St Albans Vintage Day, 5^th June 2004

Once again, the Club enjoyed its annual day of celebration for traditional aero modelling, r/c style, at Dane End Farm. The re-creation of model aircraft designs from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s makes a refreshing change of pace from the frenetic performance and mind-boggling technology of many modern types.

We were pleased to welcome many guest flyers, as well as a strong contingent of St Albans MAC stalwarts.

Mike Barton organised the day’s proceedings to his usual impeccable standard, masterminding the transmitter control, competitions and prize-giving. Theresa B and Vera Blunt presided over a gastronomic feast of quiches, sandwiches and other delicacies, while our Chairman stoked up the bbq. Many others ably assisted with car-park marshalling and other duties, all greatly appreciated.

The weather was again kind, being warm but not excessively hot. A thin layer of cloud removed any problems with glare, and the wind was very light. We were set fair for a fine, relaxed day’s aviation and with over 50 models counted along our flight line, it was no surprise to see typically 4, 5 or 6 models in the air pretty well all day long.

There was great diversity: the cheeky Popsie, the elegant Flybaby, the charming Debutante, the ubiquitous Tomboy, and many more. Mervyn Tilbury brought a selection of vintage scale designs, including his Miles Kestrel (a former St Albans MAC concours winner I believe), and a non-scale but delectable Frog Firefly biplane which must have been a close contender this year. David Boddington and Ken Swailes entertained us with a flying circus, including a doubled up Tomboy named Tomfool, and a lively-performing low-winger developed from the classic Doug McHard Wee Snifter design.

Several Super 60s were present, the smartest (and surely another concours candidate) being Geoff Dunmore’s electric example. Neatly finished in red ripstop nylon, it featured extra glazing, was garnished with a convincing dummy spark motor and flaunted original valve r/c gear in the cabin. However the model was controlled by ingeniously concealed modern r/c gear. The red finish was nearly its demise because, flying my own red S60, I observed Geoff’s performing some rather undignified manoeuvres and it transpired we were both flying mine! Fortunately Geoff was alerted in time.

Tomboys were plentiful and had their own class within the Flying Fives competition. The rest of this event was taken over by the Jaded Maid design, which climbs quickly on modest power and has a fine glide. One which didn’t enter was Bill Roe’s newly completed example, which after a stall-prone start was quickly trimmed to a promising performance at the end of the day.

Last year’s 9 inches would not have secured the spot landing event this time, thanks to our Fred’s precise touch-down which was around 7 inches. Next time we may need a vernier!

There are a great deal of pictures taken at the event which can be seen by looking below.

Many thanks to all who took part or assisted in any way. Here’s a quote from an email I received shortly afterwards from Tony Tomlin, one of our regular guests:

“Another great meeting with Mike Barton and his team, and in my opinion the best of all the vintage meetings I attend over the summer”.

Charlie Jeffreys