The BMFA Outreach program seeks to get people from outwith the aeromodelling community involved in flying model aeroplanes. This is the story of one such scheme here in Scotland.

I became involved in 2001 as an advisor and pilot for Strathclyde University in Glasgow, for their entries in the BMFA’s University Challenge competition at Elvington. One of my clubmates in the CVF already worked in Strathclyde’s Engineering labs, and brought me in to assist. Over several years, the Strathclyde teams were very successful with the heavy lift task, setting records using an Irvine Q40 that lifted a 28 pound model off Elvington’s concrete, and in the additional event carrying 269 eggs, flown over 11 flights in two 10 minute slots in the electric powered egg race.

But Strathclyde could no longer enter, after a fire in the department, and Covid, and cutbacks in lab availability, and increased student numbers and the move to Buckminster. And so, with the cooperation of the Clyde Valley club, they started their own competition.

To keep it simple and reduce build time, The task was based on the BMFA electric task, carrying tennis balls, using a specified motor and ESC but a constant chord hot-wire cut foam wing lifting a model made largely of foamboard with laser-cut plywood reinforcement.  This year, for a change, the load was changed to golf balls, the wingspan maximum was 1100 mm, and for logistics reasons two models had to fit in each box when disassembled.

The teams assembled their models and had them checked over. Models that had not attended the flight tests the week before were given a test flight. Then all the students were gathered for a safety briefing.

Of the 12 groups involved in the design class, one lost their model on test day and two groups could not get time off, or could not get transport to the flying field, which is miles from public transport. So nine aeroplanes were presented. All had a 1.1 metre span wing cut from foam by the University’s computer controlled hot wire cutter and fuselage and tail made from 5 mm foamboard, reinforced where needed with laser-cut plywood.  Eight of the nine used a tricycle undercarriage arrangement, and the other was kind of a taildragger, with a second two-wheel undercarriage half way back.

Undercarriages were a recurring problem, often too weak for multiple takeoffs and landings, often weakly attached to the fuselage so they pulled off easily, and often too far back. If the mainwheels (on a trike) are too far back, it might fly okay empty but, when loaded, the elevator cannot supply enough down force to get the nose off the runway. And if the mainwheels have a narrow track, and if the nosewheel is too far back, ground handling suffers and takeoff becomes a fight. Many also have the noseleg mounted too far aft, adversely affecting ground handling. Gripe over, back to the CVF flying site.

 

The CVF runway is long and wide. The grass had been cut using the new mower and rolled smooth with a ride-on vibrating roller. The toilet had been refurbished for the benefit of the visitors.

There was a bit of a cross-wind that day, which is undesirable, but there is plenty room to takeoff a bit diagonally to compensate. The field has a fence all around, but a bit of long grass to slow models that fail to get airborne.

There are 12 groups, six students in a group, but not all manage to get to the competition, and most groups had only two, three or four members present.
So, nine aeroplanes in the game, flown in a random order, basically whoever was ready.

 

The student team loads the golf balls (They were warned not to let them roll around inside). One team member rushes out to the runway where I am waiting (too old to rush). The second student inserts the arming plug and they clear the runway, I check the controls again and off we go.
Take off with the variable cross-wind was awkward, but some of the models fought me all the way, and a couple never made it airborne when loaded. Another was virtually unflyable and failed to score. But six teams returned scores, golf balls delivered to the arrival box, and several models managed it 2 or 3 times. Dr Comlekci of the Strathclyde engineering Dept kept the records, added up the scores and finally announced the results.

 

 

In second place was the aircraft with the funny four wheel undercarriage. Well done chaps. Might have been even better with a sturdy nosewheel.

 

 

 

 

 

But winning the competition by a comfortable margin was the team Bernoulli Babes, managing three flights and carrying a total of 59 balls.

(Might have been even better with a sturdy noseleg)

That’s them before the winning flight

 

 

 

And this is them after the results were announced.
Congratulations.

 

So this year the CVF has introduced 72 students to the highs and lows of model aeroplane flying. In previous years we have had up to 96 students.

 

 

It would be great if we could get students at even more Scottish universities to take part.

The photos were all taken by either Competition Director Dr Tugrul Comlekci or pilot A. Sutherland of CVF