dominicm

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.

A variation on the timeless classic that is the 'Slow Poke'. From Durafly...this new version of this retro flier takes minutes to assemble from the small number of components in the box. For relaxed easy SLOW flying it's fantastic. Super slow fly-bys, tight turns and easy inverted flight all make it really enjoyable to throw around in a relatively small space like my local club field.

That was scary !

Version 2 of the H-King Bonsai wing. Minor tweaks for FPV. Great little EPP wing that's almost indestructible as we found out when I gave my buddy Al the responsibility of the first flight. Never again !

I was quite amazed by this. I had never seen or even heard of a Magnus Effect plane until Finley showed up with what looked like an upside down lawn mower. He's a very articulate kid and talked me through the physics of how this thing works. It doesn't just work...it flies really well...and he built it totally from scratch. Quite looking forward to seeing what he comes up with next.

My buddy James brought an old Kyosho Learjet off eBay 3 years ago...and over last few months gradually put some time into restoring it. This is an old ARF from Kyosho and originally had brushed motors in the fans and fixed landing gear. James replaced with nice 64mm EDF system with brushless motors and retractable landing gear. Question remaining was would it fly off our relatively small bumpy landing strip?

Awesome RC turbine action from a Classic Jets event that I attended and filmed at recently. This quarterly event brings out the best models and best pilots in the UK. Filmed in UltraHD/4K.

The first application of our new 360 camera. I attached it just behind the canopy of my turbine powered CARF Models UltraFlash sport jet. With its JetCat P160SX engine this jet will get to ~250mph. This camera allows you the viewer to change the field of view both horizontally and vertically by using your pointer. Pan to the rear of the jet to see it climb out steeply or pan to the front to scorch across the strip. Enjoy !

It was going well until a flameout coming down the runway...fortunately John executed a masterful belly landing. This model is built from a Jetwelt kit (no longer made as they are sadly no longer in business). Powered by a G-Booster 160).

Dave Wilshere flies Bob White’s CARF Skygate Hawk for its 4th flight. This is CARF Model's biggest Hawk at 1:3.75 scale, guided by Jeti Radio with Powerbox Royal and JR servos. Powered by a Behotec 220 turbine engine. Smoke and pilot to be added soon.

Probably the most futuristic looking turbine jet out at the moment. Very distinctive and sounds great due it's relatively short thrust tube.

More fantastic onboard moments using the RunCam2

Steve Elias flying his 1:5 scale Jet Legend F-16. Guidance from Futaba mz18WC. Powered by an Evojet 220 EX turbine engine. Weight of 21.4kg. In tiger meet scheme used by the Belgium airforce. Liking this guys flying smoooth style. Made it relatively easy to track in my viewfinder.