Hi All. I'm Tony and I've been into building and flying model planes for a very

Mention anything you like, we don't mind. There's very little in the way censorship here but the 'no flaming' rule is absolute!
And a very warm welcome, it's good to see you.

Presumably the plan site is outerzone? I use them all the time in fact I downloaded and got one printed today!
Model technics will be able to supply suitable fuel for your engine ( it's not well known but they will mix custom brews upon request) and if you need engine spares try "Dens models " he stocks new Cox engines as well as spares....

Thanks Klip. Very kind. It was the 'outerzone' site. Recent research has revealed how far behind the times I am. I still think of solarfilm as a 'new thing'. I had no idea Cox had gone out of business. The idea of gyro stabilizers in electric ready to fly models as mentioned earlier leaves me entirely cold, that's not the hobby I knew.
Fingers crossed I can get off the ground again, but if I do, it'll be balsa and a 'proper' engine.
Thanks again for the welcome.

Yep, I've seen Den's site. I need to order a starter spring from him amongst other things. Thanks for the tip re the fuel.
The Fournier plan I mentioned came from outerzone, amongst many others. What a brilliant site.

It is indeed and totally free! love to have a look at the Fournier plan and I totally agree with your sentiments concerning models, that should be built of wood and be powered by something smelly and a sod to start

Definitely Paul.

This is the Fournier;
outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=7174

Hope the link works

link worked! what a great project....I'm tempted

Hi All
been directed here via another forum, a good find in my view- i like the many nostalgic subjects such as Control line which i guess most of us have had a go in our hobby career.
I have been in and out of the hobby for around 50 years having started, like many, with Airfix and Keil Kraft kits- have others found the original KK kits impossible to build- not the gliders etc but those small rubber powered Spitfires and Hurricanes- impossible to cut out the parts without breaking the balsa. I've flown CL, FF and RC planes with minimal success- foolishly i preferred the "loner" route so never really learned to fly. This time i am joining a club and already have a Soarcerer and two Middle Phases pretty close to being completed.
I live in Kent but will be flying off the South Downs. I am fanatical about most things aviation.
I retired two years ago due to ill health, the positive side being i can finally take this hobby seriously.

"Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance".
Gordon

A warm welcome from me gordy, I did once many years ago build a KK me109, can't remember if it flew well or not?
Remember it met it's end after I accidently trod on my mates spitfire and it was deemed only fair he trod on mine to make amends ( funny how kids brains work).

Welcome on board Gordon.

I remember those KK kits. I built the Luscombe Sylvaire. Cutting all those little notches out of the formers, for the stringers, was a nightmare. (It was pre-pre-die-crushed, of course!) Especially as, at the time, I only had a single-sided razor-blade - and the wood was SO brittle!
I knew nothing of aerodynamics, of course, or weights, balances, etc.
The model came out looking rather like a starved camel, if I recall, and flew like a dropped house-brick, partly because of the ironwood, and partly because, if I recall, I used Cascamite glue and emulsion paint that was left over in a can my Dad had used in the house! :ohmy:
What it weighed, I have no idea!

Hi Eric
glad i wasn't the only who found those kits tricky. Having said that i have asked for a Vintage Models Hurricane for my birthday- i believe these are based on those KK kits but laser cut and with quality wood this time. The original KK kits were described as "die crushed" in the industry i believe.
I am keen to lay the ghost of those early building experiences.

thanks Crash, i'm hoping to make a regular contribution on the forum.
G

Thanks Paul
Yes, kids mentality! I used to blow some of my planes up with bangers ( fireworks not sausages) if they refused ti fly which more often than not they didn't.

Die-crushed came later - I've still got an original KK kit of a Ladybird. The patterns are printed onto the wood, and you had to cut it out yourself!
Die cutting was a later version, where the patterns for the parts (the dies) were made in metal, with protruding sharp edges, which were hydraulically?? pressed onto the balsa sheets - combining the cutting out with the ink printing. It worked great until the dies blunted, hence the name die-crushed!
I've also got an unstarted kit for an Intruder - 61 powered pattern bird that I was going to electrify, and a part-built Elmira glider I'm intending to put a motor into the nose of - eventually!
I have too many models ready to go, though, and have run out of space!
but that's straying off-topic!