Photos courtesy of Cedric de la Nougered
Even if you are not a Harry Potter fan, chances are you recognize the boy wizard flying on a broom in this picture. Actually, this is a free flight model called the Gryffindor Seeker, created by Cedric de la Nougered. The fantastic (literally) airplane really captures the fun and magic spirit of Halloween.
I discovered the Gryffindor Seeker on Flickr. Photo and video hosting sites like Flickr and YouTube are good for storing and finding media, and also for social networking. I decided to contact Cedric to learn more about his unique model and to get permission to use his photo.
We exchanged several emails. Cedric informed me that the model is 3mm Depron sheet with balsa motor shaft, and it “can be a bit unpredictable in flight but a lot of fun.” He also told me something about the free flight scene where he lives, in southern England:
Hi Dave,
Visited your aero club blog, and it was wonderful to see so many rubber powered models, especially scale. We, in the Crawley & District MAC, have on-going Free Flight contests throughout the summer months, Chuck-glider, June; Scale, July; "One Model", August; and Cloud Tramp Precision, September. It is normal to have only three or four contestants. However, the first Saturday in September is the Cloud Tramp Mass Launch, for which we gather as many people as possible from our families and surrounding clubs. In 2005 we managed 69 in the launch, the best ever.
This year, the Cloud Tramp Precision was won by yours truly with a time of 30.01 seconds. The set time was 30 seconds due to the conditions and the small field. There were five taking part but I was the one with the luck. Bill Hannan always said "Luck will beat skill every time."
The Harry Potter was built some years back, for another contest, unorthodox, flown on just one evening a year.
I so enjoyed your blog, that I shall have to visit it when ever possible. Most enjoyable. Wish we could stir up some interest, but everyone wants to fly radio.
Best wishes, Cedric
Cedric being presented with the bottle of wine for winning the Cloud Tramp Precision Contest 2008
The 2005 Grant MIMLOCT event. 69 took part, but quite a few were cropped from this photo.
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