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Thought I would report on an unfortunate smash at the last PSS event, which looks awful but was actually repaired and back to flying condition within a couple of hours on the bench. The event was an impromptu meeting of the PSSA at the Great Orme on 29th December 2022. The winds were 55mph on the edge and with compression, but only 35mph where we stood, or rather kneeled as the gusts kept blowing you off your feet! I was looping the Spitfire across the slope, but the winds were so strong that I was being blown back towards the slope. Gradually the loops got closer. I pulled up elevator to bring the plane round then to my horror saw the Spitfire hit the ground in front of me. The compression had sucked the plane into the ground. If you look carefully, you will notice that it nearly made, hence getting away with little damage. It looks dramatic because the elevators and rudder were ripped out on impact and the weighted cowl sheered off. Stevie Kemp was videoing Phil Cooke's A4 Skyhawk, which you can just see in the distance when the Spitfire suddenly crashed right in front of him. A true "You've been framed" moment. Steve's daughter cleverly edited it into slow down mode, hence the strange audio.

I'm pretty sure the full size was dragged around by a bigger propeller than that.

The red thread lock did the trick after leaving it to dry for 24 hours. Wheel axles secured and it was a simple job to align the collets with the wheels such that they don't scrape on the spats. The clear silicone was applied to the U/C collars to secure them. The final look of the U/C looks pretty good. Probably the next job will be to fix the initial CoG using the internal layout of lipos, RX and switches/connectors. I will report back with a posting on another day.

The ‘Gathering’ (2 flying, 8 watching - a bit like Brit workmen)

I think post only get 'taken down' if they break the code of conduct - yours doesn't so there is no reason for it to be removed. Even if most people on here will disagree with the sentiment tbh. It is sad that you have had only bad experiences as I think there is definitely a lot to be gained from belonging to a club, irrespective of your place on the learning curve and experience. All clubs are different so taking up Simon's offer sounds good....... even if the end result is that you still prefer to be outside a club structure - lots of people do, and thoroughly enjoy the hobby. (I myself spent years flying outside a club, but I can't imagine going back to that position now). I would say that not all clubs are dying. Despite our rural location, and aging demographic, our numbers are stable, or even increasing by a few members a year. Some are even not yet retired! Whatever you decide, "happy flying, and safe landings".

Good start into 2023, the first two flights yesterday have been successful 🙂 The Whirlwind flies fine with a great speed range, from very slow to high speed. A bit of downward elevator has to be kept for a good takeoff run, mainly due to the high elevator position. Flying was great, very smooth and stable. Landings were easy and short. Flaps are efficient, especially full flap brings down the speed quickly but without pitchup, just a slight upwards tendency which I will correct with some downward elevator. Best wishes and a happy New Year, Timo

We had a flyable day yesterday and my 4 motor Lidl mini Glider RC conversion built with 4 very small 4 drone motors finally got off the ground. How did it go? 😁. Link to the build blog is at the end of the video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dblaEBBsxuw&list=PLLdle7NDE_1Y_XC3kjOSIUDJcRxVrhez-&index=1

Exactly, the Wot 4 has never been and never will be a trainer. For a start it has no dihedral and is therefore neutrally stable in roll; the wings need to be actively levelled by the pilot coming out of each turn, otherwise it will just spiral in. I suppose you could fit a satabiliser and fly it in 2D mode to simulate dihedral, but a purpose designed trainer will still be a better bet for 99% of learners IMO - the problem with stabilised models is that they can ingrain bad habits that are difficult to unlearn later.

A couple more. To see the rest please visit my flickr page. Kev`s flickr.

Well done that man, can’t beat a bit of a change/challenge.. bet it made your day

Nicked car, bit of speed, rock and hard place, ie against a brick wall, and I reckon the lid will open. But probably more difficult than bringing drones down. Bruce I dislike. He makes a habit of shades of untruths and causes mischief.

Brilliant, you have surpassed your usual high standards Bonzo. Great effort!.

"Deadstick!" at 5:50 (ish)

10 at a time is more than 30% of our membership 🙂. When I got in yesterday, my wife asked how many were there and said "gosh, busy then!" when I told her 4 of us were there at once....... for the vast majority of the 5 hours, there were only 2 of us! I expect there'll be more at our indoor session this afternoon......

Nice work! I have the kit for the Fatty Corsair from the German company.......Erm I must get round to building it. LINK To Scale Park Flyer DE K B

I think you can do that with just about any brand using Rx's on the same protocol. Phil Green, of this parish, was the first person I'd read of using this system. He posted some years ago that when required he could temporarily convert a glider to take a electric power pod using a small second Rx plus ESC in the pod for motor control.

02Jan2023 Kerloch again, it is -4 this time. The ground is frozen. It is a lovely sunny day with no wind.. Great day out..

14Dec2022 -9 degrees an d some are skiing around while we had a great flying at our club site at Kerloch, albeit with belly landers as the snow was soft.

Today's progress: Added the tailplane. Made a fin and added a strip of 1/32" ply to the tailplane to prevent accidental damage, or a 'folding'... The assembled tailplane is fitted to the fus with a couple of cocktail sticks to support it. Once fully dried I will add a strip of foam each side to make the tail end a little stiffer. Next was the spinner.... It's not easy to find ultra-lightweight spinners at 140mm diameter. So this is made from foam. This stuff came free with my freezer,,, There's a great tutorial making use of XPS here: A really neat idea making use of a bottle and cap to make a 2 piece spinner. There is a tutorial on the flitetest youtube channel, but I can't recommend it. They suggest final spacing with the prop in place. No chance I will be doing that... Anyways, mine came out well. One point, I suggest reversing your drill to prevent the screw constantly loosening. And today's cuteness shot: I need to check my sums for the tailplane as it looks a bit big. He says Ironically... Anyways, that was 1 1/2 hours today and mostly because making the spinner was a new technique. The evils of work return tomorrow, so progress will slow now. Shame as it's nearly done! Graham

Back to the Original Post. Concerning insurance, clay shooting is a recognised Sport and may be covered under insurance. It maybe that the clay shooting club's insurance would cover the activity and I would certainly look into that, after all they have asked you, seems to me they should be doing the insuring. I suspect they have some kind of cover for stray "clays".

Just to keep up with the phone users, here's one from the past 🙄

I scratch built a Sunderland back in 2010, (still have it), some balsa framing but mostly using Depron foam. Flown it off water and of grass, (very short sports ground grass), sliding on its belly). No plans, just making it up as I went along. Span - 90" Detachable outer wing panels for transport, and/or complete wing Motors - Keda KD 2217/16 brushless, 1050kv Props - GWS 8 x 6 x 3 blade Lipos - 2 x 4500mAh 3s one for the inner pair, one for the outer pair Weight - 7Lbs-2oz flying. Uses differential throttle, Spektrum rc gear. Ray.

Arrrrrr I see. Back in the day I was told a photo is worth a 1000 words. Crap then, crap now. Anyway, Bruce does not get better with age. I take Phillip Lewis’s point, dress a lie up as the truth, and it can get transformed.

Higher than that, once my Christmas Turkey reached 45.000 feet in the hold.😆

Maybe you can contact the UK Caa, they even have information on hexa drones that can fly at 30.000 feet at 500 klm/h,,,

Why would it not be legal ? if both parties consent flyer and shooter then what's the problem . Its been going on for ages at one place or another . Provided its a private area with ample space around then whats the harm ? Better than shooting a living creature surely .

A group of us designed and flew target drones for several shoots back in the day. Overall, we must have made at least ten models. White water pipe for fuz and cover for engine. Simple Correx delta shaped wing and fin. MDS .40 power?! "Flash-Bang" charges taped to model. We had a huge amount of fun developing the models, the hardest bit being getting the engines to run reliably!. They turned out to be very difficult to hit, and on several occasions we had to fly lower and slower, so the row of guns could obtain some decent hits. Even when one group decided to use solid tracer shot, we never had one shot down, although by the end of the day they were scrap!. Fantastic fun, and a great project.

I’ve shot at these, there is a commercial supplier to large corporate clay shoots who called them Darts, from memory. Crucially, they carry thunder flashes on the underside and scoring is by the number of visible explosions, not by the destruction of the plane. They are .40 size foam deltas which are launched from a catapult ramp and the entire works are in a steel plated module at the front, engine, tank, Rx and battery. These are made to swap over quickly but I did not observe the control linkages . Probably, they fly on elevons as perfect aerodynamics are scarcely needed. All they need to do is launch cleanly then display their underside as they pass the guns. They need a surprising amount of lead (that’s forward allowance for the antis). I imagine you would find something online with enough effort. Hope this helps. BTC

Once it had stopped snowing, three of us made it to the patch. Fantastic session with our float planes, caravan heater on full and gossip and mini rolls.......bliss!