Christchurch and District Model Flying Club
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NOSTALGIA, by Jon Couldridge

(the Merlin and Wasp-engined models below)

Since joining C&DMFC and flying radio controlled planes it started me thinking of my teens when I used to fly control line, only small craft though.  I started with a Cox Baby Bee which I wore out followed by a DC Merlin and finally a DC Wasp. I flew mainly speed models and some aerobatic and flying wings.  The stunt models never lasted long before I crashed them but the speed models I felt survived were relegated to the loft and buried over the years.

I did not give it another thought until I went to the Blackbushe Airport model show.  Looking around I saw Model Technics had a stand selling fuel and that got me thinking,” Just for old time’s sake, I wonder, would mine still run?”

Back home I searched in the loft and found the buried models.  The one with the DC Merlin (diesel) which I built at the tender age of 13, had fared pretty well over the years.  With only some minor damage to the elevator this could easily be fixed as the motor was turning freely.  Unfortunately the model with the DC Wasp (glow) did not fare so well.  I tried to turn it over and pulled the conrod out of the piston writing the engine off completely.  Had I been sensible I would have found out that I should have immersed the engine in cellulose thinners for a week first. It was disappointing as the model was in flyable condition when it went into the loft all those years ago.  Both these models were built from Aero Modeller free plans and I like to think one of the reasons the Merlin survived was because I mixed my own fuel using Duckhams 20/50 for the lubricant and not castor oil which I believe can damage engines if left over time.

The following year I went back to Blackbushe model show and this time I bought some diesel fuel.  A few days later I tried to start the Merlin, it started second flick !  An incredible achievement for a model that had not run for 43 years.  It was glorious, the noise, and all the associated memories that came flooding back.

C&DMFC started to post flying at Tarrant Hinton on the Google group.  The Tarrant Hinton Club had control line flying.  I contacted this club and found out I could fly my model, even though it wasn’t silenced. I decided to try it out at their 15th October ‘Bacon Butty’ meeting. The Diesel model always flew better than the Wasp powered model so I repaired the elevator.  Having found the control line handles unfortunately due to its age the Cox plastic handle crumbled in my hands but luckily the metal handle was fine. To avoid a potential disaster I decided the Dacron lines should be replaced even though they appeared in reasonable condition.  After research I found a company called Dens Models who supplied them, a few days later my order arrived and 25ft lines were fitted to the handle.

The day before the meeting I tested the Merlin, again it started second flick and after adjusting compression and mixture it ran beautifully.

Sunday dawned.  I travelled to Tarrant Hinton and after having some difficulty finding the entrance arrived just after 9am. Two people were already there mowing the take-off and landing strip.  10 minutes later more people arrived with several gazebos and a barbecue.  By 10am everything was up and it was buzzing with fliers.  A briefing was held and the only rule was to use your common sense! Surprisingly this worked – we had no bad or dangerous flying all day.

In my experience all positives have a negative and unfortunately the wind was really gusting too much for my plane but I was determined after getting this far it was going to be flown.  I thought it would be a good idea to run the engine before setting up the lines to one side of the field. I am sure you can guess what happened, despite all my preparation the motor refused to run properly! It would start but not keep running.  Perseverance ensued and finally I was able to keep it running.  I remembered from years ago that when the weather is cold this was often a problem and also how everything around and behind gets covered in a mist of castor oil, a lovely mess!  By this time Doug Bowman another C&DFC member had arrived who offered to hand launch it for me as the grass was too long to take off using the under carriage.    We went to one side of the field as directed; I set the lines out, connected them to the plane and checked the controls were working in the right direction.  I decided it was best to launch the model into wind; the motor was started and tuned.  I ran to the handle, picked it up and gave Doug the nod to launch, big mistake launching into wind as the model did not pick up enough speed to keep the lines taught as it went up wind, I ran backwards but it was too late and the model descended gently into the long grass with no damage.  I then remembered launching in the lee of the wind is what we used to do when it was windy.  Again the motor was started and this time the launch was successful, but the motor was running weak up wind causing it to miss and on the downwind leg with more centrifugal force making the mixture richer it would stop missing. So when going up wind I had to run backwards to keep the lines taught.  This went on for a few minutes, it was hard work and I was hoping the fuel would run out soon, when all of a sudden the model flipped over and crashed into the grass.  On inspection the propeller had broken.  It was a Keilcraft nylon prop which was as old as the plane.  I resolved that probably I had had my monies worth out of it!

When the plane crashed I did fall over with dizziness, I probably should have practiced my ‘spotting’ as a ballerina would do but in my defence it took all my concentration to keep the model in the air with a sick engine.

At the meeting I was really pleased to see there was one other control line flyer, he had 2 models both electric powered and both performed very well.

Later I watched the radio controlled IC models flying and joined in myself with an electric power Genesis and Acro-Wot. Just for note the Genesis was noisier than some of the silenced IC engines.

After all the excitement of the flying I have to say the bacon butties were delicious and very welcome.

I would like to congratulate the Tarrant Hinton Cub and James Parry for running such a successful event and the warm welcome they gave me.

One final comment after several washes all the oil did come off my clothes!

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