A View from Broadway

The Yeti from the Hobbins Hobbies kit, all framed up. Ken Burdick photo.

Hobbins Hobbies and the Yeti

By Ken Burdick

Yes Folks it’s true.

There is a juggernaut in the U.K. that is building Combat wings and other kits by the dozen.

Tim Hobbins of Hobbins Hobbies has been producing laser-cut Vintage Diesel Combat wings as well as some selected profile models such as the Peacemaker and Flite Streak. There's also the 1/2A Monoboom in a short kit and all other sizes of the M-boom.

Hyde Park, London.

Where to go

If you want the best in Fast Combat designs, you go to the U.S., if you want the best in vintage diesel combat, you go to the U.K. Here is the listing Tim offers and it seems to be growing daily. Email Tim for updates.

Typical of the best in Brittan, Tim uses the flat airfoil that is not too well known here in the U.S. The advantage is that it’s much more stable in windy conditions. We have lots of that in the here in the Northwest.  I have built many d-bats and know from learning the hard way, the value of braces used in Tim’s kits, these things really take a beating.

Yet another Yeti?

Jeff Rein decided on the Yeti years ago for Vintage Diesel Combat, but his were foam and became sponges soaked in diesel fuel before too long. Still, they flew great. I thought I would try one from a builder that knows just what to do. The kit arrived a week after it was sent from Hobbins Hobbies.

 The Yeti I see before me is well thought-out. A complete kit including bellcrank, elevator horn, leadouts, tubing, bicycle spoke pushrod, and all the little things kit-makers of today decide that you need to supply.

Perhaps the best thing is you get benefit of Tim’s combat experience in the “little things” he has included. We always learn that a brace is” needed here,” only after the fact.

The frosting on the cake was the fuel tank. It is an additional cost, but it’s perfect. A 3-ounce uniflow that is expertly soldered.

No way can I make one that nice. One of the things we all learned early on in Vintage Diesel Combat was the importance of the right fuel tank.

The fuel feed should be uniflow and feed tube on the bottom of the tank. Sure, you can put it elsewhere and once it starts, it will draw, but that little bit of added pressure the bottom feed provides, helps a balky diesel start right away.

Included in the kit are a set of construction plans. They show all brace positions and are more than adequate for construction. The kit built easily.

The Yeti kit. Ken Burdick photo.

The wood is excellent, not too heavy, not too soft. I really appreciated the pre-glued motor mount to the plywood nacelle, it just slips right on the center rib and braces. It will be attached after covering along with the booms and tailfeathers.

So, lil' geezers, if you are looking for a kit, Hobbins Hobbies should be considered. If you have a custom model, (vintage U.S. Combat wings), Tim will work with you on your project.

Here are Tim’s notes of the Yeti:

The Yeti

Back in the 1960s no one ever used a Yeti in Class A Combat competitions. Even John Dixon, the designe,r admitted that it had only ever been a practice model used by him and his colleagues, powered with a Webra Mach 2 if memory serves me right. The Mach 2 was a heavy old motor. However, somehow it got onto the approved list in the early 90s and it’s been there ever since. No bad thing really because it’s a bit of a sweetheart.

There was originally only the Mk1 version, with an oval tail and twin booms. It was and still is one of the best looking vintage models and it flies so well. After a while, it was discovered that there were 2 other versions, the filled in boom version, which has the area between the booms sheeted,in reality it’s become a wide monoboom with ply spars top and bottom, some folk think this is easier to build. Also the Mk2 version, which had a different shaped tail, Not many folk use the Yeti these days but it used to dominate Vintage Combat, Mike Loughlin always used to use them with very fast Harrison motors, Dave Harrison would turn up with impossibly beautiful ones and Richard Evans had some lovely ones in various colours, I well remember a blue one with a red pod, Many others built Yetis too, it was very popular along with the Chaos. The booms were always a bit of an issue though so when the filled in version was introduced that became very popular and folk stopped building the boomy version. I always found the monoboom version a chore to cover because you had to cover the whole tailplane but I did build several. The Mk2 version was largely overlooked because you cannot fill in the booms area. 
Bear with me......

So, here is my Yeti kit, this one is a Mark 2 and its off to Canada to a chap with impeccable taste. I think the Boom version of the Yeti flies marginally better, (tighter, better recovery and stability) than the filled in boom version. And I also think it looks way better. As Giorgio Armani always says, there is something very cool about a twin boom model. 

Is it as good as a Piranha XL? Probably yes and it doesn’t look ridiculous.

I've made the tailplane and booms double strong, the tailplane has a ply stiffener and the booms are 3 laminations of 1.6 ply and they plug into the supporting ribs after covering, so building it is a doddle.

Full kit as shown here at the pre Brexit price of £22.00. (about $30.00 usd not including tank).

Delivery is about 3 weeks

Be cool, build a Yeti.

And this one, too ...

Another of Hobbins' kits is the Nemesis II, designed by the Northwest's own Howard Rush. The parts and plans are shown below. Price is £25.00, or about $33.

-- Kennyb 

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This page was upated March 8, 2019