Editorial

We have sizzler of a heat wave and our E-day event behind us, which are two phenomena that somehow came together in one rather unique weekend this year. After twenty-five years, we changed the timing of the event from autumn to summer, and summer showed us what it can do leaving no doubt for this change we put into practice. The climate, not only at the exhibition site, was truly hot and corresponded more to North Africa or southern Arizona than to Central Europe. At the nearby meteorological station in Doksany, the temperature record of 40.8oC fell on Saturday, and from Friday we were bombarded with warnings of high temperatures and the associated high health risks. This probably discouraged the lay public in particular, as attendance was affected by a roughly 30% drop compared to last year's numbers. It was similar with competition models, where the drop compared to last year was some 40%. Here, it is probably not the heat that is to blame, but rather the distaste of some Czech modelers for two-day and generally multi-day events. We probably won't be able to do much about it, but I'm convinced that it won't actually be a limit for the future of E-day, just as the weekend's infernal heat wasn't. Technical equipment, fans, water stations, hats, sunscreen, drinks and ice cream are all necessary to combat the heat. The combination of all of this helped us survive the heat and enjoy both days. There were a total of five recorded medical interventions at the exhibition grounds during the entire event, and none of them were related to extreme temperatures. Katka Borecká's water gates and the volunteer firefighters from Litoměřice, who sprinkled the exhibition grounds with water several times, deserve a big thank you!

When we were preparing the first E-Day in Litoměřice last year, in the autumn, it was clear to us that the exhibition grounds would not allow us to hold flight demonstrations, but thanks to its structure, prepared for agricultural and gardening exhibitions, it would allow us to prepare an interesting accompanying program. This was confirmed last year, but it turned out that one day was not enough for such a varied event as can be done at the Litoměřice exhibition grounds. Even so, the one-day format of the event brought time conflicts, especially in organizing the competition. There was simply very little time left to evaluate such a large number of models, tabulate the results and announce them and present the awards. It brought stress, tension and reduced the quality of the entire competition. From this it followed that E-day had long been talking about returning to a two-day format. Another finding from last year was that the grounds are good for organizing a model exhibition and competition, but that good weather is needed for the success of any event there. Organizing an event there in October is problematic, the latest limit is set at the end of September. And unfortunately, this presents a conflict with the end of the agricultural season and every weekend there's some kind of an event being held. Mostly related to agriculture, of course. The solution was quite simple, to move the exhibition from the end of the agricultural season to its beginning. The viable period for this year and for next year is in June. For 2027 it's June 18th to the 20th.

As for the aversion to two-day events that some people hold dear to their hearts, there ain’t much we can do about that. Those who don't want to attend, won't. Simple. We will continue to stick to the two-day format, starting again next year with competition model registration and first presentations on Friday early evening and ending with the awards ceremony on Sunday around 2pm. The structure of the program will be the same as this year, and some specific points will of course be different. As you already know, or you will learn from today's newsletter, we would like to have the MiG-29 Limited Edition kit in 1:48 scale and the Spitfire Mk.IX in the Hybrid 1:32 range for sale at E-Day next year. So you can expect a significant part of the accompanying program to revolve around these kits and these aircraft. The catering will also have the same or a similar standard, including an ice cream stand, which was probably more popular than beer as part of the refreshments, given the obvious. I only had six large ice creams on Saturday. We will also repeat the Saturday party including the concert. I was a little apprehensive about that idea, I have to admit, but it turned out well, too. It took almost twice as long as the planned hour and a half, and no one complained about the tunes from the neighboring houses.

What probably cannot be repeated are Sunday's opposition to more Mustangs, Spitfires and Messerschmitts and the Kuňkadlo in 1:24. It was, of course, a kind of a recession, created from a sudden impulse over a coffee, a protest was quickly called, carried out and dispersed. All participants enjoyed it, as well as the entire two days in Litoměřice. That is a brief assessment that practically everyone who was at E-Day agrees on.

Although we protested against the Mustang, more than 150 modelers still took the new kit from Litoměřice. Of the kits ordered as part of the pre-order, 730 still need to be sent to their home addresses. They should be manufactured and packaged during the first half of next week, and we will start sending them out in the second half. In total, we have orders for almost 4,000 kits so far. Production is running at full speed, and next week another twenty printers will arrive, which will further strengthen our production capacity. By the end of July, all ordered 1:32 scale P-51B Hybrids will be in their new homes.

Happy Modeling,

Vladimir Sulc