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RADIO CONTROL MODELS AND ELECTRONICS

WOT-KNOT REVIVAL FORGOTTEN FOSS WINTER BUILD

WORLD CLASS THE VERY BEST OF SCALE

ENCANTO

TWO METRE F5L GLIDER

GOLDEN GLOW TRIGGERING THE PROUST EFFECT WINTER FIX UPS REFURB & FLY AGAIN

Now let’s take a quick look at some of the main articles in this month’s magazine.

Alex Maxfield is first o�f the blocks with his review of the Encanto, a 2M span electric powered glider aimed at pilots interested in FxRES, F3L and F5L soaring events. Our vintage and retro correspondent Shaun Garrity (Retro Ramblings) turns his attention to a brace of classic Veron slope soarers before Danny Fenton (Make It Scale) sends his final report from the 2024 Scale World RCM M&E 4 | RC

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WOT-KNOT REVIVAL

January 2025

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FORGOTTEN FOSS WINTER BUILD

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VOL.67 NO.12 DECEMBER 2024

RADIO CONTROL MODELS AND ELECTRONICS

HARRIER

FROM TONY NIJHUIS DESIGNS

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RADIO CONTROL MODELS AND ELECTRONICS

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December 2024

Championships finishing o�f with models �lown in the top F4C class. David Ashby (Just For Fun) lends a helping hand at the Bring-n-Buy stall at the Southern Model Show and comes away with a Krick Chicco to refurbish. If the smell of glow fuel puts a big smile on your face then Neil Hall’s ‘Golden Glow’ article will be right up your street as he brings a much-appreciated spot of IC engine coverage back to the magazine. Roy Thompson returns with the second part of his short series on restoring a Bowmans Miles Magister before Lorenz Müller looks to a previous biplane design as inspiration for his 48-inch span stand-o�f Hawker Fury which is this month’s pull-out Pro-Plan. Graham Ashby (Kick The Tyres) dedicates his next column to a stylish but o�ten overlooked early sports design by Chris Foss, the Wot-Knot. Then it’s over to Dave Goodenough as he tours the �lightline at last July’s ModelAir meeting at Old Warden.

I hope you enjoy reading it all.

Happy Flying!

ENCANTO

GOLDEN GLOW TRIGGERING THE PROUST EFFECT WINTER FIX UPS REFURB & FLY AGAIN

FLAIR FLY-IN

CIRCUITS & BUMPS AT BANBURY £6.35

elcome to the January 2025 issue of RCM&E. As regular readers will know I am a bit of a grumpy old man when it comes to the notion of producing a Christmas issue, especially as it would involve me needing to come over all festive in early October!

I was reminded of the strange timing of festive periodicals only recently (but still only at the end of October!) when I nipped into my wife’s hairdressers on the way home from a �lying session for a quick trim. Mrs. C was already ensconced, taking it easy whilst waiting for some strange and powerful chemicals to take e�fect underneath layers of tin foil on top of her head!

‘Would you like to see the latest magazines?’, o�fered the stylist, handing her a pile of feminine and homely literature, all sporting varying degrees of baubles, trees, tinsel and bows on their front covers. And all this while the real trees outside (the deciduous ones at least) had barely started to change over to their Autumnal hues!

This issue, however, should reach most of you by mid-December, which is a far more appropriate time to be passing on festive salutations. So, on behalf of all of us here at RCM&E may I wish all our readers, advertisers and supporters a very Merry Christmas and hearty Season’s Greetings.

See you in the New Year!

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24

On the cover Photo: Graham Ashby

On the cover this month is Martin Painter’s new Wot-Knot, an early sports design penned by none other than Chris Foss of Wot 4 fame. Martin has adopted the Wot-Knot for his club’s winter build competition and with a little help from Graham Ashby and his Kick The Tyres column he believes that he has found a model that has the potential to appeal to a much wider audience, hoping to expand the Wot-Knot winter build countrywide. Turn to Graham’s article, starting on page 62, if you fancy joining in.

RCM M&E 6 | RC

32

44

Contents

Regulars 8

60

68

92

SWITCH ON

ur latest round up of model �lying news

ALL WRITE

Have your say in RCM&E’s monthly chat room

Our updated list of model events and competitions for you to visit over the next few months

MARKETPLACE

95

NEXT ISSUE

Sell o�f your unwanted airframes and engines or maybe buy a few new ones

PARTING SHOT

Dudley Pattison, Mr. Flair himself, visited both 2024 Flair Fly-In days at Banbury MFC

RETRO RAMBLINGS

24

MAKE IT SCALE

SUBSCRIBE…

… and receive D-Day RAF & D-Day Overlord FREE! See page 84 for details

44

MILES MAGISTER

Part two of Roy Thompson’s short series on adding another model to his expanding collection of Bowmans kits

GOLDEN GLOW

With his senses triggered by the Proust �fect each time he �lies, Neil Hall puts

Eagles, Cobras & Springboks. Shaun Garrity catches up with a trio of famous Veron glider kits

Danny Fenton posts his final report from the 2024 Scale World Champs.

This time it’s the turn of the top-�light F4C class models

32

JUST FOR FUN

62

KICK THE TYRES

78

AEROBATIC SCENE

86

FOAM FINISH

Features 38

Dave Goodenough heads to Old Warden for last July’s aeromodelling bonanza

18

ENCANTO

Alex Maxfield builds a high-performance kit model for 2M electric soaring

MARVELLOUS MODELAIR

Columns

Take a look at what’s coming in the February ‘25 issue of RCM&E

Reviews 10

70

GOING PLACES

94

98

into words his enthusiasm for glow engines

COUNTERPOINT

A bumper selection of new kits, bits and gadgets for you to buy

Volume 68 | Issue 01

David Ashby helps man a Bring & Buy stall and comes away with a venerable motor glider to restore

Why not do something with those cold, dark nights by making something that �lies Graham Ashby o�fers a suggestion for a winter build Keith Jackson takes another look at what’s new and happening in exciting world of precision aerobatics Bob Petrie shows how to give a foam model a protective finish

Free Pro-Plan

48

HAWKER FURY

Lorenz Müller looks to a previous RCM&E biplane design as inspiration for his 48-inch span stand-o�f scale fighter jet

48

January 2025 | www.modelflying.co.uk

RCM RC M&E | 7

Switch on

Our latest round up of model flying news and miscellany

A PILOT’S UPS AND DOWNS Alasdair Sutherland, the author of many magazine articles on model aircra�t aerodynamics and the book ‘Basic Aeronautics for Modellers’, has had his second book published. This time it is his memoirs of a career as an airline pilot with British Airways and is titled ‘A Pilot’s Ups and Downs’.

Alasdair writes: “What goes on in the mysterious world of myriad dials, knobs and switches which airline pilots call ‘the o�fice’?

‘A Pilot’s Ups and Downs’ is the story of an average airline pilot, one of the few selected for training by

BEA/BOAC. My education included the University Air Squadron, then learning to �ly at the College sponsored by British Airways.

Most of the book is an account of my experiences �lying short hops on turboprops to long-haul on the B747, including visits to sights around the world. I have added one professional pilot’s opinion on aviation topics in the news, the mysterious Malaysian disappearance and the Alpine tragedy. The book finishes with my lifelong interest in designing model aircra�t.

I have attached a photo of me taken on my last day ‘in the o�fice’.”

Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers ISBN: 9781035819782 RRP: £9.99

the following tribute to his �lying friend “I first met Peter Miller, who was a dear friend to me, in 1976 when I was

13 years old. He used to run the local control line club. It was a roasting hot summer and when I first saw him, he was wearing a huge Mexican

HIGH FLIGHT We were saddened to learn of the recent passing of two popular contributors to RCM&E, both of whom had established themselves as highly respected designers of model aircra�t used as plan features in this and other R/C model magazines. Peter Miller and Chris Golds will be greatly missed by our readers, we know, and we extend our deepest sympathies to both of their families and many friends.

Peter Miller Peter was actively contributing to RCM&E until only recently, his last pull-out Pro-Plan being for the MAK15 motor glider featured in the July 2024 issue. Peter is seen holding this model which is notable for its striking planform.

He also had some other articles in the pipeline which we hope to bring to you in due course.

A few days a�ter eter had passed away, we received a letter from him via his executors: “Now don’t imagine that this is a gloomy letter. I know that I will be designing and building and �lying in that great model club in the sky.

No wet and windy days,no bitter cold.No one complaining about the noise.Just a beautiful open field of short turf or perhaps a nice concrete runway or two and a good clubhouse with a model shop.Now that is Paradise!

I shall also be with all the people that I care for and who have gone before and that is even better.

I have been so lucky to enjoy my passion for modelling in this world in the way that I have. It has been the best fun going. For that I have to thank all the editors who have used my material in their magazines and all the modellers who have built from my plans.

RCM M&E 8 | RC

One thing I ask. Don’t grieve for me.

I will be having a wonderful time.”

Peter’s good friend, Stuart Pickett kindly provided

www.modelflying.co.uk | January 2025

sombrero. On first appearances he seemed a little eccentric, but I soon learnt that he was a very talented and knowledgeable modeller and was only too happy to help beginners.

A lot of his control line models were scale models and one of them, a Yak, was on the cover of Aeromodeller magazine in 1979. A�ter control line he went on to radio control �lying.

He carried out many kit reviews and had a column in RC Model World called ‘Engine Bay’ where he reviewed engines and associated equipment.

Peter was very well educated and it was so easy just to ring him up and give him the dimensions of a model and weight, and within a few minutes he had worked out the wing loading etc. Peter was also very keen on full size aviation. His main interests were 1930s aircra�t and home built aircra�t of any era.

Peter spent 13 years in the RAF as an airframe fitter. The first aircra�t he trained on when he joined up was the last squadron of Lancasters, which were still being used by Coastal Command. A�ter leaving the RAF in 1967 he joined Hawker Siddeley at Hatfield, building the Trident airliner. He finally gave up the job because he was in digs and he said the landlady’s food was diabolical and he couldn’t stand it anymore! His later working career involved plant maintenance.

Peter was a keen model designer.

His first plan was published in 1974

and continued up until he passed away. He had almost 200 plans published in British and American magazines. He was also a very keen photographer.

I feel we have lost one of the greats in aeromodelling to that �lying field in the sky.”

Chris Golds Chris was famous for his use of a variety of materials in his scale model designs, most notably blue foam. Some of his early designs were published in RCM&E, but he is perhaps best known for his later plan features in the now discontinued RC

WARREN FARM RADIO FLYERS Are you looking for a �lying site west of London? Warren Farm Radio Flyers has vacancies for new members, both expert and beginners.

“Our flying site in Southall is in the middle of a 61-acre Nature Reserve. We have a good relationship with the nature reserve group and Ealing Council, who have assured us that we have security of tenure.

We have a 100 m x 40 m grass runway, which is mown regularly.

The agreed flying envelope is 400 metres x 150 metres with no trees or other obstructions to avoid. By agreement with our landlords, we keep to a maximum altitude of 300 ft. which is perfectly adequate for all flying activities. Most importantly, we are NOT within the Heathrow FRZ, so we do not need to contact Air Traffic Control whenever we fly.

Our main �lying meeting is on Saturday mornings from around 10 am until 1 pm, however �lying can

Model World and Q&EFI magazines.

Chris was a very successful fullsize pilot, having flown Hawker Hunters in the RAF, and he was also a talented artist. He was 88 years old when he passed away.

This picture of Chris is courtesy of Sarik Hobbies.

For further information, please call Bob Howard on 07958 240 380 or email: wingman_1950@talktalk.net The club’s website is https://wfrf.bmfa.uk/

take place at any time from 9 am to 7 pm every day. We �ly only fixed wing models up to 7.5 kg, including I/C (glow only), electric and EDF. Our annual subscription is £40.

January 2025 | www.modelflying.co.uk

We can train beginners using buddy-box dual control equipment and we have access to examiners for BMFA Achievement Scheme A & B tests.”

RCM RC M&E | 9

ENCHANTED

BY ENCANTO Alex Maxfield builds a high-performance kit model for 2M electric soaring

F

Words & Photos Alex Maxfield

xRES, F3L and F5L are some of the fastest growing competition thermal soaring classes in the UK for 2M span thermal soarers limited to Rudder, Elevator, Spoiler (air-brake) control. They compete in a simple thermal duration competition. All classes are well support by BARCS, the British Association of Radio Controlled Soarers. More information can be found on the BARCS website.

There are many di�ferent types of models �lown in these events, many available as kits and some are designed and built by the pilots.

RCM M&E 10 | RC

This diversity and the fact that pilots can design and build their own competitive models make the class very attractive and relatively low cost, making them suitable for all who want to dabble in the competition arena.

This article, I hope, is part of a short series where will build and �ly a couple of highperformance kitted models and then compare them with each other in a back-to-back trial.

ENCANTO The Encanto is one of the latest designs, launched this year by designer Jan Littva from

Alex shows the handy size of this 2M electric thermal soarer.

Slovakia, a well-known and well-respected world champion thermal soarer. The Encanto has won many competitions in Europe Although I bought and built the F5 model (electric launch) there is also an F3 (bungee launch) version available. Ready built models (ARTF) are also available from the manufacturer.

The design weight is around 485 g. It’s possible to add up to 160 g of ballast in the wings using the kit supplied brass rectangular sections to �ly in stronger wind. www.modelflying.co.uk | January 2025

TESTING, TESTING | Thermal soarer

A nice selection of quality kit parts.

UNBOXING The Encanto arrived safely packaged from Neil at Hyper�light with a uick delivery. Not included with the kit were the necessary glue, servos, motor, prop, speed controller and covering but otherwise the kit was very complete. The uality of the laser cut parts was good, the plan was fullsized and easy to understand and the build very straightforward.

The Encanto is a model designed to win competitions. It has a strong focus on strength and lightness where it matters, a thin and cambered wing section, a near elliptical wing planform maximising performance, and the minimising of fuselage size and cross section.

Laminated nose cone is made from a pack of laser cut plywood stacked around a former.

The laminations give a distinctive effect.

January 2025 | www.modelflying.co.uk

POWERTRAIN ITEMS I went up a size almost everywhere compared to the recommended power train and selected a DualSky XM2527 2300 kV motor, a GM 6.5 x 4 folding prop and spinner, and a 550 mAh 90C 3S battery, all designed to give around 200W of power and enough juice for two to three launches. used a 40A Hyper�light combined speed controller and SBEC. I chose Oralight for covering the wings, fin and tailplane because of its light weight, accepting it does not add much in the way of airframe sti�fness. chose Japanese tissue and dope for the fuselage pod, wanting a bit more durability there.

NOSING AHEAD Although no instructions are included there are a couple of YouTube videos available on the build se uence. There are uite a few build threads on the internet and if the YouTube videos are followed the build is uite simple, if a little intricate in places.

I started on the fuselage nose cone. This is made from a pack of laser cut plywood with holes for the motor, stacked around a former RCM RC M&E | 11

Both servos were angled to make sure the arms have an unimpeded sweep when driving the tail pushrods.

Fin and rudder mounted to the boom and ready for covering.

Tail fin mount.

Rudder horn and hinges.

RCM M&E 12 | RC

during the build process, with a 1 mm thick fibreglass motor firewall. t’s important to get those plywood layers stacked up accurately and glued well. The motor is 25 mm diameter and the spinner size is also 25 mm. Luckily the motor is slightly tapered at the front but, even so, the firewall diameter is only 4 mm bigger than the motor hole in the nose, meaning the surface area of glue between firewall and nose is tiny and needs to be glued well. I used thin epoxy resin.

The fuselage pod is simple to put together, care being taken with servo positioning to make sure the arms have an unimpeded sweep for driving the pushrods to the tail. I angled both servos to provide a good result, necessitating use of a custom designed ply mount provided as an option in the kit. Once the boom was in place the top of the fuselage could be assembled and the nose cone glued in place.

Fitting the fin to the boom and making pushrod exits re uired a small amount of boom material to be removed. Care should be taken here as the boom wall thickness is really thin and it’s very easy to remove more material than planned.

The fin, rudder and tailplane were easy to build (I used thick cyano) and the kit provided horns were well positioned. I used the kit hinges for the rudder but an alternative magic tape hinge for the elevator.

WING BUILD The wing build is uite straightforward. The ribs are laser cut with a packer at the rear supporting the trailing edge to ensure the wing is built without a twist on the carbon tube spar. A rib spacer helps align all the ribs. The packer at the rear of the wing tip ribs is carefully designed to build in a small amount of washout in the wing tip to help prevent tip stalling.

Once the spar is glued in place the wing joiner aluminium tubes can be inserted and glued. I www.modelflying.co.uk | January 2025

TESTING, TESTING | Thermal soarer

Kit provided rib spacers help align all the ribs.

Kevlar thread is used to bind the joiner tubes to the spar.

Assembly of one of the inner wing panels is well underway here.

Removing the ply rib packers with a razor saw.

used the Kevlar thread to bind the joiner tubes to the spar although I’m not convinced it does much. I used thin epoxy resin and micro-ballons to glue that assembly together a�ter first wetting out the Kevlar thread with epoxy resin. made one small modification to the wing joiner tubes and that was to angle them in the ribs further for more dihedral. I achieved 20 mm dihedral at the wing to wing tip joint, whereas without the extra angle of the joiner tubes it was much less.

Once the wing leading edge is in place and the ribs stabilised, the nicely precut trailing edge can be glued in place. One downside of the rib packers is that they need to be removed a�terwards. put thin crystal tape between the packer and trailing edge to make it easier to remove the packers, using a knife for the balsa ribs and a razor saw for the ply ribs, followed by careful sanding with a block.

The tip block balsa sheet is very delicate. It is very thin already but had to be sanded even more to match the tip rib profile. To add a bit more January 2025 | www.modelflying.co.uk

Joining the port wing panels.

sti�fness to the tip block and the wing trailing edge, applied two coats of thinned non shrinking dope to the balsa in those areas which worked well.

Joining the wing tip to the wing inner panel was easy using the provided fibreglass brace. The brace needed some fine sanding to fit snugly inside the wing spar. sanded the facing ribs as �lat as possible using a big sanding block and then glued the tip to the inner panel using thin epoxy resin and micro-balloons. Some of the mixture was also used on the spars to glue the wing brace in place.

RCM RC M&E | 13

Root detail showing a wing brace and the round spoiler studs.

Encanto nearly finished and ready for covering.

A conical sanding block was improvised from a bathroom sealant nozzle, making the spoiler hole diameters slightly bigger underneath.

Instead of using a rubber band, a pin in each spoiler servo arm, sliding in a custom-made horn, gives more positive closure.

Spoiler holes are sealed by balsa studs in the closed position.

RCM M&E 14 | RC

Wing spoiler fitment took a bit of thought. changed from using a rubber band to provide the spring closure for the spoiler in favour of a pin in the servo arm locating and sliding in a custom-made fibreglass horn to give a more positive opening and closing mechanism.

The spoiler has multiple holes of around 10 mm diameter cut in it, with corresponding balsa studs glued to the wing. It’s a little over complex in my opinion but let’s see how it performs in �light. The rotating closure of the spoiler can cause it to catch on the parallel sided balsa studs, so I opened up the holes from the underside using a conical sanding block (made from a bathroom sealant tube nozzle) such that the hole diameter was bigger on the inside and maintaining the original diameter hole on the outside. I coated the spoiler balsa in nonshrinking dope to give it sti�fness and to make it waterproof.

I lightly sanded the whole wing, making sure achieved the correct leading edge profile using the kit provided templates. I was unsure if I should sand away the laser burn marks on the edges of the ribs and in the end decided to leave them for fear of altering the wing section profile. www.modelflying.co.uk | January 2025

TESTING, TESTING | Thermal soarer

Careful positioning of the R/C gear and LiPo, plus a tiny bit of nose weight, resulted in the CG being close to the recommended position.

RADIO & COVERING The kit provides servo extension wire and plugs for the spoiler servos which were easy to solder up. A nice feature is that the servo extension plugs are glued into the wing root, with the corresponding socket glued into the fuselage, making servo connection automatic as the wing is plugged onto the fuselage.

The motor, speed controller, receiver, battery and altimeter (for cutting the motor at 90 or 00 metres or a�ter 30 seconds motor run is a snug fit into the nose of the fuselage. Careful positing of the items and a tiny bit of nose weight was used to balance the Encanto at a CG position of 101 mm, close to the manufacturer’s recommended position.

Covering of the wings was approached with care. There is uite a bit of undercamber in the wing section and I wanted to make sure the film stuck to the underside of each rib and didn’t pull o�f when shrinking. t’s easy to warp the lightweight wing during covering and care should be taken.

My finished ncanto came out at 0 g, slightly more than the design weight, probably due to my choice of a heavier motor and battery.

I’m not so concerned about that; for me the position arrived at during launch is more important than a few extra grams in weight. A

little bit more power for windy UK conditions is a good choice in my opinion.

FLYING Rudder and elevator throws were set up as per the manufacturer’s recommendation. I used a mix that adds a little up elevator when the spoilers are deployed to keep the nose down and a small amount of down elevator when the motor is on to provide a more controlled climb. ’ve �lown the ncanto for around six hours over three separate days at the time of writing this article. All of them were in light wind conditions so I haven’t had chance to ballast it yet.

I’ve moved the CG around a little but have ended up very close to the 101 mm position, which provides for uite a ‘spirited’ �light. t’s not the easiest aeroplane to �ly, with careful attention re uired at all times. The thin and cambered wing section provides a good speed range. The power train choice was about spot on.

I was a little sceptical about the wing spoilers and their myriad of tiny holes but I’m happy to be proved wrong. They work very well, providing a very controllable and powerful descent - good for getting those extra points for precision landings.

Assembled and ready for her maiden flight.

January 2025 | www.modelflying.co.uk

RCM RC M&E | 15

DATAFILE Model Model type: Manufacturer: K importer RRP: Length: Wingspan: Flying weight: Wing area: Wing loading: Wing profile Motor: SC Prop size: Servos Functions (servos): LiPo:

F5L Encanto X 2M electric RES glider Encanto Hyper�light https www.hyper�light. co.uk £325.00 1350 mm 1990 mm 500 – 650 g 35.6 dm2 14-21 g/dm² JK 93 2 DualSky XM2527 2300 kV Hyper�light 40A GM 6.5 x 4 folding prop & spinner luebird MS 0 x 4 Rudder, Elevator, Spoiler (2), ESC GNB 3S 550 mAh 90C

Encanto lifts her nose to seek more thermal lift.

This is a very capable aeroplane for the experienced glider pilot.

Encanto climbs very well in lift and has good manners during landing.

I thought rudder authority was a little lacking so I increased rudder throw to as much as I could get, but it might also be the relatively low amount of dihedral that contributes to the Encanto’s reluctance to turn sometimes, especially when �lying slowly. This is a little annoying when trying to work small bubbles of li�t accurately. f build another one, will increase the dihedral angle between each tip and inner wing panel slightly.

SUMMING UP Overall, this is a very capable aeroplane for the experienced glider pilot. It is a highly developed and very successful competition model. The ncanto communicates well to the pilot when it finds li�t (and sink! , climbs very well in li�t and has good manners during landing. ■ RCM M&E 16 | RC

The thin and cambered wing section provides a good speed range. www.modelflying.co.uk | January 2025

PicturedonthesummitofIvinghoeBeaconmyBigEagleisadorned withtheconvertedretrotransmittersthatwereusedontheday.

EAGLES, COBRAS & SPRINGBOKS Shaun Garrity catches up with a trio of famous Veron glider kits Words & Photos: Shaun Garrity

I

f you’re not familiar, Ivinghoe Beacon, located in Buckinghamshire, approximately 40 miles north-west of London, is one of the oldest slope soaring sites in the UK. It is currently owned and managed by the National Trust. The Beacon is the site of an early Iron Age hillfort and archaeologists have also found evidence of Bronze Age human activity.

Ivinghoe Beacon has also been the location for a number of Hollywood movies, including Star Wars - The Rise of Skywalker and four RCM M&E 18 | RC

Harry Potter films: Half Blood Prince, Goblet of Fire and both Deathly Hallows movies.

I’m assuming the area is used because of its proximity to Elstree film studios. If the script demands rolling hills, it’s on the doorstep, with the added bonus of no power pylons to edit out.

The Ivinghoe Soaring Association (ISA) is probably the UK’s largest model gliding club and according to their website they currently have around 140 members. Anyway, what have Big Eagles got to do with the Beacon?

IMPALA Phil Smith, chief designer of Veron, had a love of R/C slope soaring. If you’re over 50 and haven’t heard of his classic Impala you must have been living under a rock because over 150,000 kits were sold. Initially available as a Single Channel, rudder only model it was quickly updated to two channel proportional or even Galloping Ghost on rudder and elevator.

As a young teen with limited modelling tokens, I was happy mine had single www.modelflying.co.uk | January 2025

RETRO RAMBLINGS | Column

The Impala makes a superb introduction to slope soaring. This example was built for me by Phil Smith as a birthday present. It was unique in having an extra rib per wing, increasing the span. It was an idea he had initially due to the additional weight of early valve single channel gear but was ruled out due to more modern transistor receivers becoming available and affordable.

Some of my Veron glider kits. I intend to build the Big Impala someday, but the Springbok is next on the list.

channel (full right and left rudder) with kick down elevator using a rubber powered escapement. After getting my first proportional set I added barn door spoilers (it really didn’t need them). Then, after a slight mishap damaged the wing, I reduced the dihedral, added strip ailerons and removed the spoilers. My Impala had many gliding hours on the clock before I eventually chopped off the front and bunged an AM 25 diesel on the nose and instantly regretted this act of balsa butchery.

January 2025 | www.modelflying.co.uk

Both popular UK mags featured Veron glider reviews in December 1968.

If you fancy a go at slope soaring, you could do far worse that build or buy a completed Veron Impala. Kits are always turning up on auction sites and plans and rib sets are also readily available. In fact, Phil Smith built me one as a birthday present many years ago. You can't get more original than that, eh!

BIG EAGLE Another one of Phil Smith’s great slope soarers was the Big Eagle. Marketed as a full house multi (reeds) or proportional for rudder

/ elevator with optional ailerons, this 96” span, graceful model used spindle moulded balsa parts to form the pod and boom style fuselage. t was first reported in RCM in May 1968, with the review appearing in December 1968. Radio Modeller’s review was also in the same month.

The example I have is Phil Smith’s actual prototype. Phil was a dear friend who let me have the model many years ago. I seem to remember the last time it �lew was in late 968 but, interestingly, the �lights by hil, RCM RC M&E | 19

Typical of many R/C Veron kits of the time were the pre-shaped balsa fuselage blocks.

Bonner actuators were very popular. For a three-function set up you generally had four of them. In the Big Eagle they were rudder, aileron, elevator and elevator trim - a fair old lump of hardware!

A trade brochure shows the Big Eagle’s construction detail in an exploded view drawing.

RCM&E and Radio Modeller all took place on Ivinghoe Beacon.

I decided to take this unintentional hangar queen out of storage and get it in the air again, recreating a little slice of history on the Beacon. It was in remarkably good condition for a 57-year-old model. You can’t beat nylon / dope covering for longevity. Like many of Phil’s prototypes the model was simply finished with an o�f-white painted, nylon covered fuselage, RCM M&E 20 | RC

with clear doped orange nylon on the wings and tail. nce �light proven and tweaked to perfection the final finish would be applied or a new model built from the first batch of kits to be taken to model shows in Phil’s van and displayed around the country.

Phil’s prototype still had the mounts set up for onner style reed actuators, so modified these for three regular sized servos. I was tempted to put a servo in each wing but decided to keep the model as original as possible.

It looked like Phil’s reed install had rudder, elevator, elevator trim and aileron so modern gear was much smaller and lighter.

The Big Eagle RCM&E review model, built

by Harry urser, used a Kra�t K -6 radio. The Radio Modeller review model had a Skyleader four channel set and was built by Dave Hughes.

The cost of the kit back then was a princely £10 4s d. According to my ank of ngland in�lation calculator it would be around £150.00 today, so I believe it was very reasonably priced back in the day. h, nearly forgot the �light details Welaunchedo�fthewestslopeandeven thoughthewindwasabout15-20degrees o�fperfecttheli�twassuperb. tclimbedlikea proverbialhomesickangel.Infact,Ihadtoremind www.modelflying.co.uk | January 2025