Christchurch and District Model Flying Club
 

Diary of a Flier 19

The story so far B Leonard Wise is a trainee model pilot. He has not yet reached the BMFA A Stage.

A person of my intelligence is always in the forefront of thought and action and I am determined to have an Electric Plane. Whenever I ask about them I get such a load of Warts Amps Kvs etc that it becomes incomprehensible to even a person of my high intelligence.

So girding my loins, so to speak, I decided to get one from the clown of a Model Shop owner. He seems to me to spend his life making things difficult for people like me. I have decided to take no notice of his so called advice and get what I think I want.

As I walked in he greeted me with Good morning Squire. I am not Squire I replied my name is Mr Wise. Or Sir if you want to be polite. Right Sir, he replied what can I get you. I want said I an electric plane. A sort of first low winger. Got the very thing he said and went to get a large kit with a picture of a low winger on the front.

Now he said you will need a power train. I expect you know about such things. I know you need a Motor, Speed Controller and a Battery, I replied so get me those. Hold on a minute he said it is not as easy as that. Here we go again I thought. More gobbledegook. Just supply me with a powerful motor the relevant controller and battery .Right you are he said. Now I said I want a bigger battery because I want more power. Most electric planes stagger around the sky and I want to fly fast. So I will need a larger battery and because of the extra power a larger prop.

He started to say a larger battery means a smaller prop, I stopped him: just get them I said so he did. I paid and left this time I had got the better of him I thought.

It was easy to put together I used the receiver from our crashed plane and within a week I was ready to fly. We had had some weeks of hot, dry weather and the whole place was very dry. Walter came out to the flight line with me. He claims to have no knowledge of Electric. I took it off and it certainly went like a rocket. I flew it round on full throttle for a while them cut it and drifted around. I then did a roll and thought I would try a loop. Full throttle again, up it went. As it got to the top, I noticed a faint trail of smoke coming out of the plane. I could not imagine where that was coming from I thought I should get it down as fast as I could but as it started on the downward path fire started to show itself. Walter said your battery is on fire. Land it. But as I brought it down the whole plane became engulfed in flame and it crashed into a gorse bush on the edge of the heather. Within a few seconds the bush and the heather were ablaze we ran over to the bushes but by the time we arrived the whole place was burning.

Someone had called the fire brigade but by the time they arrived a considerable fire was going on. Eventually they got it under control. Them a rather sooty policeman started to ask questions. Eventually he came to me. Mr Wise he asked. Yes I said. Did you own the toy aeroplane which burned the forest? I started to say it was not a toy, Did you own it he repeated. I yes I said. Then I charge you under the Bye Laws with setting fire to the Forest with malice afore-thought. Look I said it was spontaneous combustion I had no control over it. That is for you and the magistrate to sort out you will hear about the date of the court hearing.

Is anything simple in this hobby?

[Home] [Chairman's Chatter] [Editorial] [Bring a Model] [Paint Mixing] [Fly Diary] [DIY Electronics] [S-B Crusader] [Bumble Bee]