Vintage model airplane takes flight for the first time in decades... 

Hi Cliff, beautiful to watch the Mercury IV fly at last. It's been through three generations of my family, from my Grandfather Arthur to my Dad Les, finally in my hands (Paul). My Grandad started the build over 40 year'sago, could even be 50 year's ago! He passed away suddenly from cancer in the early 1980's, my Dad got to plank the fueslage (he builds large model ship's like the Victory) and them the partially finished airframe was put aside in the late 1980's and forgotten about. My father's health declined and the airframe came into my possession. I have kept a few of my Dad's completed vintage model's that I enjoyed so much flying them back in the 1980's, 90' and into the 2000's. But the Mercury IV was filthy dusty and required time to restore it and complete the build, time I could not dedicate to it, so it was sold to a gentleman as an afterthought when he came to pick up a Bird of Time airframe. It probably saved this Mercury IV from the incinerator! I have a few airframes surviving from the late 1930's in flying condition, but will need rc assist adding as they are free flight model's being very large close to 3m wingspans. Thank you for saving this model, you have turned it from a dusty sad relic into a piece of graceful beauty. Kind regards, Paul.

Thank you to everyone who's followed this series from the beginning, it's been a total honour to have finished this model and flown her, I've learned loads of new techniques and tried to share them as we've gone along, give the video a thumbs up and we'll see what's next, thanks again, cheers 👍

What a beautiful model! Fantastic! It's true that the "pucker-factor" is a lot higher with a model that isn't made of foam. A reminder of "the good old days". This is the sort of model I remember flying with a single-channel bang-bang RC system and rubber powered escapements. All that was really missing (for the full nostalgia trip) was the cantankerous and smelly diesel engine up front. Mind you... it looks as if it vibrates as much as a good old diesel -- some balancing to do? 🙂 Thanks for sharing. I increasingly find this type of model more interesting and attractive than today's EDF-powered foam jets. Now I understand why old guys like me fly vintage models. A great video.

"See you up there." Wonderful. Nice catch on the takeoff!!

Such a beautifull model, great maiden flight. Congratulations, Cliff, you gave this model a wonderfull second chance and boy did it pay off!

Congrats buddy!! she looks GR8!!!

Lovely flier, well done Cliff, great work on the restoration

Wow Cliff.. So happy you had a wonderful maiden on this magnificent plane. Such a wonderful flyer.. btw, your camera crew did a great job..

Congratulations for the maiden!

Congratulations Cliff! What an epic journey this has been. It is really something to resurrect a project, put your twist on it, and see it take flight in a way better than it's designer ever intended. I enjoyed every episode. You did a beautiful job on the build and modifications, and a beautiful job flying it. It is a true classic, and a real treat to see.

What a gorgeous looking and flying model well done Cliff 😎

Great maiden Cliff. Looking forward to seeing more flights

Nice model Cliff. Good flight also. I love vintage models.

Good going Cliff. She is beautifull😀👍🛩️

Majestic! That slow flight was really great! Well worth the effort! Great camera work and debrief too. As usual, very inspiring!

You can be very proud Cliff. Great maiden! I am happy for you😀👍

Great job Cliff, the look on your face at 9:15 minutes in says it all, well one.👍

That's just great Cliff, looks majestic in the air. Two thumbs up to the camera girl, kept it in shot really well and we all know it's not easy.

What a beautiful bird Cliff, enjoyed the whole series a lot. Although I mainly build aerobatic foam waffles myself, and something without ailerons or less thrust than weight doesn't really appear as an option to me, watching you masterfully complete such a nice oldschool project was relaxing and entertaining. Keep up the great work! I can't believe people were free flying these back in the day. Building such a thing and then letting it go without control, must have been worse than any sketchy maiden - every time.

Fantastic flight, Cliff! Love the airplane.

Well done Cliff, good work!

WELL that was real cool good job Cliff ,amazing stuff you build.

Well done Cliff. She looked very good. Elevons are a novel idea. Be nice to see her go on a sunny calm day if ever we get one!

Lovely model, great work and looks like a sweet flyer.

Great maiden flight Cliff, I thought the plane looked so stately in the air, a real classic!! You did an amazing job restoring the plane and I really enjoyed watching every step 😀👍

Absolutely love that plane, and good choice on the brown propellor, gives it a good vintage theme.

Nice model, really looks awesome in flight 👍👍👍

Looks good in the air.

Nice one Cliff. You've really brought this old model back to life. Looks great! Seems to glide really well? 🦅👍

Beautiful Cliff! Been keeping up on this build, very excited to see her in the air. I just bought my 1st 2 real RC planes, a week and a half prior i bought my 1st one in general and never flew a RC plane before.... im happy to say i only was crashing my 1st 2 days, ever since ive been flying decent. Yesterday i had it up about 4 min, did a couple of loops, i can even land! So im stepping it up to the foam one, then the wooden one after i master the foamy

Thanks!

Wind down windows, well that’s just showing off. A well turned out model. Considering what you started with, and the time and effort you put in. Well as the weather does improve over the next week or so means you can go flying. Fresh air and hopefully good company. Well done. 👍🏼

Nice flight, beautiful plane! I had a similar vibration sound with my Babby Buzzard Bombshell. Turned out the motor was cavitating its bearings at higher speeds and the wings resonated the sound.

Thoroughly enjoyed this series. Beautiful airplane, fun video! Especially liked the rear-facing camera angle!

Cliff the Mercury flew great, well done Sir. From the onboard video it like like the wing was slightly pulling up when throttling up. Whooa Jeff in LA USA

Congratulations on another successful Maiden Flight!!! Love the elevon mix. You mentioned effective at low speed; is there a problem at high speed?

Awesome Cliff 👍

wow cliff we have been waiting and here it is! nice job! love you mate.

Great stuff Cliff. Nice maiden considering the wind. Lovely model. Always entertaining. I appreciate the sharing of tips and tricks. I always learn something,

A very impressive maiden cliff, i've followed the mercury project from the start. Can't help thinking it has retained some of the ff flying characteristics for which the model was originally intended! Brilliant stuff, thank you for sharing.

Hi, I just opened Utube and noticed your model. Are you the gentleman I spoke with some time back? If so you'll remember I personally knew Mick Smith who designed the Mercury many years ago!

You did a wonderful job later it looks like you could even slope glide it

Absolutely BRILLIANT Cliff! So glad to see this beauty in the air. I learned on planes such as this back in the 1970's. My father converted many free-flight models into simple 3-channel RC ships, some 2-channel, and my original flight being on a single channel, rudder only. Your Mercury flew wonderful! The "wallowing" you describe is quite common for the type of model; these all feel kind of wallowing, floating, whatever you choose to use to describe the flight. That's perfectly fine, and all part of the experience. Congrats again on the successful maiden! Are you considering a slightly larger prop for more "pull" off the grass? Probably not needed, but might help to get her in the air depending on the amp pull based against electronics. I think she's about ready for the annual Cocklebarrow old timer gathering in the Cotswalds! Cheers mate!

Congrats on a successful maiden Cliff!. Why are the two elevator halves moving independently?

Very Nice. 👍👍👍

Maybe a touch of right thrust with a washer behind the motor? Both takeoffs look the same when it torqued to the left or add more right rudder on takeoff? Other than that great to finally see it fly beautiful plane I have an old timer I've been holding on to for years that I eventually I'm going to build I don't think it's quite as big as yours but I look forward to it😊

Commonly heard on vintage model flights....."It wont come down"

That is one beautifu

To make the hatch easier to remove you could put a bit of yarn at the magnet end. While it is flowing with the breeze, your pilot can use it for a yaw string! Such a good refurbishment you have done!

brilliant!

Very very nice, that motor sounds abit off to me, is the prop balanced as on higher rpm it sounds like vibration appears, not sure. Beautiful plane

Felecitation mon ami.

Camera crew did a great job. It was a great view from the plane too. Shame about the "jello" - probably due to that cowl vibration, so fix that and the video will be awesome!

Hi, I knew the original model and it's designer,Mick Smith many years ago in Africa !

That's about typical for vintage take off, get the power on and away from the ground. Great maiden

HA HA, great job Cliff.

Amei o voo gostei mesmo , eu possuo um rádio da mesma marca e modelo

Go with bigger balloon wheels.

The propeller is badly out of balance. Vibrated the hatch off and caused a load of jello in the onboard camera footage....You really need to replace it with an electric propeller. Thats an IC prop....It will wreck the plane if left.... Surprised you missed something so basic....Why are the elevators moving out of sync...?....Set up as Elevons? More questions than answers...🤔🤔😳😳🇬🇧

Mercury is meant for free flight not RC!

What a classic aircraft Cliff. So well built with loving care. Well done indeed👏👏👏👏