Hexham Model Flying Club Website

Hexham Model Flying Club's website has been updated. With more content and a new look, it is hoped that there will be renewed interest in this resource. There are added photos of the clubs flying activities as well as some new videos. Check it out.

Please email in news and pictures for the site. Details on the site which can be found here.

Health and Safety Advice from the Club

A most unfortunate ailment has befallen chief of Naughtiness, Sadfly.
Glen had recently bought a bi-plane. Appropriately christened 'Steinway', this aircraft weighs 8kg. Being a rather excessive weight for a 48" wing span 40 sized model, Glen has been forced to fit larger engine (pictured here before fitment) obtained from a nautical supplier.

The 'Steinway' itself has been constructed from reinforced concrete sections. Once sanded into shape, it has been covered in lead flashing to give an authentic weathered aluminium sheeting appearance.

The flight envelope for the model, picture here prior to covering, is interesting. At full power, the model requires the full 800 metres of the Watch Currock runway before clearing the boundary fence by 2 cms! Once airborne, the model is surprisingly aerobatic. Gentle left and right hand turns are possible, with practice. Landing, like take off, requires full throttle. The landing speed is quite fast as is to be expected with a wing loading of 1.2Kg per square cm. To counter this, the model has been fitted with an undercarriage constructed from second hand RSJs. A couple of turns of gaffer tape have endowed the undercarriage with an attractive appearance, as well as that all important streamlining!

Sadfly had kindly volunteered to carry Glen's pride and joy to the runway. It was at this point, a pain was noted in the groin area. Following investigation by the stronger stomached members, a hernia was identified. As a result the following health and safety advice has been issued by the club;

Before attempting to lift Glen's bi-plane, all members must first wear the support truss provided. The club pair can be found in the mower box.

Sparks Fly

The Naughty Boys had a big night on bonfire night. Flo, proprietor of Stanegate Flyers had arranged a flying display to take part in front of the Hexham bonfire night crowd.

Providing the Naughty Boys with a pair of his SB42 Goflykites,the plan was to display at night in front of the 15000 strong crowd! Together with Flo and ace pilot son Meekle, 4 of the Goflightkite range would be put through their paces.

Despite being the most cynical and opinionated flyers at Hexham Field, Sadfly and Flygeek were forced to admit that it was one of the most awe inspiring episodes in their flying history. Night flying really works and the Goflykite range performed (and survived) beyond all expectation.

This unique event, displayed the hobby to a massive crowd who had no prevous experience of model flying and at night. The resulting response was overwhelmingly positive. Truly a first in model flying history.

Full story on Model Flying

Find the Naughty Boys

The Naughty Boys fly at Watch Currock near Hexham. Membership of the Hexham Model Flying Club and BMFA membership is required in order to fly at Watch Currock. Guests may fly on a maximum of 4 occasions a year with proof of insurance. We fly all week when the weather allows and will usually make newcomers welcome especially if they bring vittles!
We fly radio controlled fixed wing, helicopter and silent flight. Club rules can be viewed here.


The club also has a site at Kiln Pit Hill. Although smaller, access is easier after long periods of rain. The site is 1 mile ENE of the A68 crossroads at Kiln Pit Hill.

Meetings of the HMFC are held every 2nd Wednesday of the month at the Hexham Ex Servicemans Club, Hallstile Bank, Hexham. Contact Clive Matthews at clive@medialoft.co.uk for further details.

24 Hour Flying at Hexham Field

Following years of complaining about; wind, rain, ice and snow, the Naughty Boys have recently faced a new adversary! A strange golden orb has appeared in the Northumberland sky's above Hexham Field. Some of the older members have managed to identify this as 'The Sun', previously only known to Sadfly as a source of carnal pleasure!

Of course welcoming such apparitions, or indeed anything new, is alien to Hexham club members and so moaning was the order of the day. 'How are we expected to fly whilst squinting and being blinded by that thing?' was a common whinge.

Fortunately, help was at hand in the form of Stanegateflyers. Proprietor Flo brought along one of the GoFlyKite range, the SB42 from the Hexham shop. Fitted with a plethora of LED lights, the Naughty Boys discovered that flying could now be done after that bright thing has left. Even in the calmest breeze (8 - 10 mph) Hexham Field has known, the model surprised all with it's turn of speed and maneuverability. No longer heard to mutter 'it'll never catch on' the Naughty Boys are now studying Ohm's Law with renewed interest and applying to their carers for late passes!

Axel Lifter attacks secret missile base.

Rogue Hexham flyer Axel Lifter had a bit of an incident the other week. Axel, major purchaser of Chris Foss products, owned a 'Wots Wot'. This aerobatic bi-plane was proving a bit of a handful and was often seen terrorising the field on the edge of control. In an effort to tame this beast, Axel had come across a product promising to keep his wayward plane straight and level whenever he didn't intervene (a happier state of affairs for all at the field!). This 21st century product named after fictional rogue computer HAL, was duly fitted and after some brief testing arrived at Hexham field.

The weather on the day of the test flight was unusually benign, just the gentlest of WNW breezes and warm sunshine. Axel placed the 'Wots Wot' on the runway and took off. The yellow plane climbed to 400ft AGL and levelled out. It was as Axel attempted to turn back towards the field that events started to take a sinister turn (or not turn in this case). Bystanders swear that they heard an artificial voice say 'I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that' . Axel's face turned ashen as the model failed to respond to his frantic stick twiddling and carried on in a steady WNW direction, beautifully straight and level.

To the north west of Hexham field, alarms sounded and screens flashed up warnings at the Shovelmadman missile base. There was an unidentified aircraft flying into their restricted airspace at 400ft! Two Tornado's were scrambled to intercept. Despite incessant radio calls, the unidentified aircraft would not respond.

Squadron Leader Narra taking aim

Above Hadrian's Wall, the Tornado's caught up with Axel's wayward model. Realising that an air to air missile launch might be a little over the top on this occasion, Squadron Leader Narra, decided to tip the tiny airframe with his wing vortex. Flying by fast and close the upset air would cause the craft to tumble to the ground. Unfortunately HAL was having none of it and corrected every change of attitude immediately. After several passes had failed to have any adverse impact, Narra decided on desperate measures. Now passing over the luxury resort of Gilsland Spa, Narra opened fire with his 27mm Mauser cannon. On the second attempt, the OS 60 engine was separated from the airframe. The little craft fluttered to the ground in a corn field just west of the Spa. Squadron Leader Narra swears that just before the model struck the ground he heard a metallic voice in his earphones say, 'just what do you think you're doing, Dave?'

The HAL system before meeting Terra Firma!

Ripmax have issued the following statement concerning the HAL 2100;

We recommend that a Throttle Failsafe is installed in every aircraft with a HAL 2100 AutoPilot fitted. Because HAL will return the aircraft to straight & level flight in the absence of pilot control inputs, if radio contact is broken between the Transmitter and Receiver, the model could potentially continue to fly until it ran out of fuel! Or worse!

BFMA Safety Notice

Concern is growing as to the long term effects of exposure to high frequency radiation. The proximity of the transmitter aerial in front of the face whilst flying has raised particular concern. As a result the BFMA in conjunction with MacGregor have developed an alternative antennae arrangement suitable for 2.4 GHz users. It may be a condition of the BFMA insurance that this CE approved antennae is used at all times.

Flying Weather?

Watering Eyes!

Fed up with difficult access to the Hexham Field due to Northumberland bearing the brunt of supplying the North East with water in 2008, Sadfly and Flygeek decided to try slope soaring. Now this decision is not taken lightly, slope soarers are a known wild race which doesn’t take to strangers easily! They are fiercely protective of the secrets of their dark art, but the intrepid duo managed to gleam that you require 2 things - a slope and an airframe.

A kind farmer allowed them access to a slope overlooking Hadrians Wall. If nothing else, this was going to be an attractive walk. Sadfly already had an Easy Star in an attic ready for revival and keen to avoid any cost, this would do. On the basis that it would be easy to repair when inevitably broken, an Easy Glider was purchased by Flygeek.

After much exhaustive research the intrepid duo learned that after reaching the top of the slope, the gliders, in our case the Easy Star (which was both) and the Easy Glider (which was neither), were to be thrown off. If the wind is in the right direction, the models fly upwards and backwards. Actually, the Easy Star penetrated the light Northumberland breeze (40 mph) and was happily flying in a most lively fashion along the slope. 40 minutes later when Flygeek had returned from retrieving the Easy Glider from the valley behind, it was doing some nicely controlled aerobatics.

So, the pair learned that you actually need 3 things, ballast being the 3rd! The Easy Star with it's sub C cells was perfect, but the Easy Glider needed the insertion of a 6mm threaded rod into the wing spar. Now fully ballasted, the Easy Glider was able to stay in the lift along the slope but with it's tail twisting alarmingly in the 40 mph winds, control was occasional and hopeful rather than accurate.

It was at this point they discovered the major problem that slope soarers don't tell you about! Watering Eyes! Was this from staring in manic concentration into a gale? No - it was from the manic laughter that slope soaring induces. Do try it.