Dear Diary….
When Peter said he wanted a 'Warts & All account' for the Flying Sites web site, I was hoping to avoid the 'Warts' part. Well, as this is the real world, I met them head on this month!

First item on the agenda was to get a radio control set up for the aeroplane, not too hard a task, I hear you cry…unless the car needs a MOT that is. (Why does it always cost more than you expect? even if you overestimate and then add some on for safety?) So as a result, I'm not much further forward with that part of the project. 'Never mind', I thought, 'I'll use the time to re-arrange the garage to give me a bit more storage space for the Kyosho'. This is a great idea in theory, but can I stress to my fellow beginners out there if you are moving anything in the same area as your aeroplane - MOVE THE AEROPLANE FIRST! While stacking boxes, the pile tipped and the corner of the top box put a hole in one of the tail fins, luckily its only pierced the covering film and not broken any of the internal structure.

I know you seasoned modellers are probably having a good snigger, but it didn't occur to me to move the Kyosho out of the way…ahh well, 'you learn by your mistakes' as my Dad was fond of saying. On the positive side, I have had an offer of help to repair the hole from Wayne at the club, so I will be taking him up on that soon. With no major expenditure due for July…yet! I hope to be able to report that a radio has been secured, and let you all watch - courtesy of my trusty digital camera - as I shoehorn it into the fuselage. At least I don't have to spend several hours making the installation waterproof, as I did when building model boats!

The next item on my list is joining the club at Binbrook - put that back after the MOT for obvious reasons - so the next instalment should see me a paid up member of the S.H.A.R.K's and the BMFA. If fortune is smiling on me, I should be ready to get the plane checked out for air worthy-ness and ready for its first flight under dual control. So I'll close for this month on a cautiously optimistic note, and predict that next month's column will be more 'on topic'! That's 'real life' modelling for you!

Questions, suggestions and 'you didn't want to do that' type comments to thehanson@ntlworld.com

Cheers!

Rob