The P40 in American markings whistled over Ware this afternoon so the Hawk 75A wasn’t the only mover today.

Also, and somewhat more puzzling, I was fairly certain I saw (and heard) a distant Vampire – not the one you’ve been keeping is up to date with though surely? If so that would be very quick work!

haavalds, is your Lanc finished now?
It looked decidedly odd without its cockpit and turrets – and its escort would have had a hard time keeping up, but it had a good ‘sit’ in the air and looked very well-behaved.
Care to post a pic or two we could drool over?

My Stirling has got kind of ‘stuck’ about half way built as I have been struggling to get those Gouge flaps operating. Being electric and lightly built it would not be in the same speed category, but I am looking forward to sitting it next to a Lanc or a B-17 on the field. The Stirling is very much the forgotten bomber – which is why I chose it as a type. I prefer types that as few others as possible are flying.

My dad took me over to an open day at Radlett (where my uncle worked for HP later, making wind tunnel models) when I was a lad. It must have been sometime in the mid fifties. My abiding memory was of a beautifully detailed model Lancaster crashing on the tarmac when the control lines went slack. Very sad!

With you both there gents!
I do RC flying ‘sport-scale’ and it has to be cheap – so I keep cheerful!

Hi Daniel,

Small boys have been known to attempt to make that kind of model fly by the simple strategy of throwing them… but from personal experience I have to say that the flight achieved is not normally what one may call ‘realistic’ and some may quibble about the use of the word ‘flight’!

An interesting range of models though – and ones I was not aware of. Suitable for arranging on the desk as the starting point of dreams…

If you have aspirations to get involved with flying models you may be interested to know that if you have that sort of money available some models are now being sold ready to fly including radio for under £100.
How things have changed!

Now I’ve had a look at your video and the stills showing some of the detail work I can see it’s well up to the excellent standard you have already set.
Gorgeous looking bird!
But personally I wouldn’t dare fly it! It’d take a better pilot than I am – which no doubt it will have.

On the prop, I think it might just be possible to use the scale prop on electric. Obviously I don’t know what size that big paddle is but I have just tested one of the motors on my 115″ Pe-2 on a 20×10 2-blade prop that draws 50A at full throttle on a 5S LiPo pack. That is the stated maximum for the motor (£60 unit cost) so if I wanted to I could probably just get away with using a 22″ 3-blade wooden prop if I fancied buying a couple of 4S packs for it, bearing in mind that this is tested static and the current will drop a bit once the model is moving. The thrust felt collossal at that and felt like the model would fly on only one engine.
As I already have the 5S packs though I will probably leave it as it is or even, having accepted that I am going to be using non-scale props, back off the size a bit to something less overpowered.

Thanks for sharing the pictorial evidence.
(Ignore the signature below! – worth a whole box of cigars!)

Oh that’s just typical of the habitual compartmentalised thinking of our decision makers.
They probably thought the Chinese might put it back in service and give us problems we couldn’t counter!

I wonder what sort of task force we will be able to raise when we have to go back and reclaim the Falklands again. (Is their carrier still operational?… The one we sold them that is). I can just see us going to the French to ask if we could borrow one of theirs please! And in the unlikely event of them saying ‘yes’ what would replace the Harrier force? (2 still-airworthy Seafires, a Swordfish…)
I hope our seamen can still pull an oar!

I wonder what the total cost of sinking the Implacable was (explosives, fuel and other costs involved) and how many years’ preservation that would have paid for.

Oh dear, I’m just getting old and disillusioned I suppose!