Wings & Wheels 2004

Wings & Wheels 2004 was held in June at North Wield in Essex, and the usual British summer weather provided plenty on dampness on Saturday, but glorious sunshine on the Sunday.  Over the course of the two days, we saw some spectacular flying of some of the largest model planes in England.  The biggest of these were probably the pair of quarter-scale WW2 bombers, the B-17 and B-24. Others included a third-scale Harvard, which sounded amazing with the 320cc radial engine and scale sized propeller. Anyway, onto the photos of the weekend:

Ali Machinchi's Yak, and a Half-scale Pitts biplane.  Both were flown superbly, really entertaining the crowd with their 3D capabilites.

Below, the third-scale Harvard waiting for its slot.

Below, the half-scale Pitts being taken to the flightline.

2 Ducted Fan Aircraft.  The flying wing was incredibly fast, in fact I reckon a Magnum would have a job beating it.  It was electric and all!

A line up of some impressive aircraft, including the super Sukhoi SU-31 in the foreground.

A very large 3D machine, Extra-stlyed, and really looked the part.

Another view of the SU-31.

Above, a P-51D Mustang. Below, a Katana.

A close up of the 5-cylinder Radial engine in the Sukhoi.

The Quarter Scale flying fortress.  Powered by 4 petrol engines, it sounds as well as it looks.

Below, the Liberator completes a fly by.  This is also powered by 4 petrol motors.

Below, both of the bombers on a formation fly-past.

A big Funtana.  This looks the business in the air.

There were also several model tanks on display.  Most had guns firing blanks and smoke systems fitted to simulate the turret firing, and they all featured a sound-system which played a recording of a real tank engine every time they moved.  Very impressive, and very loud too!

Incredible attention to detail is paid on these tanks.  There were around a dozen in all, each with their own different colour scheme and features.

The bring&buy!  If only we'd taken a van with us.  There were many a bargain to be had here. And many people did.  So much gear went in and out of here over the weekend, I dread to think how much money changed hands over the fence.  Many of the well known model shops had trade stands here to from the likes of Al's hobbies and Overlander, to Phoenix Model Products and Inwood models.

Being a show for any kind of models, why not have fullsize walking talking Daleks...with a comedic attitude.  One went up to the onsite ambulance and asked for a 99 cone!!  Other than that the two of them spent most of their time harrasing small kids, shouting "EXTERMINATE".

One of two large scale P-47 Thunderbolts.

A view of the 320cc twin-cylinder engine in the Third Scale Harvard.

Attention to detail is a must on a scale plane of this size, so it's a good job the builder didn't miss a single thing.  This B-17 in the flesh looks simply amazing.

Below, 4 Synergy 90 3D's with OS 91 4-strokes.

Below, the Al's Hobbies and Ripmax crews sitting in front of Ali's Yak.

This biplane was up for sale during the weekend.  Including Motor, and all gear, ready to go, for just £3,500.

A good weekend away, somewhere different.  We should definitely be going to next year's Wings&Wheels Model Spectacular.