Member postings for Old School

Their site says they will take Western Union, it’s not expensive if you do it by bank transfer. I know it’s not popular but I use it to buy model car parts from Russia with no problems they won’t take anything else.

In my merchant navy days the ships captain was always responsible for the ship the pilot was there for advice. The only exception was the Panama Canal. But that was the 1970,s

I didn’t hear an output figure mentioned, would be interested to compare it against our tether car engines. No nitro just methanol and castor.

I have one at the moment I am halfway to,paying for it. It is going to my son next who has a box full of blunt cutters if you can salvage some it helps towards paying for itself.

I have a tool and cutter grinder it works well but setting it up for each cutter is a major draw back.

This where I buy my inserts from, https://www.shop-apt.co.uk and milling cutters for my cnc mill the quality and service is good. But they supply industry and a lot of inserts are only supplied in boxes of 10, some are available in model engineer quantities.

I also use Arceurotrade for inserts their own brand for me perform well for me.

10BA steel studding on eBay 300mm lengths.

Keith it’s the nickel plate that has gone rusty in places, perhaps giving it a run might improve its looks.

Keith I have a Juggernaut pulse jet complete with a battered box, it’s never been run but time has not been kind to the tail pipe.

Yes I did run at Hull, it could have been me or more likely Bob Kirtley.

Hi Hans

Very little interest on this site for the speed type modelling, the Americans have had an electric tether car well over 200 mph some very clever model engineering and electronics to control it.

The Swiss tether car guys probably have the best of both worlds a fast tether car track and a Gauge 1 local track that most people only dream about all on the same site. I have met some of the Swiss controline flyer there.

I not complaining here’s some pictures of my last controline model, their is a picture of me with it in the latest version of Aeromodeller.

You will probably notice a theme running through my models, going fast on wires I have also run tethered hydroplanes both IC and flash steam currently hold the 8lb class British record but that’s a longtime ago since I ran those.

It has only had a few flights last year was a right off for flying. From memory the few flights that it has done were around the 140s mph

Yes they are the shut off, the rules require the engine to be shut down by 8 laps after the timed run so at best you have about 10 seconds to do it.

These are my modern tether cars some built by me and others bought and sorted out to perform. They range in engine sizes from 1.5cc orange car to 10cc the black one. All hold British records except the orange one.

Last year was the first year I have not raced for a long time, but we ran cars at Buckminster.

These are some of my old timer cars all built by me engine sizes 2.5cc to 10cc. These sort of car were raced in this country between the 1950s to the end of 1960s when the last track closed in this country.

Tether car racing continued in Europe both east and west, Russia the USA Australia and New Zealand.

Ramon the wheels are aluminium but anodised black it was the fashion a few years ago they came out of my box of spare parts.

Tony yes I race the cars and have been going to Europe for the last 15 years to compete.

Last year we completed a tether car track in this country at BMFA national visitor centre at Buckminster.

It’s a tether car it runs in a circle tethered by a steel cable on a purpose built track. No radio control it’s all about speed, timed over a flying 500 metres distance. I expect it to run in excess of 150mph.

A while ago I asked if someone could recommend a water jet cutting company who would cut a couple of chassis’s.

I got them cut and have started building a 2.5cc class car, two pictures to show progress.

The chassis is cut from 12mm mild steel plate .

Here is the car so far more work yet to do, the engine needs the needle valve assembly making a support for the tuned pipe which was machined from the the solid and has a wall thickness of 0.3mm and a fuel tank there is just a wooden block at the moment.

When it gets warmer I will make the fibreglass top and bottom.

I just blame my wife for using the tumble drier.

You can buy a solution for cleaning clock plates and wheels we just called it “pickle” by the smell ammonia based. The brass would come out clean it could then be polished on a polishing wheel or if a less shiny finish was reguired a fine wire brush wheel.

Have a look for an old British rotary table I bought an 8” one looked like it had never been used just painted a few times. Got it off eBay for £80 an absolute bargin just a matter of waiting till the right one turned up too big for most model engineer machines.

Here is my rather dusty steam launch with a Reeves V twin double acting oscillator, centre flue boiler and a petrol blow lamp. The engine has a throttle and it also does ahead and astern but not 100% reliable. Never caused a problem while I have been sailing it and it’s done a fair bit.