Grahams very attractive DH71 Tiger Moth Racer from JB Aviation has moved on quite a bit since we saw it two weeks ago, and it is now very close to completion.

As a reminder, on the right is the stage that the fuselage and wings had reached when last we saw it. Graham was busy covering then and, as you see, had made a start on the wings, but with still a fair amount of work to be done on them. 

Below we can see the side panel of the covering ready for fixing, having been cut using a template prepared on the PC. This one took several A4 sheets on end, but the method enables Geoff to get good cuts with minimum waste. See also the completed wing as Geoff drills the hole for the single wing mounting bolt.

Now we see an almost-finished model, and looking very nice indeed. Not long after these pictures were taken, Graham completed the radio installation and has also applied the decals and it seems that we can look forward to some shots of the finished model fairly soon.

That tiger striping looks particularly attractive, I think, and the way the engine is tucked away in the cowl is very neat. Click any of the above pictures for an even closer look at the detail.

The Tiger Moth DH71 has nothing to do with the famous bi-plane that pinched its name; only two examples of the monoplane were built by De Havilland in 1927. The model has a 60" wingspan, flies on four channels and is designed for a ·40 - ·46 two-stroke or ·48 - ·52 four-stroke.

geoffers@ntlworld.com

On January 7th, Mike Masters told me had just bought a FLAIR CUB kit as his entry model into aero-modelling. "Three days ago," he said, "I didn't know what an elevator was", as he asked us to bear with him at his lack of knowledge. At that time, he hoped he might have it ready within a month - in fact, it was flying just one week later on Sunday 14th at Wrexham Model Airplane Club, which he had just joined!

Follow Mike, an absolute beginner, as he builds his first model. Click the thumbnail images for a larger view.

"It was very daunting when I first removed all the bits from the box and laid them out."

Mike sticks his plans up on the wall for easy reference

Fuselage sides and doublers drying under pressure - some weights!

Bulkheads, formers and servo trays all nicely installed. See that Thunder Tiger engine box in the background?

Wings tips and tail surfaces complete, and is that other piece something to do with the cowl?

Fuselage now complete and tail surfaces fitted

Looking even more like a plane now!

In goes the engine

Covered and painted and looking really good!

Ready for take-off - well done, Mike!

Mike records his special thanks to everyone at HOBBY CORNER in Wrexham; "without their help the plane would never have been finished -especially getting the darn engine to run", he says!

Matsecsol@aol.com 

Congratulations, Mike; personally, I think you have done really well and I'm sure others would agree.

Share something of Mike's enthusiasm on his first outing to the field on the post box page and get to know him a bit better on personal profiles.

Let's see what Chris has been up to in the last fortnight on this fascinating project. I need to show you the picture of the full size plane again, otherwise you might not believe what's going on. This is the assymetric WWII Luftwaffe observation and recce plane. Chris is attempting a balsa and ply construction, adapting some plans he has for a foam-built version.

Here's the crew pod taking shape. This is located on the starboard side of the centre section of the wing, which also runs through the main fuselage. Here you can see the cut away sides of the pod where it arches over the wing.

The picture on the right is the underside of the centre wing section, showing the ribs, main spar and leading edge in position, and the top skin glued in place.

Here's the crew pod placed over the wing section, just to give some idea of the way it is positioned.

Thanks to Chris for the latest news on this fascinating project. We'll be back for more!

chardie@lineone.net