Half scale model Bleriot channel attempt.

[Rob Cavell 529]

I can't find any reference to it on this forum so perhaps the recent channel crossing attempt has gone unnoticed by LMA members.
One Henk van Hoorn a Dutch modeller and full size pilot on 13th July made a failed attempt and the model diched in the sea.
Rather late in the procedure Henk contacted my club Bloobirds Radio Flyers for assistance in the UK landing phase of the program and our Chairman John Gibbs worked tirelessly in support.
We have to date only seen pictures of the model but one close up of the fuselage seems to show that the model was and is to a very high standard.
Initially Henk considered the model to be a total loss but today we have heard it has been recovered from the sea and will fly again.
For more details and pictures of the model in flight over the channel and the ditching please see Bloobirds website:

http://www.bloobirds.co.uk/
Click on 'Bleriot' page.

Some captions and updates now added to the website page. 23:00hrs 20/7/2010......and again 22/7/2010

[John Greenfield]

What a great story, thank you for sharing it with us. BUT, I have to ask a question as to why there was not more coverage of the attempt in our modelling circles.
I think it is great that there are modellers out there who are prepared to do more than fly round and round in circles at their club field and these guys should be supported.
I look forward to the next report on the Bloobirds website.

John

[Mark Partington 2989]

John, wasn't it the same when Jim Davies flew his big Spitfire, or Dieter Schluter flew a Jet Ranger across the channel, nothing about in the press about either until they'd actully done it. I suppose unless anyone tells the press, (or interweb forums), about these things nobody will know that they're taking place.

[Rob Cavell 529]

That's right the press have to be informed in the first place and we Bloobirds were only in on the attempt literally on the last few days prior.
Personally I still don’t know how Henk found and organised the landing site which is about 1mile as the crow flies from our flying field, it might have been better to have used our field but academic now.
I will put on the Bloobirds website the link to a Dutch website which Henk says will be his last report where you will find links and a lot of informative pictures relating.
The modelling press was there in the form of Dave Bishop so his new column will probably include a mention.

I can’t help wondering what’s up with us Brits, don’t these attempts always seem to come from ‘over there’.
Maybe I’m being over critical because because more than ten years ago our own Greg Hayfield (before he was an LMA member I believe) flew a 1/5th? scale Hurricane not only over the channel but up the channel from Calais to RAF Manston in Thanet, Kent.
I don’t know how many miles the flight was but it must have been 50 or more, afterwards the model was donated to and was/is displayed in the Spitfire & Hurricane Museum at RAF Manston. (see link below).
The model was built by a consortium of Thanet Model Flying Club members then finished and painted by Kevin Wesley who has recently come back to modelling after a long lay-up and is also now an LMA member (Kevin is the equal, at least, of any scale modeller you can name, you’ll see!).
Maybe Greg’s dad Dave Hayfield will post a more detailed description of this feat by TMFC...eh Dave. If you do then put it on here if you like, I’ve I hijacked my own post anyway!

One little thing I remember about Greg’s flight was someone telling me at the end of it Greg had indentations in his thumbs almost down to the bone!


http://www.spifirememorial.org.uk/index.html

[Dave Hayfield]

Just seen your post Rob. Yes Thanet Model Flying club did a cross channel event over ten years ago. The model used was a Dave Boddington prototype Hurricane which was going into kit production and we did the kit review for him, some kit review!!! The time co-incided with an event at RAF Manston so we asked if they would like us to be involved, the CO at the time was a modeller. The cross channel flight was a brain wave of Malcolm Martin, a club member and it was he who organised the publicity. The model was built by various members with the watchfull eye of Kevin Wesley, a superb scale constructor, making sure we did it right. Negotiations with the CAA to attempt the flight were, to say the least, interesting but after many discussions and letters to and fro the guide lines were laid down and permission was granted.
The model was ready with Mick Reeves retracts, Quadra 38 engine, Futaba radio gear kindly donated for the flight by Ripmax, a 2litre fuel tank, 6volt 1.6 amp hour ni-cads all of which were installed after calculating that the max flight time would be about one and a half hours. So we started the test flights, flying nonstop for up to two hours and checking out the reliability and structural stability of the model. Malcolm thought it would be a good idea to get the media involved now so a press day was organised. Newspaper reporters and photogarphers turned up from various national and local papers and I put the model through its paces. The photographers wanted shots of the aircraft touching down in front of the control tower, there was a force 8 gale blowing and I must have done about 20 touch and goes before they got the shots they wanted. After the press day we got down to more practice flights with the two pilots who were going to fly on the day, Greg Hayfield in the air and Andrew Gillingham on the ground.
So the big day came, Tv cameramen turned up. So did Dave Boddington , Geoff Clarke and Bob Pietrie. The model was loaded into the back of a stripped out Cessna and together with the Jet Ranger which it was going to be flown from, kindly loaned and flown by Ken Wills from Heli Charter, and a Robin flown by Steve who turned up on the day to see if he could help, Boddo and Geoff and a the tv cameraman in the Robin set out for France. The flight was to be from a Luftwaffe airfield called Graveline to RAF Manston. The model take off from France was hairy due to yet more high winds but the flight was on it's way. The CAA route was down the French coast and across to Dover flying at 2000 feet, we weren't sure about icing problems on the Quadra but all was ok. The crossing completed and turn north for a run up the English coast to Manston still at 2000 feet and a 26 knot headwind. Greg said that even though the model was never further away from the heli than 50 metres, when flying over trees the camoflage on the top of the plane worked, he had to tilt the model to keep it visible. Also the heli pilot asked Greg to slow the model because it was exceeding a comfortable cruise speed for the heli.
Arriving at Manston we were in contact with Greg in the heli and on a countdown of 3,2,1 switched the air tx off and the ground tx on. It went without a hitch and Andrew landed the Hurricane from its sortie intact and enough fuel to go half way back. The actual distance flown was 48 miles and time taken was 43 minutes even with the 26 knot headwind. Dave Boddington was so pleased he took us all to the local pub to celebrate. It took a lot of team work from many people, too many to list, but it was quite an acheivement even though the Guiness book of records would not recognise it. The newspapers had a few lines and a photo in a couple of issues and the tv gave us about 30 seconds at the end of the news report even though their cameraman was with us all day. We did get the video he took though, some of the shots of the model flying over Dover harbour and the coast are spectacular

[Rob Cavell 529]

Thanks for that Dave,
I think I'd better eat my words about 'those over there always doing it'!
I hadn't realised that DB was involved, shame on me, how could he NOT have been involved in such a project?
And how so apt that it should now be remembered, at his passing and all..........

[Dave Hayfield]

Just to add to my last post , I was getting carried away with the fact that the media in general are not really interested in our activities unless there is some kind of disaster, and omitted to mention that the modelling press did us proud with coverage in several mags because their editors were present. Dave Bishop covered it for one mag with an excellent minute by minute breakdown of the action and lots of photos. Can't remember now who did what but i'm sure you all have mags you can browse through!