2018 Newsletter Issue 1 (April)

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1 2018 Newsletter Issue 1 (April) The front page will always feature a photo of a club model or models so make sure you help by sending your photo s (and articles) to anthclif@tiscali.co.uk if you want to be in line for a front page feature. Proof that manufacturers can offer good service. This is Frank Walker s Pilot RC Extra 330SC, supplied as a free replacement after an incident flying his old one. At 78 inch wingspan it gets its urge from a DLE35RE petrol engine. It had some issues at first with the engine not running well, which strangely turned out to be the kill switch. It now runs very well and he is very happy with the performance of the whole unit. CONTENTS Editorial 2 Undercover 4 The Business End 2 Out And About 4 Lever s 3 Construction Corner 6 Out In The Park 4 Future Events 8 Club Web Site:- BMFA Web Site:- The comments contained within this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the opinion or judgement of the committee or club members unless specifically stated. Neither the editor, nor the club shall take responsibility for the content of articles submitted or published in this newsletter

2 Editorial I have bought a glider. That s it. I have bought a glider. This has been the most unproductive winter I can ever remember. I have hardly flown, and built nothing. On the flying front it is simple as most of the time it was out of my control. Snow, rain and high winds have limited my opportunities severely, and I know I am not alone. Realistically this seems to be the problem on both fronts though, as personally I find I need to be flying regularly to have the desire to do anything in the shed. Every year it is assumed that winter is building season, and like most I always have a list of things I want to do. This year it didn t really happen though, in fact I have hardly been in the shed. I think this is where the glider came in. Talking to Dave B at the strip I noticed he had a 2m motor glider with him and it made me think. A fairly cheap quick fix (about an hour to assemble) and I would have a new model, and one requiring a slightly different skill set to both program and fly. I decided that this might just be the thing to give me some fresh motivation, and to be fair I have now at least done some tidying up in the shed. As for the glider, it is ready to take to the air and I m just waiting for a nice day to give it a go. The Business End The committee has changed only slightly going into 2018, and is now: Chairman Andrew Lowthian Secretary Dave Buckingham Treasurer David Burton Newsletter Ed Anthony Cliffe Webmaster Billy Bennett Safety Officer Bill Bonner A few issues have cropped up over the past few months: parking, EASA and GDPR. The parking issue is that the council have installed a parking meter in both the Champions entrance car park and the golf club entrance car park. This was worrying as it seemed as if the council may expect us to pay parking charges. They have been approached, however, and it seems as if this is not the case. We have been told that the charge is for the car parks only, and as we use the field we are exempt. So far this has not been put in writing, but we live in hope. For the time being it is suggested that members drive onto the field using the golf club (Cherry Orchard) entrance as the parking meters are not yet functional at that end, so members are less likely to be approached by the public asking why we aren t paying. EASA originally looked as though they were going to impose legislation which could have a massive impact on flying models and on our club. After listening to organisations and individuals they have now produced a set of recommendations, which thankfully show some common sense. If these recommendations are accepted they will add a little red tape to what a club has to do, but will have little impact on actually flying on a club site or where a club site can be. As long as the recommendations are acted on, the club and us are safe. GDPR is the name given to the new data protection legislation, and you may have seen in the latest BMFA news that it has an impact on any organisation and that includes our club. The committee are putting a plan in place that allows us to comply with the new rules with the minimum of impact on club members. It will take a while for us to see how the BMFA are going to handle assisting us and every other club with this, so don t expect to see anything immediately. Ant - 2 -

3 Lever s April saw the annual hot pot at the Lever club. This year instead of a speaker or quiz we had an auction of models and equipment donated by Howard Buckler and from the estate of Chris Hopper. The evening was very pleasant with good food provided by Levers, and with some partners attendance. After the meal the auction took place, and with 31 lots there were plenty of bargains to be had. After selling off multiple foam warbirds, chargers, helicopters, transmitters, a drone and a box of bits the grand total of 450 was raised, to be split 50/50 between the club and cancer research. Overall an enjoyable evening was had by all. Most people went home a few quid lighter, but happier

4 Out In The Park The field has not been the most active place over the last few months, but spring has sprung and that is now changing. The strip itself is still soggy round the edges, but easily flyable from. The grass needs a spring trim, but I guess that won t happen until the tractor is not in danger of sinking. As the area either side of the strip is still boggy from the ridiculous amount of rain (and snow) over the last couple of months it is still worth exercising real caution driving onto the field and only coming off the path close to the Champions car park end. Down at the field it has been good to see a mixture of both old and new models. I was impressed with the Extra Billy had built in the last couple of months from the Great Planes kit. More of his build later in the newsletter. Undercover After the cancellation of flying at Pensby due to increased cost, attempts were made to find a viable replacement. A booking was made at Hoylake Community Centre to see if it was appropriate. We knew it was a small hall, but hoped it would be big enough for small UMX foamies, heli s and quads. It turned out to be just a tiny bit too small as it became a challenge to get a fixed wing plane round in a circuit, rather than fun to fly. As a result it was decided to be a non-starter. Attempts have been made to book a larger sports hall through a school, but have moved very slowly (not down to us) and not been successful yet. Hopefully something can be sorted for next indoor season. Out And About De Havilland Museum In February I found myself using up some tickets to Harry Potter Studios, which is just outside Hatfield, home of the De Havilland museum. The entrance to it is up a tiny road, verging on a farm track, and the reason is that it is based round the hall once owned by - 4 -

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6 Geoffrey de Havilland Jnr. It is where the Mosquito was designed, the prototype built, and the first flight made from. The building already had amazing engineering heritage, as the previous owner designed the Mallard, the fastest steam train ever. When you pull into the small car park you are surrounded by what can only be described as an aircraft graveyard. A strange mix of airliners, utility planes, and fighter jets with just one thing in common; they were all De Havilland. Leaving the car park takes you into the reception building with its small shop and display of engines. The guy on reception was very chatty and knowledgeable about the museum and its contents. Once out of reception there is access to one large hanger and a few smaller buildings. The large hanger contained three Mosquitos including the original prototype, and part of a Horsa glider used as a troop carrier. Sat on its wheels the Mosquito is a very imposing beast. The whole place is part museum and part restoration centre, so work is going on by volunteers who are also very chatty and knowledgeable. The other rooms contained smaller aircraft including a Chipmunk which took me back to my days as an Air Cadet. Strange that it didn t seem so small when I was a teenager. Outside there was a random array of fuselages and aircraft, including a Comet that you could wander round inside. Overall it was a strange yet interesting place. Part museum, part workshop and part aircraft graveyard. Is it worth a visit? Well that depends. I was staying fairly locally and I was glad I went and enjoyed it. I am not so sure I would feel the same had I travelled from the Wirral just to go there, but if you are nearby then drop in. Construction Corner Billy s Extra Billy Bennett has been busy over the winter months building an Extra from the Great Planes kit. He is very matter of fact about it, despite building it in the time it takes many of us to put an ARTF together. He has flown it a few times now and is very pleased with it

7 Andrew s Groovy As I write this I m just putting the finishing touches to my new Groovy. It takes me a month of Sundays to actually get to complete any model let alone this one. My last Groovy died cos it had been fuel soaked so I decided at an early stage that this was going electric. Took me a while to decide on the propulsion unit and after calculating weight etc. it turned out that the same set-up as my basic 3-D would be ideal. That plane also died last season and is still in my shed waiting for a little attention. I may revive it but it s had a number of incidents since I built it 11 years ago. I think I owe it to her to give it a try! The motor is a Turnigy G46 with a 80 amp speed controller and powered by Turnigy 5000 mah 4 cell batteries turning a 14x7 prop and I expect to get about 8 minutes flying time. The recommended prop is 14x10 but as I haven t got one I ll make do with the 14x7. Having found that experimenting at the field is better, the recommended setup is not always the best option. The construction was simple, although World Models do tend to assume that you know a thing or two, and as I had had a Groovy before it was reasonably straightforward. The hatch had been moved from under the fuselage to a removable canopy and the wings are a different size so the old set wouldn t fit. I used a lot of stuff that I retrieved from the old Groovy such as control linkages, undercarriage but all the electronics are brand-new The only photographs I have taken are in the last day or so as I didn t intend to put it in the newsletter but Ant asked if I had any contribution to make so I decided to write a few words. There was little to report, so you re seeing it virtually as I hope it will be when airborne this weekend. Andrew

8 Future Events 20 th May - WRCFS Fun Fly The usual balloon bursting, spinning and similar daft competitions at Arrowe Park. 10:30 start 6 th June BBQ Flying and bring your own food to chuck on the communal Barbie. Fly afternoon and evening. Food early evening. 1 st July Alf Witherup Memorial Cup Our Unlimited Scale competition. Open to all scale models, whether full build or ARTF. 10:30 start 6 th September - Ivan Mottershaw Builders Competition Annual competition judging for any model built from a plan or kit (or from your own imagination). 8pm at the Lever club. 23 rd September Annual Club Competitions The annual flying competitions at Arrowe Park. Flying starts at 10: