CONGRATULATIONS TO RICHARD CRAPP!

RICHARD CRAPP sent me this picture on May 22nd, after just returning from Boscombe Down, UK. He had been taking part in the Scale Team Trials, where he took second place with his Waco; MICK REEVES came first with his Sopwith Pup. This means that Richard will be off to Switzerland in August to represent the UK in the Euro Championships. Third man in the team will be DAVE TOYER with his Tempest. Richard told me that ModelFlight was the first to get news of the results!

Richard is a Master Baker and lives in High Wycombe, Bucks, UK. He was 12th in the Championships in Perigue, France in 1997 with his Black Widow, 7th in large models at the South Africa World Championships with his Waco and 8th in the Euro Champs in Prague, 1999 - again with his Waco.

This picture of Richard's Waco S3HD-A was taken at Aston Down last year. The 'plane was designed by Claude McCoullough, Sigs retired chief designer who Richard met with his model at '95 Top Gun. When someone can be found to draw the plan, Bob Holman intends to market it. The model is powered by a Laser 300V, weighs 13kg and has a gun and bomb sound system. This low, close shot makes it very hard to distinguish whether this really is a model or not. Click the small pic for a good view and tell me, is that a bit of a model stand on the ground there? If so, this is a very large model by any standards even when taking the perspective of the shot into account! 

on the soapbox

by Frank Drecchio

from "the other side of the pond"

Being a frequent visitor to newsgroups and Internet forums, I have seen a recurring theme that surfaces over and over again as new blood is infused into the radio-control hobby. This theme manifests itself in the form of frequently-asked questions about what the beginner needs to buy to get started in r/c.

Now, I am mainly a helicopter flyer, so most of the newsgroups I visit cater to rotary wing types. The story is the same for fixed-wing flyers. When I first got interested in the hobby (a long, long time ago), Bill Gates was in diapers and even Mr. Spock didn't foresee the Internet. How did I know what to buy? I guess I just used the resources available at that time - namely, my feet!

The first time I saw a radio-controlled plane I was in my teens. I thought it was a control line plane on extremely long lines! After I watched the plane fly around for a few minutes over trees and hills, I realized that there was no way it could be hooked to any lines. Then I spotted the pilot, but was afraid to approach him until the plane landed for fear of getting tangled in the lines - I still wasn't sure!

The pilot was a very nice fellow who explained how the plane was flown and told me about the club he belonged to and invited me to the next meeting. I had flown some control line and free flight and knew r/c existed but had never seen one until that moment; I was thrilled and the hook was set. I knew that I would have one someday.

Anyway, I went to a meeting, hung out at the flying field, asked questions and absorbed as much as I could. I saw what was easy to build and fly. I saw how the radio was installed and how to start an engine. My next stop was the local hobby shop where I made my purchase based on what I had seen, felt heard and smelled.

I hope you can see where I am going with this - I mean, why do people these days think that the Internet is the answer to everything? Perhaps for some things, it can be. For something as important as a major commitment such as your first r/c outfit, I don't believe that the newsgroups should be the primary (sometimes only!) source of information. I understand that you can now buy automobiles over the the Internet, but I still feel more comfortable going to the dealership and taking a test drive.

If I were starting out today, I would probably use the Internet to find hobby shops and flying clubs in my area. Then I would turn off the PC, get in my car (or walk, or ride my bicycle) to those places to watch real r/c people flying real r/c aircraft. I would ask lots of questions and watch and listen some more. When I felt as though I could hold a reasonably intelligent conversation about r/c, I would whip out my plastic card and make my first purchase.

What I am seeing nowadays is new people showing up at my flying field with an armload of new stuff that they mail ordered in the blind and want me to teach them how to fly. Some of the airplanes aren't even trainers. They have no idea of how to start an engine or what stick controls what. It makes my job as an instructor that much more difficult and usually ends up slowing down the student's progress because the model was built incorrectly or he/she has a non-standard radio or engine and replacement parts are not available locally.

Start with a proper trainer - you know it makes sense!

I am not going to tell anyone what he or she should buy using this medium of the 'net. I either stay out of the conversation or advise the beginner to seek out someone in their area to get them started, even if it means a day trip to do so. The dividend will be paid later.

What really irritates me is newsgroups posters who make specific recommendations to beginners when they have no idea of their skill level, budget, age or IQ. On top of that you will see the next response 180 degrees from the last, and then a flame war starts. I pity the new person who has to shuffle through one of these messes.

With helicopters, we usually use exotic computer radio systems with all sorts of mixing and other parameters. These settings are specific for one helicopter, namely your own. What I have seen is newbies asking for those settings for their helicopter. Worse is that somebody actually responds! The settings won't work unless the two machines are built exactly the same - that is, same servos, same engine with same amount of time on it and an identical throttle arm position, same exhaust system, same length control rods, same weight, same gyro, etc. - well, you get the picture! What are the chances of two guys, 3,000 miles apart, unknown to each other, building two identical machines? The "borrowed" settings would be useless at best and dangerous at worst. Would you want to be responsible for the new guy's helicopter going out of control because he used your Tx setting and didn't tell you that his throttle arm control was set the opposite way of yours? No thanks. Once again, I stay out of it and tell them to find someone to help them even if they have to pay. 

If you are thinking of getting involved in the r/c hobby, start at the local level first. Learn all you can about what the flyers in your area are using. Once you get that knowledge, then you can make your first purchase with the confidence that you can get the help you will need to get started. There is nothing out there that will benefit the beginner more than hands-on help and advice from someone who is standing in front of you and is already doing what you want to do.

Good Luck and Happy Flying.

a different kind of model-making

When I was visiting my son's place the other weekend, his neighbour invited me round to have a look at a static model that his son, MARK CURTIS and business partner NICK PARSONS had just completed. When I saw it, I thought you might be interested to see it too. 

Mark and Nick have comparatively recently started up in business as professional model-makers and they have built this 1/72nd scale Airbus A310 as a specimen model to demonstrate their skills to potential customers. A wooden master was first made and then separate moulds taken for the fuselage, wings, tail fin and tailplane. The moulds were then used to make the fuselage in fibreglass and the wings, etc., in resin.

The paint job is multi-coats of cellulose, hand-lined with a lining pen, and is absolutely superb.

Although the model is not particularly large, the wings and tail elements are removable for transportation, slotting extremely accurately and neatly into the fuselage on steel pins.

Nick and Mark trade under the name of M.A.D.E. Modelmakers and are located at Southleigh, Devon, UK. Their telephone number is 01395 680575. Their craftsmanship is top-quality and they deserve to succeed.