Patch News – February 2025

It’s March, welcome to glorious spring weather and lots of flying opportunities! Well, that might be slightly optimistic but there are signs that the weather is getting better and February was certainly better for us than January. We flew on the decent days and saw several good turnouts of members. Some days were very cold but the hardy ones still flew! Unfortunately Friday 21^st was a complete washout and the forecast for the following Sunday was also dreadful so we flew on Saturday 22^nd instead when nine members turned out for an excellent morning of flying and socialising in surprisingly good weather.
At the beginning of February we rotated the patch clockwise slightly as had been planned previously. This is to ensure better separation between airborne models and the houses (existing and planned). The rotation makes very little difference to our take-offs and landings but the red ‘Do Not Cross’ line that extends both west and east from the southern edge of the patch has rotated with the patch, effectively rotating our whole flying area slightly. So, when standing on the pilot line facing the masts, look left along the edge of the patch, extend that line into the distance, and never fly behind it, simples!
A couple of days after we’d mowed the newly rotated patch Woody and 1066 went back and mowed the whole patch again and sent me this photo as proof of their hard work!
Since then we’ve mown it a couple more times so the patch is now in very good condition.
I think it’s short enough now for Gordon Bennett to remove the wheelbarrow wheels from his Multiplex Extra and replace them with something sensible but I doubt that’ll happen!

On to new models now, starting with one that’s both come and sadly gone in the same month, Woody’s F-117 Lockheed Nighthawk. As I said last month the Nighthawk is one that Woody found on the website of Humayun Najabat but it seems this one was actually designed by someone else. It says Dzung 50 on the plan and I’ve found an S-DiY video of the build that seems rather better than Humayun Najabat’s, you can watch it HERE.
Woody fitted his usual foamie set-up consisting of a Turnigy 2826/6 2200Kv motor, a 30A speed controller, and a pair of 9g metal gear servos. He brought it along on two flying sessions and we had multiple attempts at each session to get it flying but never managed to get the Nighthawk airborne for more than a few metres. It’s a bit of an awkward thing to launch and it requires a discus style throw. For the first flight Woody positioned the battery as far forward as he could get it to achieve the centre of gravity that was shown on the plan and he’d also needed to add quite a large lump of lead to the nose.
It seemed odd as the one in the video on the website didn’t appear to have any lead added and the battery was mounted further back. The first few attempts resulted in it nosing straight into the deck so we removed the lead and gradually moved the battery back but, even with full up elevator the Nighthawk refused to fly. After several attempts the nose got damaged so Woody took it home for repairs, and also to change the servo linkages to increase the amount of up elevator that was available. The next time out the centre of gravity was definitely further back than Woody had marked on the wing and there was much more up elevator available so we were hopeful of success but again the Nighthawk wouldn’t go for more than a few metres before hitting the deck, strange and annoying.
After several more tries there was a bit of damage to the plane but more importantly to Woody’s confidence and patience. He decided to give up in disgust and, having stripped out all the gear, he relocated the remains to the local tip! Since then I’ve had another look at the videos and they say the CG should be about 42cms from the nose which is where Woody had the yellow lines on his. But two videos also show the plane being balanced, and they are balancing at least 3cms further back than where Woody’s marks were.
So either Woody can’t measure or the 42cms given is wrong, personally I reckon the 42cms is wrong. I’m pretty sure that if Woody’s Nighthawk had balanced where shown in the videos it would have flown. Never mind, it’s too late now, Woody’s loss is the tip’s gain!

Sticking with Woody, following the Nighthawk nightmare he was feeling rather blue so he’s bought himself a yellow. No, not a yellow, a Yellow, although Woody’s will be blue!
It’s a plan pack from Sarik Hobbies and they say it’s a classic .049 design for electric power and modern lightweight radio control gear designed by Ton Van Munsteren and featured in December 2023 RCM&E Magazine. In case you don’t know what an .049 is, it’s an I/C glow plug engine of 0.049 cubic inch capacity or 0.8cc, mostly manufactured by Cox.
The Yellow has a wingspan of just 936mm and requires a 2826/10 1400kV brushless motor, a 30A speed controller, and a 3 cell 1000mAh battery. It looks like it should be fun and probably ideal for our field. This is what it’ll look like when Woody has finished his.
You probably can’t tell that I’ve superimposed Woody’s face over Ton Van Munsteren’s…!

Page Boy came and flew his Wasp E2K pylon racer at the field in February, he has hardly flown at all recently so I think he was getting his hand in for when he flies his new Mirus. It’s the smaller 25 sized version and Page Boy says he’s happy with how it’s going together and the build is already well on track so we’ll probably see it flying sometime in March.
Meanwhile you can see how his Wasp flew in this month’s video. Page Boy also snapped up a bargain that he spotted on Facebook Marketplace this month, it’s an FMS Avanti.
This is from Horizon Hobby: The fantastic 70mm EDF Avanti here! Avanti is a mutual-developed airplane made by FMS team from China and Sebart Team from Italy. The original design and authorization are from Sebart, with the additional FMS advanced production concept, it is finally being a promised finest work. Utilizing many new concepts and technologies from existing planes, this highly anticipated Avanti has the inherent ability to offer a rip-roaring flight. We have optimized the airframe structure markedly to make your time in getting ready for flight quick and easy. The assembly is very straightforward: 7 screws and a carbon fiber wing spar and you are finished.
The Avanti features the latest FMS locked-rotor mode E-retract with overcurrent protection, the CNC-processed shock-absorbed front and rear metal landing gear set (Worm Dia. 8mm), a 50mm diameter front wheel and 55mm rear wheels. These are excellent for taking off and landing on both paved and grass surface airfields.
The power system, which provides tremendous thrust and speed, utilizes our new and improved 70mm 12-blade EDF V2, KV1850 motor system. This brawny system, when coupled with a 6S battery, provides a resonating turbine engine sound.
The environmentally friendly water-based paint provides a vibrant and visual red scheme that makes this airplane look fantastic on the ground and in the air.
Well that all sounds great but I see there’s a Version 3 out now so it’s well out of date already, but I’ll do Page Boy a massive favour and take it off his hands for a few quid…!

Other than Woody’s Nighthawk the only other new model flown in February was my HobbyKing MX2. Yes, after buying it a year ago I finally got round to putting it together! The MX2 is certainly not much of a looker with it’s slab-sided fuselage but it’s a good flier and having test flown Gordon Bennett’s for him I ordered one for myself. The MX2 is made from ‘crash resistant’ EPP, has a wingspan of 955mm and weighs around 550g without the battery. This is what the HobbyKing website says about it: Introducing our EPP 3D MX2. Featuring a fantastic design and layout, this all out EPP 3D’er will satisfy the most eager 3D pilots! Its fuselage is torsionally very stiff yet light with loads of space beneath the long top hatch for your radio and power system. The wing is a one-piece affair featuring EPP construction, a very accurate symmetrical airfoil with 2 additional spars to minimize flex and twist. The control surfaces are something else – the elevator, rudder, and ailerons feature a 3 layer construction (Epp-Depron-EPP) making for stiff surfaces and NO flex at extreme throws! Snap rolls “Snap” and the control response is instantaneous. The light – yet rigid – airframe adds up to one great flying 3D “foamy”. Waterfalls, harriers, flat spins, rolling circles this model has the precision to perform these and any other moves you can think of! Assembly of the airframe in a quick 10-15 minute process with the help of a little medium CA. The radio and power system layouts are very straightforward, the long top hatch making for easy access. This is a great model for general park flying and hardcore 3D. You will be hard-pressed to break this model, it will take hard knocks and just keep bouncing back every time!
Several PAM members have owned one of these MX2s, including 1066, Dougal Entendre, and Gordon Bennett and some still have them. Who doesn’t still have one? Well I’m not one to drag up past mistakes but some of you will remember Dougal’s Dogwood…!
But amusing anecdotes aside the MX2 is a great performer and although 3D flying isn’t my thing I liked Gordon’s when I flew it and thought it would be a good all rounder for me.
It went together very easily although the HobbyKing claim of 10-15 minutes seems extremely optimistic. The manual suggests a range of motors to use, 2834, 2215, or 2217 with a Kv in the range of 950 to 1100 and, having discussed it with Dougal, I fitted a 2836 1120Kv Turnigy motor. So not in either the size or Kv range suggested but close! The manual also says a 3 cell lipo in the 1000-1300mAh range so I’m using a 1400mAh, but Dougal and 1066 both use 2200mAh packs in theirs. I had to carve out some foam to fit the 1400mAh pack so using a 2200mAh pack must require a lot of foam removal.
I’ve fitted a 30A speed controller and used four HXT900 9.8g servos which have been fine so far but I probably should have used better quality servos with metal gears. The first flight was good, there was plenty of power for vertical flight and I stuck to low rates which still had more than enough movement for most things.  The centre of gravity is slightly behind the specified position and that showed as it was very twitchy on elevator and climbed when flipped inverted! The second flight was similar and I tried high rates briefly but things went slightly awry on the third flight when I used high rates for the whole time. Basically, I got disoriented with the rapid roll rate, and the rearward centre of gravity, plus a lack of height resulted in an ‘unscheduled arrival’. Needless to say MacFly was videoing at the time so you can enjoy my discomfort in this month’s video, but at least it came down on the patch! Fortunately, other than a bent prop adaptor and a small split in the fuselage side the only damage was to my pride. I’ve since had another six flights with no problems.
When I initially balanced it I used the marks indicated on the wing and realised the CG was slightly behind the marks but I figured it would be ok, so flew it like that. But I’ve just got round to correcting the CG and checked the manual, it says 85-90mm from the leading edge. Thinking about Woody’s CG problems with his Nighthawk I checked the position of the marks and they are at 98mm! I have now added a little lead but it’s still slightly behind the maximum of 90mm. I’ll fly it again and decide whether to add more lead or not.

 New member Simon Cottam is fitting in well with the other members and has become a regular at the field. Simon has already been given a blog name and will now be known as Dot after Dot Cotton from Eastenders. He isn’t new to flying but before joining us Dot had last flown about fifteen years ago so he was understandably a bit wary about his abilities.
Dot needed a suitable model to get back into the sport and Woody managed to obtain a Wot 4 that was built by club member Ian Daniels who sadly passed away some time ago. The Wot 4 seems to suit Dot perfectly and you wouldn’t know he’s been away from flying for so long. He has already had several complete flights from excellent take-offs to some greaser landings back on the patch and needs no help from any of the so called ‘experts’.

Speaking of so called ‘experts’, there’s a habit in the club (as in most clubs I imagine) of shouting “LOWER” when someone does a low inverted pass, especially if it was already a very low one. Often the pilot will oblige and attempt an even lower inverted pass, and very occasionally they get it wrong! Well 28th February was one of those rare occasions!
I don’t want to embarrass said ‘expert’ but many of you will recognise 1066’s VisionAire. Sadly nobody was videoing at the time so you’ll have to make do with post party pictures! The black tape is to hold the broken fuselage together while 1066 carries it back to his car.

We had a club EGM on Feb 26^th to make a couple of rule changes which were quickly and amicably sorted. The evening then turned into a social meeting for the 17 members that attended, several of whom had brought along models to show us. So this month’s ‘Action Shots’ are ‘Inaction Shots’ instead and next month I’ll tell you a bit more about them.
The first two are Norwegian Nick’s beautiful Blackburn Buccaneer:
Next it’s Gordon Bennett’s jolly perfect Jet Provost:
I think he’s taking the big wheel thing too far now!
And lastly it’s Norwegian Nick’s sexy Shark:

Video time now, this month with footage shot by myself, Dougal Entendre, and MacFly.
Please watch the video full-screen, it’s so much better with small models flying around:
If the video won’t play for you please click HERE

The Final Funny:
What’s the difference between a jet engine and your partner?
You can switch off a jet engine and then the whining stops!

Colin Cowplain