electric flight uk - British Electric Flight Association - Jan Bassett's

and trucks, with a big arena full of 6ft-long artics and scale model contractor’s
plant, the latter shifting piles of dirt from A to B then back to A again – whatever
turns them on! The Germans are into this in a big way, with many models
featuring miniaturised real hydraulic systems.
Hall 5 also contains the Conrads stand – a magnet for modellers and electronics
buffs of all types. Conrads is the German equivalent to Maplins, except that it
carries an extensive range of model products as well. The stand is set up like a
supermarket, through which a densely-packed line of customers shuffle. The bins
of goods contain a vast range of items, from solder to epoxy to assorted model
wheels, and usually cheap servos. This year, I bought good quality standard
servos with accessories, for a mere • 4 each!
Halls 7 and 8 are for railway fans, and the latter is filled with enormous layouts
from societies all over Europe. They even lay on little “play” layouts for the younger
visitors to have a go! Another branch of the hobby, which I saw for the first time
this year, was a stand selling a construction system for design-your-own miniature
roller-coasters. Loops, spirals and “stall turns” can all be included in your own
table-top “white knuckle” ride! Helps to cover the ups and down of the German
economy, I suppose!
Plane speaking!
Hall 4 is the one I spent most time in, looking at the myriad models and accessories
on sale from all over Europe. As usual, most of the models, kits, ARTFs and
accessories on offer are seldom seen in the UK. With the German economy in
decline, the “good old days” of super-cheap prices have gone, along with traders
like Langnickel, and many smaller vendors like WeMoTec can no long afford to
have stands at the show, but their wares are available from some of the retailers
still at the show. All the major manufacturers like Graupner, Robbe, Simprop,
Aeronaut and Jamara had display stands at the show, but there were no real eyecatchers
in the way of revolutionary new models, except for the latter (see below).
Simprop were showing their “TurnLeft” pylon-racers, which suit the new F5D
rules, together with their existing trainer pair of Pilatus PC-9 and Harvard 1.
Dortmund 2005 Hall 4
68 E.F.-U.K.