Maybe fifteen or so years ago, i went to an indoor flying meeting at Crawley in east sussex.
At the time i would build small models, around 1/48th scale, which was pretty unusual for flying models.
I remember i had a 13 inch wingspan mosquito (it`s still up in my loft) that flew quite well on the day.
Maybe an hour in to the event, a gentleman with two walking sticks approached my table, and asked me if i had ever heard of or built any Martinsyde aircraft.
As it happened i had a brand new Martinsyde G102 Elephant, that wasn`t even trimmed for flight. I also pointed out that Stuart Crossley had a `Martinsyde Semi.quaver racing plane at the event.
Mr Tait, explained he hadworked with the long since closed company.
He even had the old works clocking in clock in his hallway.
He explained that Martinsyde went on to make motorcycles when the powers
that be had decided to carry on building the Sopwith Snipe, rather than building the excellent Martinsyde F4 Buzzard, which was by all accounts, superior to the Snipe in all repects !
Mr Tait asked me to build a Buzzard for the Martinsyde museum in Brooklands.
I`ve never visited but i sure will have to one day.
So from then on i`ve had a healthy bias towards all things Martinsyde, and grew to appreciate the elegant lines of their handsome aircraft.
My avatar picture is my Martinsyde elephant (13 inch span) that still flies to this day. Indeed a friend has used my artwork and is in the process of building one for radio control (16-18 inch wingspan i think)
I completed the Buzzard, and a friend of Chris Tait came to pick it up.
I refused payment for the model, knowing that one of my models was in a museum was payment enough !
Chris Tait sent me a copy of The Martinsyde File it was signed by Mr Sanger who wrote the book.
If you get a chance, read up on a Martinsyde S1, which was similar to the Sopwith Tabloid. And the strange goings on of Mr Strange !
So there you have it, I design and build flying models, with just a little bias towards a certain company.
To my knowledge, there are three different animals pictured on RAF badges that can be traced back to world war one
A Camel
A Dolphin
and 27 squadron`s badge features an Elephant.
At the time i would build small models, around 1/48th scale, which was pretty unusual for flying models.
I remember i had a 13 inch wingspan mosquito (it`s still up in my loft) that flew quite well on the day.
Maybe an hour in to the event, a gentleman with two walking sticks approached my table, and asked me if i had ever heard of or built any Martinsyde aircraft.
As it happened i had a brand new Martinsyde G102 Elephant, that wasn`t even trimmed for flight. I also pointed out that Stuart Crossley had a `Martinsyde Semi.quaver racing plane at the event.
Mr Tait, explained he hadworked with the long since closed company.
He even had the old works clocking in clock in his hallway.
He explained that Martinsyde went on to make motorcycles when the powers
that be had decided to carry on building the Sopwith Snipe, rather than building the excellent Martinsyde F4 Buzzard, which was by all accounts, superior to the Snipe in all repects !
Mr Tait asked me to build a Buzzard for the Martinsyde museum in Brooklands.
I`ve never visited but i sure will have to one day.
So from then on i`ve had a healthy bias towards all things Martinsyde, and grew to appreciate the elegant lines of their handsome aircraft.
My avatar picture is my Martinsyde elephant (13 inch span) that still flies to this day. Indeed a friend has used my artwork and is in the process of building one for radio control (16-18 inch wingspan i think)
I completed the Buzzard, and a friend of Chris Tait came to pick it up.
I refused payment for the model, knowing that one of my models was in a museum was payment enough !
Chris Tait sent me a copy of The Martinsyde File it was signed by Mr Sanger who wrote the book.
If you get a chance, read up on a Martinsyde S1, which was similar to the Sopwith Tabloid. And the strange goings on of Mr Strange !
So there you have it, I design and build flying models, with just a little bias towards a certain company.
To my knowledge, there are three different animals pictured on RAF badges that can be traced back to world war one
A Camel
A Dolphin
and 27 squadron`s badge features an Elephant.
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