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Meet the Megamodels and Academy School Flyers Team
Roy Lever is the driving force behind Megamodels and the Academy Flying School.
He has been involved in Model Flying since 1944, and created Powermax and Harden Associates before concentrating on MegaModels. He still manufactures Jet-X fuel and motors as well as custom building the superb Merlin 8 channel PCM radio system.
Currently he is filming a second series of Model Mania for the Discovery Channel, and has appeared on Plane Crazy, also for Discovery.
He has flown models in many historic films including “The Barnes Wallis Story” for which he built and flew the biggest model Lancaster ever seen
As a result of Roy’s achievements in the seventies he has met many famous aviators including the late Group Capt. Sir Douglas Bader, CBE, DSO, DFC, Sir Barnes Wallace, CBE, FRS and also Group Capt. Leonard Cheshire, VC, DSO, DFC. He is well known not only throughout the North West but also in Europe for his shows and large model aircraft firsts such as the Lancaster Bomber and Concorde featured on this page.
Despite being about 150 years old Roy is still a Chief Flying Instructor with the BMFA, flies everything from Tutor trainers to the latest and fastest jets every weekend (weather permitting), runs the BMFA Nationals Frequency Control system, and regularly writes for the model press. His current winter project is a 20 ft span Canberra powered by two Jet Cat Turbines
The 20 foot span Lancaster, powered by 4 60CC 2-stroke engines, first flew in 1977, and continued to operate successfully at shows until the mid-80’s.
Roy famously flew the model standing up in a car driving down the runway at Woodvale.
The Concorde was the first ever flying model of the famous supersonic jet, flown and displayed at shows all over the country. Roy’s ideas on a moveable Centre of Gravity so impressed the full size Concorde Engineers that he flew the model at Filton Aerodrome where the full-size testing programme took place.
The picture shows Roy with Brian Trubshaw, Chief Test Pilot on the full size Concorde project
Roy’s Vulcan remains the only model to be powered by 4 Pulse Jets in the World.
Shown here amazing the crowds at various shows, the model spans 12 feet and achieves flying speeds of over 200mph.
The Vulcan, although piloted by Roy, is owned by the Academy Trust. The model is now retired it can still be seen hanging in the workshop at Megamodels
Ryan Lever
Ryan Lever has been involved in models all his life, and is now a permanent fixture in the Megamodels shop.
He is an expert with i.c. powered r/c cars as well as an excellent flier. For newcomers to model cars Ryan will teach drivers how to start the cars, keep them in top condition, and explain the mechanics of the cars
He is the Academy’s resident left-handed instructor, and regularly shows off his flying skills with all sorts of models from electric scale through to turbine powered jets
Ryan getting to grips with model aircraft at an early age
John Jordan “JJ”
“JJ” is MegaModels resident engine-fettler and model checker.
He checks out models for members of the Academy Flying School, and carries out safety checks for models.
He is also to be found checking out r/c cars for any Megamodels customers, and so is extremely busy all year round.
He is a fully qualified mechanic, and builds superb aircraft witha variety of unusual engines. His latest project is a Piper Cub with an OS Pegasus Flat twin 4-stroke engine. Rumour has it that JJ can fly, but mostly he spends his time at the field tinkering with engines, either his own or other club members if they let him!
Peter Maw
Peter has been involved in model flying on and off since the late 1960’s, and has been with the Academy Flyers for the last eight years. He is a BMFA Instructor, and claims to be able to crash any type of plane in a spectacular fashion. He has had articles published in RCM&E and Model Flyer as well as appearing in Plane Crazy for the Discovery Channel