Dumfries Model Flying Club celebrated more than 100 years of aviation history with a special Scale Day event at Mabie last weekend.
Scale models of full-sized military aircraft spanning both World Wars and the Korean War were shown and flown, along with various civilian types.
The range of models included some which were scratch-built from plans, the result of many hours of skilled workmanship. But not all model flyers possess such skills, so some models are purchased as almost-ready-to-fly kits, requiring just an hour or so of assembly out of the box.
In each case the main issue is the degree of scale accuracy – not only in the static representation of the real aircraft, but also in the way they are flown, and some models are easier to fly than others. Some warbirds can be really quite challenging to fly, which is why newcomers to the hobby usually start with a trainer type using dual-control with a tutor – a benefit which the club offers free to new members.
Most model aircraft these days are electric-powered which is quiet, clean and extremely reliable and many are constructed from a hard-wearing foam material which is quite resistant to knocks and scrapes, and easily repairable.
The event attracted some models of quite rare aircraft, such as the Italian amphibian Riviera, scratch-built by Derek Latimer, and the WW1 Fokker Eindekker which was the scourge of the RFC in 1915, scratch-built by Donald Brown. Needless to say there were several Spitfires and a Hurricane from WW2 and even some American aircraft from the Korean conflict in the 1950s. Some classic trainers and sport aircraft were also in evidence, such as the Tiger Moth, Piper Cub, Sparrowhawk and even a couple of powered gliders and an electric jet aircraft.
The weather was excellent with light wind so a full programme of flying was possible with all the models landing safely after their sorties.
Anyone interested can arrange a free trial flight via the club website at dmfc.org.uk
