SLOPING OFF...
...the Newsletter of Christchurch and District Model Flying Club for September 2021
POPHAM 2021
There was us, David B’s and Jon C’s groups as well as David Wedge selling his gear. The Pride hat was from Florida, apparently
It was a brave decision by the BMFA Southern Region to hire Popham Airfield and close it to full-size flying for two days in the hope that aeromodellers their families and friends would come and watch a display, tour the stands, eat the grub and pay for all this while still worried about the elephant in the room. But it worked, at least for the fliers and (if Club response was anything to go by) the spectators. Whether the BMFA made a loss is anyone’s guess, but the feeling among the caterers was pretty positive on the Sunday but probably much less so on the Saturday, when the rainy windy forecast must have put people off.
What was to like? Well, the big attractions were the EDF and turbine jets. They were the stars of the show and very professionally displayed in quite tricky cross-wind conditions. The breeze was at our backs where we were sitting and we were sheltered, but at 100ft it must have been 10 - 15 kts most of the time. The turbine Hawk and the Futura looked fantastic in the air and the sound was as jet-like as you could wish for. The F16 was most impressive and had a light-up afterburner which you can see in the flying shot. We (and the pilots and spotters) were looking into the sun most of the time so getting a picture of these models in flight was a challenge I almost avoided!
The next really impressive display was by Steve Carr with his 60% Extra, made all the more interesting by Trevor’s comment “The last time I saw him fly he piled it in”, but in fact there were very few crashes, a couple of land-outs but no bin-bag moments. This model really is huge, my dog could have had a flight, except he’s have barked all the way round.
The next display that held the attention was the one-third Albatros DV built and flown by Pat Cuss from Yeovil and a member of the Ghost Squadron. He also brought a Fokker Spinne but conditions were too strong to fly it. The DV was well flown despite the gusts and gave a spirited show, but being the only model in the air meant that to anyone not an afficionado it must have been pretty dull after the noise and speed of the jets. I loved it! There were quite a few aerobatic displays by smaller (ie 100” span) models but it’s extremely difficult to impress wirh formation aero’s if the formations are bit ragged. We expect far too much!
The least interesting parts of the show for me were the gliders and the helicopters. The gliders did a mass-launch (would they collide? No. Boo!) and then circled so they were the same size as some real ones in the Youth Champs from Lasham, not far away. So not much to see, but their landings were very impressive, down on the spot with just air-brakes and skill to get it right - and only one go for the aero-towed guys!
Helicopters are simply small and uninteresting despite the obvious pilot skill and verve. But they really are not display attention-grabbers unless the aerobatic element is seriously impressive and, lets say, “insane”.
As I said, the catering was just right and I seemed to eat my own weight in doughnuts, made on the spot by the nice lady and served by Richard.
The commentary is terribly difficult to get right. Does it aim at people who know what’s what (OK - here’s a test for the Quiz Night - how much force is measured by a Newton?) or does the commentator aim at the casual visitor (“these are known as flying ceiling tiles” - of foamies - really?). Does a mildy rude and terribly ancient word-play on Fokker make you roll on the floor or roll your eyes? And of course since the displays were repeated at least twice, we got to hear it all over again. I’m sorry sir, but it wasn’t up to it, and not helped by the lack of a running order or having details of the models to hand - that’s a big error by the fliers and not at all his fault. Finally, when to shut the xxxx up. Announce an aerobatic flight performed to music, start the music then talk all the way through it. Unfortunate!
I see that I have forgotten to mention a number of points of interest. SAMS were there with a control line demo, DeLuxe Materials had a lively stand and sold a lot of the new Fusion adhesive, quite a bit of it to Peter and Richard. I mentioned David Wedge’s large display of second-hand models and gear, but the other stands didn’t make a big impression. Perhaps I was spoilt by the last time I went to a display where there was a whole field full of marquees selling stuff.
But to end on a really good note, the other excellent part of the display were the shuttle carts, driven by friends and family. The biggest fun was when we caught one to go back to the car, it had only three seats. Richard was tying his shoelaces or something...”drive on please - he can walk” said Peter. The lady said I was OK to put her picture in the newsletter, so here she is.
