DB Sport and Scale 2001 at Old Warden

Bumpy Green were back on the trails of a good model show, this time we had been invited to the DB Sport and Scale 2001 weekend at Old Warden. The 2 day show was held on 22nd/23rd September 2001, we already had arrangements for the Sat as we were at the Halton Apprentices Day (a tri-annual event put on by the RAF - see separate article). So Sunday the 23rd it was. Grot was the only one that had attended a DB sport and scale weekend so he was keen to compare this one to the ones he remembered. As for Choddy and Chinman, well they were looking forward to their first DB show.

We know the standard of the Old Warden shows so far this year has been very good, can they do it again?

We had a guest with us for the show, he's no stranger to aeromodelling but up until now he has mainly concentrated on fixed wing aircraft, after investigating helicopters for the past few months he has just purchased a Thunder Tiger Raptor 30 this is great news to Bumpy Green Model Aerodrome as there will be some fresh new articles involving learning to fly model helicopters winging there way to us in the near future. Our guest goes by the name of Padfoot and you can see him pictured below on the left.

The usual Old Warden traders were there at the DB weekend, Flight Hook, SM Services, MY Hobbies and Somoso to name just a few. We find the trade stands excellent at these modelling event, for not only are the goods slightly cheaper but you get a chance to meet the faces behind the names and often get a chance to have a good chat with the proprietors. Once in a while a real bargain is to be had, Chinman was straight in there when he spotted a Protech DC3 Dakota at the Old Town Models from Hemel Hempstead's stand. Grot was tempted by a new gyro from MY Hobbies but instead he settled for a set of new servo's for his raptor. Padfoot was escorted around each stand in turn and persuaded by the team to spend as much money as possible. Its always better spending someone else's money. As for Choddy, once again he left with the same amount of money as he came with apart from buying lunch in the canteen.

Above of course not only the trade stands but our host for the day Mr. and Mrs. Eddie Stocker
The new proprietors of DB Sport and Scale.

During the very rainy day we did see some excellent flying despite the changing conditions. Most notable by their absence were the pilots so although we took many pictures. Details of the models were a bit scarce. This is not to say that the pilots did not attend, more that they were sheltering from the weather between flights and no doubt sampling the food in Old Wardens restaurant.


A nice busy flight line is what we always want to see at these shows. Grot & Padfoot checked out the models.

Gypsy Moth


Peter Amos had this stunning Gypsy Moth set up right next to us and we soon began to ply him with questions. Built in 1993 this model has recorded over 400 logged flights. 6ft 6" span and powered by a four stroke Enya 120 it had a wonderfully scale sound to it. 4 servos control this model and was flown with a Multiplex Commander radio set. With a very detailed finish it looked great and despite the rather windy conditions it flew very well.

 

 

After watching peter fly this impressive Model we all nipped off for a bite to eat at the restaurant and chatted to peter about his model flying and a little about what we do here at Bumpy Green.

Glens CAP-232
A very interesting model this from the North Weald model flying club. The model flew extremely well and used tailerons as you can see here for extra maneuverability if you should need such a thing with this model.

Rumple

This models pilot was hiding beyond our reach but having inspected it closely we would imagine that at some point this creation was or will be a competition winner as the detailing is quite amazing, I know Grot has seen a few of these modelled in the past and has always fancied building one but never plucked up the courage because of its complexity. After all it begs to be done properly as you see here.

WOT-4


Impressive Wot-4, seen here held by Russel Bates from Stoke on Trent. Using a 2" shorter wing span than standard and using full length ailerons. Highly aerobatic and incredibly fast with an MDS 40 providing the power. Futaba radio throughout with 5 x 3001 servos looking after the controls.


Ronald Bates (Russel's father) also had his great looking yellow Wot-4 down for the day but it was put back in the car when the rain arrived in force.

DB Autogyro

Brian Love takes advantage of a gap in the rain to pose with his DB Models Autogryo


Powered by an OS25 with control on elevator & rudder this model flew exceptionally well despite the blustery wind. Brian came down from Northamptonshire for this event and is a member of Badby Flyers.

Super Chipmonk

A duo of Super Chipmunks from the Bretons Model Flying Club quintet ( 5 ) models based on the full-size Chipmunk flown by Steve Oliver.
The group present consisted of Tony Law, Terry Rounce, Peter Palfremen & John Elkens.



Very accurate in detail and flown with equal skill, a shame it was so grey and overcast as the excellent smoke system didn't show up well in the sky. 82" span & powered by a wide variety of engines including a Laser 200 v-twin, Zenoah 38 petrol, & Super Tigre 3000 & 20/23. Scratch built models with hand crafted cowls, canopies & wheel spats. Profilm covered with decals supplied by Apache Models.


As you can see from the first picture the rain was fairly sporadic. In the time it took to move from one model to the next it darkened over chucked it down for about 3 minutes then the sun came out again. The guys made a number of flights throughout the day and put on some impressive flying.

DB Sport and Scale has been over the years one of the best known aeromodelling companies, and one that we have certainly all grown love.

Originally run by Dave Boddington who everyone has heard of, this business has now been taken over by Mr. and Mrs. Eddie Stocker, both of whom are actively involved in bringing the range of models up to date by giving a lot of time and effort in getting tooling, plans etc. As well as actually running the day to day business must be all consuming to say the least.

Eddie has been very keen to emphasize the involvement of Mrs. Stocker without who's support he says "He could never have dreamed to get this far". Particularly in terms of her sales skills and dedication to the cause.

One thing that Eddie was very keen to spell out was the need to encourage modellers back to the rapidly diminishing art of building models from kits. Less than 50% are in kit form, the others are plan packs. Although ARTF models have an advantage in that they are pretty much instant to assemble, nothing can take the place of building a model piece by piece and creating a beautiful hand crafted aircraft with your own individual touches. Its lack of information about balsa kits and their construction that missing, so lets bring back the Art of Building from Kits make sure there are always kits available for us to enjoy building.

Braving the rain...

Warm and dry the Stockers display their wares and did very well I understand on the day..

Eddies determination to provide a good quality product for us is clear when you hear him talk of how he is updating the production process and we at Bumpy Green wish every success to them both. By the way Grots had his beady eye on the hurricane for many years so get those wings skinned he's on his way for one before the years out.

We cannot finish this article without mentioning the well deserved winner of this competition John Ricketts with his DB SE5a a very well turned out model indeed. Here he is receiving his trophy.

John Ricketts receiving his trophy for a very respectable model from our host for the day at Old Warden Mr. Eddie Stocker.

Well despite the intermittent showers we know that everyone who attended had a great time. It was certainly a pleasure to meet everyone and to make a few purchases along the way (without the Mrs. watching of course). Personally we all had a good day out and saw the revival of a tradition in aeromodelling, that is the DB Sport and scale day at Old Warden. We look forward to next years event.

Article by Choddy, Chinman and Grot from Bumpy Green Model Aerodrome
14th October 2001

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