Always something of a lottery, weather wise, organising an event in the UK on a bank holiday, and this was no exception. From an exceedingly hot 27C on Thursday when mowing and track cleaning was the order of the day, down to around 10C and a biting north easterly wind by Sunday that did the flyers no favours at all. Thursday was also a commercial booking with the regional finals of the schools rocketry contest. Someone said that 'they would not come to Buckminster because there are too many rules', but our rules are as nothing compared to the rocketeers that one teacher enthusiastically explained to us. The results sheet at the end of the day had as many DQs as it did scores?

Fridays are now becoming the most popular running days, although Lyndon Bedford had not arrived, nor had Charlie Murphy from the US, but more of them later. Gerry Best had his latest acquisition ready to go, a OS powered, Stelling Wilma Monza car one of the very last produced. Gerry also had a variety of wheels and tyres via Oliver and Hugh to try out. John Goodall and Ian Harper brought a unique piece of Oliver history, the one off, narrow track, twinshaft built by John Oliver from bar stock, the last engine he ever built, installed in a Swedish Slabang car. Ian is running this at Orebro along with John and his 100mph, more standard version. They were using the opportunity to get settings established before the job of rigorous cleaning to get the diesel powered cars on to the aeroplane. John Oliver fell foul of this and had to leave his cars at the airport on a previous trip.

The 3.5cc FEMA cable had plenty of use, David Giles checking out his NSC Class 3 car before Kapfenhardt, which was showing 150mph before being shut off. Hugh had his Class 3 car, now retired from international competition with a timed run at 141mph and Gerry getting to grips with tyre sizes, eventually needing something in between what he had as the motor peaked out on the smaller ones, but would not pull the larger versions? Lynn fell foul of a design flaw that has plagued users of older Denneler gearboxes as the countersunk screw holding the outer wheel on is just not up to the job. The wheel does not go anywhere but just locks up the whole drive train. Later boxes changed this so that some re-engineering is required. Mike Francies did not have the best of days as his cars that had run so well last month just would not play, ending up with a score of brought three, broke three.

David Giles	Mike Francies' bench	DeWinton steam loco

Andy Soars had his two immaculate twinshaft cars and the beautiful Moore #11 The 2.5cc cars running as well as ever, but the 5cc bevel drive Dooling seemed to find a bump each lap that eventually put it on its back, much to the detriment of the GRP and paintwork. What Andy also had was a casting from the superb patterns seen in the SAM report, but now with a gearbox and Dooling 61 installed, all with his usual level of impeccable engineering. It is going to look amazing when finished.
 

Andy Soars' twinshafts and Moore #11	Moore #12 well on its way

Chris Maggs had a new hand built motor in his original Roadrunner, which with judicious twiddling of compression and needle added 10mph to its speed during the weekend. Ian Wingfield's two Oliver Redfins performed faultlessly after the winter lay off, but it was what was on his table that caused more interest. Over the last year he has built a beautiful De Winton steam loco, which now has a boiler certificate and was destined for a run the following day. Inevitably there is always a goodly selection of items of interest. Roger Gedge had brought along a gorgeous ETA powered B team racer that garnered much attention as David Giles was a noted B pilot before converting to tethered cars. It was also a model that still looked like an aeroplane, so got my vote.  Add to that an ETA 29 speed motor and the two original McCoy motors from Charlie Taylor's famous Razzamachas and an exceedingly rare AMRO, plenty to pique interest. A long day on the track with action into the early evening, but food and a pint beckoned.
 

Class B ETA team race plane	ETA 29 speed motor	Two ex Charlie Taylor McCoy 29s

Saturday and more arrivals, Jan Huning who is still young enough to have to work, Peter Hill on a first visit to Buckminster, Lyndon Bedford a day late after having done himself a mischief and needing to be straightened out through medical intervention and then Charlie. We had expected him the day before, but being Charlie he had bid on some cars in the auction at Bury St Edmunds, driven down to collect them and then driven back up to Melton Mowbray. It was a cue for enthusiastic gawpers to gather round his car to see what he had bought, including Lyndon in high dudgeon as Charlie had outbid him for an ETA car. If that was not enough, Charlie had also brought along a 1/8^th scale, electrically operated car hoist to service his cars. In his cargo case was a 1066 Conquest that should have a traceable history as it has initials stamped into the shell and a serial number, as well as numerous, carefully cut louvres. What was unusual was the Rowell MkI lurking inside.
 

Charlie Murphy's electric car hoist	ETA 29 bought on Friday run on Saturday	The elusive AMRO

By contrast, the OTW junior car thunders round at just over 100mph but then refused to start for a third run. Another duff glow plug, the second in three seasons, but nothing by comparison with poor Gerry when he was told to expect to do a plug a run in his 3b. Roger Gedge had his ex OTW Redfin that hovers around the 87-88mph level, as long as the cut off doesn't, but all too often it did. His electric cars perform faultlessly, apart from the new one, which did a series of gyrations after launch, turning the body into a convertible. A bit of super glue and the tracking adjusted and that was away. Still a bit behind Walt Wilson in the US, but at a fraction of the cost, and with reliability and no regular bonfires.

What we had not appreciated was that it was also Charlie's birthday, until midway through the afternoon MiJee arrived laden with a monster chocolate cake and a selection of sugar laden tray bakes for us all to celebrate with Charlie. The cake was just sumptuous with the topping inches thick pure chocolate, several takers for seconds on that, so thanks Charlie and MiJee. Thoroughly sated that was about it for the day as several people had other commitments on Sunday so were heading home.
 

Serious chocolate cake and tray bakes	Some of the 'happy scoffers'

Sunday was cold, with a wind that just whipped though you, weren't we grateful for the hangar, thanks Manny. Jan had decided to give his venerable 'schools' car one (or two) more runs, but it definitely signalled that it was due its honourable retirement, although still well into the 80s. Lyndon has been hard at work building a modern replica of the ETA 'Terry Special' with a very rare ETA 19 motor in it. When photos were posted on Facebook, Charlie commented that 'you will have problems with that tank' and so it proved. Uniflow tanks work in hydros and planes, but not very well in cars, so a quick hacksaw job to allow the tank to vent normally and it was away, assuming that any fuel had been put in said tank. A similar situation with another car that refused the best efforts of a starter until the stark realisation by the owner that it too had not been refuelled?
 

Lyndon's modern version of the 'Terry Special' with rare ETA 19		Charlie and Lyndon

Charlie was up to his tricks again, this time with a Hungarian car from the auction with a factory built twinshaft Moki that had never even been started. Again, a tether arm was manufactured, the engine freed off and away it went on its first run ever. No shelf queens for Charlie, although his Conquest never did turn a wheel in anger, until next time that is. That was about it as the first spots of rain required a hurried packing away and retreat to mull over the activities of the weekend and pack it all back in to car, did we really take all that?

Video action of Charlie's birthday bash  www.youtube.com
 

Trying to fire up the Rowell motor	Moki twinshaft	Two Conquests and a Borden

Thanks to everyone who helped set up and then put everything away, it does make it all less onerous.
 

Difficult to believe, but it was even hotter than the previous weekend for the BTCG June meeting. Luckily, the hangar was available for shade and respite. No shade out on the track though as the continuous dry weather necessitated some further filling on an area of the running surface. Oliver Monk and Ian Harper devoted their morning to the major civil engineering whilst Hugh dealt with some smaller cracks and other maintenance. Lynn Blowers wielded the shears around the timing hut and track prior to a major track cleaning session.
 

Having wielded the pressure washer round the apron, Nigel Bathe then installed an extension to get power to the timing hut and enable us to try the three minute countdown loaned to us by the French Association. Now just a question of where to site it so it can be seen in both directions from the start area. After a day of toil in the sun, the first pint hardly touched the sides and it was silly hot in the hotel. Friday was every bit as hot with an unexpected effect on Hugh's 2.1 as it hit 100mph after a lap or so, rather than winding up to that speed as it usually does. Gerry's 2.1 that is actually a 2.5 upset itself at the same speed when it lost a wheel. Nigel has a 2.1 based on the Lev Shprints design but with a very short wheelbase. No matter what the horser did, it would not chime in, until the fuel was knocked off, at which point it was quickly over 100mph where the short wheelbase proved its undoing. Gerry had obtained one of the very last 3b Wilma cars that was running on the original scale wheels and Dunlop tyres, again just over the 100mph mark.

Anyone who considers tethered car racing expensive should have been with us in the hangar that we shared with the jets and all the attendant hardware. Most pilots had two jets, including some so exquisitely modelled that from a few feet away it was impossible to tell them apart from the real thing. Parked next to us was a Hawk and a Mig 15 probably the thick end of £70,000 between them and Phantom that was just mind blowing. The Mig even had an electrically operated cockpit canopy. We live in a different world.
 

Two champions four record holders	Awesome Mig	Calculate the value of this lot X 2

David Giles was on hand as usual with the mighty Nordec powered 1066 Conquest, which needs a mighty shove and then catching by the horser for all of ¼ of a lap before it is at full voice and headed towards the low 80s. This combination would go faster, but David built it with a very modest gear ratio to deliberately keep the speed down. We were delighted to be joined for the day by ex European hydroplane champion and record holder Roger James and his wife Jan. The CL festival of flight, CLAPA championships and other conflicting events on the field did restrict numbers, but by mid afternoon, everyone was addled with the heat and happy to call it a day.

Saturday was a very early start for three of us in order to complete the last of the track sections to be levelled. As Oliver so succinctly put it, the track is now as good as it will ever be without tens of thousand of pounds being spent on a total rebuild, so cars have to be built and run accordingly. Suspension is the answer as John Goodall proved with his beautiful Vanwall that was rock solid at a scale speed of around 400mph. As has sadly been the case at three meetings we have attended in the last month, before the track action started we all took a few moment to drink to the memory of the late Stuart Robinson who had passed away a week previously.

It was good to see Gianmauro Castagnetti back with his lovely cars and a phone full of interesting photos, plus a bag full of original AD09 parts that he had retrieved from the Dall'Oglio family, including all the original dies and those for casting pistons.
 

Gianmauro's Slabang and twin	Twin with new rotary valve	Full suspension twinshaft

Damped suspension on twin	Wire suspension on Slabang

Lyndon Bedford had brought along a table full of cars to run, his original 2.5cc and 5cc from the 1950s, the ETA 29 left behind by Charlie Murphy that has had a complete refit and paint job, the ETA/TMP schools car and his modern version of the Terry Special with an ultra rare ETA 19 motor. Apart from a couple of blown plugs the three cars he ran performed well, although the 19 needs a different tank set up. The ETA/TMP marriage worked extremely well until Sunday morning, when it all stopped rather suddenly, the TMP crankshaft proving unequal to the task. Luckily the errant piece of the shaft had not gone up the transfer ports. That was not the end of Lyndon's trials as the 29 in the refurbished Murphy car proved a bit sulky when being started. Close examination revealed a broken mounting lug. An even closer examination on returning home showed that the lug was only an indication of a deeper trauma as the entire bottom half of the ETA crankcase was separated just below the lugs, definitely one for the black museum.
 

Lyndon with refurbed ETA29	The 'Bedford retro stable'	Jan's Oliver

Broken crankpin	Hint that not all was well	The reality

Mike Francies has now got his modern British class car singing, with runs over 120mph. The Fora style 2.5cc motors certainly put out the revs, but do need horsing. Now it is getting the 2.1 to match that performance. Nigel's 2.1 repeated its trick of coming up to speed after the fuel was shut off, indicating that the normal setting was way rich. With the cut off repaired it was a different car, screaming round until the short wheelbase proved its undoing again, the ensuing shaft run not doing the tyres any good at all. Tyres are becoming an increasing problem as speeds increase. Jan Huning has had several repro Raylites deform as the rubber had not adhered to the steel core, but for the weekend he had fitted a brand new pair. The result was probably the fastest run ever with his home built twinshaft engine, but after a second run, one tyre was oval again. Gerry had his Wilma burst one of the original Dunlop tyres resulting in a long discussion about tyre safety. We did cover this in a Tight Lines Special a while ago but essentially we have to consider using modern, rubber tyres for cars regularly exceeding 100mph and a source of Raylites that do not distort for the twinshafts. To see a warning on a range of reproduction tyres that they are for display only as they are made from a thermoplastic material or a warning from an advertiser that his tyres must not exceed 100mph is hardly giving confidence?
 

Jan hitching on Andy's ZN TMP	Andy's 'tadpole'	Exceedingly fast 2.5cc F2D motor

By mid afternoon everyone was struggling with the heat and a few spots of rain were falling, so we called it a day and just managed to pack up before some more serious rain brought the jet jockeys running towards the hangar towing their planes.

Sunday as always is a wind down day with just enough track action to divert our attention from the very long and complex task of taking apart and packing two, very expensive, jets into their protective bags and fitted vans. No charity shop towels for them. News had filtered down from Saturday that after many years of intense work developing and maintaining the track, Oliver Monk was scaling down his activities so that he could get back to running his cars. This led to a general discussion between BTCG and SAM members as to how to work together for the future of this wonderful facility that is held up in Europe as an example to other clubs and organisations.

Video from this and other tethered cars events at  www.youtube.com

Difficult to imagine after leaving the heat of Buckminster that it should get even hotter as we headed south, but those going west by contrast met torrential rain. A final observation though. If we thought it was hot for the previous two weekends of running, the following weekend was significantly hotter, and dangerously so and very windy as well. 

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