When you start to think about it, you could be forgiven for expecting the Wings & Wheels Model Spectacular to be starting to run out of ideas.  This event has been running for twenty four years and is the longest running model airshow in the country, bringing early Summer cheer to modellers from all over the World.

Year after year, there always seems to be something new to entertain and interest visitors and the show seems to have reached that happy state where it has the comfortable feeling of a long-running family event whilst still producing sharpness in the form of new things to see and do.

This sums up Wings and Wheels 2010. Plenty of sun, plenty of people in a relaxed atmosphere enjoying the show

For those of you who haven’t visited Wings & Wheels before, it is set on the Northern side of North Weald Airfield, near Epping in Essex.   Always held over the last weekend of June, the show shares the Airfield on the Saturday with the UK’s largest outdoor Market, making the whole venue full of buzz and activity.  The only downside to this is the volume of traffic which makes the approaches to the show and to the Market very slow during the Saturday morning.  The Highways Authority seem to have it sorted out now and, although the route is a little tortuous, it does get you into the show in the shortest possible time. Mind you, the ultimate plan is to camp or caravan on site. This avoided all the queues with the added advantage of being able to watch the full size activity going on outside the show times.

Great signs for the organiser as cars almost fill the car park early on Saturday morning. Vehicles flooded into the pay lanes and was split between the Model Show and the nearby market making entry to both easier.

Actually arriving at the show is a pleasant experience with happy, smiling girls on the gate ready to part you from your hard-earned cash (although many people had beaten the system by buying their tickets cheaper in advance, thereby saving more money to spend on models!)  Quickly through the gate and into the huge car park and you are ready for the day in very short order.

The show is very well set out so that, although there is a huge amount to see, it is organised within a relatively compact space, making it easy and pleasant to get around.  This is particularly so for those with any kind of disability.  The trade line is mostly set on the edge of the concrete peri-track and is easily accessibly from the Blue-Badge parking area.

The first and most prominent attraction in the showground is the huge Bring & Buy Marquee which is set up on a low hill just inside the show site.  This is well laid out such that you join a one-way system that takes you past all the exhibits…and there were hundreds!  Whether you wanted a state-of-the-art, carry-it-away-and-fly-it model aircraft, engines, radio gear, accessories of every kind imaginable – you name it, you could probably find it here! This was certainly the busiest year the Bring & Buy has seen and all weekend people could be seen carrying their purchases from the marquee across the car park and back again for more!  The whole thing is expertly organised by Roger Lapidge and his team from the Harlow & District MFC.  They do a magnificent job every year but they really surpassed themselves in 2010. Their computers were approaching meltdown by the end of the weekend (and so were they!)

One of the fastest moving and rapidly developing areas in aeromodelling is the discipline of indoor models and park flyers.  Extremely lightweight and manoeuverable, these machines can be flown in very small and restricted spaces but require very different skills and techniques from your ordinary .40 size model!  Neatly demonstrating this rapidly expanding discipline, the next attraction on the show site – just past the Blue Badge parking area – is the indoor flying marquee, kindly run by Century UK with demonstrations of flying and construction that are a show in their own right!  From micro-helicopters to miniature Airbus 380’s and fighter jets, this is a whole new discipline to enthral and fascinate you.

Colourful flags from the traders and plenty of folk crowd the thoroughfares. One of the beauties of Wings & Wheels is the hard surface that makes it an all-weather venue.

From here, the trade line runs right through the centre of the showground – almost 80 traders were in attendance – in fact, traders were being turned away in the end because the showground was full; quite a feat considering the difficult times we live in!  Most of your favourite shops, suppliers and manufacturers were there and whilst it would be boring to name every one, you can see a full list by clicking HERE.  Suffice to say that every stand you came to was bristling with bargains and mouth-watering merchandise of all descriptions.

A truck crosses the bridge on one of the diorama sections of the Truck display whilst the have-a-go Robotwars arena attracted many enthusiasts throughout the day.  To ram the point home, 'Behemoth', a full size Robotwars contender, impressed all who witnessed its awesome strength

Towards the far end of the show is a more general trade area with various attractions on offer. This year saw have-a-go Monster Trucks, micro-Z cars and a Robotwars arena where you could try your hand at turning your opponents over with the very clever mini robots. Tamiya Truckin’ had a display here and the build standard of their models has to be seen to be believed. Such attention to detail is an incredible accolade to their dedication and patience.

Some of the Trucks on show - all Radio Controlled and with sound systems that included  start up  and very realistic tickover diesel-engine sounds. Whilst Dad was being awed by these, the children were getting high on the bungee trampolines!!

Also around here were a set of ‘bungee-trampolines’, a jet simulator which seemed to be very realistic judging by the sounds coming from within!  The bar was close by – and very well attended due to the spectacularly warm weather the show enjoyed all weekend. During the evening here, a band by the name of ‘Relative’ performed for the traders and campers and were very well received indeed. Their three sets were well supported with enthusiastic dancing from the assembled crowd and the performers enjoyed it so much that they have agreed to return in 2011!

There was a good variety of boats on the lake, both sail and electric.  From intricate true scale to imaginative and quirky (or should that be quacky?!), the show was stunning with a tremendous display of talent on show. The lifeboat made a number of dramatic rescue missions over the weekend whilst the static display in the marquee was the best for some years.

The boat pool has become a trade mark attraction of Wings & Wheels. At forty feet square and an average of 14 inches deep, it is suitable for most types of marine model from submarines to keeled yachts.  The pool had been relocated slightly this year to make the ‘marine village’ a bit more cohesive and this seemed to work well with the Daleks and Model Tanks to one side of the pool on the peri-track.  The camping area for Daleks, Tanks and Boats seemed to be a bit chaotic and did spread around the pool a bit but I expect the organisers will sort that out before next year since it did look quite untidy.  The calibre and range of model boats was enormous. Hundreds of exhibits – both static and on the water – were on display and the boat marquee itself was packed with models from different clubs and disciplines.  Run by the Leighton Buzzard Club, the boat pool area has the calm, serene feel to it that many water venues seem to impart.

This really attractive jet is the Grouper Epic Victory that was built from the original wind tunnel models of the full size aircraft. The kit on its own is £4500 and a completed version ready go will set you back £8000. Flown by Ali Machinchi and Steve Bishop they were built by Bishop Aviation

Far from calm and serene was the main flight line!  Running a back-to-back model airshow from 10.00am to 5.30pm, it was really difficult deciding which – if any – flying slots to sacrifice to see the rest of the show!  The flying display was vastly superior this year – partly due to the calibre of the pilots who flew with supreme skill but also because the slots had been put together with fewer pilots in each slot and larger, more impressive aircraft.  Ever slot was worth seeing and it is really difficult to pick out any specific ones for mention.  The awesome flying pair of Red Arrows Hawks, flown by Steve and Matt Bishop were incredible to watch as they performed highly accurate (and close!) opposition manoeuvres with smoke just like the real thing.  (Check out the photos and guess which pair is the real Red Arrows!)

Father and son team Steve and Matt Bishop have established a fine and well-deserved reputation for the Red Arrows Duo team flying and they didn’t disappoint at Wings and Wheels finishing their slots with formation landings.  But can you guess which photo is of the real thing?

The gas turbine powered Fox gliders of Colin Strauss and Nick Moss were unbelievably manoeuverable at 20 feet wingspan, Steve Carr’s beautifully flown Extra wowed everyone, Tony Nijhuis’ electric B-50 bomber, Ali Machinchi and Mike McConville flying close aerobatics with the 30% Extra and Hangar 9 ‘Beast’, the £8,000 Grouper Epic Victory bravely flown by Ali Machinchi and Steve Bishop…..the list is endless and includes every single model and pilot that flew throughout the weekend. The scheduling was flawless thanks to Dave and Sheila in the control tent and Les Eagle and his team on the Flight Line, the facts kept flowing, courtesy of Dave ‘Silvertongue’ Bishop, the weather smiled and everyone just had a wonderful time. 

Being young and fit helps when you have to keep the wingtips level for takeoff! Daniel Fox does the honours on one of the Fox Turbine Gliders. Meanwhilr, Ripmax men Colin Straus and Nick Moss were in action with this pair of 20 foot wingspan turbine powered Fox gliders. Graceful and aerobatic they put on a fine show.

Steve Carr did some beautifully graceful aerobatics with his huge Extra. The model deploys and discards streamers in flight and has a smoke system to enhance the visual spectacle

Tony Nijhuis has become known for the ‘different’ approach to his models. This is his latest, the B-50 bomber. Electric powered by 4 Purple Power 65 motors it has a powerful sound system of the real engines from start up to shut down relayed through a series of 4 80 watt speakers and of course the ‘Bombs Gone’ sequence.

Also having a wonderful time – although somewhat bemused by the assembled masses – were American Championship pilots Mike McConville, John Redman and Eric Johnson, all brought to the show by Horizon Hobby UK who were exhibiting at Wings & Wheels.  All three said they were amazed by the size of the show and the numbers of spectators attending – they said that shows in the U.S. did not attract anything like these crowds and were very impressed by the standards of flying, building and modelling knowledge that surrounded them all weekend.

Ali Machinchi performs some low level aero gymnastics with the 30% Extra in a slot with Mike McConville, guesting for Horizon Hobbies, in a slot that could easily have been flown to ‘Duelling Banjos’ music. Great entertainment. Mike flew the Hangar 9 ‘Beast’ that he designed.

It is a shame that such moments must pass but pass they do and, all too soon, it was time to wend our way home with a memory card full of the most amazing pictures, a head full of excellent memories and a boot full of modelling paraphernalia that must somehow be smuggled through the house and into the workshop without certain people asking too many awkward questions!

Looks can be deceptive. On the left is an electric model of the Airbus A380 from Century UK. Complete with new Central 2.4 GHz radio it retails at £299.00. A very different model was the Horten 9 Flying Wing. Piloted by Dave Wilde it was built by John Wright and powered by a pair of MW 44 turbines. Dave said it was always an adventure flying the model and a relief to land it. It is one of only three turbine model versions of the aircraft in the world.

Left: Dennis Stretton produces some neat scale helicopters. This one is a SMART models scale Alouette 3 body on T-Rex 600 electric heli. Right: Colourful is a description apt for the Avonds F-15 of Shane Harding. It is converted to electric power and boasts flight times of around four minutes

Wings & Wheels was, this year, undoubtedly an epic show and it is difficult to see how the Organisers could improve on things very much.  However, improve on it they have promised to do since 25^th and 26^th June 2011 sees the 25^th Anniversary of this excellent show.  A quarter of a Century is no mean feat for a model airshow and there is no doubt that 2010 witnessed an excellent example of this event’s long and distinguished pedigree.

There have been Daleks around at Wings and Wheels for a while now but this year there seemed to be few more present. Is there a take over coming? Right: Steve Carr’s massive 60% Extra now has electronic fuel injection

I’ll certainly be back next year, curious to see what else this show can come up with. See you there on June 25^th & 26^th?

Left: Les Eagles, the flightline director, conducts a pilots’ briefing whilst the inimitable Dave Bishop (right) raises his hat to yet another successful Wings & Wheels.