Current Projects
Paul
Gaffney’s Ripmax Spitfire
Paul recently took delivery of
this large scale model of the Supermarine Spitfire
from Ripmax. As stated earlier the first one came apart in
the air as there was
insufficient glue around the
wing bolt plate. Paul was in contact
with Ripmax and
when it was explained to them
what had happened, a new kit arrive Free of Charge.
Enjoy these pics of the model
which is fitted with retracts, flaps & 120 four stroke power.
Nice low and close pass.
Nice low and slow flyby.. this model really looks the part.
Paul and Dave retrieving the
Spit.. this gives an idea of the size of the model.
A
Brace of New Scale Aerobats
We have a picture here of
Bill’s latest ARTF assembly namely, the Seagull Models
Edge 540 powered by a Saito
125 Golden Knight 4 stroke, turning a 16 x 6
Master K series
propeller. The little secret behind this
picture is that this WAS the
first Edge from Bill. After a silly bout of showboating, the model
below bit the dust
when unable to pull out of a
vertical dive following a snap roll executed at too low
an altitude. A second model is already on the building
board and the the long term
plan is STILL to fit a smoke
System for painting the sky during aerobatics !!
Following hard on the heels of
Bill’s Edge is the Extra 300 of Alex. As
you can see it
is well established in the air
and flies impeccably on it’s Saito 110 Four Stroke.
The next picture is a new
departure for the club. We recently
welcomed two
long established control line
flyers into the club, namely Stoo Holland and Eanna
Healy. They want to sharpen their control line
flying during the week days while
flying some R/C at
weekends. On their first visit, Stoo
gave a demonstration of
F2B control line stunt
flying. His model is a Brodak Cardinal
profile model.
A lot of the guys on the day
had never seen control line flying and
were amazed
at the level of precise
control exhibited by Stoo. They were all wondering where
the servos were.. !!!
The next pic is a hybrid from
Damian. It uses the fuselage from
Damian’s Jamara
Piper Cub and the wing from
the Cermark Graduate low winger. The
wingspan
is approx a foot less than the
original Cub wing but that did not seem to matter
as the model flew very
well.
A
Brace of Fournier RF4s
The following are pictures of 2
Fournier RF4 electric motor glider models which are
been built by William Bowles
and by Manuel Teeken respectively.
William’s model
is a resurrection of one built
some years ago and using an electric bell motor to
replace the Cox 049 Glow
motor.
Manuel’s model is constructed
from scratch from the WestWings kit. Again, it will be
electric powered and is taking
shape nicely. One does hope that
placing it on that
lovely dining table is not a
permanent occurrence !!.. I know my
life insurance
could not cover such liberties
being taken with the furniture !!
Paddy’s
Stampe Bi-Plane G-USTO
Recently
we were treated to a visit by G-USTO, Paddy Doherty’s ¼ scale Stampe
Bi-Plane
on Sunday 13th and also Sunday 20th. G-USTO travels in it’s own custom
made
trailer which was also made by Paddy. A
very powerful OPS 60cc twin
cylinder
engine, converted to petrol and swinging a 22” x 10” prop provides
plenty
of air over the surfaces to lift this 11kg model into the air with
authority.
Fully
licenced as a large model with the MACI, G-USTO
had only flown
approximately
3 times before visiting Ballivor.
However, over its 2 weekend
visits,
it has now notched up 4 additional flights.
First flight was undertaken
by a
nervous Secretary, Bill, quickly followed by a second flight by Alex.
The
pattern was repeated on the second visit where more of the flight
envelope
was explored. Loops, Rolls, Stall Turns
and the obligatory
Take-Off
and Landings was the extent of the manoeuvring repertoire.. !
It was
a privilege and a pleasure to fly G-USTO... many thanks Paddy on behalf
of
myself and Alex and the lads and lassies who were there to see it.
The
following are a sequence of pictures taken on the day.
Paddy
enjoying the purring tick-over of the OPS... !
Yikes,
Alex, this is heavier than a flight of
ME-109s !!!
Hold
it there, Damien... I’m outa here !!!
Lovely
sequence of the take off run
Some
nice fly-bys over the strip.. it handles
like a trainer..!
Coming
in over the threshold nice and gentle !
Bill lining G-USTO up
for her first landing..!! Damien on
Safety Watch !! Hugh mesmerised !!
First
landing in Ballivor... Damien high
tailing it outa there !! Hugh caught in
the headlights !! Bill
stuck
to the ground with terror !!!
A
happy bunch of flyers & none more happy than Paddy & Bill !!! Twas a piece of you know what says Bill !!
Paddy
and Alex starting the dismantling process..
or was it the assembly process !!
A
couple of close-up shots of the OPS twin cylinder, 60cc engine converted to
petrol
Bill’s
New Workshop !
I have been making major changes to my workshop
lately. Having spent over a decade upstairs in a converted but unheated
attic, the amount of ‘STUFF’ that I have accumulated in addition to the actual
number of flying, non flying, half built and un-started models has made a move
necessary. As this picture shows,
a lot of stuff all in the wrong places and vulnerable. What are not on view are the models shoved
under the eaves.. !!
I am lucky enough to have a very large garage so after
some serious discussions with ‘her good self’ it was decided that I would
divide the garage into a 1/3rd and 2/3rd split.
Guess who got the 2/3rd bit !! Yup... I did.. So I
erected a stud partition followed by the installation of the washing machine,
tumble dryer, small freezer, recycling bins etc in the small bit. Up went
a complete new set of shelves for all the household stuff that should not be in
the kitchen. And I thought I had too much stuff ??? !!!
So once that side of the job was finished and working,
I turned my attention to my side of the wall. The layout was
designed based on a strong workbench for electrical equipment such as bandsaw,
pillar drill, grinder, electric sander, scroll saw etc..
The required number of electrical sockets was worked
out and then multiplied by 1.5 !! one can never have enough
sockets. So the layout was as follows.. as one walks into the workshop,
immediately on one’s left along the stud partition are 3 x sets of steel
shelves containing over 3000 magazines, plans and books..! followed by a long
sturdy workbench to the end wall which has all the above mentioned electrical
equipment. The bottom of this workbench provides lots of storage for kit
boxes etc. Along the back wall are
various sets of drawer units and bedroom shelving units.
Then I have left a space to, hopefully, accommodate a
wood turning lathe.... if and when the R word disappears !!... next under the
window is another work bench. Finally, a fixed workbench to the wall
completes that area.
On 2 of the workbenches which each have 4 legs, I cut
about 5” off two of the legs at one end. The offcuts were then double up on
the shortened legs and screwed to them, effectively doubling the width of the
legs at the bottom. I then screwed on a couple of 5” diameter castors to
each of the two widened legs. This means that I can now lift up the
stationary end of these two workbenches and wheel them around like a
wheelbarrow to give access to the other side when working on a large model.
I had planned to us steel uprights with clip-in
brackets for wall shelving and wing storage but the quantity I needed was going
to be too expensive, even buying in my local hardware shop who were 2/3rds the
price of B&Q.. ! I found a much cheaper solution in IKEA and
purchased their uprights and brackets instead.
I managed to salvage 4 metal units containing multiple
plastic drawers of varying sizes from the scrapheap in work. I mounted
these in addition to 2 plastic versions I already had on a small shelf unit
over one of the benches and topped it off with a plank of timber giving more
shelf space.
The electrical setup is split between a power feed for
lights and battery chargers and a feed for any mains sockets. The
feed for the mains sockets is controlled by an old cooker master switch which
allows me to drop the electrical feed to the equipment circuit in case any of
my inquisitive grandkids wander in and accidently turn on a scroll saw with
potentially disastrous results. At the same time, if I have batteries
charging overnight, they are on a separate circuit and not interfered
with.
I installed 3 x 4’ single tube fluorescent lights to
give plenty of light. I may install a separate ON/OFF switch on a couple
or all of them in the interests of economy and also invest in an anglepoise
lamp for close up light on certain items. At the beginning of the
project I dry lined all external walls with plasterboard which has 25mm of
insulation foam bonded onto the back. I am hoping that this in
conjunction with an electrical or gas heater will keep a comfortable working
temperature on cold nights.
At present I have left the floor as it was, ie
reasonably level concrete with a few lumpy bits here and there. I have
covered the main area with old carpet from the old workshop and on top of this
I have put down a large old rug. My plan is to get levelling compound and
pour it over the entire floor area thereby levelling the floor and allowing me
to possibly put more carpet down to keep the feet warm.
I have now moved totally to the new
workshop. It is a pleasure having the space and the machine layout to
effectively perform tasks without having to make room first !! The scary
thing is that the new workshop now feels overcrowded as some of the pictures
show but in reality I still have a couple of more shelves to install which will
alleviate some of the congestion.. ! In addition, the advent of our
Bring and Buy Sale on Sat Oct 31st will provide an excuse to get rid
of a number of kits and models. I will have to ensure that they are not
replaced by someone else’s sale items !! One worthwhile by product
of the exercise is that I have found lots of items that were missing or I had
forgotten I had !. Another bonus was that I could, once at least,
have all my tools neatly stacked and stored together. It lasted half a
week !
Overall, a worthwhile project and hopefully the
plan will be to keep this workshop as tidy as possible ....!! why
am I smiling ruefully !!!