Mike Shellim
Beginnings
OK here's a little about myself, how I got into RC and how the web site was born.
It all started when I was very young, when my mother used to provide me with Airfix kits 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 wouldn't look out of place in a museum - it was a MacGregor single channel system, with a rubber driven escapement in place of a servo. It gave great service in a couple of small power models, the Mini Tyro (by David Boddington), and the Pal Joey (by American pioneer Bill Winter).
At around this time, affordable proportional systems started becoming available in the UK, and I 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. This classic system was designed by R/C pioneers Harry Brooks and Doug Spreng, and operated on 27 MHz. It had a vinyl covered folded aluminium case typical of the Tx's of the day.
The radio was provided in kit form - this was quite common in those days, and getting it to work provided immense satisfaction. Imagine etching the boards, let alone doing the soldering on one of today's high tech spread-specturm systems.
Flirting with the flat
The mid eighties was my thermal soaring phase. I started competing in BARCS Open Thermal competitions, flying a Graupner Cirrus and a Hi-Phase.
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, the difficult bit was shaving the 1/2 second from the time which makes the difference between winning and whining. 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
Since the late 1998 I've been writing articles for Traplet Publications.
It all started in 1997 when Dave Jones, the editor of QFI, rang out of the blue to chat about web sites. 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 the occasional article in QFI.
Dave was a real one-off - 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' (think about it!). This led to QFI. Eventually Traplet took over, and added an 'electric' to the title. So QFI became QEFI. Dave was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident a couple of years after that meeting.
By then, and largely thanks to his efforts, I already had a regular soaring column with RCMW under the editorship of Pete Dawson. Twenty-five issues of 'Soarers Slot' followed, until I finally took a break 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, mainly as an exercise. It's undergone fairly continuous change ever since.