Modeller Profile

Our Second modeller under the spotlight

Glen Millar



Reg Intro


Collection of Glen's favourite Pic's

Profile

Occupation School Teacher
Employer R/C power, Fly for Fun, Slope Scoring, Aerobatics
Hobbies R/C Modelling, Ham Radio & Microlite Aircraft.
Flying Experience 17 years.
Current Radio Gear Futaba Field Force 7
Favourite Aeroplane Wot 4
Favourite Engine ASP 46 and OS 60 FS



How it All Started

For as long as I can remember I have always been interested in kites and small hand launched balsa kits, this interest has always been encouraged by my Dad who has similar interests. On one occasion on a school trip to London, I bought 5 kites. I had all kinds of kites, and tried to do as many different things, like getting them as high as possible using huge amounts of cord and flying them by securing them to fly all night

Introduction to R/C

I bought my first model from Robin Adams which was a Keil Kraft Ivory Gull glider in 1982. I spent most of this year using the glider and then after much pleading my Dad bought me a new model Super Sixty by Keil Kraft and a used 27mhz radio. During the winter of 1982 my Dad and I built a trainer made from cardboard, it was called the apprentice 60. It was really this aircraft that I learned how to fly R/C. I was taught to fly the model by George Adams and Dennis McNeill.

Flying on my own.

As I mentioned I learned to fly using an Apprentice 60 kit, but as the model developed the usual first model looks after a few heavy landings, it got heavier and heavier. The Enya 35 engine, not the most reliable, found it more and more difficult to pull the overweight model into the air. When I first started to fly on my own each takeoff was a great achievement, my Dad as usual gave me great encouragement and he would launch the model and I would do my best to get it into the air. I will always remember this first summer of flying. We decided that instead of using the normal field we do now for flying we would use the long grass in the next field. This was in case the model crashed on take off so that the long grass cushioned the impact. Of course this meant that there was no way the model could afford to drop any height after being hand launched, other wise the long grass "would reach up and grab it."

Flying with others.

For the first year I flew on my own but then two men joined me. The first was a man called Sam who around 25 years previous had flown free flight models from the very same site we now use. The second, Billy, had just saw me flying and became interested. I taught them both to fly and after that the number grew steadily, mainly from modellers who could fly, but at that stage didn't have a site to use.

Going further with flying.

My interest in flying didn't stop there, and I always dreamed of having a pilots license. However the large amount of money to gain a license and keep it meant that it stayed a dream until 1995. With the development of Microlight flying over the late 80s and early 90s a flying school was set up in Northern Ireland. By now I had a steady teaching job and I decided to train for my license. When I finished my license I bought a used 2 seater microlight called a Thruster which I still have, and I use it for around 25 hours per year.

Other Interests.

In 1987 I became interested in Amateur Radio and I studied for my license, and finally became licensed in 1989. Since then I developed a station and to date I have been in communication with almost 280 countries. In recent years I have become interested in Radio Competitions and have enjoyed a number of contests per year including the biggest contest of the year the CQ contest at the end of each October. For the 1998 CQ contest I was placed first in the UK, in the Low power Section.


Web Site

I have recently published a website which gives a view into my Modelling, Microlite and Ham radio interests, including a progress report on the construction of my latest Microlite.
The URL is http://www.gi0kvq.co.uk

Finally

Although I am involved in a few hobbies now, model flying has remained great for me. The fun and fellowship I have enjoyed over the past 17 years has been fantastic and I hope to enjoy it for many years to come.



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