radio model aircraft

The fascination of flight captured Chris’s imagination early on in his life when he started building, from kits and plans, simple free flight gliders and rubber powered models. By his early teens Chris was already experimenting with his own designs, several of which have been featured as constructional plans in a number of aeromodelling magazines.

It wasn’t long before his fiercely competitive nature started to show itself, with Chris focusing his energies into competing at national level with his own high performance free flight gliders.

In due course, Chris became tempted by the affordability of simple and fairly reliable radio control equipment, so by 1967 he had already designed, built and flown his first radio controlled glider. By 1976 his career in the architectural profession came to an end when he decided to channel his knowledge and experience into a full time kit manufacturing business, ‘Chris Foss Designs’. It soon developed into one of the UK’s most successful and respected R/C model businesses, offering a range of stylish and quality products.

With the advent of reliable and advanced radio control systems Chris was able to expand his competition flying with considerable success. His competition highlights include becoming 1977 British National Thermal Soaring Champion, 1986 British National Scale Champion, placing 4th at the 1986 World Scale Championships in Norway, placing 6th at the 1992 World Scale Championships in the USA, and winning both 1992 and 1993 ‘Radioglide’ National Thermal Soaring Championships.

In the late 70s Chris joined the local gliding club and achieved his ambition to actually fly himself! A few years later he expanded into powered flight and qualified for his Private Pilot’s Licence. By 2010 Chris had accumulated nearly 3000 flying hours in various gliders and a wide variety of light aeroplanes, including a vintage Piper Cub, Jungmann aerobatic biplane, glider tow planes and his favourite, a Vans RV8 American aerobatic kitplane.