• Here's an item or two from the latest catalogues, magazine advertising or websites  - not  necessarily all new products on the market, but items large and small that may be of interest. 

• If you contact any supplier as a result of reading this page, please be sure to mention ModelFlight.

This picture was discovered by Pat Tritle's wife and passed on by Pat who commented, "Don't know who this little critter is, but it sure must have been one tough day!" This is the last pussy picture to appear on this page as it will be re-titled as from the May issue - any bright ideas for a new name for this feature?

Fowler Technology is Brad Fowler's platform for the marketing of some extremely innovative products of particular interest to model helicopter enthusiasts, and aims to become one of the leading designers of high-quality model helicopter parts and accessories. Brad lives in the South West of Western Australia, about 2 hours drive south of Perth; he has a keen interest in model helicopter design and has been flying models for at least 18 years. Flying a number of different types and sizes, he has been involved in mechanical design/inventing for the last 25 years. He uses the latest 3D CAD design software to assist with his designs and rapid prototyping.

In particular, Brad is currently concentrating on the rotor control system of model helis and has recently designed a completely new CFC (Collective Flybar Control) Rotor Head for 30/50 size helicopters in advanced and scale versions. A size 60 version is also now under development.

Both versions of the new head have fewer parts than other designs and offer increased flight stability. Tests on pre-production versions have all proved extremely encouraging, and very positive comments were made by none other than Curtis Youngblood when he tested the new head at the Shepparton Helicopter Spectacular 2002 which was featured on our January photo gallery.

Pictured here is the advanced version of the rotor head which, as you can see, is a very clean, uncluttered design (click the pic to see it in more detail). It has 25 fewer parts than the standard Ergo head, whilst the scale version actually has 54 fewer parts which gives it an even cleaner look, ideal for scale models. Other key features claimed for the head are

• Superb stability and flight performance.
• Closed loop control system with zero control slop.
• Adjustable cyclic input.
• Adjustable phasing angle.
• Positive delta 3 offset with leading blade input.
• No washout assembly.
• No bell mixing arms.
• No direct pitch input.
• No flight loads on the control rods.

Brad's current manufacturer has recently ceased operations, so he is currently looking for a new manufacturer to produce the heads for him and he hopes they will be available around September this year. Brad will welcome any suggestions for a new manufacturer - e-mail him at wa3d@bigpond.com

Website http:// www.users.bigpond.com/wa3d/

Keep an eye on Brad's site, heli fans - I reckon this is going to be worth waiting for! I will also bring you any further news that Brad may send me.