When my Hobby King Sportjet first flew it was disappointingly slow. I had fitted the supplied undercarriage and was using 4 LiFe cells (A123′s). The model was designed for a 4s lipo and I thought the slightly lower voltage of the LiFe cells wouldn’t make a huge difference…wrong!  Steve Montague lent me a 4 cell lipo to try and the power difference was amazing, so I added a fifth cell to my A123 packs and hacked the existing battery box around to make it fit. It took off from the patch ok but didn’t look like a jet should with wheels hanging down, plus I kept having to straighten out the flimsy u/c legs, so they had to go.  The C of G was where it was supposed to be but it needed up trim and inverted flight needed a lot of down elevator so I started adding lead to the tail. Eventually I arrived at a point where inverted only needs a sensible amount of down. I have been tweaking rates and expo to get it to my liking and now it flies really well.  Flat out speed is now almost identical to Wonky’s Alpha Jet so there have been quite a lot of fast ‘formation’ low passes. Sooner or later there will be a bang followed by an awful lot of polystyrene beads blowing away downwind, watched by two dejected ex jet pilots!

Staying on EDF’s for a moment, Ron Vears, spurred on by the success of his Alpha Jet, splashed out on an FMS Dassault Rafale from Kings Lynn models. It started off rather like my Sportjet, with wheels and underpowered. It has a 64mm fan (both the Sportjet and the Alpha are 70mm) and is supplied with a 3 cell lipo. It wouldn’t get off the patch so Ron removed the u/c and hand launched instead. It flew but was still underpowered so 4 cells were shoe-horned in and it now flies very well. It looks great in the air and Ron is building up confidence to fly lower and faster!

Meanwhile Jim Hobday has got his Black Horse T-28 Trojan finished. Although the model is sold as I/C or Electric there is no battery access hatch. Not wanting to remove the wings after every flight Jim has made the cockpit detachable and now puts the battery in from the top, surely a mod that Black Horse should do if they are selling it as electric compatible? Anyway it works well and Jim has made a very nice job of it. The test flight proved rather dramatic as the C of G was very rearward, despite being where the instructions stated. After the addition of some nose weight it flew very nicely and Jim just needs some decent weather to get used to flying it.

Multiple Models Montague decided that he needed even more and bought an Eflight Texan on eBay at a bargain price. He confessed that by the time he had bought some expensive retracts along with a UBEC, ESC, more servos etc it was rather an expensive bargain!  The finished model looks great and flies even better, it’s one of those models that just feels right, lovely and smooth but totally aerobatic and scale like. It does however have the Harvard/Texan tendency to drop a wing if the airspeed drops too much. I tested the stall on the first flight and it dropped into a full spin, luckily I had enough height to recover safely.  Once the flaps are lowered it comes in to land beautifully, but it definitely needs to be treated with respect.  Steve was also tempted by a Seagull Edge but due to several holidays in Florida he has only been able to fly it once. It flew fine and when he eventually returns I think he will really enjoy it.

Finally a new I/C model! Viv Burgess has put together one of the new Seagull Giant Scale PT-19′s. It is 80″ span, powered by a 120 four stroke, and weighs in at over 11lbs. Viv test flew it and it took off beautifully and flew in a very scale like manner. After enjoying it for a few minutes he let me have a go (big mistake!) and I did a few circuits and gentle aerobatics. Unfortunately the motor cut on the landing approach over over the valley and I couldn’t make it back to the field. Luckily the damage was pretty minor, the wing pulled off but only the centre section mounting was damaged and Viv says it has gone back together easily…phew!  I’m afraid I forgot to take any photos of it but will do so next time.

All we need now is for some decent weather to fly all these new models again, roll on summer. 

So, a blonde fighter pilot was flying in a two ship one day. She was flying her heading just fine, when all of a sudden her wingman called, “We have Migs coming in at 6 o’clock!” She quickly took a look at her watch and said, “It’s okay! It’s only 5:30″!

Now that I have been outed, I am free to talk about my developing illness, you may have noticed I have been flying a couple of foam electric models recently ,or as Colin would say , a Wot 4 foam -e with 25 amp speed controller, 2812 /12 1100 kv motor, 3 s 11.1 volt 2200mah lipo, turning a 11 x8 prop,  and  a ST models blaze, with ditto setup. I have now added a ST models MX2 which, in my mind, is fitted with a  foo foo amp speed controller,  oppa loopa kv motor, little servo’s, 3s lipo (apparently that’s a battery) All of which were  fitted by a child in china who must know about Watts because the plane has plenty of power.

The next symptom of the illness is to crave a 2.4 ghz radio, tony neil will confirm he has spent some time as my councilor on the subject, the outcome of these discussions is that  the 35 mhz form of terretz, the glitch, can be  terminal on electric models, so a 2.4 will be essential if I  get the full blown disease, and buy  a hair dryer.

As the month has progressed I have continued to deteriorate, I have sold my IC sundowner, super chip monk, the  whizz ( bye bye Noddy I will miss you ) and one of my 35mhz transmitters, I have bought a black horse electric sukoi and a ripmax electric mustang for the raffle.

Due to unsettled weather flying has been limited this month, but some things are as reliable as the sun rising in the morning , EDF jets made from EPO , crash, they crash a lot, combine this with  mick owning one, and trying to launch it the result was not a suprise, in golfing terms I think he was suffering from a continuing slice, in an attempt to compensate, the resulting hook was so bad, even the godfather of E.D.F at P.A.M could not conjure up a save.

By the time I write again Blackbush will have come and gone, so if any members see me hanging around the southern model craft stand, or sniffing a just run engine on the flight line , show some compassion and remember I am going through a traumatic time.

All the best

William Watts

Ian Hewlett spent his spare time over the winter building a Hawker Typhoon from Brian Taylor plans and he test flew it a couple of weeks ago.  Apart from some niggles with the undercarriage doors all went well. It flew very nicely but was very twitchy on elevator so Ian went away to sort the doors and reduce the elevator movement.  He returned a couple of days later but it seems he had reduced the elevator movement a little too much as the model took off but failed to climb out. I would describe the arrival as a heavy landing rather than a crash but it broke the right hand wing a few inches outboard of the centreline and the only sensible answer is to build a complete new wing.  The model is 73” span, powered by an OS120 pumper 4 stroke, and Ian has made a lovely job of it, no doubt it will be back in the air before too long.

1066 asked me for a quiet word on Sunday, totally in confidence he said… so immediately almost everyone at the field gathered round to listen in! Obviously I can’t repeat what was said but on a totally unrelated matter we might be seeing an I/C (remember those?) Chipmunk with an electric conversion before too long… but don’t tell anyone, it’s all very hush hush… allegedly.

The switch to 2.4GHz became a priority for Peter Turley after his little foam Yak glitched all round the field and eventually disappeared in the valley so he treated himself to a shiny new Spektrum DX8. Now this transmitter will do just about anything that any pilot would ever want, in fact it’s billed as ‘The World’s Most Advanced 8 Channel Radio’ and amongst its many features is a throttled linked timer. So why is it necessary to have another 2 countdown timers mounted on a separate piece of wood to fly a £20 4 channel piece of foam? Maybe I’m missing something…I think I heard one cruel onlooker mutter something about ‘all the gear, no idea’…   Anyway, 2.4GHz did the trick and the Yak now flies well with no glitching and Peter is regaining his confidence. Just got to read the manual now Peter!

For a couple of days in March we were joined by guest flier Shaun Sivertsen, Nick’s son. Shaun lives in Bury St Edmonds but asked if it was ok to fly with PAM when he is down this way. He brought along a variety of electric models including a Fantrainer, a Sebart Angel, and a Dago Red.  Shaun is a ‘proper’ modeller and a good flier, it was a pleasure to meet him. It’s always good to meet modellers from other clubs and see what they do differently etc.  Nick says Shaun was very impressed by our flying site and he looks forward to returning in the future.

Finally, details of a couple of March ‘finals’. Wonky Wiltshire tried a Phase 3 F16 EDF, sadly rather briefly as it met its end on only its third flight. According to Phil that was about £35 a flight! Meanwhile Smiffy bought a Century Max Thrust Vortex, another EDF that didn’t even manage 3 flights. He tried to blame an innocent party for a dodgy launch when it failed to get away for the first attempt, and then refused to try it again until most witnesses had gone home. However I understand the second attempt was equally hairy and ended with the demise of the Vacuous Vortex. For more info on both of these please read Patch News – 23^rd March.

Definition of Landing: A controlled mid-air collision with a planet.

Andy P.

Chairman Mick’s RC Lander Hawker Hunter made it’s first appearance last weekend, and very nice it looked too. Mick has removed the retracting undercarriage having decided hand launching and belly landing would be better on our field. This has saved some weight and as it has a 6 cell pack powering a 70mm fan we were all confident it would go well. It climbed away beautifully from Steve 1066′s launch and after a few clicks of trim it was flying very nicely. I flew it for a few minutes and did some basic aerobatics and all seemed good so I handed the tx over to Mick. He flew around gently for a couple of minutes before the always expected ‘Harper Holocaust’ occurred…the motor suddenly quit! I got it down with just a slightly squashed nosecone, but the motor was obviously not well. As yet Mick doesn’t know what happened to it but has bought a HET Typhoon replacement so the Hunter should be flying again very soon.

Andy Smith brought along a very sleek looking Century Max Thrust Vortex to join the hairdryer set. Unfortunately it failed to get away from my hand launch (it wasn’t my best but it wasn’t that bad, honest!) and sustained a bit of damage but Andy says it will return very soon. To continue his bad luck his Parkzone Trojan had a slight midair touch with Steve’s fun-fly and lost half it’s tailplane. Andy got it down ok so repairs should be swift.

Bob's Electric Pilatus PC9

Bob Hill has converted the ex PAM raffle prize Pilatus PC9 to electric power and it has shown the usual excellent Seagull flying qualities. The electric conversion is a total success and Bob is getting used to flying characteristics before exploring the aerobatic capabilities.

Phil's Phase 3 F16 (Before)

Phil's Phase 3 F16 (After)

Spurred on by the success of his Alpha Jet Phil Wiltshire bought a Phase 3 F16. It has a 64mm fan running on a 3s lipo and uses an all moving tailplane rather than the usual aileron and elevator set-up. The first and second flights went without incident and by the third one Phil was getting confident and gradually getting the rates and expo to his liking. But there was a sudden motor stop after only a couple of minutes, and Phil managed a safe deadstick landing. Investigations found nothing wrong and we could only think that the esc had got too hot and cut the motor so Phil tried again. The same thing happened again, a sudden motor cut after a couple of minutes but unfortunately this time Phil was heading rapidly towards the deck at the time and ‘abrupt contact’ occurred! Phil was unsure if he lost the radio at the same time as the motor or not, it all happened too quickly. Unfortunately it was a write-off (well it was after Phil ripped all the gear out of it!). On a brighter note he passed his A cert last week, well done Phil!

Ians Typhoon

The long awaited Typhoon that Ian Hewlett has built from Brian Taylor plans flew on Monday for the first time. Ian has made a lovely job of the model that features flaps and retracts and it powered by an OS120 pumper. The first flight went well with no problems apart from some minor problems with the u/c doors and he went away a happy man promising to sort the doors for next time.

Nick's Fan Trainer

Nick Sivertsen tested out his new Fan Trainer on Tuesday. It uses a 3 bladed Cox propeller in a shroud rather than a multi-bladed fan but it seemed to produce plenty of thrust on 4 cells. Nick struggled a bit with very sensitive ailerons but otherwise it was great. Nick got it down safely and will cut down the aileron movement before the next flight.

Andy P.

Untitled from Steve Hastings on Vimeo.

Untitled from Steve Hastings on Vimeo.

I can,t remember the last time I missed so many flyable Sundays as I have this year, things move so fast, at the start of the year only Andy P was flying a hair drier on steroids,  I come back, and they are multiplying. Last Sunday there were more vampires than in a hammer house of horrors movie, along with a Mig and Alpha jet with lots of talk about other types soon to appear. Unfortunately , by the end of the session all the Vampires looked like they had been in a fight  with  Van Helsing,  or  for Tonys number two Vamp it was Van Hastings ( lack of elevator movement is my excuse) but Vampires are hard to kill , so they have all been taken back to their dark ,damp shed’s  feasted on super glue and epoxy ready to fly again.

Another refreshing change, Mick is  still flying  the Yak he had in January!!, Sadly he  seems to have passed on the crash a week title to Steve M   who seems to be doing his very best to keep the American economy afloat, with a shipment of new foam jets heading to the UK every week.

The club has welcomed five new members this year, which has almost  taken us up to a full compliment, I hope they enjoy their time with us , but beware, it won’t be long before you all start appearing in this blog.

Finally a bit of advice, if you need a hand launch  , don’t ask  Phil , his throwing technique is so weak,  a three year old girl could do better , if he was throwing a dart, it wouldn’t reach the board, even after that pathetic run up!!

All the best

Peter.s. field

Andy P.