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From an event at my club at the weekend.

15 years ago I worked in a hobby shop. A guy came in with his wife looking to buy a rc car for himself. He found a monster truck he liked. His wife looked at the price tag and asked if it was realy necessary to spend so much money on a toy car. Being a salesman I tried to help, so I asked the wife how much it cost the last time she was at the hairdresser. She looked at me and said , « I think its time for you to shut up now». True story.

RCM&E Scottish Aviation Pioneer. Just finished engine to be run in and Maiden flightPioneer .zip

But probably restricted to 20mph in Wales.

I can't believe I am not the only one who's imagination was way off on a different tangent 😁

SWIMBO Actual Meaning:- She Who Irritates Me Beyond Others

There is a bit of a knack to diesel flicking and it takes a little practice. I often see people flicking engines from the shoulder like swinging a very small rounders bat at their engine. In reality a little flick with the wrist is all you need and it helps to get it right near the hub. Its also important you make sure the prop is in the right position and i favour about 20 minutes to 2 position for the start of the compression stroke. After that it is a matter of getting to fuel and compression right, and that too takes practice. Once it fires up i normally need to crank a good bit of extra compression in the first few seconds to keep it running. My PAW149 is also really pants at shooting the prime up from the crankcase to the cylinder. This could be due to the fact that i rarely run it so its all gummy. In any event, a port prime with fuel usually gets it fired up in short order.

Have we had apostrophe’s yet?

Brownie points are like green shield stamps were Takes ages to get enough then gone in a flash with one purchase.

Brownie points are the most useful commodity for the married man and much sought after but they tend to be ephemeral, losing all value in a moment of misunderstanding.

72" depron Spitfire mk1 built by eflightray.

Blimey Toto, that's a pretty comprehensive set of tools and consumables! I build all the time and make do with some aliphatic resin and a spoon... 😀

Hi Toto I have been reading all your threads and have enjoyed doing so. I shall follow this one with much interest and am sure you will do a splendid job. Good luck with the stick time and keep at it, as said by others it is a great hobby. Regards Tony J

SWIMBO was having a sneaky look in my workshop. "well she said, thats a nice wing, it'll fit fine onto the car" How can I ever tell her, it was the tail for my Keil Kraft falcon ernie

"Facts" get used to suit viewpoints, I use plenty MG servos, not replaced gears once, plastics have been replaced, but only off crashed models. Minefield choosing servos because there are so many now, choose one then google it for reviews or ask on a forum, other than that it's choose according to specs and trusting the seller. I've usually gone for popular brands and rarely been let down, never done a gear via catching a surface (hanger rash) and I'm clumsy. Lastly, someone who's only ever used standards isn't the best person to ask, which servo ? answers usually "Standards".

On acquiring a new airplane my late wife would ask if I had any that I had not flow for 2 or 3 years then consider a 1 for 1 replacement process? Post crashing a favorite Black Horse model and not being able to find the discontinued version in the UK, she managed to source one from somewhere in Europe as a birthday present. On the flip side when she said she was going to buy a horse then clearly my answer was yes, but only one! PS When she built a Peter Miller Ohman the logical place was the kitchen table...result as that set the precedent 🙂

Don't forget that's a competition fun fly airframe, all out light weight is top priority, day in day out sport model type durability isn't... pilots in the winners circle will have "a few spares" on hand to account for attrition. The Corona is £10 or thereabouts a throw, so in terms of overall competition spend it's, well, probably considered expendable. Going up a size to the DS-339MG at 32g, for four servos is only adding 40g or 1.5oz overall and whilst us average mortals will not notice the difference in flight performance, we might notice e.g. a lack of elevator, if the gears strip.

The one that got me into so much trouble once was.... Wife: " Do you have to go flying with your mate ALL Weekend !...? " Me: " Do I really have to sit her telling you those jeans make ur butt look fat...?? " I lost count of the number of bruises I ended up with......🤣

What does the I in SWIMBO come from? It’s something I’ve noticed in many references recently. I always assumed it related to the classic Rumpole of the Bailey expression, “She Who Must Be Obeyed”.

Brownie Points...... Thats dead easy...... I found personally The more money I let my wife spend the more brownie points I get that allows me to go flying all day both Saturday & Sunday every weekwend...... Either that or by time the weekend comes round shes glad to get rid of me for 2 days in a row.....LOL

Well I've been lucky enough to be married for last 56 years to a very personable and tolerant woman. We've had lots of fun doing things both together (motor cycling, sailing, pedal cycling, walking) and separately (see 'together' also aeromodelling (me) and yoga (her)). Never had any need for brownie points. It was when she lent me her brand-new Mini to take the engine of my also brand-new BSA Lightning back to BSA for essential repairs just a few weeks after we first met in 1965 that I realised she was a keeper. I've never (well, rarely 🙂 ) regretted it. She's my best friend and a lot cleverer than I am.

The Antipodean influence is not to be overlooked, with the infuriating rising interrogative turning every statement into a question. It’s like so totally dumb, OMG, innit?

Superb weather currently in central France. I flew the £40 Super Frontier fitted with a Laser 80 using the new low oil fuel recommended for newer Lasers by the factory. One of our younger members flew my old WOT 4 which I'd given away. He's made a lovely job restoring it but then he does work in the bodyshop of the local VW agency. Check out the paint job on his flight box. We had a couple of female trainee pilots put in a flight or two on the buddy box too.

I believe that brownie points can be exchanged for the much sought after 'pink ticket'. The bearer of a pink ticket is able to do as he pleases without fear of dog house confinement upon his return. Sounds like a win to me.

No, I’m saying that everyone I know who owns an EV or hybrid with regenerative braking makes massive use of it when they drive their car. This is because a) it’s fun, b) it makes driving super simple and relaxing, and c) it maximises the range and efficiency of the car, giving you extra miles for free. Would it change your driving style permanently in all vehicles? I’ve no idea, though I did nearly overshoot the first junction of the journey in my wife’s manual Jazz the other day after I forgot it didn’t have regen! Different cars are set up differently. Mine has relatively strong regen as std in B mode, but if you just breathe on the brake pedal (not actually enough to engage the brakes, just light up the brake lights) it engages an even stronger level of regen that will decelerate the car pretty quickly. I don’t generally use this though, as with a bit of planning taking your foot out at the right point with the std level of regen is enough. As you go slower the amount of regen does drop away a little, but it’s well capable of bringing you down to 1-2mph, the std “auto creep” speed. At that point all it takes is a tiny breath on the brake pedal to bring the car to a full stop if you can’t roll the junction due to other traffic. It took me ~20 miles or so to really optimise the technique, but I can now drive it on one pedal 99% of the time whether in full EV or hybrid mode. PS - Although my Passat is not a truly 1-pedal machine, I have driven a Leaf, and in e-pedal mode the regen on that will absolutely bring you to a full halt, and pretty quickly too. I found it so strong it was initially a bit tricky to drive smoothly, but I’m sure you’d get the hang of it in 20-30 miles or so. It certainly seemed very efficient (>5miles/kWh for the test drive I took on a mixture of roads).

But I'm sure you'll soon get over it However if you don't, don't worry.

Answer. Probably less than your last handbag (that's when the fight starts 🤣).

Hi Aidan, Tell martin I'll go halvers with him 😄 .... I've always loved tools. I remember the very first day of my electrical apprenticeship being dropped of at my first ever job ... The Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh ..... a huge hotel that was being refurbished. I had a set of cheap pliers, side cutters and some screwdrivers ....... they must have lasted a couple of weeks. I observed the stuff that my journeymen were using at the time ....... stanley screwdrivers, Elliot Lucas pliers and side cutters and Gordon grips ..... they cost a fortune for an apprentice but I bought them ........ and never looked back. toto

Many hours checking through everything. I’ve changed the wing retention from self-tapping screws and plastic tabs to m5 bolts and aluminum strip. I’m more satisfied with this. Just the bottom wings to complete and then it’s on to check the cg. Started the engine up again last Sunday and it ran very well. I’ve added some thick reinforced silicone tube to the exhaust outlets, this has cut down the sharp noise tone quite a bit, we’ll see if it’s enough to pass the field noise limits....

Daren, I'm doing a 74 (1/6th scale) spitfire from underlay insulation. Just gathering a few more bits and pieces before I crack on in. It's going to be reasonably 'scale' and if I can make the sums look right, it will be a Mk1. Full fat flaps and retracts, target weight below 8 pounds; 6S power. I found a plan on outerzone which I believe is a slight upscale of Brian Taylor's design. I intend to use these for outlines and some key points such as the retract mounts. The rest will be from my fevered brow... I'll keep you posted Graham

Hi Aidan, Maybe why I don't get too upset with the lack of stick time ....... there is always something else you can do to keep you interested. I'm trying to be realistic ...... if flying time was a bit lacking when we had light on our side, what will it be like in the dark nights ? I'll be busy and motivated. looking forward to it. toto

55 mpg on a diesel is roughly around 1.2 miles per kwh based on the energy a gallon of diesel holds. Yes I managed to get over 72,000 miles out of a set of brake pads on my 520D, but even if you keep off the brakes on an IC car the coasting and compressing air still turns kinetic energy into heat, where as an EV (or hybrid) converts some of it back into fuel, so it is a substantial factor in energy efficiency especially in a start/stop environment, unless that is you put your car into neutral every time you slow down and let it coast to a stop that way. (although many regular ICE cars now charge the 12v battery when you slow down, but the effect on overall efficiency is negligible)

These two model flying photographs are the ones that mean the most to me. One of them was taken at the South Derry Model Flying Club in May 1986 with my very first radio control model aeroplane, I was 22 years of age then. The plane was a Yamamoto Trainer 40 with an OS 40 two stroke engine and all the radio gear was Futaba . The aircraft was built by the late Sam McCarroll who was from Portglenone. He was a master model aircraft builder and sadly died much too young. I learned to fly successfully with the Yamamoto as did many of our new club members. It was a very popular trainer at that time. None of us were trained with a buddy box lead, it was a case of grab the transmitter and it worked well for everyone and there were no disasters at all. Though there were some tense moments at times, but that was all part of the learning process. The third photograph was taken on the day I passed my A Certificate Fixed Wing Test. It took place at a model flying club between Tobermore and Draperstown and the Area Examiner who conducted the test that cool Autumn day was Robert Graham. Robert was the man I bought my first plane from , The Yamamoto Trainer back in 1986. Robert is well known in the local model aircraft fraternity. He was a founder member of the South Derry Model Flying Club from which I belong. He is currently a member of Ballymoney Model Flying Club and is both an expert builder of all model aircraft and one of the best rc pilots that ever came out of Ireland. He also owns Mid Ulster Models, a fantastic model shop based in Maghera that caters for all needs in the rc world, boats, planes, drones and trucks etc etc. He is also the finest of gentlemen you would ever meet and will always offer good advice to the raw beginner as well as to the more experienced pilot.

yes i am back at the coal face now. The other guys have it covered, 13x6 would be my recommendation. Just remember to lower the fuel tank to the fuselage floor.

Press pedal to accelerate, ease foot of pedal to use regenerative braking. It can bring the car to a complete stop and hold it on a hill. If you drive carefully, there is no need to use the footbrake unless you need extra braking force.

I’ve found Corona servos to be good value for money in terms of performance but with serious shortcomings in the plastic used for the casings. Most of those that I’ve used have ended up with cracked mounting lugs. Heavy handed? It’s never been a problem with any other make I’ve used.

The makers of the Fusion II fun fly manufacturer recommends Corona DS-238MG (which are 22g 4.0kg) so I was going to buy those. When looking at the Corona site I was think of going with the Corona DS-339MG (which are 32g 4.4kg) for the Gangster. For the funfighter I’ll probably use the EMAX in the wing as you suggest and probably Corona DS-238MG on elevator and rudder. That leaves me with two EMAX spare.

Ditto just about all of that for me and Mrs C8.

I suspect that the key is to get some heat into the cylinder so the technique I adopt is rapid repeat flicks - usually after 4 or 5 flicks you start to hear the odd “barp” and a start will follow soon after.

Fusion II Fun Fly Cambria Fun Fighter Gangster 63 Lite I would happily use the Emax servos in the wing on the fun fighter, one per aileron. They're probably just fine for the G63 Lite ailerons. I'd look for slightly larger on the elevator/rudder, something HS225 sort of size (~25 - 30g). Fun fly, I'd go for HS225 size all round.

Similar to my experience - for doubters out there, think of the effectiveness of prop brakes on our ESCs… Similarly, coaches have used electric retarders for decades, working on similar principles.

Brownie points are the reserve of timid, married men who are prepared to do anything for a quiet life. Basically, it is a life-game of Snakes and Ladders, with a lot of long snakes and very few, short ladders. Some like to play the game. For those who don't want to play, staying single - or a decent divorce - negates the need to get involved. 😉

I know it's getting bad when everyone splits infinitives and ends sentences with prepositions. And as for starting sentences with conjunctions ... words fail me!

I said I wasn't going to buy any new planes for a while, but was going to replace some engines. A nice NIB Saito FA82A appeared on an auction site at a 'give-way' price........ No bidding war so Mr Postie delivered it a couple of days later. So, what do I replace...... Prime candidate was the old SC91 in my Valiant. Then I flew it again, and was reminded that the engine and plane were already a perfect match. Couldn't be bothered to fix my Ultrastick, so ordered this from Model Shop Leeds at a very good price. An oldie but a goodie, made even better by the 3D printed engine you can see. Maidened it today - flies nicely with just 2 clicks of 'up' needed. Sadly, a loose spat limited it's airtime. (There are now 3 of these, of various ages, in our small club - mine is the only noisy one!)

This Saturday I maidened with a total of 3 flights my new Freewing 70mm F-16. I am flying this model as preparation for my turbine powered Avonds F-104, which I plan finishing and flying before end of this year........

I have some pics of Davids SE5A, looking the worse for wear after being crashed by another club member, not David. It has since been restored by a friend of mine. David was an amazing Person to know. D.D.