FF Scale Nationals, Buckminster, 13th Sept 2026

[Pete Fardell]

We had a very good FF Nats on Sunday, in very good weather after it was postponed from the windy Saturday (when even the RC flying pretty much stopped).
Here are the results, courtesy of Mike Smith.
Big congrats to him and to Martin Pike, respective winners in FF1 (SuperScale) and FF2 (Flying Only). Mike's DH4 and Martin's ABC Robin both flew absolutely beautifully. I should also say that Gareth Tilston's Hawk Moth was only really there to ensure we had enough entrants for a viable Nats, and only didn't fly because these days his much repaired shoulder makes launching very difficult. And, similarly, Nick Bodset's fine BE12 only wasn't in the final mix because he couldn't come back on the Sunday.
No such excuses for the 'DNQ' next to my Stinson Sentinel though. I've rarely been more confident of getting in good flights, but it totally failed to get away, despite my frantic re-trimming and re-motoring as the 4 rounds ebbed away. I think I must have done something silly to its setup in its last bout of repairs. Tim Horne's Douglas World Cruiser meanwhile looked very good climbing out against the blue sky in its first outdoor competition, but ultimately couldn't manage the 15 seconds either.
Luckily we both fared better with our other models; Tim's pretty Stinson Gulfhawk Jr taking second in FF2, and my Bleriot taking second in FF1, which is comfortably my best Nationals finish so far, indoors or out.
Pics are Tim's Gulfgawk Jr, Mike fettling his winning mailplane and a rather boasty selfie of my Bleriot. The Stinson's now in the bin. Fuller report to follow in AM in due course. Big thanks to Mike Smith and static judges, Phil Smith and Paul Rich, and to my dad and Brian Seymour who actually missed their own RC prize-giving so that they could flight judge us.

[Pete Fardell]

Results...

[Pete Fardell]

I didn't have time (or enough presence of mind) to shoot much video, but here's a screen grab of Tim's splendid World Cruiser with plenty of air under its wings. I fear we may not be seeing it again though.