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From the Editor – July 2023
Sadly, the global situation remains as problematic as ever. As I’ve said before, I reckon that all we can do as individuals is carry on as best we can while exercising due caution and responsibility in areas which remain within our control, which is what I’m doing. It really does help to know that there’s still an ongoing interest in model engines among my valued readers - that’s what keeps me going! My statistics reporting system has continued to report very encouraging visitation figures.
I had cordial dealings with Ed for over thirty years, always finding him to be a totally dependable dealer who provided great service and stood behind what he sold. I was a regular customer, and I truly enjoyed our many long chats on the phone while placing an order! Ed did have a website, but this wasn't maintained for some years due to various technical difficulties and health issues. Happily, the business has now been taken over by Ed's son Randy Carlson, who may be reached at 602-863-1684. The company website is being upgraded, and a visit would prove very rewarding for anyone interested in model engines from off the beaten track. Or simply contact Randy to find out what he has in stock. There’s very likely to be something of interest! I've updated the entry for the company in my "Sources" pages.
Obviously, this unhappy event has taken a heavy toll on Alexandr’s finances – model engine production is his sole means of making a living. In order to raise some much-needed funds, Alexandr has decided to sell off part of his personal model engine collection. To facilitate this sale, Alex Phin of Redfin Engines and “AeroModeller” Editor Andrew Boddington have joined forces with Kevin Richards of SAM to run an auction of these engines, among which are some real gems. Email bids are being accepted for these engines at the Redfin Engines email address until September 1st, 2023, after which the high bidder will be determined and notified. This is a very good cause, so bid high! My own bids are already in ………. Space does not permit me to publish the illustrated listing here. Subscribers to “AeroModeller” magazine will already have seen it, but others should contact Alex Phin at the above Redfin address. I’m sure that he’ll be Since the date of my last Editorial, a few new arrivals have put me into a bit of a scramble to get them documented. First up, I acquired a mint New-in-Box example of the Glo-Mite .099 cuin. glow-plug motor from Brooklyn, New York. Regular readers will know that this was simply a glow-plug conversion of the Mite fixed-compression diesel of late 1946. I tested it immediately, finding it to be both more user-friendly and more powerful than its diesel progenitor. I’ve added the details of this test to my earlier article on the Mite Diesel – check it out! In a completely different vein, the month of June also witnessed the arrival of a pair of VT (Vella Brothers) racing engines from late 1950’s Budapest, Hungary. One of these
Established in 1898, the Villiers company of Wolverhampton became best known for its two-stroke motorcycle engines and two and four-stroke utility engines. However, in 1936 the company did dip a toe into the waters of the model aero engine manufacturing field. They produced at least two prototypes of a 10 cc model aero engine which displayed a number of quite advanced features for the time, including a roller big end bearing and cross-flow loop scavenging. John reckoned that the engine would have done well in the engine-starved British marketplace of the day, but for unknown reasons Villiers decided not to proceed with the project. Still, it made a fascinating subject for John’s article! As I’ve said many times, there’s plenty of material in ”AeroModeller” to interest anyone who is attracted to aeromodelling as it once was and (for many of us) still is!
Have you ever been told to “go to hell” during the course of a heated argument?? I certainly have! So has English reader Bill Wells, who finally decided to go along with the demand and see for himself! He sent the accompanying photo of himself standing in front of a freight storage building at the Hell railway station (yes, you can get there by train!). Turns out that Hell is a small community located in Norway, quite close to Trondheim Airport. So next time you receive that admonition, you know just where to go! Always happy to provide some useful travel advice!
Turning now to this month’s lead articles, we have yet another threesome – a mixed bag of topics! I’ve begun with an in-depth review of one of the more highly-regarded 5 cc units from the classic spark ignition era – the 0.297 cuin. (4.87 cc) Phantom P-30 sparkie from Los Angeles, California. This highly-serviceable design appeared in four distinct versions extending from 1941 through the WW2 years to 1948. I tested a couple of examples in support of this article, finding them to be well-made and fine-handling powerplants with a more than acceptable performance by the standards of their day. Well worth remembering!
I think that about does it for this edition. All being well, I'll be back to you with another edition on or about August 1st, 2023. Meanwhile, please accept my best wishes for continuing the process of getting past the current waves of misinformation and rhetoric to the reality of the unmistakeable challenges facing all of us. Keep yourself well informed from credible sources and trust your own informed opinions rather than the fantasies of others whose focus is entirely on themselves and their own agendas. Ignore them and the misinformation that they spread, make up your own mind based on authoritative current information and act accordingly! It’s your future and that of your kids and grand-kids.………. don’t let others having conflicting self-centred agendas or politically-motivated delusions decide it for you and for them! Cheers, Adrian Duncan British Columbia, Canada ___________________________________ 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. For the record, this material is made freely available to all upon two firm conditions:
Adrian C. Duncan British Columbia, Canada |
Greetings once more from Western Canada! Well, July is upon us, which means that we’re now officially into summer! Unfortunately, the elevated temperatures and lower rainfall that have accompanied its arrival due to the continuing advance of climate change have brought their own challenges, including the plethora of forest fires and a looming water shortage. Getting through the summer season is becoming quite an ordeal, but I suppose we’d better get used to it – the worldwide refusal of both voters and politicians to accept and address the issue can only make things worse.
Confirmation that a significant number of folks are seeking an escape from all that ails us by remaining very much engaged with our hobby comes from the fact that the mail box has remained quite active. Despite the many distractions now preying upon us, I still heard from quite a few of you during June, including (in no particular order) Peter Valicek, Gordon Beeby, Dave Zwolak, Don Imrie, Andrew Boddington, Alex Phin, Rich Kacmarsky, Luis Petersen, David Burke, Maris Dislers, Ted Smith, Bob Allan, Jon Fletcher, Tahn Stowe, Chris Cox, Tim Dannels, Brian Kuehn, Tony Eifflaender, Stuart Holder, Ken Croft, Bill Wells, Peter Rathke, Bob Watt, Johnny Shannon, Charles Statman, Bob Beaumont, Barry Mourant, Mike Conner, Wynn Paul, Randy Carlson, Andreas Jäger, Ladislav Kulhavy, Libor Janouch and Neill McRae. Apologies to anyone whom I may have inadvertently missed in the crowd, and apologies also to anyone whose message(s) went unanswered - things do slip through the cracks, especially when I’m distracted! The 
As is sadly so often the case these days, I have to begin my reporting of engine-related news with the announcement of yet another departure from our midst. This time it’s an old friend of mine, albeit one whom I never met face to face - Ed Carlson of 
pleased to arrange for a scan to be sent to any interested parties. Meanwhile, donations to support Alexandr’s efforts to carry on are still being accepted through Payal at the Redfin email address linked above, and are greatly appreciated. Please help out if you can …………….my own contribution is in! 
was a 5 cc VT-07 unit which was returned to me by my good mate Peter Valicek following a complete overhaul which put it into mint condition. Thanks, Peter – you’re a model engineering superstar!! The other was an equally-mint example of the mega-rare 2.5 cc VT-15 prototype units which were individually produced by the Vella brothers, mainly for the use of their friend and colleague István Gombócz in control-line speed competitions. Unlike the VT-07, which did see limited commercial production, the VT-15 was never promoted or offered as a production model. I was extremely lucky to get this one, the standard of construction of which is nothing short of superb! I’ve added details of both the VT-07 and VT-15 units to my existing article on the 
I’ve mentioned before that if you aren’t a subscriber to ”
Speaking of “AeroModeller”, historical researchers like me rely very heavily on material gleaned from the modelling literature of the hobby’s “golden era”. Our problem is often gaining access to the relevant material. Australian reader Gordon Beeby drew my attention to a first-class resource for gaining such access. This is the excellent 
The second all-new article directs our attention towards a very unusual model diesel originating in early post-WW2 Germany. This is the 
The third article for the month is one which I find a little difficult to categorize! The subject is the very unusual 
For next month I plan something a little unusual – two of the three articles will be on the same topic! The odd man out will be a detailed review of the well-known Bantam 19 series which originated in America during the pre-WW2 years and survived in production into the glow-plug era of the late 1940’s. I had a good deal of much-appreciated help from Maris Dislers in developing this article – thanks, mate! Anyone who has ever run one of these units will know just how satisfactory they are to operate and use. My article will hopefully explain the engine’s enduring popularity – it’s richly merited!
The MEN transfer article for August will present a history of the somewhat obscure TOP range from early post-WW2 Japan. This article covers the start-to-finish story of the TOP engines as far as it can be recovered today. However, the original MEN article omitted the answer to a very important question about which many enthusiasts are curious – how do the rather unusual piston-port TOP designs run? 
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