Readers who enjoy Alex Whittaker’s superb camera skills will be thrilled by this photo-report from RAF Barkston Heath where the Osbournby club held their post-Christmas warbirds event back in December. Stunning airborne and static shots of the more outstanding models are accompanied by technical details on engines, propellers and weights.
Editor Steve Dorling tests this remarkable little twin-motor helicopter from Century UK. With a rotor diameter of just 190mm and a retail price of £69.99, he discovers that this 2.4GHz R/C wonder is agile, powerful, resilient and beautifully made.
Paul Jubb uses the latest Multiplex 2.4GHz technology in the shape of their versatile HFM3 M-Link module to upgrade his Profi transmitter. The feature takes readers step-by-step through the procedure via a host of close-up images showing installation of the module and aerial replacement, then goes on the describe the M-Link in use.
Expert ‘Splashing Arounder’ Alasdair Sutherland provides this bi-monthly helping of aquatic inspiration with flying and static images of a wide cross-section of models at some of the early-season splash-ins, technical details, construction advice and a listing of upcoming waterplane dates for 2010.
When it comes to sorting out the often complex questions raised by AMI readers, no one does it better than Andrew Gibbs! This month he advises on battery charging and suggests the ideal motor for use in a 50” span towline glider conversion, as well as showcasing a particularly impressive 103” span Airspeed Envoy electric scale twin.
Having mastered the all-important hover, how does the heli tyro advance to circuits and, ultimately, aerobatics? This month, expert Ian Contessa goes ‘beyond the hover’ and prescribes his proven training routine to help you expand the flight envelope. He takes pilots through a series of exercises, starting with gentle side-to-side manoeuvres and extending these by introducing tail rotor input. He advises on how to stop forward motion and return to the hover and offers some rules of descent.
Chris Williams’ latest large scale scratch-built glider project is a Scheibe-Loravia Topaze and here he describes how he used modern technology to plot the shape of the fuselage formers and wing ribs using Devfus and Profili CAD programs respectively. Chris says he’s ‘completely hooked on digital design and mightily impressed with the way everything can be made to fit’. Try it for yourself!
What better way to beat the snow of a UK winter than a trip to sunny Arizona? And when that trip involves a spot of top-level F/F competition flying it’s the perfect antidote to solstice blues! Michael J. Woodhouse attended the 60th South Western Regional event back in January and reports on who’s hot and who’s not quite so hot in the FAI, AMA, SAM, NFFS and FAC classes, with numerous images of the top models.
Plans and full technical details for Neil Allen’s contest-winning F1G Coupe d’Hiver model ‘Number 3’ are featured here in Mike Evatt’s regular window on the world of competition free-flight. Also included is a roundup of contest results from last season and a look forward to the significant events of 2010.
A byword for quality and performance since the late nineteen-fifties, Cox glow engines have powered many a contest-winner, to say nothing of the many thousands of sport models back then and, indeed, still flying today. Editor Steve Dorling offers a personal appraisal of the marque, including history and running hints and tips and reveals where Cox engines can still be obtained, along with a full inventory of spares.
Nostalgia rules in Don Howie’s ‘For Old Times’ Sake’ column for May where he presents plans and history for H. J. Pridmore’s ‘Ladybird Special’ from1948, showcases Ray Heit’s ‘Scram’, pays a flying visit to Barton Model Products and delves into the history of the ‘K’ series of diesel engines with a backyard test of the 2c.c. ‘K’ Falcon.
More nostalgia in the shape of the first instalment of our new short series of articles charting ‘75 Years of Aeromodeller’, where Stephen Herbert looks back to the first three decades of the venerable magazine’s history, covering the years 1935 to 1958. The feature is illustrated with numerous memorable front covers and Stephen’s informative text highlights the many modelling milestones along the way.