 1 New FANDANGO Completed January 2010 Finally finished in January 2010. Power is by a Stalker 60 with a 3-blade C/F propeller. Early runs show a lot of promise. Weight after completion, trimmed and ready to fly, is 60½ ounces |
 2 January 2010. After flying it a few times, I discover that the landing gear assembly is 5 ounces. I get rid of the pants, reshape the C/F landing gear and put lighter wheels in. This saves 3 ounces. The plane now weighs in at a competitive 57½ ounces. The gold colour on the spinner doesn't work so I repaint it indigo. |
 3 January 2010. I wanted to put ink lines and clear on it. After several failed attempts I had to abandon this because, in this my 70th year, my hands shake too much. Bugger, it was so easy before. June 2011 - now running with a brilliant RO-Jett 61. I could not get the Stalker to produce enough power. |
 4 April 2010. After going to all the trouble to bring the Thunderbird back from Tucson, repairing the wing and then repairing it again after the wing nearly fell out, I crashed it. |
 5 April 2010. I overengineered the second repair and didn't leave enough room for the controls which caught slightly at the bottom of a wingover. Motor is OK |
 6 May 2010. The only solution was to build a new one. I thought about using the old wing but it was already overweight because of a previous repair. |
 7 2010 New Thunderbird On the previous model I'd had terrible trouble getting the TE curvature aligned properly. This time I use the trusty laser. See how the tip appears to bend upwards but the laser says otherwise? |
 8 October 2010 the crashed Thunderbird Dennis Percival takes the bits of the old Thunderbird away and repairs it. |
 9 The crashed Thunderbird I repaint it during October 2010 and am very surprised at how well it looks. We give it away and it now belongs to a kind family. |
 10 The 2010 Thunderbird Finished November 2010. I use clear over base for the first time. |
 11 November 2010. Weight 48 oz, ST 46. I start to experiment with more complicated graphics and add an American Bald Eagle to the design. |
 12 November 2010. I photograph every step of the construction and finishing and put it elsewhere on this site. Click here for the story about building the 2010 Thunderbird |
 13 2008 Fanfare, October 2011. I hate the shape of the cockpit, the fin and the awful paint scheme on the fuselage. So I do some major repairs. |
 14 October 2011 The fin is better and the fuselage paint scheme is good and I still hate the shape of the replacement cockpit. Flies well with a RO-Jett 67 on muffler. |
 15 April 2012 New model under construction to be called Draco |
 16 Draco April 2012. Everything is deliberately complex. The wing tips are made from 5 ply. The wing is based on the Thunderbird shape |
 17 Draco June 2013. The finished product is worth it though. It's ready for clear. |
 18 Draco July 2013. Finished with clear. Finished weight 60 ounces with RO Jett 60 on muffler. |
 19 Draco July 2013 It is way too tail heavy so I add weight in the nose by installing my trusty RO Jett 67. Draco is Latin for Dragon. |
 20 July 2013. This shot shows four of the five different shades of silver on the plane. The fifth silver is the lettering and the dragon logo. |
 21 July 2013 It's early days but it seems to fly well. It's a little heavier than it should be because so much is overengineered. June 2014. I no longer fly it; it's a dog. It's a combination of too much weight (64 oz with RO-Jett 60 on pipe) and a wing that cannot carry the load. A couple of serious repairs add to the weight. |
 22 May 2014. Centurion completed in May 2014. Click here for the story of the Century |
 23 November 2014. This is the crashed Fanfare from February 2007. The wing was broken in two, the fuselage was destroyed but the stab and elevators were OK. |
 24 November 2014. Mark Batty takes the wing and repairs it after which Dennis Percival builds a new fuselage for the wing & stab/elevator. Here, I've sprayed the base coat in its original gold/yellow colour and cut the graphics for the fin. |
 25 November 2014. I've nearly finished the masking ready to spray the next of the original colours: indigo blue. |
 26 June 2016. Fanfare 2008, the plane that refuses to die. The tissue snaps in many places (top and bottom, front and back) and requires a complete overhaul. |
 27 June 2016 The front requires major repairs as well. |
 28 June 2016 I finally get the cockpit shape somewhere near right |
 29 July 2016. I change the theme to Blues Bros to reflect the Fanfare name |
 30 June 2016 The left wing is a trumpet player |
 31 May 2014. Enigma completed December 2016. Click here for more about the Enigma and its invisible pink unicorn |
 32 November 2018 We were privileged to be the hosts of Jim and Sharon Hoffman from Chandler Arizona. Chandler is a suburb of the Phoenix metro area and, for many years, Jim has been the C.D. of the Vintage Stunt Competition held annually in Tucson. |
 33 November 2018 Jim and I did not really want to waste time flying model planes but Jenni wanted to show Sharon many of Sydney's delights. We were at a loss about what to do to fill in our time while they were gone and someone suggested (I don't remember who), "Well, I guess we could go flying I suppose." |
 34 November 2018 Reluctantly, we put a couple of planes in the car and headed for KMFC. Grant Wyllie also joined us for the occasion (and to take the blame if things went pear shaped). |
 35 November 2018 At KMFC we have our main circle dedicated to an American icon called Bob Palmer who most regard as "The father of modern stunt." I think Jim was quite pleased to see such a gentleman so honoured. |
 36 November 2018 I Took the Centurion which, at the time, was powered by a RO-Jett 61 on pipe. |
 37 November 2018 The other plane was my latest, the K77 powered Enigma. I still didn't have the engine properly sorted so it was good to get Jim's help. |
 38 November 2018 I put fuel in the K77 . . . |
 39 November 2018 . . . and take it for a test flight. |
 40 November 2018 Jim flew both planes starting with the Centurion and then the K77. |
 41 November 2018 Unfortunately, the landing gear snapped off the Centurion so Jim flew the K77 for the rest of the time while I served as the pit mechanic. Return to the home page |
