Mike Shellim
Beginnings
Here's a little about myself, how I got into RC modeling, and how this web site came into being.
It all started when I was very young. My mother would provide me with the occasional Airfix kit to stop me jumping about when visiting elderly relatives. So it was that I learnt how to follow simple instructions like "locate and cement 15 to 23".
Later, when I was 13 or so, I started constructing 'real' balsa models which sort of flew and made a lot of noise - first free flight, then control-line. I spent a lot of time learning how to start engines, chase models around the countryside, and fix things.
First steps r/c
R/C was pretty mysterious back in the early 70's, and to a curious youngster, it represented an irresistible challenge.
My first R/C system was a MacGregor single channel set. It used a rubber driven escapement to drive the rudder of my Imp, a 48 inch span balsa glider. The radio also saw service in a couple of small power models, the Mini Tyro (by David Boddington), and the Pal Joey (by American pioneer Bill Winter).
Affordable proportional systems were starting to become available around this time, and I soon graduated to a MacGregor 2-channel set (the one with the cute "Wee MacGregor in Control" logo). This coincided with a visit to Ivinghoe Beacon in 1973 with my school chum Charles Fison, starting a long association with this beautiful spot.
Hill soaring
It didn't take long to get hooked on hill soaring. A succession of models followed, among them a Veron Impala, Big Eagle, Cirrus, Phase 6.
With these more sophisticated models, a more capable R/C system was needed, which led to the purchase of an HB 4-channel system, a classic system designed by pioneers Harry Brooks and Doug Spreng, and operating on 27 MHz. It had a vinyl covered folded aluminium case typical of the Tx's of the day.
As was quite common in those days, the radio was provided in kit form and all the components had to be soldered in place. Switching it on for the first time and finding it all worked provided immense satisfaction. Of course nowadays with multiple layer boards and surface mounted components, supplying systems as kits would be impossible!
Flirting with the flat
The mid eighties saw the start of my competition flying. I started entering BARCS Open Thermal competitions, flying a Graupner Cirrus and a Hi-Phase by Chris Foss.
Once again a home build R/C system was used, this time one published in RCME. Virtually everything that could be built from scratch was, including the case, coil windings, and the PC board etching. The only problem were the bought-in SLM stick units, probably the worst sticks ever made and certainly the only ones to shed their springs while in use!
Competitive thermal soaring was fun but eventually it was time for a change. A return to sport thermal and slope flying followed, interspersed with i/c power flying.
Return to the hills
On a visit to Ivinghoe around 1996, I was treated to the amazing site of Dave Woods wringing the daylights out an all-glass Ellipse at Ivinghoe Beacon. Remember this was still in the era of balsa models, so the sight of a plastic pig doing carving up the sky was incredibly exciting.
Suitably inspired, a Calypso Contest kit was purchased, built and entered at a local F3F competition at the Beacon. Driving a model at top speed between two poles 100m apart was easy, but as I soon discovered shaving another 1/2 second from your time was more difficult. As a result I became hooked on F3F and started competing in the BMFA league and have done so ever since. I love the competitions, the fabulous sites, and the friendly atmosphere which surrounds it.
Writing
I have been writing for Traplet Publications since 1998.
It all started in 1997 when Dave Jones, the editor of QFI, called me out of the blue to pick my brains about a web site project. A meeting followed in 'Cyberia', a trendy cyber cafe behind Goodge Street station in London. While Dave's ideas for a web site were - typically - way ahead of their time, the result was that I started writing articles in QFI.
Dave was a genuine one-off character - immensely likeable, and possessed with a fertile imagination and a dogged determination to turn dreams into reality. Hence his foray into one-man publishing with his company 'Double Digit Publications' and the magazine that he founded QFI. Eventually the restrictive distribution arrangements made it unviable, and Traplet took over the magazine, adding 'electric' to the title. Dave continued to edit the magazine. A couple of years after our first meeting, Dave was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident.
Largely thanks to Dave's introduction, I was by then writing a regular soaring column for RCMW, under the editorship of Pete Dawson. Twenty-five issues of 'Soarers Slot' followed, until I stopped in 2005. The writing bug never quite went away though, and I'm back again, writing the R/C reviews for Pete's successor Tony van Geffen.
Ivinghoe Beacon
I have been a member of the ISA for many years. It's one of the largest soaring clubs in the UK. We Fly at Ivinghoe Beacon, a beauty spot 35 miles North of London. Ivinghoe Beacon was also the site of Nick Shaw's world record breaking duration flight.
In the aerial photo at left, the Beacon is marked by the white blob on the right.
The Web Site
This web site was started back in 1996, partly because there were very few sites in those days, and partly to learn about web sites and specifically HTML. It's been growing and changing ever since.
In 2008 most of the markup was converted to XHTML and CSS. All pages are static except fore the photo galleries which are generated using PHP.