Fly RC 10/2010

For many RC enthusiasts, myself included, this diverse hobby is as least as much about the time we share with others as it is about building and flying model aircraft. I've mused time and again that our models are often just an excuse to get together with friends at the local field for a few hours, or for a long weekend out of town at a larger event. As the years add up we inevitably meet unique individuals that influence our own paths within the hobby as we will also come to mentor others. The Southeast Electric Flight Festival (SEFF) is perfect example of where lifelong friendships can be forged. I was there for the first time this year and was most impressed by its sense of community. With almost 400 registered pilots and many non-fliers as well, it was undeniably a large RC gathering, yet it seemed more like a busy weekend at a local club field. I felt welcome to stop at every tent, introduce myself and discuss about anything that came to mind.

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Battle of Britain Aircraft

BEING classed as fighters, the Blenheim Mk. If's and IVF's adopted the current Fighter Command scheme of Dark Green (Humbrol HB1 Dark Green plus a dash of Red No. 60), and Dark Earth (Humbrol HB2 Dark Earth) uppersurfaces, in one of two standard camouflage patterns, referred to as A and B schemes, with Night (black) port and White starboard undersides, either divided equally down the centre line, or simply with the starboard wing and tailplane painted White over the original Night underside finish. Inevitably there were variations to these two underside schemes, but these were the most common National markings followed the progressive changes, which by early 1940, had been fixed at Type B upperwing. and Type A fuselage roundels. No underwing roundels were carried, unless operations over the French mainland were undertaken, in which case a Type A1 roundel was applied under the Night port wing and a Type A under the White starboard wing. Fin stripes were not introduced until May 1940, when they were painted the full height of the fin, normally in 6 to 7 inch widths, occasionally of greater widths, and sometimes even covering the entire fin area The Yellow outer ring to the fuselage roundels was also reinstated at this time, converting them into Type A1.

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Displaying Your Model

I think I should start by saying that in this book I'm setting out to achieve the rather difficult task of creating a work that will be of help, or at least of interest, to a wide readership ranging from the beginner to the more experienced modeller. Many of us build models just for the fun of it, and then put them on a shelf and derive pleasure from simply looking at them, but now and then we get the urge to enter one in a competition and have our work judged by our peers. Whether this is a local club event, a large national show or even an international such as EuroMilitaire, that is the moment when we want our model - figure, vignette or diorama - to be presented in the best way. The choices we make about how the model is to be 'displayed' obviously cannot be a separate afterthought, and should usually be integral to the planning of the piece from the early stages. They can add to the appeal even of a single figure or vehicle, and become more important the larger the vignette or diorama is to be. An added dimension over recent years is the question of model photography, which is itself a type of 'display'. Nowadays quite sophisticated digital photographic effects are increasingly available and affordable, and while I have not gone into technicalities in this book the presentation of some of the photos provided for it by fellow modellers makes this relevant.

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Flight Journal 12/2012

IN A CEREMONY that emphasized the Joint Strike Fighter's global pedigree, Lockheed Martin presented the UK's first F-35B Lightning II to the Ministry of Defense on July 19 at the company's Fort Worth, Texas, plant. The acceptance of ZM135, a short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) variant, also marked the first international delivery of an F-35. Britain, the first of eight international partners to join the JSF program, has ordered three Lightning lis and the ministry announced it would purchase a fourth model in 2013. UK-based BAE Systems builds the aft fuselage, fuel system, crew escape, and life support systems. The single-engined F-35 is assembled in Fort Worth where Lockheed Martin also builds the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy will conduct F-35 flight trials in the coming years from land bases and ships. By the time they are operational from airfields in 2018, the fighters will he conducting tests from the HMS Queen Elizabeth, the first of a pair of RN supercarriers.

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Aircraft Modelling

Building scale model aircraft is an absorbing pastime that can encompass a broad range of interests and skills. A proficiently wrought scale model can evoke a period in history, or represent an attractive addition to the mantelpiece. Despite competition from hi-tech leisure pursuits and the spiralling cost of mainstream manufacturing, the hobby of scale aircraft modelling has reached a pinnacle of variety and quality. Thanks to new short-run plastic injection-moulding technologies and the superiority of resin details, modellers in the 21st century can build an impressive replica of almost any military aircraft that ever flew. With the emergence of the Internet, we have access to technical and historical resources that earlier generations could only dream of The Internet also puts us in real-time contact with other modellers and historians across the globe. There has never been a better time to build plastic models.

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