© 2010. Issue 229 July 29 2010

Competition Winner
Congratulations this week go to Darren Swailes winning with the caption "And who said I could only get a Bogey if I took up golf!". Well done Darren, you are definitely getting into the swing of this now! Please get in touch so we can arrange the details!

Weekly Competition £10 prize

A true star wars fan will always want to attend the comicon convention dressed in their favourite character's outfit. This chap is obviously no exception, but I'm pretty sure he has mistaken a swing-lid dustbin with R2D2. C3PO would be highly amused! Deadline for your caption is Wednesday August 4th. Please send your entries to:
editor2 AT modelhelicopters.co.uk
Entries addressed to anything else won't be seen! Please use 'editor2'.

New items this week
First this week we have Ray's HeliTech DVDs volume 13 and 14 all about Autorotations. Volume 13 includes 28 scenes covering the theory behind Autorotations and setting up the model ready for auto's using Spektrum, JR and Futaba radios, while Volume 14 includes many autorotation demonstrations with stick cams so you can follow the movements easily, and it concludes by showing all kinds of advanced autos demonstrated by Kyle Dahl, the winner of the 2010 XFC.

>> Next column >>

Next we have the latest Hatori 946 for YS 91 engines (ST, SR and SRS). This muffler has been upgraded by Hatori in Japan to give much improved performance for the YS91SRS Heli Motor. Tuned specifically for 3D flight it will simply give you the best power for the YS91SR/SRS! Designed in conjunction with YS!

Also from Hatori we have the Hatori 566 muffler for YS56SR and OS55HZ engines. Designed and produced for a power-range of 16,500-20,000 engine rpm. This muffler is not suitable for the older 50 size engines.

The beast has arrived!

New in from Freakware this week is the BeastX Microbeast flybarless system. This small, all in one unit is a pretty clever box of tricks, managing to gyro stabilise all three axes of your helicopter, while at the same time taking care of the CCPM mixing on the helicopter. A colourful and picture heavy manual hand holds you through the straight-forward setup, making this a breeze to install, setup and of course, fly!

>> Next column >>

Finally

We have an outstanding offer on one of the best engineered helicopters out there. The Kasama Srimok 90 Nitro is available for £899.99 for a limited time and includes a Canomod painted canopy as well! This represents a massive saving over the normal retail price. This offer will only be available for two weeks, or until stocks run out. Act fast to avoid disappointment!

That's it

Last weekend saw the 3D Masters event take place in Venlo, and by all accounts it was quite a spectacle, with the standard of flying having taken a great leap forward. Winner of the Masters class this year was Nick Maxwell, and watching the videos (those that are already available on youtube) it is not suprising. Simply amazing skills on the sticks!

I will be doing some testing of my own this weekend as I have not yet managed to test fly my newly converted to flybarless nitro Aurora. I'm sure it will be just as awesome as Mat's is!

The weekends weather forecast looks to be mostly flyable, with some potential showers on Sunday afternoon, but hopefully clearing up to be a scorcher later in the day. If you get the chance to fly - get out there and do it.

Until next time, have a week!