My passion for flying model aircraft started with my father taking me to see RC planes flying on disused WW2 runways near Brockenhurst in the New Forest. I built and crashed a few Kielcraft gliders as a child (the Dolphin and Conquest spring to mind - I remember that the conquest was the better flyer). Then nothing until I was fortunate enough to be made redundant near my 50th birthday. I had some time on my hands and inspired by videos of Zaggi wings decided to learn to fly fixed wing with a Flying Wings V tail trainer. I was a complete disaster and after glueing the plane back together after the nth crash (I also got stuck in a tree or two) left the plane in a corner and gave up.

In 2015 a friend gave me an amazon voucher and told me to do something frivolous with it. So I purchased a Syma toy drone and strapped an action camera to it. After mastering it, I decided to buld my own quadcoter (tricopters were still a big thing at that time). So I bult an FPV Night Hawk 250 with a Revolution flight controller (openpilot) and GPS. I also tried my hand at Camera drones with a DJI Spark before downscaling to sub 250g drones (GepRC Cinepro 4K, Tyro79 and hybrid (Chris Rosser 3.5" frame, Babyhawk FC & motors, HD zero)).

Encouraged and trained by my cousin (who has the patients of a saint) I've now branched out into fixed wing. Initially with a sonic model a AR Wing with FPV and FC (perhaps not the best choice as a trainer) to starting to earn my wings with a Riot (better choice). I now have a large hanger of foamies (scale, wings, gliders, UMX) My second favourite plane to the Riot is the e-Wots Wot. I've discovered that there are paralels between cycling and model flying in that the ideal numer of planes/bikes is n+1.

I'm about to embark on a balsa Dancing Wings Tiger Moth so perhaps I have gone full circle to the balsa models of my youth!

I fly with Old Warden Model Arcraft Club, South Cambs Model Flying Club and on my cousins farm. I'm aiming for my 'A' Cerificate.

Interests include: 3D printing, Inav, Betaflight, ELRS, Crossfire, EdgeTX, HD Zero, Walksnail, FPV quadcopters and fixed wing, DJI Camera Drones, CineWhoop cinematography, fixed wing. sub 250g quads and fixed wing.