Leaderboard
Popular Content
Showing content with the highest reputation on 11/08/23 in all areas
-
Thanks Ian and Gary. To put this into context, a few days ago Ken posted a joke which contravened forum rules. In an attempt to point this out in a light-hearted manner I made a few changes which anonymised the target stereotype hoping that it would make the point. Unfortunately this light touch approach seems to have fallen on stony ground and a further example which arguably contravened the CoC was highlighted. In either case, the jokes would have been just as funny without reference to a particular community, whether specific or implied. Let's end the debate here - this thread is for humour and not philosophical debate over modern sensibilities and publishing responsibilities. I'm happy to discuss this further by PM if anyone has a major issue with this request.5 points
-
And so it begins. Short kit from Caramba. https://carambamodels.com/joomla/en/short-kits/nostalgia/234-kwilk-fli-mk3 Spent an hour this afternoon plucking out the laser cut parts - easy job. A few of the 6mm sheets were ever so slightly cupped however I'm not seeing a problem. It'll be electrically powered with a setup that weighs about the same as the OS AX55, which was the alternative.4 points
-
A bit breezy today but it was down the strip. A few flights with my WOT4+, on both 4s and 5s and a flight with the Hurricane which was excellent (it has now developed a supercharger whistle!) but I rushed the landing (pickup truck coming down the strip!) and veered off into the long stuff but no damage. Unfortunately after that forced landing it wouldn't fire up on both cylinders so as I had to leave early anyway, I called it a day on the Hurri.4 points
-
I've been with Futaba since 1986 and never had a reason to change. You know the old saying, if it's not broke don't fix it. My current transmitter a Futaba 9c Super 2.4 Fasst was bought in the year 2000 and still like brand new. I honestly hope that Futaba will be around for generations to come.4 points
-
Yes enjoyable day Kevin, took an assortment of models and flew them all bar the lightweight depron Skysteak, look forward to the next one.3 points
-
3 points
-
Whether or not Ripmax are the distributors, someone will pickup Futaba in the UK - they still have many devoted fans here (though in terms of sales and market share they have declined in the last 10 years). For that reason I wouldn’t be worried about a lack of support if you were to buy a new set, though personally there are many many brands I’d pick over Futaba given how they have fallen behind in terms of features, plus I’ve never really got on with their programming.3 points
-
Photos of the new silencer below. I've added a baffle around the exhaust port that will also stop the stainless steel scourer entering the engine. The baffle also adds support to stop the silencer being crushed when the bolts are tightened. Just need to fit and seal it on to the engine and carry out some testing. If this doesn't work i'm not quite sure what to do next other than experimenting with props or possibly fitting a header and cannister.2 points
-
The plane is blow moulded and ideal for water. It has given me many years of pleasure and joy at the lake and the fourstroke engine just adds to the experience.2 points
-
2 points
-
2 points
-
Instead of hogging Martin's Magister resurrection thread. I thought it's time to start my own thread. This is my build log of my current restoration and electric conversion I started a couple of months ago. The model is the largest of the few scale models that Bowman produced, at 85 inches and 10 1/4lbs, designed by Dave Banham in 1997. These scale kits were intended to be easy to build with a budget price tag, that allowed the modeller to add as little or as much to the model in the way of detail, as they liked. A few months back, not one but two Bowman Kits Miles Magister appeared on eBay. First was a complete airframe, nicely built, but old and needing a lot of TLC. The main issue, as you will see from the pictures, was the condition of the veneer on the foam wings, which had badly split and delaminated. Then out of the blue came the second one, an incomplete kit part built. Two things attracted me, the fibreglass cowl and spats and the wings were there and untouched. Well, it occurred to me that hopefully there would be enough parts between the two, to turn out one very nice electric powered example. I did chuckle when the seller messaged me saying, the kit was her late fathers (ex proprietor of the model shop in Hemel Hempstead), and that they had thought they had cleared his stash. That was until their mum passed, and they started clearing her house, only to find a large second stash, that she was sure her mother had no idea about! It was at this point I thought maybe I should mention my next purchase to my own dear lady The up shot of all this was I had two trips up and down the M3 and M25 around London to go collect my new toys. One thing I hadn't fully taken into account was just how long a one piece wing 85 inches is, until I was trying to fit it in the back of my estate car! Anyhow, with a bit of trial and error, we got there. The plan I had in my head for this model was, first work out a plan of attack for the wing veneers & or replace it with the one from the other kit. Unfortunately, the CTR section of that wing has also suffered bad delamination after being removed from its outer cores for many years. Then there was the electric conversion, and to that end I was thinking along the lines of a 6S power system to replace the 91/120 four stroke. The intent initially was to use the new cowl to save on patching up the old one. I'll expand on this later. I was hoping to retain as much of the patina of the original model, as it was obvious that who ever built it originally was an accomplished modeller. Unfortunately, the more I inspected the model, the more little issues I found. Rather than ending up with a patch work of repairs, I came to the conclusion that a total refurb was going to be the way. I'll catch up with the progress I've made over the intervening moths in the next few posts, but this will do for now.1 point
-
Evening all, I recently finished an old Galaxy Models Mystic that I have powered with an RCGF Stinger 26cc rear exhaust engine. The model has had 2 flights and performs well but unsurprisingly the engine is rather loud with the standard silencer. I have made a new silencer from aluminium using Durafix Easyweld to join the parts together. The new silencer is twice the volume of the standard silencer and uses "stinger tubes" to act as baffles. I have run the engine with the new silencer but have not taken dB readings yet. There are a few things that need modifying (plug cap is just touching the surface of the silencer for one) so i will need to make an improved mk2 version. I have found loads of information with regard to effective canister silencer design but there appears to be very little for the pitts style of box silencers. I was wondering if anyone has any good advice with regard to effective silencer design or could recommend something that has worked well for them? I was wondering if fitting a couple of perforated baffle plates between the exhaust inlet and stinger tubes would make a big difference? I've attached a few photos of the model with the standard silencer and home made item. Thanks, Matt1 point
-
LMA Elvington this Saturday/Sunday 12th/13th. No connection but as it's on my doorstep thought they could use the support for the effort needed to put on a show with a trade presence. David Ashby put it in the calendar back in the spring but seen nothing since so - bump LMA Elvington1 point
-
This might be of interest to some of you. I bought a couple of old Laser 75's at a swap-meet earlier this year. Both have decent compression so thought I would give them a refurb. I originally intended to convert one to a marine unit as a marine four-stroke sounds really good . However the cost of some brass rod of the diameter needed was rich so shelved the idea for now. I wanted brass as our local lake is brackish and it kills alloy in short order . I might have a go later making a water jacket from alloy and use a heat exchanger so not to cause damage to engine . Anyway with engines all cleaned and ready to re-assemble using new bearings i found i had to make a replacement PTFE gudgeon pin pad as one mysteriously disappeared ? Piston rings seemed ok so after removing and cleaning the grooves were re-fitted . I decided to brighten them up by anodising some of the casings . The results can be seen below . All parts were done in the same bath at the same time but obviously the different alloys take up the dye at different rates . Im currently looking for a couple of laser mufflers if anyone has a couple lying around . The ones i have have been battered and dented so a couple of fresher ones would be nice . If you have anything let me know but no silly prices please.1 point
-
Ypu should also consider the Frsky X18 or X20, both of which are modern sets with good ergonomics and excellent build quality, and use (proprietary) ETHOS firmware which is more straightforward than OpenTX but almost as flexible. Frsky also have more affordable telemetry sensors and RXs than Jeti or Futaba, with plenty of functionality built in as std (certainly significantly more than the Futaba you are considering). Frsky TXs at T9Hobbysport1 point
-
My first venture into RC was with Fleet gear in 1984, and I acquired a second Fleet Tx a couple of years later. I never had any problems with it, but decided I didn't really like hand held transmitters, so moved to a Multiplex 3030 in 1992. I liked the Multiplex transmitter and its operating system (like an early version of Open Tx) so much that I eventually got myself a Multiplex 4000 as well (which was even more like open Tx would become). Round about 2009 I converted the 4000 to 2.4 GHz with the installation of a module from ACT in Germany and used that along with the ACT receivers for several years. As that started to show signs of age I began looking for a replacement and obviously investigated Open Tx equipment, but couldn't find any hardware I liked (i.e. not handheld). In 2012 a couple of people I know bought some of the first Jeti Tx (the DC16) imported into the UK, and I liked the look of it. A few months later Jeti started selling the handheld DS16 and one guy decide he would prefer that, so I bought his DC16 off of him in early 2013 and have been using that Tx exclusively since then. I have no complaints about any of the radio gear I have used, but the changes have been made for other good reasons. I am now very pleased with the Jeti gear and cannot see me changing again as my current Tx has proved completely reliable and still seems like new after 11 years of use. Dick1 point
-
Mine also had an Irvine 46 in at first, marvellous flyer and just as nice as an early electric conversion with a Twister 60 brushless and 16xGP3300mah Nimhs.1 point
-
Futaba T8j is my main radio and still use my FF7 for some models still on 35. They just work, even my M series from the 70's on 27 band still works so I will stick with Futaba.1 point
-
The elephant in the room is the wing veneer, how to tackle it was the first issue to deal with. Repair or replace the obeche veneer with new were the two options. I’d been looking around for obeche, but the largest I could find was only 4" wide sheets. There is an alternative however, Poplar, and you can buy this in large sheets. Not a veneer I'd heard of before so asked around and apparently, poplar is of a similar density to obeche and also slightly stronger but, is softer and more porous, so it will most likely soak up more paint/glue. In the end, I started experimenting with a repair scheme, and touch wood it seems to be working OK, and it goes like this. 1/ Open up the crack. 2/ Wick in glue. 3/ Clean up. 4/ Pull the split together with tape. 5/ Lay packing on top to add pressure to the split area. 6/ Use what's at hand to apply weight. 7/ Leave it a day to go off. To finish I've sanded it back to the veneer then glassed over the wing. It’s time-consuming, but seems to be working even on the larger ones just need to make sure you get all the voids are filled with glue.1 point
-
From the album: My Models Past & Present
Coverite GeeBee Type D at Epsom Downs 9th Aug 20231 point -
Grew up on Futaba 35meg using FF6 and then 9. My first 2.4ghz set was a Spectrum DX6i bundled with a Blade heli. I bought more rx's for it, used it in my parkfly and electric stuff. It seemed to work ok, but it felt cheap and flimsy, the pots needed cleaning from time to time and i seemed to always be falling apart. It would also loose its bind and seemed quite a faff. So when the time came to buy 2.4ghz for my big fixed wing (mandated for show flying) i stuck to what i knew with Futaba and bought the 8j. Its been great, no complaints beyond the lack of servo slow in the software or flap sliders on the side like my FF9. I still use my FF9 for about half my fleet as i had a bunch of fully functional 35meg rx's and saw no reason to bin them.1 point
-
Similar history to Peter - when I returned to model flying I started out with second hand earlier FF7 35MHz 4 model memory transmitter eventually upgrading to a FF9. I was very happy with Futaba 35MHz although their 2.4 MHz equipment seemed expensive when it was eventually launched. To be quite frank, their range of different protocols both confuses me and in my opinion makes their desirability rather questionable. When Jeti announced their original transmitter modules with telemetry to plug into the Futaba transmitter in 2019 I bought one immediately as I had long desired feedback capability and with receivers significantly cheaper than Futaba standard ones soon amassed a good selection of receivers and telemetry modules. I resisted the temptations of the rather pricey DS16 transmitter - although still a lot less than the high end Futaba transmitters - for a year or so until I nearly lost a model to what I believe was a connecting pin problem between the module and transmitter. Although easily resolved, it gave me the excuse to invest in the proper Jeti transmitter back in 2013 and I'm just reaching its 10th anniversary. It's had week in week out use and never missed a beat - in fact it's grown to 24 channel capability and picked up many software functionality upgrades without cost so that it is a significantly better transmitter now than when it was new! There are no signs of wear and tear and even the battery maintains capacity so the not insignificant cost is starting to look like a great investment at a couple of pounds a week over the first decade of use. Even my earliest receivers continue to be compatible with the latest software and transmission protocols although have less functions than the later programmable versions. While other systems have caught up in functionality, many of their users have had to replace their equipment more than once during this time so there may be more than a grain of truth in the "buy cheap buy twice" mantra. When Taranis/OpenTX came along, I did wonder whether I might have gone that way had I not been so invested into Jeti by then but I have no reason to regret my choice and no plans to go anywhere else. Spektrum appear to be moving up the expense ladder for their more capable models and I suspect that my head would be drawn to Radiomaster if I were forced to change - but for some reason the one glaring omission from their impressive multi-protocol list is Jeti Duplex!1 point
-
You've fried the regulator part of your esc, my guess. At a minimum. Probably a new esc is needed. C8 is right about checking the rx internals. They're probably OK - but probably isn't definitely. Lesson is, don't connect a battery to the output of a regulator...1 point
-
Have a look at Mike Shelim's website at rcsoar.com. He has some excellent templates ready written to download onto your Otx transmitter that will take all the grief out of seting up your 4 servo wing glider.1 point
-
SLEC and Southern Modelcraft fuels are but no Balsa Cabin according to their websites.1 point
-
No its our video. The bar is that size as we do a larger diameter job (the rocker spacer) from the same material at the same time and it saves breaking the machine down and resetting all the chucks. That said, the boss did mention he wasnt able to get hold of the normal stuff we use and had to go larger as there are shortages of everything at the moment. Realistically these should be injection moulded. The initial cost for that is high, but over 40 years we would have more than made it back. If anyone ever invents time travel i will pop back to the 80's and mention it!1 point
-
Sunny, warm, gentle breeze here on East Yorks coast. Quite busy for our club: 'old' Kev brought his P51, and Wot 4 XL, but didn't bring the rx or ignition batteries for the Wotty, gtrr 'new' Kev brought his Funfly, Galaghad, and big IMAbeast - what a plane, deffo the biggest in our club Ian M had a few refresher flights on the Apprentice Peter had a go on the Apprentice Tony flew the wings 9ff his Zoom and lovely EFlite Yak I broke the undercarriage of my P51 and trashed my Ruckus.. 😟 And all our cars got filled with rubbish from the Combine Harvesters....1 point
-
A certain Mr. Cooke is going to give me a demo on how he does it so I'm hoping not to make too much of a mess of mine.1 point
-
That is such a beautiful grass runway. Cut to perfection.1 point
-
1 point
-
Oh.....not great....:-( underside now sanded and is flat.....a couple of areas to lightly fill with light filler but pretty happy.....top and bottom now complete...can now finish leading edge of center section.1 point
-
I picked up a BL chipmunk with a 40cc MVS engine in it a couple of years ago in a moment of madness. I'd just gotten back into the hobby and I thought it might be a good deal. 2 years later and I've still never fettled it into flying condition. I have a couple of questions if anyone in the know could help I'd be grateful. So this one I bought has the wings secured by way of the previous owner screwing from the top of the wing into the end of the wing joiner tube. God knows why! So there are no wing joiny bolts/nuts for the tabs from the wing to the fuse. Can anyone advise or show me a picture of these bolts? Also, at the leading and trailing edge of the wing root, there should be a stud or similar to help locate the wing into the fuse - again these seem to be missing - I thought they were M6 threaded but an M6 bolt slips in so they're not that. Does anyone know what the thread size is? I'm sure I will have many more questions... Hopefully someone can help out. I can take some pictures to show what I'm on about if it helps. Thanks! Dave1 point
-
All is as expected from your description. The Futaba charger is designed for a four cell pack, so its not surprising the check led was dimming after a short time and only charging at a very low rate. Stick with the Ultramat at 300mA and all will be well. I'm not familiar with your Graupner charger, but if it has a discharge facility, use it to cycle the pack occasionally to check for capacity/weak cells. Just my preference, but avoid fast charging if at all possible.1 point
-
I think all is well JB Nominal voltage is 1.25V per cell and off load this will be higher so 7.17V is as expected at this stage. For belt and braces checking of new packs (having had failures in the past) I fully charge them and then connect up an old car sidelight bulb which, in my case draws a couple of amps. I can visually check that (a) the pack can provide a decent current and (b) that it has about the right duration - depends on your bulb & battery combination but I also check with DVM too. Finally, if all is well, don't forget to re-charge!1 point