Mode Zero

Not really retro I know, but I wanted to share the news! It's a Dassault Rafale with a JetCat P60 turbine.

My friend gave me the whole thing, ready to fly, complete with fuel, necessary accessories like a fire extinguisher and so on...

I've never owned nor flown a turbine. I don't have anywhere to fly it - one club I'm in is electric only; a second has a very suitable field and allows noisy i.c. models but has a ban on turbines; a third club has no policy against jets but has a (grass) runway that is too bumpy right now: the bumpiness will probably improve soon with regular rolling, but the field is badly hemmed in by trees and it's intimidating to fly even a normal model there - let alone my first ever flight of a turbine model.

Plan at the moment is to wait till July when I'm visiting a friend in Aberystwyth - test fly it there and if it survives I'll either be flying it at the local tree-hemmed field if I think I can manage that, or I'll be looking for another venue...

I certain you have to be a Club member to fly at Elvington. From memory there are 2 jet clubs with permission to fly that operate there..

Shaun

There's a club at Redmarshall near Stockton that fly jets I think.

Thanks.

I've had an invite from a friend of the jet's ex-owner to take it along to a jet meet on Monday - and my friend, the ex-owner will be going too. The meet is at a full-size airfield with a tarmac runway. I'm not sure yet if I'll get to see it flown by an expert, or try to fly it myself - hopefully both!

I've been doing a few minor repair/maintenance jobs - for example the nose wheel steering was sloppy, the retracts were catching on some electrical wires when retracted, and the fuel filter and header tank weren't located securely. As far as I can see, it's now in airworthy condition. I've mixed up some paraffin and turbine oil and given it a test start in the garden, and I've set up my transmitter with what I think are the correct control throws.

I should be able to report in a couple of days from now how the test went. If it's successful, the plan is still to take it to Aberystwyth next Wednesday and fly it at the model club there over the following few days.

My jet flew yesterday, but I wasn't the one flying it. I asked an expert to take it up to demonstrate and trim - and the plan was for me to have a go on the second flight. But one of the undercarriage legs collapsed while it was taxiing back after landing so I never got to have a go myself.

I'm repairing it today and will attempt to fly it myself over the next few days. I'll try to arrange some photos and video next time.

Herding sheep with a Jet...Thats a new one...

Nice job

Before each flying session, my friends and I spent about half an hour flicking the worst of the sheep shit off the patch using a lawn rake - so I wasn't best disposed towards the sheep and if I startled a few of them and gave them a phobia about standing on or near the runway, that would be a good thing!

I'm with Phil, there's no way I would fly a jet turbine on s/c - I don't think I would be near fast enough on the quick blip throttle

Neil