Black Sheep Squadron Forming UK / Build Thread Anyone Interested?

nmacwarbirds · 6 jun 2018

Dear All
I hope you are all well and enjoying the flying season.
If this is an inappropriate place to post this.
Please let me know and I will remove it.

A little bit of background knowledge first.
In the UK the use of model forums has steadily declined.
The UK forum that I am referring to in this post was on the
verge of closing. Fortunately an unknown benefactor has stepped
in and has given funding for at least two years.

Not many people these days build anything in the UK,
it is predominately ARTFs. That is OK until they get damaged
repairable models get thrown away because the owners do not
know how to repair them.

So after seeing a post on another forum by Alan B. (Pupcam)
indicating that he was considering giving up the hobby.
That got me thinking (steady).

A lot of people do not frequent that forum as they do
and many pursue this hobby via Facebook. Which I will
never understand as these bona fide model sites are built
for our benefit.

So in an effort to rekindle 'morale' I thought of this,
hopefully one or two people might be interested
in what I am proposing.

We have lost many good people within the last two years.
Ivan Goodchild
June Howlett
Colin Griffith
Stuart Cotgrove (Stueysheep)
Ken Bones
To name but a few.

I still have four out of the five people on the
phone as contacts on my phone.
I do not honestly have the heart to remove them.

So as a kind of a tribute to all of our gone but never forgotten friends.
I thought it might be fitting if we formed a Squadron in their honour.
Stueysheep sprang to mind, So I thought why not call it the Black Sheep Squadron.
Not that Stuey was a Black Sheep, he was most certainly a good sheep.

So in an effort to get some interest in that forum, which is in all our interests.
Why not build something (now there is a novelty) for the new Sqn.

My thoughts are a subject subject,
Scale, I love scale models.
No retracts to keep the cost down.
Not a full kit, to keep the cost down.

Stueysheep had predominately WW1 models
So we decided on WW1

Is anyone interested in this?
Or have an opinion on what to build?

This is basically what I posted on the UK Forum
Below is the response.

Regards Phil G.

nmacwarbirds · 6 jun 2018

This is what we have after about a week of the above post
being posted on the UK forum. Sqn. rules and etiquette.
Alas most of the models are being acquired secondhand rather than being built.
I don't have anything at the moment.

Hopefully the Black Sheep Squadron's first outing will be at my event at Tibenham
in September. It is posted on this forum.
Battle of Britain / 100th anniversary of the end of WW1 Friday the 28th of September.
Tibenham Airfield Norfolk UK NR16 1NT

Rule 1 - Have fun
Rule 2 - Must look something like a WW1 aircraft of any flavour with a wing span between 55ish and 90ish inches
Rule 3 - Have more fun re-kindling the glory days of the Dwarf Patrol and the memory of our dear departed chums.

We already have a full list of rules and we don't want to add to them however I thought some Squadron etiquette should also be observed.

#1 Whenever there is a BSS gathering there shall be at least one slow pass performed and flown in Missing Man formation.
Any model of a rotary powered aircraft will have its throttle well and truly "Blipped" throughout the pass. Anyone flying, for example, an Ex-Stuey DVII will be expected to blip the throttle even though to do so is not entirely prototypical The manoeuvre, announced in best forceful Red Arrows fashion, shall be known as "The Sheepy Pass".

Squadron etiquette amendment.

#2 The Tibenham Ball will be now be known as The Black Sheep Tibenham Ball.

I have amended the toasts part of this etiquette rule as Schwarze Schaaf has
joined the Sqn.

With the following toasts.

1) Toast to our dear departed friends.
2) Toast to the RFC / Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte
3) Toast to the Queen / Mrs. Merkel

#3
If we take any losses and the model is beyond repair,
Said model will be buried with full military honours.

#4
Breaking a prop on landing will be known as a "Bess"
Breaking a prop on take off will be known as a "Queen Bess"

#5
The Keep Menz Going Society.

Anyone breaking 5 props (Prop Ace) will be automatically
inducted into The Keep Menz Going Society.

I'm sure further etiquette will emerge as time goes by.

A big thank you to Pup Cam for writing the above etiquette and constitution.

Black Bess (Pupcam)
Black Knight (nmacwarbirds)
Blackjack (Brian Cooper)
Black Shadow (Matrock19)
Black Betty (Norfolk'n'Good)
Black Widow (Charlie C.)
Black Jazz (Mudders)
Black Adder (NSS)
Black Current (Wilco)
Schwarze Schaaf (Antonnick)
Black Heart (Philbert121)
Black Hole (Dibble)
Black Magic (fly-navy) Honorary

Mudders, Black 1 (Leader)

PG