Progress ?   History

This lunacy started when Gary and other half + kids and myself went to the local Flying Club's bi-annual display. It was supposed to be a day out for the kids (big and small).

The kids got bored after about 2 hours and so did we. However, there was one display of formation flying by three planes which interested me. Two planes were attempting to follow as closely as possible, the plane in front.

Having been active as a kid of 18 in flying Control-line Combat at Club and local Area, I could see potential for the same, but without wires.

What was so difficult ? No problem - all it needed was ;

a) Learn to fly.

b) Build own design plane.

c)  Tie on a streamer and go for it.

So Gary and I resolved to pool our resources, build our own Trainer and learn to fly.

A trip to the model shop at Slough and we came away with a Sanwa TX,Irvine Tutor-40 and Irvine .40 IC engine.

Having duly built the plane (which took around 7 hours of checking and double-checking all had been fitted correctly, we pronounced it finished. A period of starting and running in the engine in the back garden ensued, setting the tickover and cut-off properly. All surfaces seemed to be moving in the correct direction (we thought) , so it was ready for a test flight.

We could not wait for the Sunday to test at the Flying Club (impatience took over) so went to the local Cricket pitch and checked if we had permission for a test flight.- we had !

So we duly fired it up and I was promoted to pilot ?  Pretty as a picture, isn't it  !

Unfortunately, this process was curtailed when I took off , then dead-sticked and hit the ground nose first - not a good start.We had never heard of nose up engine tuning !   Damage was light (joke) and is shown below.

Moral (we learned) of the story is - join a Club and avoid ;

a) Endangering all in range (houses, people(ourselves), cats and the local wildlife).

b) No Insurance. (could have been costly)

c) This result.

b) Having to re-build the plane.

So we joined a Club.

At this point Gary and I diverted slightly to get to our goal.

I went to the Club "bring and buy" sale and bought a Piper Cub Trainer (called Kathleen(don't ask !) - thanks Mick)).

Gary purchased another Tutor 40 (called "Tutor-2") and proceeded to build it himself. This time it took only 4 hours as he had already done the practise run !

Some progress was made, but getting one or two flights weekly (Sundays) does not give enough practise time, and consequently, progress was not fast enough. Gary however, was progressing quickly and was able to take-off, circuit and just about land which I found perplexing - why was he making so much progress so fast ? I later found out he had been in the Model Shop on the PC Simulator for 2hours per day, three days per week !

At this point fate intervened when I flew too far downwind and hit the ground trying to retrieve it, breaking the fuselage.I also learned about colour schemes and orientation very quickly ! Facing a large repair time, I explored other alternatives and saw Kevin with a SPAD PBF (Pizza Box Flyer) on the field. ( PBF plans at www.spadtothebone.com)

This was so radical (with an Irvine .53 it had to be ), I had to find out more.

So I built a large 70" SPAD for a .48 MDS engine (one gets over-ambitious sometimes). I called it Cosmick-1 Cos Mick said it would never fly !

But it did just (thanks Andy) due to outstanding bravery and dedication to madness of our Instructor. It certainly was not Cosmic ! - the plane was too heavy (7.5lbs + on my inaccurate scales) so was scrapped - well - not quite.

Cosmick-2 was a cut down version to 48" span and showed some potential, did fly ok except the plane was difficult to trim. The problem was that both of these planes were out of my league (ie - not Trainers).

Buoyed by my success (it flew !), I looked at Trainers on the www.spadtothebone.com site and discovered a plane called a "Debonair" which suited my MDS .48.

So I built two of them (& helped with Ted's Blue Meenie) in sync. which took around 4 hours each.(named Blue Train and Red Train repectively) You have to name your planes - these things take on a life of their own sometimes !

Blue Train formed the mainstay of my Training planes, with Red Train as a second backup in case of a failure to get in the air for any reason. What this did was to keep me training at all opportunities, thus making progress quicker. Both planes are alive and well today, despite my attempts at the opposite. In fact, despite my horrendous landings, Blue Train amazed by coming through all of it with scratches. 

I soloed on these planes and was looking forward to taking my BMFA "A" test, once I had practised all of the various circuits and simulated deadsticks. Landing over the trees and hedge needed a lot of practise. Flying the envelope on these planes soon became no challenge. A second plane was needed - smaller, lighter, aerobatic, and faster.

At this time I had managed to get some time off on Friday afternoons so built two modified SPAD DPS's (DasPlasStick) from plans from the SPAD web site. Of course they had to be called "Cosmick-3.1" and "Cosmick 3.2") Kevin also managed to get a few Fridays off (surprise that !) so he test flew them for me (what a hero !).

This plane flew over my head once and caused Kevin some merriment - he has never had a Tx thrust in his hands as fast as mine that day ! Shades of "some have greatness thrust upon them" ? These planes will do the book on a .46 or .48 and are still running perfectly today. In fact I may use one for my "B" test !

Having got the hang of aerobatics and got somewhat diverted from my Combat goals, I felt the need for speed. I had built a kit Combat .40 from 4Xtreme and had it test flown by Glenn ( medal {CDM ?) for bravery)) called Vlad-1.The Combat 40 is really a Correx fused SPAD Dagger from the SPAD web site. The dimensions are identical.

Gary's version bit the dust when Glenn launched it and inadvertently turned the battery switch off (who put that switch in such a stupid place ?) The resultant full throttle loops had all and sundry racing for cover and Gary playing with inoperative Tx sticks ! New fuselage required ! Made one from drainpipe and the plane has yet to be re-flown.

It turned out be far quicker than I expected so was put to one side while I came to terms with the DPS. After some time with the DPS I returned to Vlad-1 and soon adjusted to the difference in speed and characteristics.

Round about this time, I was advised by our esteemed Club Chairman that it was "about time I did my "A" test", so promptly booked a test.  Due to plastic v balsa politics, I built a Balsa Tutor40 and flew it once to make sure the motor was ok and to trim it out. Did not fly it again until my test and passed first attempt. Put plane away and have not used it since. May use it for Club Training, but I prefer to buddy-box the SPADs. They will last longer !

I was not happy with Vlad-1 due to its flight characteristics so built two modified Daggers for Combat. I was disappointed to find they exhibited exactly the same problem ( See the Planes section for much more detailed information ) I used Vlad-1, which was by now looking the worse for wear and tear, as a testbed to identify and prove the problem and  correct it. The non-modified daggers are on the left below - modified Vlad-1 is on right.  

The Daggers were named Vlad-2.1 and Vlad-2.2. Having proved the issue, I modified the Daggers accordingly.

Having test flown both, they are ready for battle with a Tx each for some serious Combat - yes please Kevin - anytime now is good !

With the speed bit out of the way, I started to take notice of the way Funflys were designed to fly slowly, but using larger control surfaces for instant response. Cliff was flying Limbo Dancers and the like close in and Kevin ( it's all his fault - honest !) intrigued me by turning up at the field with a SPAD3D (overpowered as usual with another Irvine .53) and proceeded to show us its capabilities - I was impressed. Unfortunately, in practise, the Aluminium U tube bent once too many times and eventually fractured.

So I built two Funflys (SPAD3DT's) called SPUD-1 and SPUD-2.

These planes are great fun but are really for calmer days, not windy ones.Note my super home made Aluminium undercarriage did not last too long - should have used Dural !

I wanted something a bit quicker and more manouverable than Vlad-2 so I came up with ;

a) no moment arm so no fuse.

b) no or little aerofoil so less drag.

The result was "Dracula" ;

A 3channel mixed elevon Combat SPAD weighing less than Vlad-2. Self-made decals include Dracula and Bat on wing, Coffin on fuse sides. Kit Rx from Micron.  Should turn and loop quicker too ! First test flights .................................................... see Planes section !

The next project was "Anduril" which was not a qualified success. Anduril is an attempt at replicating a "flying wing" like the Control Line models of old. I was tempted to have no fins, but it looks better with them. See Combat section for more details.

The next Project was Ironmonger which was an improved version of Anduril. (see Combat section)

I decided I was getting too good at designing Combat planes, and needed a challenge.

So never having built a low wing Sport Plane - Demon Air (who said Mickey Airlines ?) was the result. (see Sport section)

Having some Club Combat sessions with Vlad-2 on the patch made Combat very visible.This started a flood (well - 6 actually) of requests for plans for a Combat Trainer - Kombat Train MK4 was the result. Plan is on this web site for download. (see Combat section) A Combat League for interested parties was the result. (see Combat League section)

                        The "Trainee" version with 48" wingspan.                The "Expert" version with 44" wingspan.

Having thoroughly explored fixed wing design, I had only the V - Tail option left to test.

I decided I needed a new challenge, preferably something I knew nothing about - Helicopters. This an old (around 10 years old) Shuttle Z needing some TLC. The learning curve will take longer. (see Helicopter section)

Having sorted the Heli., and learned how to set it up properly, and document the learning curve, (see "Setting up a Helicopter" in the Helicopter section) , all I have to do is learn to fly it !

I was looking for a use for my limited remaining Correx - thus "Spad Streak" was born. A Speed delta planform. It flew well but initial design needed some mods.

Having broken my first heli (Shuttle-1), I decided to get another to learn on (Shuttle-2). Not having proper facilities at Flackwell for Helis and fed up with fence, cows, distance to field, 15mins. in each hour on a strip etc., joined Skyline/Red Kite (see www.redkiteflyingschool.com)   to improve my flying skills.

Decided to build a spare heli. to maintain practise time when learning and this Hawk Pro is the result. Used the engine and parts from Shuttle-1.

The Viper Combat machine was designed to improve on KT4. Testing showed  some teething problems as usual, mostly with the V-Tail, but have been partly resolved after much experimentation.

The Viper metamorphosed into a normal horizontal tailplane while the Venom continued experiments into the V- Tail possibilities. The Venom was modified to Viper layout and went to Brian's collection.

The Raptor90SE  was bought for later 3D Aerobatics (when I can fly Helicopters properly) 

. 

Shuttle-3 will be used specifically for Aerobatics / 3D learning and will get frequently bent.

Nexus (donated by Mick) has had many modifications to get it to fly properly, These include flapping head parts, Gyro, Battery, fuel tube, new swashplate, header tank, mechanical setup etc.

Twister 3D Storm is a commercial replacement for the original Twister 3D (which was very good). This one is more of an animal !

Current Projects

Planes

1) Building "Club Train" - Club Trainer/Aerobatic Trainer (low priority).

2) Bossanova completed with 2.4Ghz Hitec radio - still to be tested.

4) Extreme Lite completed with 2.4Ghz radio - still to be tested.

Helis

1) Learning Aerobatics / 3D. 

2) R22 chassis needs new gearbox due to bearing failure.

3) 2nd Hawk awaiting broken part on starter shaft.

4) Planning to move both Aerobatic Shuttles to 2.4Ghz.

5) Article needed on Web Site re. Upgrading a Shuttle for Aerobatics / 3D.

6) Add Graham's Helis to Web Site.

Latest Design idea is ........................................................................................................ you will just have to wait and see.

Germination is slow in the Winter and flying takes over in the Summer !

Last History Update 20/04/2010

Return to Home Page