Renovating a Gite in Brittany

Following on from yesterday the kids have painted the planes. I didn’t have any proper modelling paint or dope, so it was some bargain bin matchpots of gloss paint. I doubt the airframe will last long enough to worry about fuel attacking the paint and foam.

The Cox engines I have came from EBay, and did not have the integral fuel tank, so I’ve had to fashion a motor mount of some L-bar aluminum with a slot cut for the air and fuel intakes.

Very annoyingly, I did not bother to order any 5×3 propellers or small tanks at the same time. I expected to source them locally, but I’ve been to every model shop within an hour of here and nothing.

So, ordered online, and just waiting on the postman for the props and fuel tanks.

With the elevator fitted the next job was the control mechanism.

I had to make the bellcrank from some spare plastic. The leadout wires are from some fishing tackle with little clips on the end.

The leadout guide was made from some spare plywood and epoxied into a slot in the foam wing.

Next job – painting.

Following on from yesterday the glue dried overnight.

The edges of the platter and leading edge of the fin I squashed with a knife handle and filled with glue. The paper went a bit rippled, so maybe next time I won’t bother.

Just fixed on the fin and started the elevator. Slightly different to the original plans I used a couple of small plastic hinges, cut a slot in the foam and glued them in place with wood glue and a retaining cocktail stick.

The elevator edge which joins to the body I added a 45^o chamfer top and bottom to prevent fouling.

Yes I did wipe the excess glue off

Whilst hunting around in the attic I came across some old radio control aeroplanes. None of which were air worthy, but it reminded me of building cheap control line planes with Cox 049 engines. My son was so excited about the models I thought why not.

I stumbled across these plans and instructions for building the Osbourne Platter. After a quick purchase of an engine on E-Bay I bought some foam board a bit of plywood and started.

The glue needs to dry overnight, so I’ll let you know how I get on over the next few days.

Just went a bit mad and bought a dinghy. It’s only secondhand, a 4.45m Gouteron from 1977, and Orange !

I had sailing lessons as a kid and did a bit of yacht sailing about 10 years ago, which was great fun, but nothing more recent. Debbie has recently been sailing at a local club and completed a weeks training course and really enjoyed it.

So we both thought, why not !

Rigging it and the first time out might be a bit chaotic and exciting for the wrong reasons, but it’s only an old cheap boat for a bit of a laugh, so splice the mainbrace and off we go shipmates.

Hugh and I went camping at Le Mans for the 24hr sports car race. We had a great time and were lucky enough to know a friend whose son worked for the Aston Martin race team. We managed to get some pit passes for a few hours and have a poke around the pit garages. The surprising thing for me was how much plumbing and ‘ancillary’ stuff was hidden under the bodywork. The engine seemed incidental to the rest of the car. It was also pointed out that the cars also have air-conditioning fitted to keep the drivers cool in the cockpit.

I started going to Le Mans in 1986 watching every race until ‘93, from the dominance of the Porsche 962 through the Jaguar and Mercedes victories to the Mazda and Peugeot. Before the new pit complex was built I remember being able to sit on the roof of the old pits and look down into the pit-lane. Watching the cars at night hit 240mph on the Mulsanne straight from the Armco before the chicanes were added was pretty special.

Surprisingly not a lot has changed. The atmosphere is still great, the campsite toilets still terrible and some extra viewing at the Porsche Curves. The most notable change was the catering. In ‘the old days’ the catering behind the pit grandstands was a motley collection of ‘mom and pop’ burger/sausage and fries grill stands. Often the chef was surly, unshaven, dressed in a very grubby ‘white’ apron with a roll-up cigarette hanging out of his mouth whilst cooking.

Now the catering has gone all a bit corporate, with standard fare, standard prices and no soul. I kind of missed the unhygienic stands of the past.