Model Engineer Exhibition Alexandra Palace

	When the guys from Horizon Hobby UK load up their cars with dozens of Li-Po batteries and chargers, indoor models and helicopters and set the “Sat-Nav” to North London it usually means one thing; they are off to enjoy three days of continuous indoor flying at the annual Model Engineer Exhibition at Alexandra Palace.
	John Norris, Perry Lambert of Horizon Hobby UK ably assisted by Perry’s father John Lambert and his young sons James and Thomas flew virtually non-stop over the three days of 16th 17th 18th January in the dedicated indoor flying area in the Great Hall of the Alexandra Palace.
		L/R John Norris, Ted Galbraith, John Lambert, Perry Lambert, James Lambert, Thomas Lambert

Blade CX2 and CX3, two generations sharing airspace.

Millenium NTU

Working closely and under the auspices of the British Model Flying Association
(BMFA), the organisers of the indoor flying area, the guys kept the spectators
entertained with superb displays of helicopter flying using E-flite Blade CX2’s,
Blade 400’s, the fantastic micro-Blade MCX’s and the very easy to fly Millennium
NTU helicopter from Hobbyzone. Along with these they gave the first public
showing of the new Blade CX3 with its super scale MD520N body.

British Model Flying Association a quiet moment before the crowds gathered around the stand

Blade 400

The British Model Flying Association. A quiet moment before the crowds gathered around the stand.

Blade MCX

	Fixed wing models were represented by the amazingly slow flying Vapor and the slightly more aerobatic Ember 2 from Parkzone along with some amazing 3D flying by Perry flying the E-flite Enticement.
Flying in a confined space takes concentration		Parkzone Vapor
On static display the "Fighter Collection" from Parkzone included the F4U Corsair, Spitfire and Focke Wulf 190 along side the T28 Trojan and Super Decathlon, E-flite's Sea Fury and Hobbyzone's Mini Super Cub. E-flite’s “Jet Collection” featured the electric ducted fan F15 Eagle, F16 Falcon and the fantastic BAE Hawk, whilst Hangar 9’s Fokker D7, P51 Mustang "Ferocious Frankie" and the new PT19 control line model completed this impressive static line-up.
	Electric models on static display

	In addition to the flying displays there was the added bonus of having the Hangar 9 FS One flight simulator on hand to give everyone the chance to experience the thrill of flying a model without the risk of crashing; well not quite, but a simple press of the reset button had the model ready for another mission and over the weekend there was a constant queue of eager people wanting to "have a go"
Flight simulators, great fun for all the family

To sum up the three days then, lots of very
entertaining flying, lots of fun and thanks to the
ever reliable Spektrum 2.4Ghz radios and the
convenience of "Bind-n-Fly" no time was lost
changing crystals in numerous transmitters
making for a most enjoyable weekend. However,
the most important aspect of the three days lay
in the fact that it gave the guys the opportunity
to meet and answer the many questions from
the public about our products and model flying
in general, and with the BMFA on hand to
point them in the right direction it is hoped some
of them may decide to take up model flying as
a hobby as a result of their visit to the indoor
flying area at the “Ally Pally”

Perry explains the workings of the Blade CP Pro 2

A special thanks to the BMFA for organising the indoor flying and
to the pilots for getting the New Year off to a flying start.

Well done guys, job well done! TG