Hi all it's him again,
I hope you are all getting plenty of flying in and that new model you spent all winter building is now one of your favourite's, I know that for some of us the weather could have been better at the start of the year but we have to take the good with the bad.

And talking of the weather I like to go up flying off the slopes at Leek with the other club I'm in. The Leek and Moorland Model Gliding Club, I don't get the chance to go as often as I would like but I plan to go a lot more this year.

Just floating around is so relaxing...

T45 Being readied for flight...

Normally I can only get to go at the end of the year and that's not the best time to go, but thinking about the weather, reminded me of the weather at the end of last year. You will see from some of the photos that we where flying in low cloud, but that's the good thing about flying the EPP combat wings. You can get away with flying in poor visibility.

Its Zaggi time...

It would be nice to hear from you out there if you are a glider guider and you try and fly in shall we say less than ideal weather. I can remember flying "Up There" once in the winter. There was that much snow about that we had to park the car down the hill and walk to the top. The flying was good, it was one of those bright sunny days that you get in the winter.

Clouds like that signal a great days gliding eh Carl?...

Anyone out there sloped an F-16?...

We were flying at what is called the gate now by this gate there is a brook that runs down the hill, well I landed out front to one side. As I walked over to pick up my model I suddenly went through the snow and dropped straight in to the brook, a drop of about 12 to 15 feet!

I must thank Clive Jones and Mark Ollier for some of the photos you see here abouts, Clive has sent me photos of his all moulded machine's, the T tail machine is a hybrid it's a Calypso Sport Fuselage mated to a Ellipse 2 wing it has 6 servos operating ailerons, flaps, rudder and elevator.

T-tail is a hybrid model: Calypso sport fuselage and ellipse wing. The other is an elipse 2v...

T45 in flight. Beutiful to see. If you get the chance, go and see some scale gliding find out what youve been missing...

In Clives words it's a sweet flyer that can ponce along all day on the slightest thermal, but once it's at a good height if you tip it over on to a wingtip the graceful floater now turns into a whistling mass of hard accelerating fibreglass that carries it's speed well down and across the slope and up into a towering climb. Kick in the rudder for a stall turn and do it again, you are now an official slope hooligan.

Model gliders come in all shapes and sizes...

Remember they are Clives words not mine. The V tail machine is a Ellipse 2V again a fine machine but this is a different animal as the speed of the Ellipse is measured in warp factors ( Cives words again) thank you Clive for that information, this is exactly the type of feedback I like and as you can see if you send me something of interest I'll try and use it.

As to the power club well we now have a new mower to go with the new field, Plus this month we have our AGM and if buying the new mower has dented a big hole in club funds then we may see an increase in the subs!!

T-34 on th strip...

We now have two more members that have gone solo under our training program so all in all things are looking up. One thing that I have been asked about is the BMFA. We are not affiliated to the BMFA and it has been talked about before at meetings with mixed results, some members say we should be affiliated so that we make the national body stronger, others say no we are best left on our own so what do you think?.

should it be compulsory that all clubs must join the BMFA ? or do you think they are a waste of time your comments please! (I think that it is good that we have the choice- Grot.)

Going back to the building for a moment I was up at Frodsham in Cheshire one Friday afternoon I was in Steve Webb Models and I had a very close look at some ARTF kits that he sells from world models.

I was looking at some of the war birds he has, but the thing that really struck me was the build quality and the finish. Now I'm not a big lover of ARTF mainly because if you haven't built it you don't know how well it's been made! But these kits look very well built and the finish is very good

Some of the ARTF Models to be seen at Steve webb models...

With transmitter in hand this is a truly ready to fly model also to be seen at the same shop :-) ...

I understand that the covering is something like Pro film, it would be nice to know from you all what do you think of the boom in ATRF is it a good thing?

I know that the type of models that Clive is flying could be classed as ARTF but at a price as we all know with some of the F3J/F3F type machines you can pay £500 plus, but then if you are of a competitive nature then what price do you have to pay to try and win!! Until next time fly safely Wot4

Article by Wayne Haycock from Chase Radio Controlled Aero Club
6th April 2002