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From the Editor – October 2023
Wherever you live, getting through the summer season is becoming quite an ordeal. However, I suppose we’d better get used to it – the ongoing worldwide refusal of both voters and politicians to accept and address the issue of climate change can only make things worse. This has been the coolest summer of the rest of our lives ………….. We can’t blame the politicians, as so many people tend to do – they simply follow policies that they think will get them votes (or at least not cost them votes) – their thinking is always behind that of the electorate. So as long as we voters collectively refuse to place climate change action at the top of the list of voting criteria, the politicians will continue to pay lip service to the issue. It’s down to us …………… As I’ve said previously, I reckon that all we can do as individuals is carry on as best we can while keeping ourselves well informed from authoritative sources and exercising due caution and responsibility in those areas which remain within our control. That’s what I’m doing anyway. It really does help to know that there’s still a healthy worldwide community of individuals having an ongoing interest in model engines - that’s what keeps me going! My statistics reporting system has continued to report quite encouraging visitation figures. Confirmation that a significant number of folks remain 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 heard from quite a few of you during September, including (in no particular order) Peter Valicek, Gordon Beeby, Dave Zwolak, Don Imrie, Alex Phin, Andrew Boddington, Rich Kacmarsky, Luis Petersen, Maris Dislers, Hugh Blowers, Dean Clarke, Steve Webb, Peter Rathke, Ingemar Larsson, Ken Croft, Martin Dilly, Frank Klenk, Bob Watts, Miles Patience, Bill Bickel, Roger Cosio, Richard Blatt, Michel Rosanoff, Roger LaPrelle, Johnny Shannon, Curtis Mattikow, Jaap van de Loosdrecht, Jeffery Prescott, Stan Stembera, Paul Smigelski, Ron Hiltz, Bill Wells, Dennis Merwood, Allan Brown, Larry Davidson 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 blog site has continued to justify its existence by contributing a small but steady flow of relevant traffic - thanks for that.
It turns out that getting this done will be quite expensive. This being the case, I’m forced once again to wonder if the site is sufficiently appreciated to warrant its continuation. Since starting this site in 2014, I’ve put thousands of dollars and thousands of hours into it, but is it worth throwing more money at it at this stage? Would it be missed if it went away? Is anyone still reading this stuff? I don’t know ……. but I must make a decision soon.
We begin with a review of the under-1 cc engines, both diesel and glow-plug, which were marketed over the years under the FROG banner. The original MEN article on this topic goes way back to December 2010, so it was definitely time for an The second transfer article for the month stays with the ½A theme but switches countries. We head over to Japan to look at one of the rarer ½A glow-plug engines – the ROC .049. This neat little unit was produced to a very good standard and performed very well. It was clearly influenced by contemporary American products, but nonetheless represents a very sincere effort by its makers to produce an engine of more than acceptable performance and quality.
As matters stand, next month is somewhat up in the air. Assuming that I’m able to get a new edition out, I hope to present an updated version of the existing MEN article on the OK Cub diesels. To supplement this, it’s my intention to present an all-new article on the very rare prototype OK Cub .149 diesel of 1953, including a full bench test.
I think that about does it for this edition. If things go sufficiently well, I hope to be back to you with another edition on or about November 1st, 2023. However things work out, please accept my best wishes for getting the best out of what life has to offer in these troubled times! 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 still too-sunny Coquitlam! September is now done and dusted, but the fires still burn, albeit with somewhat reduced vigor. The impact of this year’s forest fire season has been truly devastating, and it’s not over yet. We've had a little rain recently, but not enough to douse the fires. 
The past month has generated some personal problems for me which have rather diverted attention away from model engines. Among them is the development of a number of serious issues with the administrative side of this website. For example, some of you will have noticed that the General Discussion thread on the blog site no longer works. Neither do certain administrative functions. My IT guys tell me that the site has reached the point at which it requires virtually a complete re-mounting and re-installation on a revised more up-to-date platform. Almost starting from scratch, in fact, although all the data would be maintained.
I have to begin this month’s news items with yet another regrettable announcement of a departure from our midst. This time it’s Ian Russell, former owner of the MERCO range and instigator of the fine “Rustler” series of replicas and retros. As an active member of the Hayes & District Model Aero Club during the late ‘50’s and early ‘60’s when the iconic Rivers engines were being developed, Ian provided a great deal of invaluable first-hand insight into the development of my article on the 
A somewhat less sombre piece of news is that the Editor of “AeroModeller” magazine, Andrew Boddington, is stepping aside after 10 very productive and greatly-appreciated years at the helm. Andrew’s very able replacement is Colin Sharman, a lifelong aeromodeller who is currently a member of Bristol & West MAC, and before that Cheltenham MAC. Colin has ample commercial experience, having previously run a software company. He is currently the Editor of his club magazine. Happily, Andrew is not disappearing from the scene but will continue to be involved with “AeroModeller” as a contributor. He plans to use his expanded time productively, with more aeromodelling for fun! I’m sure that all of my readers wish both Andrew and Colin well!
I recently announced the arrival of my example of the much-anticipated Blue Streak 0.6 cc mini-Rivers from 
Once in a while a relatively routine event such as a simple phone call provides a bit of a lift in one’s life. A very timely event of this sort occurred during September when I received an unexpected phone call from England. At the other end was one of my long-ago aeromodelling heroes, Martin Dilly. He was calling about a book which I’d ordered from him. It was really special for me to actually talk to an aeromodeller who had been one of my heroes during my early years in the hobby. During the “classic” era, Martin compiled an outstanding competition record in various free flight disciplines, producing a number of outstanding contest designs along the way – anyone remember “Vindaloo”, “Cue Dot” and “Wee Kee Wee”? It’s great to know that at the age of 88 Martin is still going strong!
Finally, we return to England to take a look at one of the more obscure tiddlers from that country – the 
That very rare prototype .149 diesel was accompanied by an equally elusive .06 cuin. diesel prototype. Entering into the spirit of this line of inquiry, my good mate Maris Dislers has provided his own test report on a hybrid .059 cuin. OK Cub diesel which he has put together from components of several different OK Cub .049 models in combination with a modified RJL Cox .049 diesel conversion head. Although it's not an exact replica of the original .06 model of 1953, Maris’s test gives a very good idea of how that original OK Cub .06 diesel might have performed. A fascinating look into what might have been! | |