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    • Peter

      RIP Dick Edmonds 1930-2017

      By Peter, in General News,

      My good friend and mentor Dick Edmonds died last Saturday after a long battle with Parkinsons disease.
      Dick grew up and lived all his life in the High Wycombe area where, during WW2, the furniture manufacturing skills of the region were put to good use making Mosquitoes. The airfield of RAF Halton and Booker were also close by so after the war Dick chose to do his National Service in the RAF where he was trained as a mechanic.
      He became involved in various fields of modelling but was best known for his exploits in Team Racing. I first heard Dick's name when as a teenager around 1960 and part of a young group of enthusiastic control line fliers the news came that 'bloody old' Dick Edmonds has won the B class team race World Championships. Old? He must have been about 30 at the time but when you are a teenager anyone over 20 was old.
      Dick's approach to team racing was typical of the analytical manner in which he approached model design. Most of the top pilots of the time were using the latest ETA glow engines, very powerful but  thirsty. Dick used a Frog 500 and managed to complete the whole race without a pit stop, a case of the tortoise beating the hare. I am sure that some BARCS members have more first hand knowledge than I do about Dick’s exploits at this time and it would be good to hear from them.
      Dick started his modelling business Edmonds Model Products in 1980 in partnership with his wife Maureen taking advantage of the then new technology of using veneer covered foam for wings in a glider application. His early designs included the classic Halton Specials and Apex which were also offered ready covered in film so could claim to be the first ARTFs on the market. He then took to manufacturing the very competitive Sean Bannister designed Algebra and continued to expand and develop the range throughout the 80s.
      Dick was a great innovator and used his talent to supplement his skill as a highly proficient thermal soaring pilot. I recall him experimenting with WARC breaking (back to front CROW where the flaps came upwards), canard thermal soarers and different wing sections. An interesting one was the use of a Guerney flap which he tried out on only one side of a wing in order to assess the effect. The first launch on a winch had a nasty effect on the bowels and nearly the need for a poly bag!
      As he approached retirement in the early 90s the market for foam/veneer models was declining as the early moulded models were being produced. Dick investigated the possibility of producing a mouldie himself but concluded, quite rightly, that if he paid himself a living wage and he could not compete on price with the products from eastern Europe with their very low wage rates. The lease on his High Wycombe premises was due for renewal and this co-incided with moving house to Little Marlow where there was a large hut in the garden from which he could continue to run EMP with little in the way of overheads.
      He continued to enjoy competing in thermal soaring competitions but increasing found that he could not be competitive with his home built designs against the ever improving moulded models so  decided to retire from competition flying. He continued with his life long membership of the High Wycombe club coaching beginners and flying mainly electric sport and semi scale designs. This activity continued until recently when the increasing hold of Parkinsons made this impossible.
      Dick leaves a widow, Maureen, who was not only his partner in life but also of EMP, reminding him that it was a business from which they made a living and not just an enjoyable hobby.
      The funeral is at Amersham Crematorium on Thursday 26th October at 1pm.
    • Gary B

      Radioglide 2017 Report and Results

      By Gary B, in Radioglide,

      Once again it is my pleasure to collate the reports from Radioglide 2017. Held for the first time at the BMFA National Flying Centre. Photo credits are Gary Binnie, Chas Dunster, Graham James and Neil Harrison (F3K). 
      Saturday 27 May
      Two competitions were held on Saturday, a combined Open class/100S at the eastern end of the field and F5B just south of the main runway. The day started with light winds and a high, thin overcast allowing milky sunshine through, there was a light shower early on but the main problem was an ever-increasing wind strength which caused us to give up early.
      Open/100S 
      Report by Peter Allen (CD)
      18 entries, six of whom were doubling up with both Open and 100" models and all battling the wind! We were lucky to avoid the heavy showers that affected many areas but the wind strengthened enough to make flying unpleasant and more of an endurance test so we decided to curtail the preliminaries after 3 round and move straight to a four pilot fly off. Two of the contestants managed to land in trees so the result was an unexpected but very well deserved win for Alan Morton flying his trusty Tracker.



      F5B
      Report by Greg Lewis
      Round 1 of the inaugural F5B event at Radioglide at the NFC started with very calm conditions. Running up to the event the forecast had been for winds gusting up to 40 mph.
      A band of rain passed through as forecast and Alan Flockhart had the honour of being the first pilot to fly. Alan and the next pilot Steve struggled in the humid dense air. Next to fly was Greg Lewis who posted a more respectable flight of 46 legs. Josef Mouris was the last of the top flight pilots to fly and hit 48 legs.
      A number of pilots missed out on landing points or used motor on time to complete the duration.
      As forecast the wind increased and through Round 2 the forecast high windspeed arrived. Due to the close proximity of the F5B landing spots to the hedge landing became a dangerous task. Model survival became more important than going for the landing bonus. After Round 3 two planes had been damaged and we decided to call a halt to the event after a vote from the pilots.
      As usual the event was close with Alan Flockhart claiming first place, with Josef Mouris pipping Greg Lewis to 2nd place by .7 of a point. Tony Wilson with some excellent flying won top spot in the intermediate class.
      We all agreed the NFC is an excellent field and once the seeded areas are in use we will have more scope to get the landing circles away from the hedge.

      Sunday 28 May
      ELG
      Report by Pete Mitchell
      I am very happy to say that this ‘trial’ BARCS competition run to Bartlett’s rules was a success. We were lucky with the day, it was dry with light’ish winds, sunshine rarely, and cloudy. What more could you want, typical weather for the time of year.
      It was all a bit daunting for me as I had persuaded the committee to give it a try, so I felt under some self-imposed pressure. Added to that, it was one of the first comps at the NFC so I did not want to be the one BMFA spoke to if their property got damaged.
      For those who have not yet been to Buckminster, it is worth a visit. At the moment you can only see the terrific amount of preparation work and new build that has gone on since the lease was signed. The flying field is very large, not suitable for all classes of competition, but more than adequate for most. I am sad to read some of the comments made on other forums which say it is a waste of money. I think they are wrong and all model flying is going to benefit from it in one way or another as time goes on.
      The comp was a little late starting due to new equipment gremlins, but after a pilots’ briefing to clarify a few points we started first flights at 10.15. Conditions at first looked as if it was going to be an easy day, but this soon changed and it became more difficult to find and stay in good air.
      Most pilots had at least one or even two bad rounds, some had even more. Pete Allen was the worthy winner, and prizes were presented by BMFA Chairman Chris Moynihan. The old BARCS Electroslot trophy was presented to Peter, and it looks like the Electroslot name will be used for this new set of rules.
      Thanks to all who supported and took part, everyone seemed to enjoy the format. And also thanks to those who voted at the following AGM to approve the adoption of these rules as BARCS own.

      F3K
      Report by Mike Fantham
      Entries were well up this time on the past few years at 18 - we only had 8 in 2016. This trend has been there for all of the first three F3K events this season and is a very welcome sign. Not just more entries but an improving standard of flying across the board with several new names coming in and already flying at a good standard.
      We were all keen to see and try the new BMFA National Centre field and we were not disappointed.  Driving up from London I met increasingly overcast conditions and a fair breeze from the west. The sky cleared during the day and the wind dropped off giving ideal conditions for a contest.  F3K set up camp outside what will be the main carpark for the field with the box towards the south-western corner of the property.  People were able to operate from their cars but the box was constrained by the newly seeded runways which we need to stay off until the grass is established.  Once we can get on there, it will be an even nicer set-up.
      CD Michael Stern had set up 8 rounds of 3 slots to give a relaxed contest and make sure that the newer pilots could always get an experienced timer/caller to help them through the various tasks, which can seem a bit confusing at first.  Everybody enjoyed the way the contest ran and we were treated to some spectacular flying from the top pilots who seem to able to conjure some help from the slightest waft of lift with their modern high performance airframes.
      Some of the tasks require pilots to make fast turnarounds – a tip catch timed to the second followed but an ultra-rapid re-launch – to maximise air time.  We fly to a 10 minute slot for the 1,2,3,4 task.  Here, you need to make four flights as near as possible to the maxes to win – you can do them in any order so you need to think on your feet.  You cannot actually do the full times as they add up to ten minutes and you need to re-launch three times on the way.
      The eventual winner, Michael Stern (yes the CD!) did 0:57 1:58 3:00 4:00 making a total of 9:55 in 10 minutes!  In the 5 x 2:00 round he also did 9:55 but this time with four re-launches making 2:00 1:59 2:00 1:59 1:57.  That’s about one second for each re-launch given that times are rounded DOWN to the nearest second.
      As Team Manager, it was good to see this year’s Team of Michael Stern, Mike Challinor and Richard Swindells finish in that order in the top three places.
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      1 Michael Stern 7000 2 Mike Challinor 6950 3 Richard Swindells 7875 4 Marin M 7273 5 Phil P 7060 6 David P 7006 7 Neil H 6879 8 Carlos DS 6111 9 Simon B 6502 Full results are in the Forum post below

      Nick winds up for a big launch.

      Matt and Phil head out for a flight.
      AGM
      The AGM was held after flying in the restored indoor dressage building, there was a good attendance by members. In memory of Robin Sleight a pair of his gliders were placed either side of the projector screen and we held a short period of silence. 
      A BARCS Fellowship was awarded to Colin Paddon and the Eppler Trophy was awarded to Colin Paddon and Kevin Beale for their Proglide design.
      Two proposals were carried with no opposing votes, a committee proposal to allow re flights in Open class competitions and a member’s proposal to update the BARCS ELG rules. 

       
      Monday 29 May
      It had rained heavily during the night and the morning dawned foggy and damp with a very low cloudbase. We spent the morning chatting, a couple of pilots launched into the low gloom but at 12:00 the decision was taken to cancel the F5J competition.
      And there it was, all over for another year! Shame that the weather played a part in spoiling what is always a great weekend, my thanks to all the organisers and CDs. 
      Gary Binnie
       
    • Austin

      Radioglide 2017 Entry Open

      By Austin, in Radioglide,

      Now in its 38th year, Radioglide will be the first organised event to take place at the BMFA National Flying Centre 27th-29th May at Buckminster near Grantham and is being held prior to the official opening in the summer. 
      The field itself is huge and we will be running two flight lines each day which will allow a combined Open and 100S competition and an F5B (F3Be) event to be run on Saturday, F3K and ELG (run to the proposed new rules) on Sunday (see Bulletin) and F5J on Monday. In the Open/100s and ELG formats, a second entry is possible and this is being offered at a reduced fee to encourage participation. We are also hoping to have an introductory trial of F3RES over the weekend. For those who do not know F3RES uses 2m wingspan models launched using a bungee and is becoming very popular in some European countries. Exact details will be released on the BARCS website forum, so please keep an eye there for updates.
      A traditional paper entry form accompanies the Bulletin BARCS members and renewers will have received in the post. Online entry is available.
      Radioglide Entry Form 2017 Final.pdf
      Click here for online entry
      Updates will appear on the Radioglide 2017 forum topic below. 
      This is the second year that our AGM will be held on the Sunday evening of Radioglide, 28th May, and will be held for the first time in the new hall at the NFC.
      The BARCS AGM is an important get-together and we encourage all members to come along, hear the officers’ reports, debate any change proposals and witness the award of a BARCS fellowship. There will be an opportunity to discuss the future of soaring classes in the UK.
      Camping will be available on site, with toilets and running water but no hook-ups are available at this early stage in the Centre’s development. For those seeking a little more comfort, there are several Travelodge, Premier Inn and other options in the local area, the site is close to the A1 and around 20 minutes from Melton Mowbray, half an hour from Grantham.
      Venue address
      BMFA National Flying Centre is in Sewstern Road, Buckminster, Near Grantham,  
      NG33 5RW, Coordinates 52.7792 N, 0.7066 W

  • Activity Stream

    1. Cliff Harvey
      5

      Glassing a fuselage

      Thanks for the tips guys, by the way Oipigface the Fighteraces website is blocked on my pc as it's a 'dangerous website' and hence black listed!
      - Cliff Harvey replied to Cliff Harvey's topic in Builders Workshop
    2. Mark P
      5

      Glassing a fuselage

      The object of the exercise is to wet out the cloth with the minimum amount of resin for maximum strength and minimum weight. Applying the resin to the wood first allows the balsa to soak up the resin and once the resin is into the grain the credit card will not get any excess out. Laying the the cloth over the wood first and applying the resin through the cloth allows you to apply just enough resin to wet out the cloth. I then lay kitchen roll over the the wetted out cloth to absorb any excess resin. I use the foam rollers to apply the resin as with a lightly loaded roller you have to work it into the cloth until the the cloth has absorbed enough resin to go translucent rather than just daubing it on with a paintbrush. Doing it this way around requires considerably less resin which equals more strength and less weight. Works for me.
      • 1
      • Like
      - Mark P replied to Cliff Harvey's topic in Builders Workshop
    3. Cliff Harvey
      6

      Washout at the tip or the whole wing?

      Hi guys, here's the port wing of the LF-107 Lunak, from rib R8 to the tip 6mm washout is built into the aileron. If I do it this way then I would make the tip sweep up on the trailing edge to match the aileron. I was suggesting making the whole wing with a slight twist to allieviate the wing tip 'sweep'. By twisting the building board the wing and aileron could be built 'flat'. Perhaps I should just go for option A and jig the aileron?
      - Cliff Harvey replied to Cliff Harvey's topic in Builders Workshop

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