Several regulars were missing, but I think the entries were slightly up on the October meeting. Still pretty sparse though.
In view of the lack of static judging, I entered the Mr. Mulligan in Open Rubber, and it behaved well on its first visit indoors, keeping away from the walls. Thus from a personal point of view, I had a lot less stressful a day than last time we were here!
The movies I posted in the October meeting report seem to have been well received, at least by people with fast internet connections, so you will find a further selection below. If you want to save them on your hard drive, click the right mouse button and select the "save target as" option.
Chris Strachan does love his Goodyear racers, and he brought along his latest, this beatifully finished peanut scale Bee Gee Baby. It was entered in the open rubber class and flew very smoothly, eventually finishing in second place. When there is no static judging, Goodyear racers are obviously the designs to go for, because Gordon Hannah won the class with his Wittman Bonzo, and Chris took third place with his Hurlburt Hurricane!
To see a video of the Bee Gee in action, click here (file size is 2.3 MB).
Chris brought along another new model, this very unusual Allenburgh Grey Ghost racer. From a hand launch the model circulates at high speed, and looks very stable. Take-offs are more problematical, as the downthrust pushes the nose onto the floor. It then slides along for an uncertain distance before the speed is such that the model rocks back onto its tail, and lifts off. This behaviour obviously adds an unwelcome random element when working out where on the floor to place the model! The fitting of a small bristle under the nose to keep it off the floor is a solution currently being looked at.
Chris's entry in Peanut Scale was this Davis DA-2A, which finished third in class. You can see a video by clicking here (file size is 3.3 MB).
Tim Horne brought along this new and very smart Falcon Special 2 Goodyear Racer and trimmed it out during the day. Although he was not optimistic about getting it sorted first time out, it was not long before it was circulating in fine style.
Nick Peppiatt entered this smart Aeronca K in peanut scale. The span is more than 13", but it qualifies because of the 9" fuselage rule. Nick's best flight was an impressive 58 seconds, and he finished second behind Mike Hadland in the class.
Nick also entered this Lippisch Storch in the Pistachio class, which it won. The model is a great performer, especially considering the short fuselage length, which limits the length of rubber that can be used. To see the video click here (file size is 5.0 MB).
Of all the videos on this page, this is the one that shows the turbulent air in the sports hall best. As the model passes under the roof vents, you can see it being pushed down. This was something that affected the duration classes most (Peanut and Pistachio), as the models tended to be higher (as well as smaller!)
This Tiger Moth was the work of Dennis Reece, and was entered in Open Rubber. The model turned in a couple of excellent qualifying flights.
Mike Allen’s old electric-powered Sopwith Schneider is a great flier, and he placed 2nd in the CO2 / electric class. Click here to see one of the excellent flights he put in (file size is 4.4 MB).
Mike also flew this Sopwith Swallow, another electric powered model, and this also flew well, taking third place in class.
Here is a type I had never heard of before. This is Mike Allen's Peanut Scale Weymann Le Pere Wel 10, which was apparently a free Aeromodeller plan in a few years back.
Ray Johnson was flying this large scale Bucker Jungmann in the Open Rubber class, and finished fifth after putting in some excellent flights.
Gordon Hannah brought along this CO2 powered Eastbourne Monoplane to enter in the Open class, but Unfortunately didn't manage to register a qualifying flight. I imagine winning the rubber class would have been ample compensation though!
Peter Iliffe brought along his latest masterpiece to show us, this magnificent electric-powered 1/18th scale Siemens Schuckert D.III. That beautiful fuselage is made from balsa panels, over wound formers, and is surprisingly light. It looks so much more realistic than tissue and stringers would have done. The wings feature ink jet printed tissue, using new artwork which is rather more subdued than that his Albatros, and I think it looks great (This photo makes the blue look brighter than it really is).
The detailing has to be seen to be believed, I mean just look at those machine guns! The perforated jackets are made from thin card with the holes punched using a sharpened piece of brass tubing that had been squashed to an oval section. The dummy rotary engine sits loosely on the prop shaft, and once the motor starts, it gradually picks up speed to rotate with the prop. On the real plane the engine actually went in the opposite direction to the prop, but try working out a way to do that simply!
The model is as yet unflown, but assuming flight trials go OK, it is hoped that it will make an appearance at the Indoor Scale Nationals in April.
Peter also brought along his small Fokker Spinne powered by a Gasparin G.10 CO2 motor, which he entered in the open class. A delightful little model which flew very nicely.
Let's finish with Mike Hadland's gorgeous Waco SRE, entered in the Open Rubber class, where it finished fourth. To see the video click here (file size is 2.8 MB).