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From the Editor – September 2026
AO’s loosening grasp of reality has never been better displayed than by his over-ruling of his own military experts by ordering the U.S. Navy to dismantle its advanced electromagnetic aircraft launch technology and return to the steam-powered catapults of 50 years ago. This ridiculous decision by a draft-dodging coward with absolutely no military experience or expertise directly overrules years of competent military advice and reverses forward-looking Finally, his vicious and baseless witch-hunt against Dr. Fauci for having the gall to behave responsibly during the Covid pandemic, thereby making AO look bad, demonstrates once again both his childish vindictiveness and his refusal to accept any responsibility for his own actions (remember this great medical expert’s advice about drinking drain cleaner to fight Covid?). He’s showing increasingly obvious symptoms of a serious decline in both his general health and in such cognitive ability as he ever possessed. Both America and the world are in crisis - when will enough be enough?!? Turning now to model engine matters, I’d like to begin with a comment about this website in general. I’ve had a number of inquiries about matters which are already fully covered in articles on this site. This implies that those making the inquiries haven’t read those articles! They clearly know about me and my work, otherwise they wouldn’t be asking for my assistance. The fact that they either haven’t bothered (or haven’t been able) to find the answers to their inquiries which are already presented here is a matter of great concern to me. I write this stuff to be read!! In the course of my own investigations into this issue, I’ve received the not-unreasonable suggestion that since many people are now tied to the use of Smartphones for everything (including web surfing), the tiny screens to which they’re tied prevent them from reading the material, making the site’s content inaccessible. I hadn’t thought of that, but I have no doubt that there's some validity to it. However, I don’t see what I can do about it – the material is perfectly legible on a PC, a laptop or an iPad, and that’s the kind of interface that I write for. Moreover, I tried logging in on my wife's Smartphone (I don't own one!) and found the material to be perfectly legible, with adequate control over the font size. So what's the problem really?? However, if this really is making my site redundant, I need to know, because in that case it’s definitely time to pack it in – there’s no point in maintaining a site that no-one can read!
If it ain’t listed, it ain’t there – in that case, by all means submit your inquiry, and I’ll try to help. I’m always glad to help with readers’ queries, but really appreciate people checking my site first to see if their question is already answered there. My time is limited, and receiving inquiries regarding matters which I’ve already covered is a bit discouraging! Another suggestion is that my articles are too long for people to read. Well, what can I say?? Although I only include material which I consider to be relevant to the topic being covered, I accept that my articles do indeed end up being very long because of my philosophy of including it all so that no-one in future has to go through what I go through to develop these articles. I've always recognized the length issue and have tried to alleviate it both by dividing my articles into discrete headed sections and by providing a thumbnail sketch of each subject covered in the Gallery section of this website, but perhaps that's not good enough?!? The passage of time has created a situation in which the recovery of much of the information presented here would not be possible at all now or in the future as more and more of the eyewitnesses depart from among our ranks. I’ve always thought that this historical information was worth preserving in full while the opportunity to do so still existed, but am I wrong?!? No less an authority than the late Tim Dannels told me specifically that one of the things that he really appreciated about my work was the very fact that I worried away at my various subjects (with the highly-valued assistance of others) until I’d got all the information recorded that was still there to be recorded! He felt The final slightly negative comment (more of an observation, really) is that my articles tend to focus on engines from prior to 1975 or thereabouts (the classic and pre-classic eras as far as I'm concerned). All I can say to this comment is .........guilty as charged!! I write about what interests me, and I find the engines from aeromodelling's Golden Age to be far more interesting and individualistic than the more formulaic designs from the Schnuerle-porting era. That said, I do write about certain latter-day marques that present some features of technical interest or illuminate a related human-interest story. However, the window of opportunity for telling the stories of these latter-day creations remains open far more widely than that for the earlier motors, making the preservation of their stories appear to me to be something of a priority. Besides, gotta leave something for others to research and write up!!
While on the subject of Bill’s anecdote, I’d like to take this opportunity to solicit additional engine-related stories of this kind from among my valued readers. I created that page so that readers could share their stories with their fellow enthusiasts. Bill’s tale is the first such story that I’ve received in quite some time, and it would be really great if a few more submissions came this way! We all have memories – let’s share them!
To begin with, my good mate Maris Dislers of Australia shared his own experiences with various members of the AE range which was one of last month’s features. Maris’s experiences differed from mine in a number of respects, allowing me to rewrite certain sections of the article to reflect a more balanced view of the range. I was also able to add Maris's tests of the 0.2 cc AE.2 and ½ cc AE.5 diesels. Thanks, mate!
My other Aussie mate Gordon Beeby has also been busy. Gordon has shared some authoritative information which has allowed me to create important updates to my existing articles on both the Mechanair sparkie and the Clan 0.9 cc diesel. Information of this Finally, I’m very grateful to reader Keith Healey, who wrote in to share some personal recollections of the VEGA four-stroke engines made in Birmingham, England by John Harbone. I’ve added Keith’s comments to the end of the VEGA article on this website.
The first of these articles takes us to France during the WW2 years – a very difficult period for French model engine manufacturers. I’ve collaborated with Maris Dislers and Peter Valicek in taking a look at the Cométe range which made its initial appearance in 1943 during the period of German occupation of much of the French homeland and remained in production through 1946. Both The second article requires us to dodge the attentions of ICE and sneak back into the USA in happier times to take a look at one of the more elusive and ephemeral model engine ranges to appear in pre-WW2 America – the APEX series. This range came and went so quickly that not much has been written about it in the past. The best that I’ve been able to do is make some deductions based upon information gleaned from the various sources that do exist to The third new article comes once again from the ever-inquiring Maris Dislers. Maris has put together a most interesting article covering another of the largely-forgotten model engines to appear in his native Australia – the 3 cc Model Dockyard Cub. This engine appeared in both diesel and spark ignition forms, also being offered in both ready-to-run and kit forms. Maris tested examples of both diesel and spark ignition variants, making this a particularly interesting article which really brings its subject to life. Thanks, mate! That’s about it for this month, fellow enthusiasts. All being well and assuming that my neighborhood remains free from the sound of tramping Belleville jackboots, roaring Abrams tank engines and M7 gunfire, and that the mushroom clouds of WW3 and the fires of climate change don’t engulf us all courtesy of AO, I sincerely hope to be still on deck and still sufficiently enthusiastic in October to present a few more reviews for your reading pleasure. In the meantime, I really appreciate all the expressions of support that I’ve continued to receive from so many of you! Stay safe ‘n sane, and keep yourself reliably informed about what’s going on!! Adrian Duncan British Columbia, Canada (the NATION, not a state!) Greenland forever! ___________________________________ Note regarding material to be found on this site - unless specifically otherwise noted, all images and text which appear on this site are my own work, and I hereby assert my right to be recognized as the originator of this material except when expressly otherwise stated. For the record, this material is made freely available to all upon two firm conditions:
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Welcome one and all to September 2026! Somewhat to my surprise, and greatly to my personal gratification, I’m still on deck and in a position to bring you yet another edition of this ever-expanding website! How many more I’ll be able to bring you is an open question - the instability in international affairs continues, leaving me with no alternative other than to try to make each day count while living life to the fullest extent possible under the circumstances – what else can any of us do?!? Happily, I still seem to be holding my own on the health front – something to be thankful for.
We Canadians have become very confused regarding the comments made about us by US Dictator Agent Orange (AO). Following his threats of invasion and his shameful disregard of Canadian efforts and sacrifices made in assisting the USA in fighting its wildfires (which are due in large part to his policies), he now says that he loves us ………. but that we’re nasty!! He’s expressed his “love” for us nasty Canadians by declaring economic war on the people of Canada and making his puerile attempt to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America (which he does not have the authority to do - to everyone but his toadies, who sadly include the people who run Google, it's still Lake Ontario and always will be, just as the "Gulf of America" is forever the Gulf of Mexico). What are we Canadians to make of this? Where are our American friends……or do we have any? 
His threat that he won’t tolerate any response to his imposition of tariffs seems to us to be exactly parallel to a hulking bully telling an inoffensive smaller person that he’s going to beat him up and will shoot him if he so much as lifts a finger to defend himself! Go figure ……. all bullies are inherently cowards, which is why he can’t face the idea of anyone standing up to him and lashes out at anyone who does. CIC = Coward-in-Chief. The wonder to us is that no-one in the USA is doing so in any meaningful way – he’d crumble immediately. 
While the world burns, very much including the USA, AO goes blithely on pushing oil drilling in the US Arctic Wildlife Refuge and within a RAMSAR-designated area of Greenland, a country over which America has no legal jurisdiction, whatever AO may think. He’s further demonstrated his complete contempt for the conservation ethic by gutting the habitat provisions of the Endangered Species Act and lifting the ban on cyanide bombs, while at the same time threatening to sell off a portion of Yosemite National Park and destroying Big Bend National Park to build his absurd Wall, for which he expects Mexico to pay for some incomprehensible reason. He’s also pushing illegal metal mining of the deep ocean seafloor in International waters. It’s time for people to look into the eyes of their kids and grand-kids and answer their understandably growing concerns regarding what will be left for them in the future with this ignorant vandal in charge? As things now stand, the honest answer to that one is clear………..what future?!? Who’s looking forward to telling that to their younger family members?!? If this keeps up, you’re going to have to ……………..
While the Iran war drags on with no resolution in sight; the Abraham Lincoln carrier mental health issues are ignored; US citizens other than AO's billionaire buddies struggle to make ends meet; America continues to alienate its friends and allies (including a threat to bomb Oman (a long-time US ally); tourists stay away from America in increasing numbers; overseas consumers increasingly boycott American goods; AO's buddy Netanyahu continues to murder the people of Gaza; and his supporters resume the lynching of blacks in Mississippi (a woman this time), King AO can still find time to waste hours and days on the golf course, where he adds the title of King of the Golf Cheats to that of King of America. He’d 
rather have fun cheating at golf than spend any time running his country responsibly. His predilection for kicking opponents’ balls off the green has reportedly earned him the golfing nickname “Pele”! He uses a faster cart than his opponents so he can “get there first” to fix his own mess and create a mess for his opponents, and he doesn’t even care if others see him doing it or if he’s caught on video improving his own lie, which has now happened on a number of occasions.
This arrant cheat actually has the gall to claim victories in various golf “tournaments”. It’s noticeable that these “events” always take place on courses which he owns. In some cases, he’s the only entrant! He also fills out his own score-cards, which he routinely falsifies. His gratuitously insulting mockery of his opponents when claiming these “victories” (he’s the only golfer with any talent) disgraces him personally and stains the reputation of the game – why is anyone still willing to play with him? Does any of this reflect the character of an individual who is fit to lead his country?
His shameless grandstanding at his flagrantly mis-named “Freedom 250” Indycar race was an embarrassment both to himself and to motorsport, serving as a further confirmation of his complete lack of any sense of propriety. As a former motorsport participant myself, the blatant politicizing of this event disgusted me. When did politics enter motorsport? We used to race for our teams, our fans and our love of the sport, not for the politicians!
military engineering transitions. Navies around the world have increasingly shifted to electromagnetic launch platforms. Why the US military is meekly going along with being undermined like this by a guy whom they know to be a military ignoramus passes all understanding – the only one cheering is AO’s buddy Putin. Looks to the rest of us like US capitulation to Russia!
Another suggestion is that the material on the site is too hard to access. Frankly, I’m quite unable to understand this comment! All the reader has to do is look at the toolbar at the top of this Editorial homepage and find the category in which he’s interested. One click on the selected category (Engine Articles, Technical Topics or whatever) brings up an alphabetic list of the topics covered. Scroll down and click on the one that you want, and there you are! Two clicks from the homepage gets you to every entry on this site – seems pretty simple to me, but am I missing something?!?!
very strongly that someone had to do this and applauded my efforts to do so. If this philosophy of completeness makes my articles too long for people to read, I suppose that I’m wasting my time, but this is the only way that I know to approach this subject. Should I continue doing so, or just pack it in?!? For me, there’s no in-between! 
Moving on, I’d like to remind my readers once again about the current membership promotion being pursued by the 
During the past month, I heard from my Spanish friend José Manuel Rojo that his very valuable website built around his extensive model engine collection has recently been upgraded. I must say that the upgraded site represents a major improvement over the old version, which was very good in its own right. The revised website may be accessed 
In the same vein, I’d like to draw my readers’ attention to the 
My good friend Bill Wells recently paid a visit to his daughter and grand-daughter in Trondheim, Norway. He took advantage of this visit to undertake a side-trip to 
August was a big month for updates to existing articles. The provision by my valued readership of additional information or comments on matters requiring correction constitutes my very favourite form of feedback to the articles which appear here, since it constitutes the “peer review” of these articles, enhancing both their completeness and level of authority. Thanks, guys!
Maris also shared a considerable amount of updated information on the VA replica of the 
sort is absolutely invaluable when it comes to making these articles as complete and comprehensive as possible, greatly enhancing their level of authority. I can’t do this alone – I need help of this kind if my site is going to end up amounting to anything! My very sincere thanks to Gordon.
Now, on to this month’s new articles! For the first time in a while, there’s no MEN transfer article – instead, I’m able to present three all-new articles on engines from three different continents!
spark ignition and diesel models were developed, and the article includes bench tests of examples of both types.
develop at least a credible outline of the history of this range. Better do something than nothing!
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