2025 Editorial tethered cars and hydroplanes

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April 2025

Something of a change of tack this month by way of a backlash against the world of the journalist with their use of comparisons, superlatives and regular claims for the most, longest, highest, fastest, expensive etc. The reasoning behind this is the plan for the September meeting at Buckminster to establish a set of new British records. The last published list was back in the 1950s. What is forgotten, or more often ignored, is that any claim is entirely relative. F1 presenters are legendary for bandying about statistics, but as that covers an era from five GPs a year and five points for a win to 24GPs a season and twenty five points a pop with wildly different cars, comparisons are next to useless without a lot of mathematics. The most obvious example is the land speed record, traditionally it was for wheel driven vehicles, but now jets and rockets are accepted, no contest. If the changes are gentle over the years then increases and new marks tend to follow on, but if there is a sudden change in technology, then any improvement can be an immediate and headline making, as with the 'sucker car' at Goodwood, or the use of foils on water. As mentioned a while ago, the biggest single step with models was the use of the tuned pipe and the subsequent move to get it banned. What it does mean is that every record or achievement set prior to that is a matter of history. Then there is the question of controlling equipment or imposing restrictions for whatever reason. In the UK, tethered car records were categorised as 'British' ie. British equipment only, or 'Open', anything goes. Oddly though the car that held all the British records over every distance used an American engine, so how did he get away with that, not to mention the foreign tyres on each wheel. With tethered hydroplanes it was down to whether you had bought or built the engine.

Where it does get confusing is when regulations are changed to limit the performance, cable and line sizes and length, venturi and stinger restrictions or fuel specs. Usually performance is reduced, but often for little more than a year so what represents the better achievement? Herein lies a dilemma as British records set in the 50s should be easily broken if capacity limits are the only guide, but is that a fair reflection, or should style of car and type of engine be restricted to those of the 'period'? Too many restrictions almost leads to every car being in a 'class of its own' as is currently the case with the AMRCA. In the UK we have come up with what we think is a very simple way of categorising cars. Two British Classes, Old Timer, pre 1960 designs and age specific engines and Modern with the same capacity limits but free design and motors, but no pipes of any sort. Then the FEMA classes that are clearly controlled. These should give everyone the possibility to use or build a vintage design that will go faster than in the 50s, should be possible as Olivers, ETAs and Doolings were order of the day. Surely someone can come up with a faster version of those. There are numerous modern engines to choose from for the Modern Class so the pursuit of speed is on. Who will be the first to get an 'Old Timer' running faster than in the 50s, now there is a challenge.

Our Photo continues this theme as it features the fastest tethered car in the UK at the time and the first to break 80mph, except it wasn't as it did not have enough wheels.

The Pitbox has another example of someone 'doing their own thing' with a hydroplane engine that was passed on with all its original patterns for the castings.

Our Jack Morgan article continues with details and photographs of all his cars, possibly setting a record for the longest that an example of one of the earliest tethered cars in the UK has remained in the possession of its builder and owner?

Everything gets underway this month with the SAM Spring Gala and attendant swapmeet over the weekend of 12th 13th April. If you fancy having a shakedown run before then Mike Francies and Nigel Bathe have arranged two test session at the track, the first being the 9th and 10th of April, everyone welcome but no aircars, so you could make a very long weekend of it. The second of these test sessions is over May 28th 29th.

Something quite contentious that is happening more frequently and has been aired on Adrian Duncan's website and other forums is the seizure of engines in transit and their subsequent destruction. This has been highlighted by the problems for those using the ebay shipping service. No one has lost money (yet), but they have lost the engines, so what is the official situation? Trying to post an engine for International shipping at our local post office and having filled in the customs declaration we were then informed that engines are prohibited. Further investigation reveals that it is because they can be contaminated with fuel and oil. One of our regular readers has informed us that his neighbour has had a Dooling motor destroyed in mid transit because of this. Therein lies a conundrum, declare it as an engine and it is likely to be refused or confiscated later in its journey. Declare it falsely and run the attendant risks if anything goes wrong as the statement in red reads 'consequential loss is not available when posting any restricted material'.

A timely connection with the lead theme on records and last month's pylon subject on changes that did or did not happen. Throughout the history of modelling (and full sized) competition restrictions have been introduced for a variety of reasons, and in most cases there have been a myriad of complaints and comments about how it 'will be the death of the sport and performance'. Tonu Sepp's world record at the beginning of March again illustrates that this perception is usually wrong. The banning of nitro and other fuel additives slowed things down for little more than a season and ever increasing cable sizes about the same time period. Michael Schmutz pointed out that the new record was set on the thicker cable so there is no doubt that on the old cable it would have been over 350kph, congratulations to Tonu for a fantastic performance. Perversely the increase of the A2 hydro class by 1cc has shown no increase in speed and so far, an OPS still holds the A3 record eleven years on as well. Silencers have had a dramatic effect though, but as we have remarked in the past, sometimes performances have to be controlled, but progress is relentless, hence the needle sized venturis on pylon motors.

Funny old world when you end up disqualified because your methanol is too cold? Even stranger is the story that has received maximum publicity whereby you give a national museum five million quid to house a collection worth a conservative sixty million that you also gift to the museum in a will. Then a keen director decides to change the focus of the gallery giving you six months to retrieve your collection. No, they will not be giving the five million back either, and unsurprisingly they are no longer getting the collection left to them. Rather mirrors the numerous changes in tack that the various directors at Old Warden have made in the last few years, although on a somewhat smaller financial scale, but that has not helped us either.

It was a remarkable performance by Tonu Sepp in Brisbane in setting a new Class V record at over 348kph. Might have been faster as the car was still accelerating throughout the run. Significant that the current Class III, Class IV and Class V records have all been set on the WMRCA track at Brisbane and both previous Class V records also set on these tracks? Perversely the Class I record was set in the extreme cold of Sweden one December.

Two very illuminating articles in Aeromodeller with Paul Eisner giving a very detailed account of the minor changes made to maximise the speed of his F2A flights, and a slightly surprising fix that brought a remarkable increase. Both his article and Dave Hipperson's very long letter give a great deal of food for thought about the futures of FAI F series models, events, venues and flyers. The tethered car fraternity have already been looking very closely at all these having had the stark realisation that carrying on as we are will lead to the ultimate demise of many modelling activities. It is well worth reading both Paul and Dave's long contributions as doing nothing is no longer an option.

In a remarkable two weeks of contacts, several amazing connections and discoveries have been made, and all by accident. It will take a while though to assimilate all the information before it can be added to our existing articles. How exciting it must be when having bought something seemingly very ordinary it turns out to have a superb provenance and level of importance. Even more remarkable when a chance conversation or email can make a connection that has eluded us all for years?

Advance Notice On the 2nd May at Lacey Scott & Knight of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, UK, approximately forty 'retro style' tether cars are coming up for auction. They include a number of 50s 2.5cc 5cc and 10cc cars as they came off the track, more of the same that have been restored, as well as a number of relatively newly built cars from 1.5cc to 10cc. A more modern collectable is one of the very limited edition Ambrosi Gattafoni Maseratis, absolutely new in its wooden presentation box. Preview lists are available from OTW otwmedia0@gmail.com

The Market Place page keeps delivering, both for sellers and those seeking bits and pieces for projects with uptake from all round the world. Your ads are always welcome.

March 2025

Followers of OTW will know that the reason the site exists is to dig out and record information, which is immensely satisfying when we can do it, but exceedingly frustrating when we hit the proverbial 'brick wall'. We all know the concept of the 'wotzit', a car, boat or engine that has been discovered, but defies all attempts to identify it or add anything more to other than what we see. Even more frustrating for us is when documentary evidence is to hand describing a particular model or motor, even to the extent of photos, but after that absolutely nothing. It is almost as if it never existed, but we know it did, so what became of it and why was no more ever heard of it?

One of the great mysteries that has taxed several engine enthusiasts is whatever happened to the 10cc ED Fireball and its smaller brother? We have photos of it on the website, contemporary reports and plans for production, but then nothing, zilch. It would have been a home produced racing motor that would have stood up well against the Rowells and Nordecs. We spend far too much of our time trawling through old magazines and internet sites, but often this can reveal small snippets of information that tie up with on-going mysteries, such as a report in an aeromodelling magazine that details the reason for the failure of the ZN racing engines to make it into production.

There are also other little gems to be gleaned that might be of no importance but can give an insight into past events. Wandering through old reports we came across the story of Ian Russell as a spectator in Belgium in 59 and realising that GB was a person short in F2B promptly went out and bought a kit that he built overnight and qualified to give GB a chance as a team. Came across the beginnings of a very long and successful foray into F2A of Peter Halman using a SuperTigre with an ED power pipe? Just a year later, in order to host a championship event at Namur, the council laid three circles with attendant safety fencing on the Citadel, only to demolish it all, even as the presentations were taking place. Can you imagine a council being so accommodating now? Fuel brews that were getting so dangerous that a change was made for planes, boats and cars to 80/20 straight.

Working on the basis that if you can't beat them ban them, the USSR proposed a ban on resonant pipes. Happily this was not passed and neither was the proposal to have silencers, although a tethered car fitted with a quiet pipe is a sight to behold. In 1971, the correspondent notes the superb, new facility at Pecs that has a car track, hydro pool, flying circles and supporting buildings. This was very common in the eastern bloc, now just a few remain and most have lost the car tracks.

Of technical note was a Swedish competitor using a home built engine with a disc induction system 'borrowed from Karting', designed and made by one Jan-Erik Falk. Was this the first use of a Zimmerman disc in a small motor as opposed to FRV or a drum valve? It certainly gained popularity when aero engines were 'turned round' for use in cars.

Looking at the reports over the years shows how the motors of choice changed between a rich mix of makes to total dominance of one factory from Oliver and Moki to OPS, Kapu, Nova Rossi, and Picco. The beginning of the piped era saw the 2.5cc TWA become the engine of choice in planes, although not with cars but in the early 70s it was Rossi or nothing. One set of results shows ten different motors in one class but a couple of years later just the one.

The Pitbox this month is another partial mystery, and like the ED Fireball could have been a competitive British 10cc motor, but apart from the builder we know nothing more other than conjecture. By the time the photos of it turned up, the builder was no more, so we will probably never know, unless an as yet to be discovered article reveals all?

We have been visiting Model Exhibitions for more years than we care to remember, so the new Album is another, but more modern, retrospective of exhibitions, exhibitors and exhibits from the past decades.

A new article this month that harks back to the real 'pioneers' of tethered car racing in the UK with someone who competed in the very first tethered car event, the roof top meeting in 1943. Along with others he very quickly became disillusioned with the pursuit of speed at the expense of cars that looked like cars. Much of the material is directly from him so uses the language of the day and reflects the attitudes of the time. (First time we have ever had to attach a 'trigger warning')

A flurry of action on the Market Place last month and a reminder of the two BMFA auctions on the 8th and 22nd of this month. Lots of Olivers again and not one but two of the rarest Taplin twins, the MkII S1. The second sale is entirely aircraft orientated, kits, RTF, RC gear and more. Some will have viewed the SAS auction last month and seen our comments about the prices. Thanks to an eagle eyed reader we have been alerted to a home built car that made £240 hammer price at Newbury has appeared on ebay at a cool £1,675, nice work if it sells. We do wonder at times when a standard Dooling 29 is listed at nigh on £400?

Steve Betney has been busy, chalking off another one from the 'to do' list. This time an iconic Aston Martin DBR1 from an early set of JDR castings. This build is enhanced immensely by a set of unbelievably well made wire wheels. Steve has also had a bit of a 'rationalise' of projects awaiting attention, which he has on offer on the Market Place.

The 2nd International swapmeet and engine collectors meet took place in Germany on the middle weekend of February. An amazing selection of exotic engines on display and being run. The sound of a model V12 being 'blipped' has to be heard to be believed. Go to Michael Schmutz's facebook page for videos of this and other multi cylinder motors being run. In addition there is the miniature tethered car track in operation and more Bugl motors and spares than have been seen in many a long year. Fantastic line-up of tethered cars and motors, both vintage and modern with current competitors on hand to interact with the public. Gabor Dobrocsi and Gyorgi Bondor had made the trip all the way from Hungary to display his vintage and new build retro engines along with tethered cars and other items. Lyndon Bedford had a table of ETA memorabilia whilst John Goodall and Ian Harper had a table full of original and reproduction Oliver cars as a selection of new castings. John Goodall has very kindly written a very detailed report, which we are delighted to publish, along with selection of photos from the weekend.

Reminder that as per usual, once the racing season gets underway 2024 event reports will be deleted to make way for this season's meetings, so please feel free to download and save any that you might wish to refer to in the future.

February 2025

Regular readers will be well aware of our obsession with engines, boats and cars that have 'lived a life' and have a story to tell, or were the result of someone wanting to do 'something different'. It continues to amaze us that collectors will pay premium prices for engines that were massed produced and exist in their thousands, and in many cases were not particularity good at the time. A bit like going to the Tate Gallery and seeing nothing but Athena prints? There are a few parallels though that contradict this, a particular example being Lalique glass, which is entirely mass produced from moulds, each piece exactly the same as the next, but at premium prices, ultimately it's all in the name and the 'desirability'.

This begs the unanswerable question as to what makes engine A desirable, collectable and valuable but not engine B? On the face of it the mass produced Redfin twinshafts should have ended up in cars, not in display cabinets or consigned to boxes for evermore, yet they are now changing hands for almost double their original cost? We have a personal connection with another motor that started as a 'flight of fancy' and quickly became a 'collectable' although our connection began with one being used in anger, possibly one of the few that ever saw action?

The 'twin' engine was far from new, but in the main comprised two standard engines bolted together, or two cylinder assemblies mounted on a common crankcase. Unbelievably, it is now well over fifty years since the late Gualtiero Picco set to and built a twin from scratch, designed from the ground upwards as a unit. Everything was purpose designed and machined and if contemporary reports are to be believed, whilst 'he was on holiday' following the 1971 European tether car championships in Sweden, coincidently, his first title. So was born the OPS B20 twin. Induction was via a belt driven, half speed, rotary valve and twin Perry carbs, whilst the exhaust was taken care off by two standard 60 sized tuned pipes with long elbows.

There was never any intention to build any more, but such was the interest that in 1973 a small batch of production versions was marketed, around 120 in total over the next two years when it was announced that no more would be built, making them immediately collectable.

At around £100 by the time they were imported to the UK they were already expensive, but this did not put off Dave at our local boat club who, following in the footsteps of Merlotti, promptly bought one, put it in a multi boat with two Weston pipes and then attempted to fire it up. As a 'screamer' it sounded so lovely when he could get the Perry carbs synchronised, but this did not happen too often. Ultimately the attraction of the noise was overcome by the fact that at 5lbs it was a big lump and getting it running sweetly on both cylinders was something of a lottery, so this may have been the first to end up on a shelf, quickly appreciating?

Appreciate they did, with their equally impressive wooden boxes, as they became sought after collectors items, changing hands for around £750 by 1976. Within twenty years it had probably become the most expensive collectable, 'production' engine, changing hands by then for around £1500. Sometimes someone gets exceedingly lucky as one example, along with three other equally desirable engines sold for just £352, hammer price, at the de Rancougne auction in 2004. Three more we saw sold, with one at Gildings in 2010 costing the buyer over £2,000 and more recently someone offering one for sale at nigh on £3,000. Sometimes dismissively referred to as 'doorstops', but what a journey, from 'flight of fancy' to highly valuable and collectable, but as mainly NIB, missing out the being used bit in the middle.

Pitbox inevitably then is a couple of B20s, but one with an rare provenance as it was passed directly from Gualtiero Picco to a fellow tethered car competitor where it remained from then on. It does have an unusual feature and an anomaly though.

The Album celebrating the development of the Buckminster track continued providing a timely reminder that at least eight weekends of running there are in the Calendar, beginning with the SAM Spring Gala in April.

The M&E Challenger mentioned last month presents something of a mystery, as it was first relisted and then vanished mid auction, so we are no further forward than just a chassis number to add to the database. Carrying on from the trawl through ebay after the repro Dooling at just under £1,000, an original from the same seller came on at more than this, and for a motor that can be picked up regularly for way less that half this figure? On the same tack, it has to be worthwhile bidding at the BMFA auction, because some of the engines bought there have been reappearing on ebay at up to treble what was paid, so don't miss the two March auctions. Three swapmeets also scheduled for Buckminster.

A reminder and invitation from Paul Harris that practice sessions are held on the Bristol track on the second Thursday of each month from 10.00 to 2.00. The is even a hint that donuts might be available by courtesy of Dave.

Hopefully it should be a bit warmer but a little bit of snow does not deter the enthusiastic. No in village hall if inclement here?

We are delighted to be able to announce that the new set of 'Oliver sized' castings we hinted at last year are now available, this time, a near scale version of the 1957/8 Vanwall. So, if you are sufficiently inclined there is now the complete range of Oliver cars, including the Tiger Bomb, the BRM that never got beyond a pattern, and as a bonus the Vanwall, which only arrived in full sized form after Oliver had ceased producing cars. Market Place has a very special offer for readers.

Empty Spaces:

Danielle Duran has passed on the sad news of the death of French racer Philippe Novak in the last days of January. Philippe was a World Champion and a double European Champion in the 1980s with his innovative 2.5cc cars that have been the inspiration for the composite cars that have become so popular of late.

A full appreciation of Philippe's career and cars will follow in due course.

Update 1st Feb: Unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected, news that there will be no more Model Flying events at Old Warden, which includes the ModelAir weekends. This is apparently down to the Trust requiring the airfield for operational reasons. Another staple of the calendar gone, along with Wings and Wheels, all exhibitions bar the Midland and more. Makes the continued success of the National Centre at Buckminster with all the events, trade shows and swapmeets even more important.

Update 12th Feb: The SAS auction showed that prices for tethered cars are holding up well and in some cases far exceeding even the most optimistic estimates. Engines by comparison were not doing well, apart from the lot with the Speedwell, did you spot it? A pair of 1066 MRCs at £950 a prelude to a M&E ERA with perished tyres at £2300 and then a M&E Special with a Stentor but not much else at £2100. A bitza with most of a Challenger body at £1400 was the first of the shocks, but nothing like the next lot, a blinged up M&E Wasp at £2800 compared with an original at £1200. An Arrow with an odd body at £1400 made the same money as an original Oliver Mercedes, around £1000 less than similar Olivers on ebay. The speculative bid of the day was for a BRM that might just be another Baigent, cheap at £2800 if it is, but very expensive if not. The only other engine that got anywhere was a Grayson with accessories at £380.

January 2025

Firstly, a very Happy and successful New Year to all our readers, and by way of a change a 'salutary tale' to start the year:- Back in the October Pylon we featured the address given by Michael Schmutz suggesting that there is a wealth of material lurking in workshops and sheds that could be of use. This is true of both cars and hydros, although age does mitigate against boats, especially if they have not been looked after. It is ironic that any one of the A3 hydros sold recently would have won the 2024 European Championships with 20+mph to spare. A rough count of cars reveals something like 1500 cars existing in Europe, previously but not currently registered most of which would be useable to some degree or other or provide valuable material and parts. Individual models do come up for sale on a regular basis, and there are the inevitable estate sales, but recently there have been some enthusiasts who, although still competing, have been having a right 'clear out'. From two sources alone came around thirty cars, at the top end a selection of FEMA cars that were registered, legal, ready to run and would not be out of place at any current meeting. One was even brand new and had never turned a wheel, although over thirty years old, another a national record holder. A few, still registered, that were older but runnable, along with a number of 'retro style' cars from 2.5cc up to 10cc, again mostly runnable with a minimum of work. All good so far, but then there were about half a dozen that were 'projects', anything from all there but needing to be put together, to just about started but that was as far as it got. No problem, as long as there was sufficient information, or that the cars could be seen in the flesh to ascertain what category they fell into. None of these, apart from one, was not what it seemed, but that one was a real doozy. On the long and boozy nights at hydro meetings the late and lamented Doug would ask us in his thick Lincolnshire accent, 'would you like a story or a saga luv?' So here is a ' Salutary Saga for the New Year'.

On the face of it, all the parts were in the box needed to put back together a car from a well known builder and racer, all stamped with his logo and serial numbers. However, as related to us, a tale of woe unfolded that gradually became the basis for this barely believable story. The motor, coupling, gearbox, fuel cut-off, onboard ignition and tank were all from the same car, but not the pan that was included in the sale, which in turn was already machined and drilled, but of course, not for those items. The gearbox was far too narrow to fit in the pan and as it was still on the build plate had never been tried with the wheels. The engine mounting holes had been drilled to line up the cylinder with the hole in the body, but unfortunately, the body was not for that pan either so the engine was too close to the gearbox to allow for the supplied coupling that matched both. No room to move the motor either it seems as there was a bulkhead for the bridle attachment in the way. The bosses for the cut-off did not match the cut-off and neither did the tank or mounts fit anywhere.

Effectively it was a scrapper, or sell what parts could be salvaged to try and recoup some of the cost. Only the owner, being the perverse sort of character he is, delights in retrieving other peoples cock ups from oblivion, so set about solving all the problems, one by one. It fought to the bitter end apparently, to the extent that when the hold down feet were cut off, the wheels would not fit through the bottom of the pan as they were too close together effectively negating much of the previous machining. The final sting in the tail was when the primer was applied to the body it promptly curdled whatever had originally been applied, so that all had to come off, revealing a perfectly good finish underneath another layer of primer, but a totally different colour?

Finally, in October 2024, there it was, a complete car, ready to run (ish), with fully damped suspension, a triumph of persistence and ingenuity over common sense. As is the norm now for all cars, an inspection followed, everything fine, until it was put on the scales, oh dear. Not just overweight, but solidly obese to the tune of over 1/2lb or 220gms, without fuel or the on-board ignition and still with a 4mm bridle. No diet or course of Ozempic could ever cure that, so a scrapper, sell the parts to recoup the cost, but never the time spent, or see it become a portly shelf queen? It would be unthinkable to consider selling it on, 'sold as seen' but presumably at some stage in its past a previous owner had realised that it was a dog's dinner?

So, a happy and successful new year to all our readers, but beware. We have built up quite a library of 'them as aren't quite what they seem' and another one was added from the first BMFA auction, a very nice Moki TR6 that proved to be an amalgam of three different motors, none of them of the same model. Having seen the photos of what was lurking inside we can only side with the buyer as there was no way any visual inspection would have revealed the internal calumnies.

Inevitably then, the first Pitbox of 2025 features the car described above, or should that read the first 'scrapbox'?

One of the great successes in the UK has been the building of the tethered car track at Buckminster and subsequent work that has made it the most used track in Europe. It is now just over five years since Oliver Monk marked out the outline and six months later the first runs were made despite the disruption caused by Covid.

The concluding part of the article outlining the career of Ron Thrower and the cars he built and raced. Unfortunately there has been nothing yet forthcoming that adds anything to the information we have gleaned from period publications and a bit of inspired deduction. However we did receive a photo and description of a replica of the GRP car built some years ago that we have added to the article.

Two confirmed auctions at Buckminster, both in March, engines on the 8th and then a 'hybrid' auction on the 22nd with engines, planes, airframes and associated equipment. See the BMFA Buckminster website for more details. Whilst on the subject of engine sales one must wonder how hopeful the vendor is when asking nigh on £1,000 for a reproduction Dooling 61, well over double what an original can be found for and it is not the Hende version either? Still on the auction front and proving that there are still discoveries to be made was a pristine M&E Challenger that appeared on ebay in December. Chassis number 1312 has not been seen before and apart from the engine mount having been drilled there were no signs of anything else. To confuse matters slightly either the chassis has been blasted or an aluminium type paint applied as there were only the vaguest vestiges of the factory, black paint. Unusually the opening bid was just £9.95, but it didn't stay there for long.

Old photos hold so much interest as the digital age will almost ensure that very little will survive from the modern era. Thanks to what's-app, facebook, Fanny Kraznai and those who posted the photos originally we can add two images to our long lost tracks page from Cachan in Paris that originate from either end of the track's existence.

More good news from Canada with Adrian Duncan's continuing recovery to such an extent that he managed to publish a new edition of his website in mid December. The level of detail he manages to elicit from his research is remarkable and a valuable reference for us all, keep it up please Adrian.