Winter in the Goldfields can produce some of our most glorious days, calm, sunny and warm enough to be very comfortable. In fact winter days can at time make some of the unbearably hot or bitterly cold days tolerable. This month has seen some shockers and some absolutely perfect days. However every Sunday has still been quite flyable, and on occasions, Saturday and Monday have been unflyable with a perfect Sunday in between.

The standard of flying is progressing nicely also. At this present moment we do not have any pilots still receiving instruction, all having progressed to intermediate level with very few losses.

We are still experimenting with combat, with the typical aircraft being .40 - .46 powered ARF. All In Combat is proving to be a little expensive, with a mid air collision at high speed between my Scanner and Peter DeGroots proving fatal for both. The latest theory is that we will fly one on one bouts, greatly reducing the risk of collision while not losing all of spectacle and excitement.

Peter DeGroot is also purchasing a .15 size foam delta combat wing. This craft may be the answer to our needs, being lighter, more repairable, harder to damage and also using only three servos (now you are getting somewhere. Ed)

Our flirtation with combat has been an interesting one with some positive spin-offs. The speed at which our newer pilots have progressed has been phenomenal. The hand eye co-ordination required for combat is unbelievably demanding. I have always believed that a pilot does not really feel full connection to his models until he starts doing aerobatics, and combat requires every trick in the book.

The number of spectators has also tripled. I believe if we can find a more suitable aircraft, easier on the pocket and more durable, while providing spectators with an exciting spectacle, the returns from sales of hot dogs, soft drinks and possibly even admissions will do the clubs coffers no harm. Greater exposure will naturally lead to an increase in membership, hopefully from a younger age group.

All this has obviously to be balanced against the needs of our members who do not wish to fly combat and enjoy casual Sunday flying. This does at times mean every member as we all usually take out a second aircraft, usually semi-scale or just a fun fly type. Combat does have one advantage for non-combatants, and that is if five pilots are involved in a bout that makes for five less pilots waiting in the queue to fly.

Anyway, as a wise man once said "Time will tell".

As promised in the last edition of Windsock, and providing they were suitable for printing, you may have before you in this edition some photos of the Britten Norman Trilander as recently finished. As yet unflown, I have been very happy with the finished aircraft having experienced many problems, mostly relating to finish techniques

Technical specifications for those whom are interested are as follows. Wingspan 1300mm, flying weight 1.6 kg (3.5 pounds), engines 3 x Norvet (or Norvel) .061 with integral fuel tanks. Radio Sanwa 4 channel.

It is obviously Stand Off Scale with uncowled engines, increased aileron and elevator surface area, however the top, side and front profiles are almost exactly to scale.

As I did not have a jig to build up the fuselage I came up with an interesting and very effective method for producing a very straight fuselage. After producing formers from the front view of the aircraft, having decided how to construct the fuselage, I cut the formers out of 2mm lite ply, tacked them together with p.v.a. then drilled a 50mm hole through them all. I then slid the formers onto a very heavy cardboard roll obtained from a fabric supply shop, spaced them using the side view of the aircraft, then glued on the balsa longerons, making sure the formers were true. It was very easy by eye to see any twists or defects in the length of the fuselage, being basically a long box in design.

Once I was happy with true-ness of the structure, I then proceeded with sheeting the model, using large numbers of rubber bands to hold the sheet balsa in place.

When the glue had dried it was a simple process to slide out the cardboard roll, leaving a nice straight fuselage behind.

Whether this method is suitable for other aircraft is yet to be seen, and a very heavy straight roll is a must for accuracy, but it does alleviate the need for a fixed jig, freeing up the model to be worked on as you progress.

That is about all from here for the moment, I promise a full flying report in the future, or at least a copy of the crash investigation for the Britten Norman Trilander.

A final thought, "Do you always replace your divots?"