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about ModelFlight - it's virtually a model flying club!

ModelFlight sets out to be a sort of virtual model flying club. It is a friendly, open website intended for the enjoyment and participation of all model flight enthusiasts of all levels of experience and any discipline within the model flight world.

Every page on the site is open for contributions from flight modellers - technical articles, pictures of your models, personal profiles, hints and tips, news and views, etc.

ModelFlight is purely amateur and non-commercial in that it generates no revenue and carries no paid advertising. Nevertheless, contributions from distributors, dealers, publishers or whoever are extremely welcome, as is news of new products.

The site is designed for easy browsing and I attempt to keep down-loading time to a minimum to avoid frustration - and 'phone bills for those who have to pay all the time they are on-line.

The site is updated every two weeks, although very occasionally an item may be carried for up to four weeks if it is of special interest or I'm a bit short of material!

Every issue of ModelFlight since its start is now available on-line from the archive which is accessible from the main navigation bar on every page. This is something I set up after encouragement and help from Gary Clemans-Gibbon, a reader who also happens to own an internet hosting company. Gary is also webmaster of RC Pages, a free classified advertising site for modellers worldwide

ModelFlight does not set out to be 'high-tech' - that's something best covered by the modelling press who have more easy access to the best brains in the business - but if you care to contribute something of a technical nature then I will be delighted to publish it on the site. By the same token, this is also the place where beginners are most welcome.

The joy of the site as I see it - and hopefully for you as well - is the fun of getting to know a bit about fellow enthusiasts; virtual visits to model flying clubs all over the world; looking at other people's model aircraft; sharing information, hints and tips and seeing your work on the web.

So, welcome to ModelFlight. Use the e-mail facility that appears at the foot of every page to introduce yourself to the rest of us and join the fun!

about yours truly . . .

I'm Reg Heath. I am 63 years of age, married to Dorothy, and took early retirement when I reached the age of 60. Our five children are well and truly grown up and we now have five grandchildren, with number six now on the way!

We live in Andover in the South of England and have done so for virtually all our 42 years of married life, except for two years spent working in Papua New Guinea - that was eighteen years ago.

Just over half my working life was spent in the printing industry, firstly as a craftsman and then in management where I finally became Managing Director of a large magazine and book printing and binding company. At the age of 42, I left the printing industry to undertake charity work in administration which I continued to do until retirement (including those two years in Papua New Guinea and some of the most exciting flying - only as a passenger - in single-engine Cessnas that you can imagine!).

I started my interest in model flight at the time of my retirement when I fulfilled a long-held ambition to build and learn to fly a model helicopter - an Hirobo Shuttle ZXX. I did not know of a local club which flew helicopters so I took basic lessons at a local model flying school and had to progress (slowly) on my own after that.

In February of last year (2000), I decided to have a go at fixed-wing models and have built an Easy Pigeon powered glider, a New Yamamoto 1600 trainer, and an ATS Kite. I have recently completed a SIG Citabria and a Tiger Sport ARTF. I belong to Test Valley Model Flying Club where I am still a fixed-wing novice! I am also a member of JB Model Flying Club and manage that club's web site. Other interests include music, computer flight simulation - especially Microsoft FS2000, a bit of keep-fit, modest cycling, messing about on my computer and gardening, the latter mainly because it must be done! I am happy to be contacted personally by e-mail - in my case you can use the ModelFlight e-mail address.

It was in January 2000 that my computer interests turned to the idea of building a website, but I wanted it to have some purpose other than just a personal one - I couldn't imagine anybody wanting to visit such a site anyway! I wondered if I could possibly do anything that might appeal to the model-flight world but that would not be limited by my own lack of knowledge and experience. I then came up with the idea of a virtual flying club where experienced modellers and beginners alike could make their own contributions and enjoy the fun of the hobby on a world-wide basis - and thus ModelFlight came into being!

The first appearance of ModelFlight was on January 30, 2000, and I have been up-loading an update on a two-weekly basis since. That rate of updating is quite a challenge and each time I put a new update on the web, I wonder how I am possibly going to have enough material for the next one! Actually, it depends on you, so please keep me busy and happy!