News

27 Aug 2010 - BMFA Nationals

The Nationals are now upon us & as usual the weather is looking iffy for the weekend!!  Typical bank holiday weather!  This will be the 2nd year that there will be a Scale competition at the Nats & the first year that the FAI's 3D competiton 'F3N' will take place.  Pre-entries have been disappointing for both these events but lets hope that a few will enter on the day.

Weekends in September are already very busy with lessons as well as the Southern Model Air Show & the 3D UK Championships so get in early if you want to book any lessons on Saturdays.  Fingers crossed that we get an Indian Summer.

13 Jul 2010 - European F3C Championships

Can't believe it's been over a month since I last updated this section of the website.  Don't know where the time has gone! 

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the Weston Park 3D comp, ably organised by Craig Simmonds.  Dave made it through to the fly-offs & ended up in 5th place which we were really pleased with.  We also gave some F3C demonstrations between rounds which were very well received by the spectators.  The weather the following weekend at Wings & Wheels was scorching & we thoroughly enjoyed the event.

We are now busy packing for the European F3C Championships in Romania - we leave early tomorrow morning.   For those of you wanting to keep up to date with the goings-on in Romania, our fellow team-mate, Mark Christy, is running a blog on allmyrc.com.  Click here to find out more.

From 14th - 25th July inc. we'll be leaving the office & lessons in the capable hands of Mark Bateman.  I'll be checking on emails regularly but if you want to book a lesson during this period, please phone Mark direct on 07866 688279.  Thank you.

Here's hoping the sunshine returns & you get as much flying as you each want!

08 Jun 2010 - Competition season well under way

We've now had the 2nd & 3rd F3C League competitions where Dave came 2nd on both occasions, being beaten by the smallest of margins by his fellow team-mate, Steve Roberts.   Very frustrating but it keeps everyone on their toes & bodes well for the European F3C Championships in Romania in July.

Dave is now busy preparing for the UK 3D Cup which takes place over the weekend of 19th / 20th June at Weston Park Model Air Show in Shropshire.   This is a great model air show (with I believe some full-size flying as well) with the added bonus of a 3D competition taking place in the grounds. 

The weekend after (26th / 27th June) we'll be at Wings and Wheels with the AHA (Association for Model Aerosports) helping to raise funds for the British F3C Team & doing some display flying. 

Do come & say hello to us if you are at either of the above events.  In the meantime, lets hope for a return to those beautifully sunny days of last week!!  Wishing you blue skies & happy landings....

21 May 2010 - Kyosho Cup, Austria

Well, we made it to & from Austria in one piece.  Thankfully we drove so weren't affected by any volcanic ash but what a drive it was - 12 hours from Dunkerque.  We broke the journey with friends in Belgium which made the trip less tiring. 

We arrived on site just to the north of Mayrhofen Thursday evening to be greeted by drizzle.  Our reliable TomTom satnav took us right to the rear of the flying field which conveniently was also next to an Austrian bar / restaurant.  The site was beautifully located in a valley surrounded by mountains.

Johann Egger (father of Bernhard Egger, current European F3C Champion) greeted us & took us to a local guesthouse where we were booked in for the weekend – it was only a short walk from the flying field (at least if you weren’t lugging all the heli equipment!!). 

Friday dawned overcast but no rain so we spent the day practising with a break for lunch at a café in the town of Mayrhofen.  Friday night saw everyone gather to be allocated their pilot numbers & to be told the flying order for the following day.  I think we had travelled the furthest - there were also pilots from Austria, Germany, Switzerland & Italy.  The forecast wasn’t great for the weekend but although sunshine wasn’t forecast or the high temperatures of a couple of weeks ago we were all keeping our fingers crossed that the forecast heavy rain showers wouldn’t materialise. 

Saturday morning we awoke to very low cloud & very fine drizzle.  This wasn’t enough to stop the competition so with umbrellas at the ready for the judges & clingfilm to cover Dave’s transmitter 3 rounds were flown.  The greatest shock to us was that Dave was the only pilot out of 19 flying with a nitro model – everyone else had converted to electric.  At the end of the day Dave was in 7^th place, a little disappointing but it was enough to put him through to the flyoffs (top 10) & the ‘F’ schedule.

Sunday dawned much as Saturday had done – still drizzling.  We piled on the layers today as the temperature was only 4-6°C & we had been cold the day before.  Dave even dug out his thermals.  Dave was asked to fly the calibration flight which was a great opportunity to check the engine settings prior to the round itself – 2 x ‘F’ schedule rounds were to be flown.  With two strong rounds under his belt, Dave upped his position to 5^th, frustratingly only 1.5% behind the pilot in 3^rd place!!  See table below for top five pilots / scores.

We had a fantastic time in Austria – the scenery was spectacular & the organisation was superb – we’ll definitely be going back!!

09 May 2010 - Great start to the 2010 competition season...

Firstly our apologies for not keeping you updated with what's been happening at Flyin' Fish for first few months of 2010.

We've been extremely busy despite the weather.  Dave has been involved with many projects, including updating his FAI Avros ready for this year's competition season.  The updates included fitting a new bearing block to the main mast which allows him to use heavier blades and fitting a modified flybar carrier which gives more stability at speed & a better lock in the hover.  A new gear ratio was also fitted for the OS91 HZ engine as well as wide-space bearings in the blade grips & leading link geometry.  Finally, he is now using the new SLV 30% fuel from Optifuel, a fuel that he has been testing for Optifuel since the latter part of 2009.

All of this hard work paid off as Dave won the first F3C competition of the season at Tring on 25^th April.  Especially encouraging as this was the first time that the new ‘P’ schedule was flown in a competition in the UK. 

We are now busy preparing for our first international competition of the season – the Kyosho Cup, an International F3C competition which will take place in Mayrhofen, Austria next weekend (15/16 May).  We have never been to Austria before and we are very much looking forward to competing somewhere new & seeing old friends at the event.  In fact it will be a mini-Euros (great preparation for the European F3C Championships in July) as many of Europe’s top F3C pilots will be there including Bernhard Egger (reigning European Champion) & Ennio Graber (came 3^rd at last year’s World Championships) to name but two.  We’ll let you know how we get on when we return.

Please note: The office will be unmanned from Wednesday 12^th – Tuesday 18^th May inclusive though Mark will be manning the fort & continuing with lessons in our absence.

21 Dec 2009 - Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas & a Happy New Year

It seems 5 minutes since we returned from China (where it also snowed & we experienced daytime temperatures of -5 degrees C).  We had the most amazing time in Beijing - Wayne Osborne (Duncan's Dad) is writing an article for MHW about our trip which should hopefully appear sometime next year in the magazine.  Definitely one to look out for. 

The Chinese were very hospitable except for those gentlemen at Customs in Beijing airport who confiscated all our heli's on arrival - we didn't get them back until 48 hours later!  All very exciting stuff!  It just meant that we were able to do some sightseeing (Great Wall of China etc) on our first full day in China when the sun was still shining & before the temperatures plummeted.

Mark has been enjoying a week in Tenerife (lucky man) whilst the rest of us freeze here in Blighty!  Maybe we'll get a white Christmas after all.  At least the freezing temperatures have meant that the field is no longer muddy (just frozen) after the rain we've experienced over the last couple of weeks. 

Apart from the inconvenience of having no flying field at the beginning of 2009, this year has been an incredibly busy one for Flyin' Fish & we'd like to wish all of our customers a wonderful stressfree Christmas (with lots of heli goodies in your stockings!) & we look forward to seeing you in the New Year. 

NOTE: We will be closed from Dec. 25th - 27th inc. & again from Dec. 31st - January 4th inc.

14 Oct 2009 - Charmouth weekend & invitation to China

Well, Charmouth was a great success with plenty of flying taking place & lots of sunshine on the Saturday to be enjoyed.  The rain arrived Sunday afternoon which curtailed flying a little earlier than we would have liked but it could have been worse!

On our return we found an email in our inbox from the Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics inviting Dave & Julie to the 1st International Aero Model Masters Show  to be held in the China Aviation Museum, Beijing from October 28th - November 1st; they would like Dave to demo some heli flying there.  Duncan Osbourn has also been invited though we are not sure yet if he will be allowed time off from university - fingers crossed he will be able to join us.  It is amazing where our involvement in this fabulous sport has taken us & we're very much looking forward to visiting China & making new friends there.

The next big date on our calender is October 25th which is the AHA's AGM to be held at the Watford Hilton.  If you are a member, please make every effort to attend.  Julie is stepping down from her place on the committee (Treasurer / Membership Secretary / PRO / Fund-raising co-ordinator) after being heavily involved for the last 10 years to enable her to concentrate more on home-schooling her two daughters, Skye & Summer & also to take Flyin' Fish into new areas - watch this space for more details..... there are exciting things to come!!

06 Sep 2009 - British Nationals....

Last weekend was spent at RAF Barkston Heath at the BMFA Power Nationals.  The weather though dry, was very blustery, conditions which proved challenging to everyone.

On Saturday two Flyin' Fish customers competed in the Sportsmans competition.  James Green, flying in only his 3rd ever competition, won the Sportsmans 'A' schedule using his smart Blitz Avro.  Congratulations James. 

Jon Kemp came second in the Sportsmans 'B' schedule.  The photo shows him being presented with his trophy by Cliff Hiatt, the 1995 World F3C Champion.  Cliff was a surprise though very welcome visitor to the heli flightline on Saturday.

Sunday saw Dave once again do battle with his fellow team mates.  All three (Steve Roberts, Mark Christy & Dave) retained their team places for the 2010 European F3C Championships which will take place in Romania.  Matthew Reuben will be team reserve for 2010.  The Nationals F3C trophy has bounced back & forth between Dave & Steve for the last five years & this year Steve regained the title once again.  Dave finished in third place close behind Mark Christy.

Dave is now spending his spare time preparing for the 3D UK Championships in Tewkesbury in 3 weeks time.  On the 19th / 20th September we'll be helping to man the AHA stand at the Southern Model Air Show, at the Hop Farm, Kent.  If you plan on attending this fantastic event, do come & say hello & perhaps even buy a raffle ticket or two!!

17 Aug 2009 - Back in the UK....

We're now back in the UK & business back to normal.  The World Championships in the US were a great experience - the UK team ended in 5th place which is a fantastic achievement.

We now have to concentrate on competitions closer to home with next one, the BMFA National Championships, taking place over the August Bank Holiday weekend.  Hopefully this lovely weather will continue at least until then. 

30 Jul 2009 - World F3C Championships

We returned from a VERY hot Spain (3DM) on Monday, packed the kids off to their grandparents on Wednesday, & are packing now ready to leave tomorrow for the World F3C Championships in Muncie, Indiana.  Phew, I'm exhausted typing that let alone having to actually go through it!!

Mark is manning the fort in our absence so if you would like to book a lesson with him between now & 15th August, please contact him direct as per  our Availability section on the Home page.  We will be checking emails whilst we're away, but it may take us a little longer to respond than usual. 

Let's hope that the weather improves soon..... this wind & rain surely can't go on much longer??!!??

05 Jul 2009 - A proper summer at last...

Hopefully you've been out flying in this fabulous weather that we've been enjoying - finally a decent summer!  We've been getting plenty of flying / lessons in over the past few weeks & we're really settling in to life at our new field. 

Some of you may remember that Dave was in Sicily last October flying a helicopter (for the 2nd time) for Sheffield University in a volcano collecting scientific data.  The scientist involved, Andrew McGonigle, won a Rolex Award for his work.  During this second trip, a short documentary was made & it was shown last month on the National Geographic Channel.  A link to trailer for this programme can be found here:  http://www.natgeochannel.co.uk/programmes/videos.aspx?Id=815&VideoId=642

Our trip north of the border last month to the Scottish Nationals was as enjoyable as ever though the F3C 1st place trophy eluded Dave for the 8th year in a row & he came in second to his fellow team mate Steve Roberts.  Thankfully the issues that Dave was experiencing with his machine that weekend have now been resolved & we are looking forward to the next AHA League competition which will take place in Dartford next weekend (12th).

Wishing you continued blue skies & sunshine.........

18 May 2009 - Don't you love the British weather!!

Unfortunately the weather last weekend (16th / 17th) meant that the AHA's RC Heli Jam & competition were cancelled.  High winds & showers prevailed & rather than waste the whole weekend, it was decided to cancel around 3pm on Saturday.  Disappointing but hey, we should be used to it I guess.  We were lucky last year in that we managed to run all 6 AHA competitions, albeit a curtailed (1 round) competition at RAF Cottesmore after weather very similar to what we endured at the weekend.

We are now busy preparing to go to France for the International F3C Competiton, Trophy de France (22nd, 23rd, 24th), which will be held at last year's European Championship site in Maubeuge, just south-east of Lille.  We're heading over on Wednesday & won't be back until late Monday so the office will be unmanned for 6 days.  Any phone messages or emails will be answered on Tuesday 26th. 

I do hope that next weekend's Bank Holiday weather proves to be better than what we are used to!  Wishing you all blue skies, low winds & happy landings.

The Flyin' Fish team

26 Apr 2009 - Field update & start of new competiton season

We have now completed our first week of flying at the new field - everyone has commented on what a lovely field it is.  After the weeks of delay getting up & running, we are now enjoying just being there.  In order to keep the locals happy, we have agreed with the owners that we will only fly electric models on Sundays & Bank Holiday Mondays.  We will also keep all lessons between the times of 9am - 6pm.

We had our first competition of the season today at Tring.  Dave & Steve Roberts were tussling for the top spot as usual - on this occasion Steve came out on top with Dave hot on his heels.  A full breakdown of scores will be available on the AHA website (www.aha-online.org.uk) shortly.

18 Mar 2009 - New Flying Site

At long last we have the news that we have been waiting for.  We are about to sign the contract for our new flying site in Ickenham, Middlesex.  We are also liasing with the local farmer to get the access cleared for entry onto the field - we hope this will be done next week but we won't be taking any bookings until we have a definite date.

We would like to thank all of our customers for their patience.  Both Mark & Dave are raring to go & look forward to showing you our new flying field.  There will be a slight change to operation in that we can only fly electric helicopters on Sundays.  Other than that, it is systems as normal, Monday through Saturday.

11 Dec 2008 - Christmas is nearly here...

I can't believe that it is only 2 weeks until Christmas - where has the year gone?

2008 has been a fantastic year for Flyin' Fish.  We were pleased to welcome Mark Bateman onto our team back in May.   Mark has been doing sterling work with many customers returning regularly & making steady progress in this ever-challenging sport.  Dave's competition success has seen him winning the BMFA's F3C National Championships & the AHA's League Trophy - the photo shows him being presented with the League Trophy at the AHA's AGM by the competition secretary Jason Markey. 

We both attended the BMFA's AGM Dinner/ Dance last month with the rest of the 2008 F3C Team where they were re-presented with the Bronze medals that they won at this year's European F3C Championships.  I was also presented with the Royal Aero Club's Certificate of Merit that I was awarded following my work organising the 2006 European F3C Championships which took place down in beautiful Dorset.    Pictures of both presentations can be found in the BMFA News should you care to look!

It now only remains for Dave, Mark & myself to wish all of our customers & friends, past, present & future, a very happy Christmas & a healthy & prosperous New Year. 

29 Sep 2008 - Competition Season ends on a high

Yesterday saw us up early & off to Wellingborough for the last competition of the season.  It was nice to see some new faces having their first go at a Sportsmans competition.  Dave narrowly lost the first round, but won the second & third to secure victory over fellow team-mate Steve Roberts.  This fourth win out of six competitions means that he as won the AHA's League for 2008.  A fantastic end to the season. 

Dave is now off to Sicily for 6 days on another volcano trip - those of you with access to the National Geographic's tv channel will get to see how he gets on when the flights are televised, probably sometime next year.  Those of you heading to Charmouth keep your fingers crossed for some decent weather - it should be a good one! 

08 Sep 2008 - Team place secured for 2009

Yesterday saw the 2nd round of the F3C Team Trials completed at Tring.  Despite the dodgy weather forecast, we managed to complete three rounds before the rain set in.  Dave won the first two rounds & lost the third by only 1 point to fellow team-mate Steve Roberts.  Full details / scores can be found on the AHA website (www.aha-online.org.uk)

So, the team representing the UK at next year's World F3C Championships in Muncie, USA is as follows:

1.  Dave Fisher

2.  Steve Roberts

3.  Mark Christy

4.  Roger Mayo  (Reserve)

Dave's spare time is now spent preparing for the 3DX's UK Championships which take place in Tewkesbury over the weekend of 20th / 21st September - let's hope the current wet weather ends soon & gives flying fields across the UK a proper chance to dry out!

26 Aug 2008 - 2008 National F3C Champion

As many of you will know, we spent the Bank Holiday weekend at RAF Barkston Heath at the BMFA R/C Helicopter National Championships.  The F3C Competition took place over the Sunday / Monday & with Dave winning 5 out of the 6 rounds flown he now holds the title of 2008 F3C National Champion.  What a coup to have the British F3C Champion flying a British Helicopter (the Avro) & using a British fuel, Optimix 30%LS!   He is also using a British gyro (CSM720SL) & British blades (NHP).  You can't get much more patriotic than that.

Dave would like to officially thank all of his sponsors for their support over the years.  They are (in alphabetical order): 
Blitz Helicopters
CSM
FlightTech Distribution
MacGregor (JR)
NHP
Optifuel

The weather is due to warm up as the week progresses, so if you are getting withdrawal symptoms from not being able to fly, dust off your heli & give us a call.  We look forward to hearing from you.

12 Aug 2008 - Competition success

At least the 3D Masters was able to take advantage of some glorious summer weather - since then however, summer has decided to take a back seat & we've been subjected to an unfair amount of wind & rain.  A typical British summer some might say!

The 4th AHA league competiton of 2008 took place on Sunday (10th) at RAF Cottesmore & despite extremely windy conditions, two rounds were flown of both Sportsmans & F3C before it was decided to call a halt to the competition.  Matt Reuben won the Sportsmans competition & our own Dave Fisher had a decisive win over his fellow team-mate, Steve Roberts in the F3C class.  Results can be found on the AHA's website - www.aha-online.org.uk

We are now busy preparing for the BMFA Nationals which take place over the Bank Holiday weekend at RAF Barkston Heath in Lincolnshire.  If you've never been, this is a great opportunity to check out all the various disciplines within the sport of rc power flight.  The flightlines are dotted over the airfield & having a car to travel between them is definitely an advantage.  The AHA's Grand Raffle will be drawn on the Saturday night (23rd) in the Hangar - if you haven't yet bought a raffle ticket (the grand prize is a JR Vibe 50), you can buy tickets using paypal on the AHA's website (listed above).  All the money raised will go towards the British F3C team attending the World F3C Championships next year in the USA.

If you plan on visiting the BMFA Nationals, do come & say hello - we'll be at the heli flightline throughout the weekend.  Here's hoping the weather has improved by then!

24 Jul 2008 - 3D Masters is upon us...

I don't know where the last 12 days have gone since we returned from the European Championships.  The team returned to the UK with Bronze medals - it was great to see them on the podium, the first time in 7 years.  

Later this morning (after a few hours sleep - it is nearly 1am as I type this) we are heading up to the 3D Masters where Dave will be competing this weekend.  The weather is looking promising - it certainly couldn't be wetter than last year!  If you plan on visiting, do come & say hello - Dave is likely to be in the Blitz / Optifuel* tent & I'll be hovering around the MacGregor tent  hoping to sell a few raffle tickets for the AHA's Grand Draw. 

* More news will follow after the weekend about this exciting new development - a British fuel to rival the best out there in the marketplace.  Dave has been working closely with Optifuel over the last few months & this weekend sees its official launch.  We will have stock of Optifuel (5% / 12% / 20% / 30% nitros) next week.

11 Jul 2008 - E.C. update

The fourth round of the A schedule wasn't completed yesterday due to rain - the final two pilots are scheduled to fly at 8.30am this morning - one of whom is a potential fly-off pilot.  So, the final results re. team placings & the top 15 pilots are not yet known.

Steve flew in the morning in rough conditions & scored 205.  Mark achieved a 210 later in the afternoon but unfortunately things did not go so well for Dave.  His hovering M was zeroed after he did a 180 degree pirouette on the vertical climb instead of a 360.  The fact that he had been suffering from diarrhea all morning & hadn't eaten since breakfast could not have helped, though he won't see this as an excuse.  The rest of his flight was strong. 

So, we now play the waiting game - Steve & Mark are guaranteed a place in the fly-offs but Dave currently stands in 16th place with the two pilots from yesterday left to fly.  We are also waiting to see the impact on the team's place. 

I'm about to head off to Maubeuge to lend moral support to the team, so you'll need to keep your eyes on the official site for when they post the scores.

 

10 Jul 2008 - E.C. update

When I left the team yesterday evening, they were in a buoyant mood.  Steve is holding on to 2nd place & the team are also in 2nd place as at end of play Wednesday. 

Everyone had a really good round & Mark & Dave finally experienced a low wind (no wind for Mark) round after waiting for 2 hours whilst rain stopped play.  Steve had flown in the morning scoring 220.5 - 1.5pts ahead of the then leader, Ennio Graber.  He held the lead through until late afternoon, when Bernhard Egger (also taking advantage of low winds) put in a blistering 230.5.  Despite all three of our team members beating two of the Austrian pilots yesterday, the Austrian team have secured their place at the top of the podium.  We just need to make sure that the French team don't better us today. 

Although the weather in Belgium (where I am) is very wet this morning, Eddie tells me that it is a lovely day in Maubeuge so fingers crossed for 3 strong rounds today so that we can see all three of them through to the Fly-offs tomorrow.   There is only 2% separating the 15th through 10th placed pilots at the moment, so it's all to play for.

08 Jul 2008 - E.C. update

The weather here in France, as at home, is atrocious..... especially with regards to decent competition conditions.  The first round of the competition was held yesterday.  The day started with high winds which continued to build through the morning.  Dave was first up of the British Team, flying late morning.  He flew well considering the conditions.  Something which threw both Dave & Mark however (who was flying 5 pilots after Dave), were the wind conditions for the auto - both landing well out of the square - at least both models landed in one piece.  They weren't the only ones to suffer - several pilots crashed / damaged their models during the auto - almost unheard of in an International F3C competition. 

Steve, our third team member was flying much later in the afternoon.  As luck would have it, rain stopped play just before Steve's flight.  When he eventually went to the start box, the winds had dropped right off & as any pilot would, he took full advantage of this, put in a blistering flight which put him into 2nd position at the end of the day. 

Today started with heavy rain & strong winds.  The rain eventually went off late morning & flights started.  As it stands at the moment (12noon UK time), both Dave & Mark have flown scoring 180 & 184 respectively.  The French have decided that despite the delay earlier due to rain, they will now break for an hour for lunch!!!  Steve is not expected to fly until around 7pm tonight & flights are expected to continue until probably around 9pm.  Let's hope that they manage to complete the round! 

I hope to be able to give you a further update on Thursday. 

01 Jul 2008 - European Championships

The 1st of July has arrived & we are busy preparing to go to the European F3C Championships which start this coming weekend.  In our absence, Mark will be continuing with lessons - we will be checking emails daily so you can still make bookings.  Please note however, that phones will not be answered until after our return on July 14th. 

Hopefully the sun will continue to shine & the rain will be held at bay....... surely we'll get a summer at some point??!!  After the Championships we have the 3D Masters to look forward to.  Maybe we'll see you there......

09 Jun 2008 - Summer in full swing

The sun is shining & looks like it is here for the week (hopefully longer).  The grass is now cut & the field is looking pristine.  Having invested in a new mower, we aim to keep it looking that way. 

The addition of Mark to the Flyin' Fish team has meant that customers are able to book a lesson much sooner that they had prior to his arrival - usually within the same week.  Mark has also agreed to cover the late shift should anyone wish to book a lesson after work - the latest finish will be 7pm. 

Dave & Julie are off to the Weston Park Model Air Show this weekend with their AHA (Aerobatic Helicopter Association) fund-raising hats on, selling raffle tickets to raise funds for the F3C Team Travel Fund. This year the team (of which Dave is a member) will be attending the European F3C Championships in France from 5th - 13th July).  Even though Dave will be away competing during this period, Mark will still be on hand in the UK for lessons.

May the sun continue to shine & you all keep your heli's in one piece!

25 May 2008 - Flyin' Fish welcomes new instructor

It is with great pleasure that we welcome Mark Bateman onto the Flyin' Fish team as a full-time instructor.  Mark has had experience teaching at club level & says that he is looking forward to teaching alongside Dave.  He also has good building and set up knowledge so will be helping out on the mechanical front too.  Having Mark on board will ease the backlog of Flyin' Fish customers who have been patiently waiting to have a lesson - so don't delay, give us a call on 0208 841 6781 to book your session(s). 

02 May 2008 - First competition of 2008

Last Sunday saw us up at the crack of dawn & heading down to Worthing on the South coast for the first FAI competition of the season.  The weather forecast was for an unsettled day so it was with a sigh of relief that the first rounds of the competition (both F3C & Sportsmans) were completed by 11am.  Dave got off to a great start winning the first round ahead of his fellow team mates, Mark Christy & Steve Roberts.

He was first up to fly in the second round & he consolidated his lead with a blistering round, scoring 244 in raw points.  Unfortunately it was at this point that the rain arrived just as Mark was warming up in the start box.  Jason Markey the AHA's competition secretary, decided to call the competition after an hour of heavy rain, with little sign of it letting up.  It was great to end the day with Dave taking home the first trophy of the year - hopefully there'll be more to follow. 

Dave is busy training (before, after & between lessons) for the European F3C Championships & also the 3D Masters, both to be held in July.  Lessons are booking up further ahead than they ever have before - our apologies to customers who cannot book a lesson as early as they would like.  Please be patient with us.  We are trying to find some additional part-time instructors to ease the load & quicken the turn-round time, but the right candidate(s) are hard to find. 

10 Apr 2008 - Charmouth is here!

We're off to Charmouth this weekend.  Unfortunately the weather forecast is not looking too good - high winds & heavy showers but who knows, the powers that be just may have got it wrong!!  Maybe we'll see you there......

01 Feb 2008 - Back from Mauritius....

What awful weather the UK seems to have had recently.  We were lucky enough to spend the last couple of weeks on the beautiful island of Mauritius.  Dave had a working holiday, teaching four hours a day followed by a couple of hours of practise then some R&R.  It was our first holiday for more years than we care to remember & thoroughly enjoyed by all of us.  A big thank you to Nicholas & Maeva for their wonderful hospitality.

The modelling community in Mauritius although small is a very enthusiastic & friendly one.  If you are ever lucky enough to visit the island, be sure to get in touch with them as they welcome overseas visitors / flyers.  Check out their website - www.cmrmauritius.com.

It is now back to business as usual.  Enquiries & bookings are coming in thick & fast. Today we had our first client from the US & next week we look forward to welcoming our second customer from India.  It is nice to think that Flyin' Fish customers really are spread across the globe.

Only seven weeks until Easter (& hopefully Spring!).  In the meantime we wish you fair weather & safe landings....

23 Dec 2007 - Another year nearly over...

We've been meaning to update this section of the website for some time now but until now have not managed to do so.  The last three months, like the whole of 2007, have passed in a blur. 

This year has proved to be the  busiest in our 10 year history & it looks set to continue into 2008.   The launch of the Blitz Avro helicopter this year (of which Dave is co-designer) has proved to be very exciting.  Kits have been winging their way all over the world & with sales exceeding expectations in the company's 16 weeks of trading, 2008 looks to be as exciting for Blitz Helicopters as it does for Flyin' Fish. 

Dave & I would like to thank all our loyal customers without whom we would not have a business.  The number of customers coming to us via word of mouth / recommendation is gratifyingly high.  We are also getting more & more customers coming to us from overseas - Roal from South Africa, Nicholas from Mauritius & Adarsh from India to name but three. 

We would like to wish you all a very Happy Christmas & a New Year full of blue skies & gentle breezes!

21 Sep 2007 - Summer's nearly over...

know I've said it before, but where have the last 5 months gone?  It seems only 5 minutes since we were at the Season Opener and here we are with October just round the corner and Charmouth to look forward to.

We have had our busiest year ever here at Flyin' Fish with lessons booking up much further ahead than we are used to.  We can only apologise that you have had to wait for your slot but thank you for your patience - hopefully you found the wait worthwhile.

It has been a very exciting year with the launch of the Blitz Avro helicopter.  Many of you will already know that Dave is the co-designer of this model and has been flying the prototypes for the last four and a half years.  At the beginning of this season, it was decided that the time was right for Dave to drop his JR sponsorship and to start competing with the Avro.  (We would like to thank JR / MacGregor for their past sponsorship and for their continued support with JR radio).   Although Dave has not won a competition this season, he has won the odd round with the top 3 places in all the UK F3C competitions always being very tightly contested.  He has retained his place in the British F3C Team for 2008 and is looking forward to the challenge of the 2008 season. 

Dave is competing at the 3D Championships at LHC next weekend - Blitz Helicopters will also be attending.  This is a competition not to be missed with all the UK's top 3D pilots fighting it out for the Championship title.  If you are planning on visiting (note: entry as a spectator is free), come and say hello - you will find us at the Blitz stand.

07 Aug 2007 - IMPORTANT - MISSING EMAILS

We had a major problem with our server / auto responder whilst we were away which has resulted in all emails being lost that were sent to us between July 25th & August 5th.  If you sent us an email during this period, please resend.  We apologise for any inconvenience.

07 Aug 2007 - We're back......

The 2007 World F3C Championships in Poland are now over & we're back to business as usual.  Dave came a disappointing 20th in the final results - a failed tail servo in the 4th preliminary round cost him his place in the fly-offs (top 15).   Small consolation was the fact that in Round 1 he beat Curtis Youngblood & was only 10 points behind the World Champion (Ito).  Fellow team mate, Steve Roberts, came 13th overall with Daniel Crozier 45th.  Daniel had a nice surprise when it was announced that he had come 3rd in the Junior competition, earning himself a bronze medal & a suitcase (!!).  The team came 7th out of 29 countries. 

Dave is now busy training to defend his title of 2006 National F3C Champion at the BMFA Nationals which will take place at RAF Barkston Heath (near Grantham, Lincs) over the Bank Holiday weekend (foot & mouth permitting!!).  

27 Jun 2007 - Where does the time go?

We're fast approaching the end of June........ where have the last two months gone?   The second AHA competition of the season due to take place at Billesdon in early May was cancelled due to torrential rain.  We attended the Trophy de France where Dave finished a very respectable 4th flying the AVRO.  The Scottish Nationals came & went - Dave finished 2nd in the F3C competition.  The third AHA competition scheduled for last weekend at our Northolt field was cancelled due to the rain.  In three & a bit weeks we'll be enjoying the 3D Masters (come find us at the Blitz Helicopters stand) & four weeks today we'll be travelling to Poland to compete at the World F3C Championships.  Meanwhile lessons are continuing as usual (between the rain showers!).  Hopefully this current bout of wet weather will finish soon & we can get back to some decent British sunshine!

02 May 2007 - Summer has arrived.....

May has finally arrived and what fantastic flying weather we're enjoying at the moment.  The AHA had its first competition of the season at Tring last Sunday.  Dave came a very close second behind former GB team member Mark Christy and just ahead of fellow GB team member Steve Roberts.

Sunday also saw the first public airing of Dave's new F3C machine - the soon-to-be-released AVRO from Blitz Helicopters - 100% designed and made in Great Britain.  The model's next time on show will be at the LHC Model Symposium next weekend (12th May), where the AHA will be doing some display flying and fund-raising.  Maybe we'll see you there.....

05 Apr 2007 - Pre Easter Break

Dave is currently in Sicily flying a Raptor 90 over a volcano.... talk about busman's holiday!! In the meantime Julie & the girls ae taking a short break away from the office. Normal services will resume on Saturday 7th April. If you wish to talk to someone in the meantime, please leave a message on our answerphone & Julie, who will be checking messages regularly, will get back to you.

Only 3 weeks to go before this year's Spring Charmouth Flyin (21st / 22nd April). For those of you who haven't been before, this is a great opportunity to kick start the season, meet up with friends (old & new) and generally have a great time. If you're going, we'll definitely see you there.

05 Mar 2007 - Only three weeks to go before we can finally put the clocks forward for British Summer Time....... at last!!

The incessant wet weather has made the field extremely muddy & definitely undriveable. If you have lessons booked, please remember to bring your wellie boots (or at least something similar) - trainers definitely won't keep your feet clean or dry. Hopefully we'll be enjoying more regular dry days soon.

The first event of the year, the Aerobatic Helicopter Association's Season Opener is taking place on Saturday March 31st at the LMAC's Gumley site in Leicestershire. For anyone interested in finding out more about FAI competition flying (as opposed to 3D flying) this really is a must. See the AHA website for more information (www.aha-online.org.uk).

Unfortunately Dave won't be at the Season Opener as he flies out to Sicily on March 30th to fly an r/c helicopter over a volcano for a week conducting experiments for Sheffield University. Julie (as the AHA's Membership Secretary) will however be there - if you have any queries about joining the AHA, feel free to contact her on julie@flyinfish.co.uk Please note: due to Dave's absence we are closed for lessons from March 30th to April 6th inclusive.

16 Jan 2007 - Well, the weather hasn't been very pleasant so far this year

Last Sunday proved the best day so far with sunshine, wispy white clouds, some blue sky & little wind - you could almost have been fooled into thinking it was Spring.  The wet weather has unfortunately returned to remind us that we are actually in the middle of winter!   We are of course still flying when the weather permits though wellie boots (or similar waterproof footwear) is a must at the moment as the field is rather waterlogged.  The upside is that we are able to turn round mechanical work (services / repairs / builds) & canopy paintwork in good time now that we have worked through the backlog that we had.  Our webmaster is currently working on a newlook superduper website so watch this space as we hope to be running it live soon.

20 Dec 2006 - Not long now

Only five flying days left until the big day. Although it is bitterly cold & the field is muddy, lessons are continuing as usual. We are taking a break this Christmas (see above) but it will be business as usual from Saturday 30th December.

We'd like to take this opportunity to wish all our past, present & future Flyin' Fish customers, a very Merry Christmas & a Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year! Best wishes to all, Julie & Dave Fisher.