dominicm

With all my recent filming of turbine A-10s I had to have the nearest thing. One of the 'Essential RC' team had told me Motion RC had opened an EU warehouse so after a quick stock check on their web site I made the order for the big 1.7m Freewing A-10. It shipped same day and was with me 2 days later! Building time is very quick. Simple assembly takes 30-60 minutes. Applying the water type decals takes several hours if you want to apply them all. I used two Optipower 100C 5S6000 lipo packs. Achieving CG was easy at about 85mm from leading edge. The video shows take off from a very short strip. Although possible it's not recommended. Having a more aft CG and holding in the elevator until the front wheel is off the deck is a must to achieve it. A fully aerobatic flight. Enough power. You can retrofit 90mm fan units but I don't see the need unless you want unlimited vertical but at the cost of less flight time. I timed for 4.5 minutes which gave me 15-20% left in the packs. The landing was overshot on this video. First time flying the A-10 at this site. In hindsight should have made a lower approach. The descent gave me extra speed on touchdown I didn't need! All in all a spectacular and big EDF jet. Not cheap but considering it's size and it's plug'n'play format it's fair. Building something like this from scratch would be a lot more expensive. The included ordnance set is fragile, especially the sidewinders but 3D printed replacement versions can be found in thingiverse.com.

It had to happen and no surprise that Anton Lin of Skymaster Jets is leading the way. The first gas turbine powered VTOL Harrier AV-8B. Development and testing continues and we're not likely to see it at a public show flying a full VTOL routine until 2019 but nonetheless what has been achieved so far is a sign of things to come.

It was great to see a big scale Dornier Do 335. Rarely modelled and understandably. I suspect it's a very challenging project. This one flown in great style at the Weston Park International Model Show in formation with several other WWII fighters.

Owned and built by Keith Mitchell, this model took 5 years of combined design and construction. Its initial flights were taken under the Large Model Association scheme (approved by the CAA) for model aircraft over 80KG. It underwent 12 test flights for combined flight time of more than 2 hours to get it's LMA\CAA certificate to fly at public shows. A rarely modelled scale radio controlled jet in an amazing scheme applied by the master, Philip Noel of Pinnacle Aviation. Specifications of this fantastic model. Wingspan: 21 Feet Length: 19 Feet Weight: 220 Lbs Engines: 4 x ZDZ 90cc petrol Props: 4 x 28 x 10 Biela Carbon Radio: Futaba 14 Channel Servos: 22 (13 channels for ailerons, elevator, rudder, flaps, throttle x 4, landing gear and lights)

Take a ride onboard the huge Avro Vulcan Bomber flown by Dave Johnson, Chairman of the Large Model Association. After he gets in the air the Valiant and Victor bombers flown by his son and grandson, Andy and Adam, take off and catch up for some formation flying. This is a 360 panoramic video. You control the view. Use your mouse pointer to move the field of view. Pan left, right, up and down. Recommend selecting the highest possible resolution from the list available in the bottom right of the player. An up to date version of your browser is required to play these 360 videos. Chrome is best.

Simon Potter flies his G.91 at Classic Jets #75 event in Abingdon. A rarely modelled scale radio controlled jet in an amazing scheme applied by the master, Philip Noel of Pinnacle Aviation. The Fiat G.91 is an Italian jet fighter aircraft designed and built by Fiat Aviazione, which later merged into Aeritalia. The G.91 has its origins in the NATO-organised NBMR-1 competition in 1953, which sought a light fighter-bomber "Light Weight Strike Fighter" to be adopted as standard equipment across the air forces of the various NATO nations. After reviewing multiple submissions, the G.91 was picked as the winning design of the NBMR-1 competition.

After the less than successful maiden where an overshoot on landing ripped out the landing gear, James split the ailerons for flaps and put in beech bearers to support the mains. Time for a second attempt.

3 pulse jets! OMG. Would love to see that.

Hans Litjens rocks up to Weston Park International Show every year with his Scout Pulse Jet and every year I get a little bit better at tracking it. This is definitely my best effort to date.

Smoke-EL is a microprocessor controlled smoke generating system that is lightweight, robust, and provides huge volumes of outdoor smoke for aircraft demonstrations. The system consists of a control unit with a G-Force sensor inside, smoke pump, and Fluid tank, and Heating Tubes to provide switchable and G-Force dependent smoke for your aircraft through the strategically placed Heating Tubes. These can be mounted in the aircraft center line, on the wing tips, under the cowling exhaust, or other places to create the effect you want. Gunter was flying a Krill 35% Extra 300 with 2.6m wingspan. Weight is 16KG. Power system is a Plettenburg Predator 30/6, Master Spin 220 Pro ESC, Gens ace 12S, 10000mAh LiPo, RASA 27 x 13 prop. PowerBox Mercury SRS with 2 x Jeti –SAT2 receiver’s RC battery 2 x 2800mAh, PowerBox LiPo. Thomas Lenard was flying a jet turbine engine powered CARF Models Eurosport equipped with the same G-Force enabled Smoke-EL system.

Paul Camilleri has a minor engine start-up issue for his first flight at Wings & Wheels Model Show but returns with a stunning show flight later in the day after rushing home to get and install a new engine in his AzAerosports Havoc sport jet. HOT START HERO !

Climb onboard this big A-10 Tank Buster and take a ride at the Wings & Wheels Model Show. This is a 360 panoramic video so try and keep the second A-10 in view by using your mouse pointer from about 6 minutes into the video. Mike Burrell flies the Mibo A-10 and Steve Johnson flies the Sky Master A-10. Both of these radio controlled jets cost £15K to £20K each.

Putting a turbine engine in an EPO foam ARF jet may sound crazy but it obviously works! HSD sell the F-16 in plug and play form with engine installed or as a kit, already assembled but you drop in your own engine and supporting equipment. I've owned the HSD Super Viper so know these are strong models despite them being made of EPO foam. Was great to see this in action. Click here >

John Greenfield latest scratch built radio controlled model aircraft was flown at its first public event at North London Model Flying Clubs Scale Day. This model weighs ~42KG and is powered by two Zenoah 62cc engines. The wingspan is an impressive 4.8 metres. John took 1 year to build the model and a further year to design and engineer the undercarriage. He hopes to fly it off water in the near future! Click here >

John Greenfield uses his beautiful DH Tiger Moth to tow Darren Maples Orlik 3 up until it is nearly out of sight before Darren releases from the tow line and gracefully glides back to the strip for a perfect landing...BUT not before John executes some superb aerobatics sometimes trailing thick smoke. Awesome stuff ! The Tiger Moth first flew in 2011. It has a wingspan of 4.3 metres, length of 3.1 metres and and weight of 55 Kilogrammes. This model is 50% scale and is powered by a 384cc twin inline petrol engine. The glider is a 1/2 scale Orlik 3 built by Darren Maple of the Ghost squadron from plans drawn by John Greenfield. The wingspan is 7.5m and it weighs 28kg. Full size plans of the Orlik are available as a free download from the "downloads" page of the Ghost Squadron website at www.ghostsquadron.co.uk.

After filming some RC aircraft I've often thought that it would be fun to add some special effects (SFX)...so I had a go. Considering the small amount of time invested I think it came out OK.

Two great pilots flying their big A-10s on the same slot at the Large Model Association East Kirkby Show. One a Skymaster and the other a slightly larger Mibo. Awesome to see them flying together. Listen out for the Brrrttt ! Click here >

Andy Johnson flying his scratch built Concorde at the Large Model Association (LMA) Tibenham Show. Some superb low slow passes on this flight. Made my job as cameraman very easy. This model is powered by a Wren Supersport micro turbine jet engine. This model is 156 inches length, wingspan 68 inches and weighs 22 lbs. Click here >

At 21 ft wingspan this flying RC model replica of the 1928 'Beardmore Inflexible' Bomber is one of the BIGGEST RC aeroplanes you will ever see. It is pulled along by 3 Zenoah 38 engines. Watch its first graceful flight at a public LMA show and highlights of an earlier flight where one wheel was lost on a touch and go! For some pilots that could have spelled disaster but not for John as it he guided it to a nice landing on 2 wheels.

Joel Vlashof has shared another project update of his fantastic Harrier AV-8B. Brilliant progress!

Dave Johnson is Chairman of the Large Model Association (LMA) in the UK. He doesn't just organise the shows, he participates in a big way. This is just one of the superb models he regularly flies at LMA events. This model is powered by a DLE 222cc flat four cylinder petrol with 34 x 12 prop. All up weight is approx 40kg. The full size Bede BD-8 was an aerobatics aircraft developed in the United States in the mid-1970s. It was a low-wing, single-seat monoplane of conventional configuration, albeit very short-coupled, and of all-metal construction.

Take a ride on Steve Carr's huge 55% scale Yak 54 for his aerobatic flight at East Kirkby Large Model Association Show. This is a 360 panoramic video. This means YOU control the view. Use your mouse pointer to pan around and change the field of view. If watching on a smart phone you can tilt the phone to achieve the same thing. Click here >

82 inch dh Mosquito built from a Brian Taylor plan over 18 months by its owner and pilot who flew it in great style at a recent electric fly-in.

Powered by two PST130 micro turbine engines this 1:6 scale Fokker 70 Airliner gets in the air rapidly and cruises around the sky.

Durafly's new performance Racing FPV wing is out. Arrives with very little to do to get it in the air. FPV gear is optional. Features carbon throughout to add rigidity and has 2 tip lights and a rear nav light. Gave it a spin and flew it line of sight for the maiden flight on a 4S2700 pack. It tears around at full throttle. Next time out going to keep it low and tight around some pylons.