Member Profiles and Other Items.

From James Brady.

Just a couple of words why I got involved with model flying. Well I suppose it was after the thrill of my RC cars had well worn off that I decided to go a bit more adventurous.

At first this was when I had seen an add in Argos for those battery powered planes, however that notion was quickly killed off when I discovered that they were over a hundred euro for a toy that could only fly within 15 feet of you, after that I turned to the Internet to find out more information.

The first site that I came across was www.hobby-lobby.com. This is where I first found out about glow-powered aircraft, then I remembered that I had seen model flying out the Dublin road about 10 years previously but when I couldn't find a website for it I presumed it had died off.
After that my interest faded away for a while until my dad told me that David Furneaux (who he worked with) was secretary of a flying club. So I got in contact with David and arranged to go out to the field to find out what it was like.

To be quite honest I didn't know what to expect but I was surprised to find out the sheer size and speed of the models. I previously thought that the models were only about a 2-foot in length and flew close to the ground! During the next week I went out to the shop in Edworthstown to look at the trainers and like most people that joined at that time I was supplied with a Boomerang ARTF by Seagull Models. After a long and detailed talk with Cliff (Davids Dad) on the correct way to put the plane together I had my first attempt to build a plane, after two days of labour I had my first model built. Unfortunately on my way out to the flying field Murphy's Law struck when the vertical stabiliser got a knock breaking its leading edge in two, however with the aid of some 5-minute epoxy and a quick covering job it was ready to have its test flight, which went smoothly and has gone smoothly ever since. Luckily I haven't crashed it yet and touch wood it will last for a while more or until I get my latest model, a P51d Mustang flying.

The P51d Mustang is my newest model. This 60 size A.R.T.F. is built by Seagull Models and is powered by a 46-size S.C. engine. It has a wing area of 650 sq. inches. It took about a day to do the majority of the work. I originally wanted to buy the P51d as a kit but was put off firstly by the price, over €120 dearer and the complete lack of kit suppliers within the U.K. and Ireland. David Furneaux spotted this model on www.jperkinsdistribution.co.uk so I went for it. It hasn't flown yet but judging by the Boomerang's also by Seagull Models it should fly perfectly. I will update you after it's madden flight.

Some thoughts on Landings and a few fond Memories.

I was at the field a few weeks, ago when one of our juniors was attempting a downwind dead stick landing, the model was travelling quite fast and the lad called to me with the question "can I turn", under instruction he put the nose down and then performed a really nice turn culminating into an impressive flare onto the patch. Whilst driving "herself" to Dublin the next day for a shopping expedition my thoughts turned to my own experiences and my early attempts at landing.

In those days I flew gliders on the multitude of soaring sites In South East England. I well remember those early days attempting to learn to fly, one of my early recollections was sitting on top of the slope at the Long Man at Wilmington, near Eastbourne, I was feeling a bit sorry for myself at being unable to get airborne, when two young lads came up to me and offered their assistance, they carried with them two of the most immaculately finished flying machines I had ever seen, beautiful open structure airframes covered in transparent nylon. They proceeded to give me a few lessons and managed to get me solo, more or less, within a couple of hours. My thanks to those two great guys was immeasurable, especially when I later discovered that their gliders were the prototype Phase one's and I had been in the company of, and had received lessons from, Chris Foss and Ken Binks! The art of flying into the slope at breakneck speed, performing a very fast aileron turn into wind, to kill the speed, and settling onto the deck, was well demonstrated and learned that day, however a year or so later I had to go back to school, read on!!

I must have been one of the first people that was sent the, then new, Access credit card by my bank, it went into the wallet and was more or less forgotten about until one day I found myself (as I often did) at 308 Holloway Road, for those of you who might not of heard of this address, this was the legendry model shop of Henry J. Nicholls and his son, Richard, if you don't know who Henry "J" was then ask your elders!!
Whilst in the shop Henry showed me the very latest arrival from Germany, a rather magnificent glider, virtually ready built, what I was looking at was a Graupner Cumulus, this must surely have been the forerunner of all of the ARTF's, built in Germany by craftsman and absolutely perfect in all respects, and reflected in the price! I didn't have the funds to purchase this beast and was about to leave 308 when I remembered the newly arrived piece of plastic in my pocket, I asked Henry if he would accept the card and, although he said yes, he had absolutely no idea on how to use it, let alone part with a very expensive glider in exchange for a piece of plastic, so off I went to the nearest branch of the National Westminster Bank, I was most surprised to discover that they gave me the cash to purchase the glider in exchange for my signature on a small slip of paper, mind you they were very careful to phone my own branch to ensure that I really existed and was not trying to commit a minor robbery!
Back at 308 I gave Henry the cash in exchange for his latest import, I might add that he was a bit reluctant to part with it having just received it himself! Arriving back home later that day I unpacked my latest acquisition, the quality and craftsmanship in the Cumulus just had to be seen to be believed, after a short time I had the model assembled and ready to fly apart from covering. Tissue and dope was the order of the day, followed by a sprayed black enamel finish. Radio installation was relatively simple, the model using just two servo's for elevator and rudder. Come the weekend I went, with a few of the lads, to Holly Hill, a great sloping site near Rochester in Kent, the top of the slope was covered in a continuous long line of very high trees making landings interesting no matter what type of model you were flying, the Cumulus was assembled, range checked and then launched off the hill, she flew out off of the slope with the majesty one would expect from this type of model, after a few loops and low passes it was time to land. Now the usual procedure at Holly Hill was to "crab" the glider along the tree line and then to turn fully into wind when the model would settle nicely onto the grass, boy, was I in for a shock, the Cumulus was so aerodynamically clean she accelerated like a formula one car as soon as you put any amount of down elevator, also her penetration into wind had to be seen to be believed, there was only one way that this glider was going to be brought safely to earth, and that was to walk all the way down the hill to the fields at the bottom. After this experience she was always flown on slopes, such as the Devils Dyke at Brighton, where the top was clear of trees and you could get a little behind the ridge to kill the lift. Models of this size are nearly always fitted with air brakes these days, they make life much easier when landing on a ridge with "restrictions". In the case of a powered model it is worth remembering that if you go "dead stick" and you are upwind of the landing area, keep the speed up on the downwind leg and use the power of the wind to stop the model virtually dead by performing a fast aileron turn, fairly close to the ground. I would suggest that you practice this technique at a good height with your engine in tick over, you will be surprised at how, even the "cleanest" model, can be brought to a virtual standstill in a matter of a few feet especially in a moderate wind, perfection of the technique will save you a long walk to retrieve the model, it also looks very impressive when performed well.

Our junior member learned very fast last week that you certainly can turn your model on it's final dead stick approach to the patch provided that you are flying a downwind leg and that you have sufficient speed to complete the turn safely without tip stalling your model and, most importantly, you have practiced the manoeuvre at a safe height, and have the confidence in your model to perform the task! It's rather nice at my age when a small event such as observing a great landing provokes fond memories of early flying experiences.

Alan Forrest

James Lennon. MACI No. EI 2880

I first entered the world of radio controlled model aircraft as a spectator!
At the tender age of seven I used to watch my father and David Ferneaux flying most Sundays, hot weather permitting, I never managed to get my hands on the controls at this early age, my main job was to retrieve the model as it touched down, sometimes yards away and sometimes fields away!!

At the age of sixteen and with an Aircore 40 and Hi-Tec radio David took me under his wing and taught me how to fly my model, he was much more patient than my father. After going solo I practiced on my own and at the age of seventeen I achieved my "A" certificate, since those days I have flown Acrowots, Aero Stars and an Extra 300.

I am very much into aerobatics and practice this style of flying most Sundays at the clubs flying site in Longford, I hope to achieve my "B" certificate in the near future and may even try my luck in a novice aerobatic competition. One thing is certain, I enjoy my hobby immensely and could never imagine a time when I would not be flying my models.

Alan Forrest. MACI No. EI 3727

I started aeromodelling way back in the early fifties, I well remember my first project, a control line Keil Craft Champ, which never really took to the skies. In later days, along with my pit man, John Revel, I succeeded in
lifting the S.M.A.E. gold trophy for control line Goodyear racing at Odiham, along with a second place at
Cranfield in the same year, heady days!!.

My entry into radio control came much later, starting with a Veron Impala on the Long Man at Wilmington in Sussex,, that day I well remember, after many unsuccessful attempts at flying the glider, two young men
offered me their assistance, little did I know that I was in the company of Chris Foss and Ken Binks!! that
was very much a lesson to remember and started me off on the hobby of a lifetime.

I remember the young shop assistant at Avicraft, who gave me the benefit of his advice on many occasions,
Jim Perkins his name was, ring any bells? that's right, Jim Perkins of Perkins Distribution, Jim has become
a lifelong freind. At that time the late Phillip Newman was playing around with a new design, which turned out
to be that all time classic "The Panic", I was indeed fortunate to witness the development of this fabulous
model. Phillip died in a tragic accident a couple of years ago.

Throughout the years I have been privileged to have known many of the characters on the modeling scene,
names such as Tony Lunt, Bunny, Alistair, Robert and, of course Phil Newman, Chris Foss, Kenny Binks
are all names that spring to mind.

I moved to Ireland in the early nineties, I virtually gave up modelling due to the lack of clubs and fliers in the Kilkenny region, where I lived at the time, recently I have found kindred spirits in the Longford modelling club,
I am now in the process of building my "dream" workshop which had always been an ambition right from the
early days. I now look forward to spending many hours building the models that I know are in me and enjoy the company of my new found friends here in Ireland. My current lack of appearances at the field on Sundays is
due to my singular purpose of getting the workshop finished.

I finished my new workshop on 31st July and am building like mad!! here are a couple of pictures:

I hope to be back "In Harness" this coming Sunday 5th August it'll be nice to "twiddle" the sticks again!

Their is no better hobby for a youngster to persue these days, I am totally committed to the LMAC policy of bringing awareness of the sport to local people and passing on the experience and skills of the existing
members to them, that way we will all do our bit towards giving the younger generation something worthwhile
and constructive to persue in their spare time!!

From the annals of The Longford Model Club

Little Lost Zack!...

By Jon Etherton founder member.

In the summer of "94" during one of those rare calm evening's, some of our more dedicated Aeromodellers ventured out to fly (after all how many of us are there that do not get the urge to get airbourne on a fine evening).

Anyway this is a tale about a model plane called "Zack". During the evening in question "Zack" was being put through it's paces by its capable pilot and suddenly whilst pulling out of an inverted pass "Zack" apparently terminated it'spower supply to the receiver and continued to fly whilst still inverted towards a
nearby area of what can only be described as a "jungle", we are talking about an area of untouched bogland with foliage akin to that which you can expect in the Amazon Rainforest, as we duly found out.

We made several sorties in search for "zack", all to no avail and all we had to show for it were insect bites and wet feet!. The ferns were up to six feet high which made finding a small model plane virtually impossible, the only hope being that we might have stumbled across it or get a glimpse of it's bright yellow flash through
the dense undergrowth, in which you could almost hide a full size aircraft, not to mention a mere 42" "Zack"

The summers day's were passing and we beginning to give up on ever finding "Zack" and our dedicated comrade had decided to hang up his transmitter for the rest of the year, as losing "Zack" had been the final straw , in one of those year's flying which was better forgotten (nearly all of us have had one!).

All ground searches had failed and it was time to try an aerial view and we gratefully accepted an offer from the owner of a light aircraft (full size) to havea look for the model. During a brief overfly of the area, something yellow was sighted could this be "Zack" ?

In order to confirm the location, we set out armed with a trainer with an onboard camera, we also had the benefit of two way hand held radio's to ensure that the photo's were taken in the area that the yellow object had been sighted. One of the photos revealed a yellow dot, which was obviously the thing that had been sighted from the full size aircraft. We had hope at last, alas the yellow object turned out to be a fertilizer bag which was partly covered by grass!!

We decided to wait for the foliage to recede during the winter before resuming our search in the hope that "Zack" would be easier to find. The only consolation was that we knew that "Zack" was not far away, but it had been like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack.

During the winter months the occasional search was carried out and eventually persistance paid off, "Zack" was found in January '95 by one of our more energetic members, whose speciality is searching and usually finding lost planes (no hints intended). Whilst standing at the edge of a drain which was overgrown with weeds,
he happened to spot a small piece of solarfilm at it's edge, he looked into the drain and could just about see "Zack", it had burried itself into the drain and unfortunately had shed it's internals on impact.

"Zack was brought home by it's somewhat relieved owner, however it had soaked up a lot of water and had increased it's weight about tenfold, having been exposed to the elements for most of the winter, but some parts were salvaged and all was not lost.

Our Comrade had kept his word, when he declared that he would not fly for the remainder of that year, but the fact that he was busy at the building board just after loosing "Zack" was enough to tell us that it did not dampen his enthusiasm for the hobby. Therefore the timely return of "Zack" was just the tonic need for a return to
the flying field for '95, of course we tell all daring pilots who fly over this area,since named "The Bermuda Triangle", that they do so at their own peril!!

Could the owner of "Zack" possibly have been our Hon Sec??? (Webmaster)

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