certainly have been lost on landing. The tip tanks on yours are smaller and as you can see from the last photo they are the type used for normal flying tasks. The larger type, as on mine, were used for longer distance ferry flights. I learned that from the pilot who was at the 2004 Kenble Air Day. He was flying the last military flying Magister. He let us come over the barrier and have a close look around. He sat it on its tail to show us just where the empty G of G was! It juts sat there on the tail drag wheel!

Your work in progress is really good and thank you for taking the time to do

John.

15

Misceleanous / Hello to everyone.

« on: March 23, 2018, 00:05:34 AM »

Hi folks, I would just like to introduce myself.

I fell on your forum a couple of days back and it looks really good. I started flying here in England about 30 odd years ago and was a member of the South Cotswold Soaring Association (SCSA) for 18 years before I moved to live in France for 13 years. I have recently moved back to England and have rejoined the SCSA. So now I am back to the slopes around Stroud Gloucestershire once again and really enjoying it. I have no idea just how many models I have, but they range from a very small, foam, all moving wing, fixed 'V' tail Mosquito Hawk to a 10' Mimi Moa, a Fouga Magistare, Bird of Time and all sorts of others. I still fly on 35 meg and also have several smaller 2 channel models on 27 meg 'grey/brown' split crystals. I have never had a problem with clashes on that one!! I also have a couple of electric soarers. Nothing competitive, I just love to get out when the wind doesn't blow and I can't get to the slopes.

I hope to be able to give as well as learn on here. I have no knowledge at all of the 2.4 kit and hardly know anything about the electric side either, so hi folks...