Some RC models

Now when you get into the scale side of things how's this one. The builder not only built the aircraft & machined scale turnbuckles for all the rigging but at the time I was invited to photograph the aircraft it was one of it's early test flights. He showed me the start of the scale radial engine he was also making & I heard later he also built very accurate scale machine guns for it.

A better look at the engine under construction. He did complete it & had a video of it running on line a year or so later.

That is a beautiful model!

They have an FB5 at the R.A.F. Museum, Hendon on the old airfield. I lived in Colindale and my father was stationed at Hendon. We were about 50 yards from the airfield fence and I used to cycle all over the airfield and around the "American hangers" which are part of the museum now. The airfield was closed down at the time and was a transit place for people posted abroad.

One day we were riding around the hangers and noticed that a corrugated iron wall pannel was flapping a bit loose and investigated. The hanger was full of old aircraft. So being 15 year olds we did the obvious

I can claim that I sat in the cockpit of a Mitsubishi Zero and a Bristol fighter and I must stress that although teenagers we were VERY careful in there. That was 62 years ago and still clear in my mind. I left Colindale to go to R.A.F. St Athans for 18 months to learn my trade in the R.A.F. as an aircraft electrician. Hated St A and swore NEVER to go back, but I loved the work on the aircraft.

Jonzjob wrote in post #19348795
That is a beautiful model!

They have an FB5 at the R.A.F. Museum, Hendon on the old airfield. I lived in Colindale and my father was stationed at Hendon. We were about 50 yards from the airfield fence and I used to cycle all over the airfield and around the "American hangers" which are part of the museum now. The airfield was closed down at the time and was a transit place for people posted abroad.

One day we were riding around the hangers and noticed that a corrugated iron wall pannel was flapping a bit loose and investigated. The hanger was full of old aircraft. So being 15 year olds we did the obvious

I can claim that I sat in the cockpit of a Mitsubishi Zero and a Bristol fighter and I must stress that although teenagers we were VERY careful in there. That was 62 years ago and still clear in my mind. I left Colindale to go to R.A.F. St Athans for 18 months to learn my trade in the R.A.F. as an aircraft electrician. Hated St A and swore NEVER to go back, but I loved the work on the aircraft.

You've got a very interesting background there which fits well with our shared photography hobby. You also have a lot more interesting vintage warbirds over on your side of the pond as well as far more air shows for them (pre Covid times).

I went back into my old albums using the software I had use at the time they were created & it still shows captions I added that isn't visible in other current software. I found the link to the FB 5 builders on line web site & then from there to his YouTube videos of the FB 5. They are here. https://www.youtube.co​m …?search_query=1​gypsyflyer

They show the finished aircraft, the motor & a great explanation of how it runs etc.

The following pictures are of a Pre WWI passenger plane. It is a model of the Handley-Page Imperial Airways "Helena". The gentleman that built/owned it was over 90 and just delightful. He had it hanging in his garage for years (since the '80's) and allowed a friend to convert it from Rubber power to RC Electric. It was a really nicely built plane and a real delight to see fly after so many years.

One photo per, so here it is in flight. LOL. And, yeah I realize it's a far shot with a small lens, but that was how I was in 2010. LOL!

Met a lot of really nice people, one of which was a man named Dave Stacker. In 2011, he flew a very small model of an ME262 made by GWS. The model actually flew well as long as it was at full throttle. Dave stalled it on final approach and it went it. As it had rained the day before it was a little wet out in what was called the "swamp" where the plane went down. I went with Dave to search for his plane. He "recovered it before I could get a photo, but I took one of the next best thing. Flight photo first, then the "other" one.

This was a fairly goot imprint of the plane in the soft nud. LOL! We both had to laugh at it, Dave laughed with tears in his eyes though.

That Handley-Page is very nice. Looks great in the air. I've seen a few different ME 262 foamie EDF's crash over the years myself.

cicopo wrote in post #19235832
I hadn't noticed this thread until today but as many here know I'm into RC photography but I'm also into RC soaring which was the evolution of realizing I was either going to break a leg running after my free flight or get seriously injured rescuing it from the trees it landed in. My biggest glider is scratch built from the plans included in the kit a friend (and my instructor back then) built. At the time it was one of the top competition models out there & it's still a popular choice. It's a Grand Esprit but converted to E power which I've done to all of my gliders.
With the Covid "stay at home" advice (or so called lock downs) I decided to build one of the more famous old timers over the winter & I'm getting down to the final bits & pieces after countless hours of making parts. It's a Carl Goldberg Valkyrie, and I must say he was a master of design with this thing. He must have had very good math skills to engineer this thing.

My gliders as of the time I returned to the flying side of RC when new neighbours allowed me to fly on their property behind my house. (Previous owners has animals on that land). I think that was around 2010. The second photo is of the first wing for the Valkyrie after I removed it from the building table. It's incredibly light in weight but there is still more bracing to glue in. That's the current step to both wings & it' going well but again slow tedious work.

Hosted photo: posted by cicopo in
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forum: Transportation

Hosted photo: posted by cicopo in
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forum: Transportation

Those Grand Esprit's are one of the most beautiful sailplanes ever kitted..

A couple of old film images of my Dodgson Designs Camano,

Some of my images...

A couple more fantastic models...

One of the things that happened to me in 2010, was that I became acquainted with a bunch of modelers and flyers (pilots). These guts were all really good at what they did. The magnet of the group was a man named John Morgan. John was a model builder extraordinaire! Through the years he build planes to be flown at Las Vegas Ace-In-The-Hole. Producing one amazing aircraft after another, all scratch built. He was a NAVY man and enjoyed replicating many planes of historic significance to the Navy, but also did others of WWII and the Vietnam eras.

Scratch building models in scale can be tedious and time consuming, then there is the added task of creating a model that will actually fly. John did this year after year and always in such detail, it was always amazing to see one of his creations taxi out and lift off. John built models of, a B-24, ME163, A-1D Skyraider, AC-119 Gunship, and an F-6-F Hellcat, an F-7-F Tigercat, just to name a few.

John's nemisis was jet powered planes. He was a big fan of electric power and just didn't have much faith in ducted fans. This eventually changed, but in 2011, John did a model of the ME163 and chose to conceal (as best he could) a prop power in the nose. It still looked impressive in the air and flew very nicely.

I present it here. First two are the prep and launch (bungee).

John's the one standing, without a camera.

Some flight shots.