Working on some custom vinyl graphics for the Dream-Flight Ahi and...Continue Reading

The first batch of mini Vexer flying wings have proved so popular with UK pilots, Andy decided to go into production. Kit's come with all the necessary hardware, a matching prop guard, detailed instructions etc and are UV printed in various colour schemes.

Should you decide to run your own Vexer racing league, there's even a blank roundel to put your own individual pilot number on with a sharpie. Genius!

Bit of airbrushing on the Andy Whitehead designed Vexer, micro (560mm) flying wing.

New paint scheme I've just finished, for sponsored pilot Steve Schafer. Apart from a few club demo's, I've not touched an airbrush for over a year, so pretty happy (relieved even) I've not completely lost the touch

Painted this one for Mark Taylor a while back and he's finally got around to putting it together. I possibly could have done more with fuz, but overall, I think the whole thing looks pretty effective.

Ideal for anyone wanting to dip a toe into the world of VTPR or Ultrabatics, without the building usually associated with this kind of model, the Vagabond is a 1.5m EPP slope glider with an all moving tailplane for extreme aerobatics. The model comes with nice clear set of instructions, the wing spars installed, servo pockets etc already cut and the wing, tailplane and fin pre-covered in laminating film, so a few hours will see you ready to hit the slopes. I used cheap and cheerful MG90S servos all round, powered by a 700 mAh 2S LiFe pack, which all worked very well. No, it probably won't perform quite as well as some of the other ultra lightweight models available, but that said, it's a lot of fun for a relatively small outlay.


Hacker Vagabond http://www.zoomport.eu/shop/Kits-and...163340600.aspx supplied in the UK by Flying-Dog http://www.flying-dog.co.uk/shop/vag...arf-p-307.html

Just to show how versatile the Vagabond actually is, here's a video of me flying it in a 20 gusting to 27mph wind.

Hacker Vagabond (5 min 5 sec)

Vagabondy (4 min 22 sec)

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Peekaboo (3 min 36 sec)

Single and two seat Mig 15's I've just painted for Andy. These are 600mm (24") span profiles with mid mounted motors.

Note the cheeky heat bluing around the back of the single seater

Cut files are below for anyone wishing to make their own. I've also included a few build pics from Andy, as there seems to be quite a bit of interest in the Miggy's....Continue Reading

As well as the Mega-Plasma, Andy Whitehead and I planned to come up with something a little different for this years Electric Indoor Masters and so decided on a scaled up version of Flying-Dog's Gym-Star, with Andy doing the design/cnc cutting and myself the building and airbrushing. Because we were on a bit of a tight dead line we made the decision to, rather than a built up wing, go instead with a milled flat plate from 6mm depron, which did work very well. The wing has a single piece of 1x6mm carbon strip along the leading edge, the rest is braced with a 3.5mm tube A frame, which when rigged results in a surprisingly rigid structure.

Andy as always did an amazing job with the design, especially considering there was no dry run the whole thing fitted together pretty much perfectly.

Here are a few specs:

Wingspan: 1500mm (60 inches)
Length: 1300mm
Weight: 530grms

Motor: Turnigy 2217 20turn 860kv 22A Outrunner
ESC: Hobbywing 25amp
Battery: Turnigy nano-tech 950mah 3S 25~50C Lipo (chosen because it only weighs a scant 69grms!)
Aileron Servos: HXT 9grm
Flap Servos: HXT 5grm
Elevator/Rudder Servos: Turnigy 9grm MG
Prop: APC 12x3.8 SF

First flight of Big-Gym

EIM 2014 "Big Gym" Gary Holland and Andy Whitehead. (3 min 18 sec)

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The Flame is proving popular amongst UK pilots for Freestyle/Aeromusical. These two are for Steve Schafer and Ray Watts and are intended for both AM and syncro at this years EIM.

Note the spoof sponsor logos on Ray's plane

Same design as it's smaller brother, Andy has cut this 48" indoor monster especially for this year's Electric Indoor Masters. Any bigger though and I'm going to have to get a bigger brush buddy!!

Connor Stephenson test flying the MP:

MegaPlasma (2 min 18 sec)

An all new design from Andy Whitehead, the Plasma is a lightweight, short coupled hyper 3D model featuring an all moving tailplane.

Some new airframes painted for Mark at MT Graphics and Foamies

FPV's not really my sort of thing, but I had fun flying it Plane in the front was Liam (Bowerz) Riot. which I didn't want to get too close to, as it was his first flight with it!

Twinstar FPV (4 min 33 sec)

I live quite close to Butser Hill in Hampshire and when the wind is in the right direction, it is possible to DS the south west facing bowl. With that in mind, I've been looking around for a dedicated (cheap!) DS machine and HobbyKings Inertia F5B seemed to fit the bill. A little work glassing and filling the nose and provision for ballast and she was ready to go. Servos are 555's slim wing for the ailerons and an HS-65MG for the elevator in the tail. Next step is to fit a flight stabilisation system, as the line of Gorse bushes along the top of the ridge can make things very turbulant.

Video is here.. Oh and make sure you turn the sound up

Ripping the dip (3 min 5 sec)

Short vid of me relaxing with the MKI EF Vanquish. The 'Van' had been given to me by a good friend, after extensive repairs to the fuselage and a recover - hence the reason for the non standard scheme. Motor is the older EF Torque 2818T/900 running on a 12x6 and 4S. Servos HS-65MG's on the rudder/elevator and some cheap Turnigy's for the ailerons. I've got to say, despite the crash damage, I'm really impressed with this airframe. So much so, I might even treat myself to a shiny new MKII version.

This was only the 3rd flight, so still getting dialled into it. Thanks to Darrell for filming and adding the music etc. Very atmospheric:

Gaz and the Vanquish (3 min 19 sec)

Messing around with foam Wot4's at the RC Hotel in Corfu. All are completely standard. The only mod was to remove the Y lead and plug the ailerons into seperate channels to facilitate flap mixing and differential adjustment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=rb41OwUw83Y

A new addition to the Mark Taylor designed line of foam models. The Inferno is primarily intended for indoor pattern F3P.

Something a little different from the pen (and CNC Router) of Mr Andy Whitehead. Rusty the Cessna AGwagon. All from 6mm depron, with routed corrugations and featuring inboard working flaps.

To my mind, Andy is a total genius and his attention to detail is amazing. Why he's not been snapped up by one of the of the big manufacturers is beyond me.

Oh, and I just slapped a bit of paint on it btw

I've been asked exactly what airbrush equipment etc I use, so thought I'd share it with all of you.

Paint:

When I first started airbrushing I messed around with cheap poster paints. The coverage was terrible and it constantly clogged the gun - I almost gave up there and then in truth. Then on a whim I thought I'd try Createx Opaque and immediately all my problems were solved and I've stuck with it ever since. Createx is a water based, available in a huge range of colours (including fluorescents and pearls) and gives excellent adhesion and coverage on a variety of materials. It also remains flexible (which means it won't crack or peel off your 'foamie' no matter how much abuse you give it) and won't fade, even in direct sun light. It also can be used straight from the bottle. So you don't have to mess around thinning it. The only downsides are, local hobby stores don't stock it, so always a mail order deal and it's relatively expensive. Having said that though, it's important to remember that the solid content is very high, so you use less paint. Typically a 2 oz bottle will last me 6 to 12 months painting a couple of foamies a week. Bottom line is guys. Don't skimp on this one, use the best paint you can

Compressor:

Unless you're doing very small scale models or simply want to try airbrushing for the first time and are unsure if it's your thing, give the compressed air cans a miss. The can's quickly freeze up, the air pressure drops and your gun will spatter....Continue Reading