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Back from a week’s holiday and the canopy glue had affixed the ‘glass’ in place nicely. After a little fettling the front fixed part has been glued in place and thankfully the sliding part satisfactorily mates in place. A big relief as there is a lot of work wasted if it’s a stuff up. Time to cover all the glass up with tape in preparation for painting. The final plethora of cowl machine screws have been added and the fuselage and tail assembly has been thoroughly rubbed back with fine wire wool. Phil at Fighter Aces tells me my paint order will be arriving pretty soon now so I am hoping for a few still warm Indian summer days to get her painted.

Well the much awaited Indian summer arrived on cue and we've had some really nice flying weather in September, to partly make up for a dismal July and August. After Sunday's local flying the past couple of day's flying have involved the three and a bit hour round trip to my old club, but conditions were so good it couldn't be missed. Monday dawned flat calm, bright and sunny, if a little chilly but lovely flying at first, before all of a sudden the wind got right up, with a 10-12mph SE wind. That was interesting, as it generated copious wave lift off the back of the hill - hand launches soared heavenwards with very little need for full power. Surprisingly there were just the three of us there, with one later arrival just as we were packing up for the day. Derek's Piaggio Avanti made a rare appearance and flew beautifully and we had some fun chasing Jim's new Bf109E with my Ripmax Spitfire. In the calm before the blustery wind Derek captured some in flight piccies of my refinished Sonik RC Spitfire, that I'd repainted in slightly more authentic colours a Pilot Officer Geoffrey "Boy" Wellum's QJ-K. Jim flew his DH Venom and Lander Hunter, which is magnificent and looked so realistic against the beautiful wave clouds that were building with the strengthening wind. Tuesday was much more like the forecast for Monday and it stayed calm for much longer - it was warm, reaching 23 degrees and very pleasant in the sun, but that wave lift was gone and Derek's high tech glider could find any thermal lift either. We tried a couple of times to get video of a three biplane flight, with my PZ SE5a joining Derek's Puppeteer and Jim's Veron Hawker Tomtit, but the technology failed me and I ended up with a dozen video files showing the back of my transmitter case and the three of us talking nonsense for hours. When I thought I was switching the video glasses on, I was switching them off -so they stayed on for most of the day and were off when we were flying! Did manage to navigate a successful maiden flight of the Kyosho P-51D Mustang that I somersaulted down the field a few weeks ago. The Mustang flew wonderfully, once I'd got her back under control after flying right through the bright sun on take off. Loads of power and very stable, but that episode with the sun left me needing a sit down and calming coffee after landing. I'll fit the undercarriage doors now and disguise the horrible sight of those spindly U/C legs. Thanks to Derek for the pictures. Looks like being another lovely flying day today, but I've some domestic jobs to sort out and another long trip will have to wait.

Wasn’t Frank’s post intended as an ironic comment on those who quickly jump onto threads to condemn particular systems because of problems that may have been due to external influences?

To be fair to myself, I did diagnose the answer early in the thread. 🤩

Action from the Foka 5 featured in this month's Scale Gliding Column

Today I flew my Hawker P1081 made of 5mm XPS underlay. It had not been flown was nearly 2 years! The P1081 was a converted P1052 which itself was a swept wing version of Sea Hawk. The swept wing Sea Hawk was rejected by the Fleet Air Arm. 😮 By using a improved RR Nene and a straight through exhaust rather than the bifurcated of the Sea Hawk the intention was that it would make a 'transonic' fighter for the Australian Air Force. Actually a rather a macabre model as only one was built and when trying to achieve transonic speeds in a dive the pilot lost control, ejected at low altitude but was unable to free himself from the seat and died on impact with the ground. The next Hawker prototype that followed just a year later was the Hunter. Mine being light flies nicely with a 55mm EDF and is an easy hand launch. At reduced throttle it can manage 4+ minutes from a modest 1800mAh 3s.

Using the £2 a cut I said, is likely a false figure for others, your field may be smaller, your contractor cheaper, our cuts mostly come to 16 = £32. And that gets the whole field cut, not a strip the whole field and you could play bowls on it, Why the whole field ? Simple, it's much better on misjudged landings and the contractor charges for a hour, so we get our moneys worth. Club fees £65.

Hi Richard If your thinking of producing a Heinkel 111 kit, put me down for one 👍 would prefer one of these in preference to a 110. Cheers Graham

They did Martin, I also made the brass 3 legged ashtray, I planished it so much that it ended as floppy as wet fag paper, I did make a second one but not so much on that one, I was probably 12/13 as my first school project was the fire stand, shovel and poker, a gods end for us living in a prefab with a 2 bar electric fire for heating.

Free Flight models are designed to climb (hopefully in a stable manner). Competition I.C. free flight models are designed to climb as quickly as possible within the constraints of of a limited engine capacity, power-on duration along with dimensional specifications. Some designs from over 70 years ago achieved stability by using a rearwards CG (typically 70%+ of the wing chord) and a large 'lifting' horizontal stabiliser to balance the steep spiral climb. A typical example is the San de Hogan from 1949 San de Hogan 'Sport' Free Flight models are usually less demanding and so a stable gentle climb is usually achieved with a design with a more conventional layout and C.G. location with the engine rpm maybe reduced to suit one's requirements. Early R.C. models were basically sport free flight models with the addition of of a rudder which permitted not only turns but also altitude control by regulating the duration of the applied rudder. The resulting spiral dive and increase in airspeed could also be utilised to perform basic aerobatics. Modern re-creations of these early models also exhibit the natural tendency to climb (as it was designed to) and with the power of today's engines it is logical to use a more forward C.G. which along with intelligent use of the throttle and the addition of an elevator can result in a pleasant and easy to fly model. * Chris *

Well each to their own but for me a vintage model is radio assist and usually a vehicle for using an ancient engine for that added nostalgia so built as is, want a sports model there are plenty out there.

Video of the event featured in this month's Scale Gliding column

Thread drift !!! 🤓😁👍😠😭🥳🤣😎🤔😸 The culprit/reason for the unplanned arrival has been identified, probably. Radio failure was not the problem, probably... "My" faith in futaba reinforced !!! It was never in doubt really 👍

Complete rubbish,,, I have been flying and selling radios for years ( model shop) and Futaba for me were the best as far as quality and fiability.

How did you guess? One of my Saturday errands back in the early 1950s was to fetch Dad's 200 Churchman No1 from the tobacconists. The ashtray was made from a square of copper with 4 grooves for the ciggies. I made it when I was about 12. I started smoking about 3 years later and I gave up about 45 years ago - thank goodness.

Spell 'Gibson' correctly if you dare

I made my Dad an ashtray at school! Yes, I am old! 🙂 Funnily enough, our village newsagent has gone cash only and doesn't take cards. There is a cash machine in the shop, though.

Awww rats,🙄 I took the model apart this evening for a thorough check of everything and I am embarrassed to admit I did not do a good enough job the first time or second time. Those who suggested spline slip on servo arms are correct, with the push rods off I was able with a fair bit of force able to make both arms slip. I think what led me up the garden path was that both had slipped exactly the same amount along with the fact the model had very little damage [ cracked cowl] from the impact. Still I am pleased to find it is not a mystery radio issue and was just a boo boo by me as I had first thought of caught going too slow in a gusting crosswind. Going to pull out those wing servos now and see what they are as I did not build this model it was a swap for an Easy Pigeon I restored. Cuban8, Did find the servo monitor page and all normal. Thanks to all who responded, hope I did not waste to much of your time. John.

Did anyone ever get around to building Sean Garrity's rework of Gordon Whitehead's Nieport 11 which was a pull-out in RCME June 2021? Mr Garrity admitted to never having neither built nor flown flown the prototype. I had a go using a small bell motor and with a 2s 500mA lipo jammed up right behind the motor it still needs a heap of lead to bring the CG to the specified place. With an all sheet tail there is limited opportunity for keeping the tail light and I did my best. I have not yet had a successful flight and suspect that a 3S motor setup dispensing with the lead may be what I try next.

This is from the CAA Annual Safety Review 2023, published today:

Thanks chaps. Chris ..... I will enjoy the holiday .... can't come quick enough. I've went a bit easy on this post so far as its all pretty boring stages of getting rid of the old but I will be sure to post up more of the stage by stage installation of the new shed. That will include the new shed itself as it arrives and the elements that I add .... including ventilation, insulation and internal lining. The actual partitioning of space and fitting out with work spaces and electrics will be covered as well. Maybe not to everyone's tastes / interests but will suit some. Hopefully folks will be able to take something from it ....... good or bad. Best practice or mistakes ..... its all learning. Look forward to having you aboard for the rest of the journey Toto

Nearly all of my models are hand-launch... 😁

Sold

I went for an interview for a job today and the manager said, “We’re looking for someone who’s responsible.” “Well, I’m your man,” I replied, “In my last job, whenever anything went wrong, they said I was responsible.”

Our field cost £180 a cut for the outfield and was going to increase . We now let the outfield grow and have a friendly contractor who has livestock so he havests the hay for feed . Cost us zero , and he gets the hay . Only issue is the great British weather staying dry enough for long enough to get it harvested.

When I was 14 or 15 in around 1971/72 we had a forge in our metalwork room in school. We used to be taught how to bash pieces of red hot steel into pokers etc. on an anvil. I can remember being chased around the room by the school bully waving a piece of red hot metal at me. I assume kids today aren’t allowed to do that any more - either bash hot metal, or wave it around at the other kids!

Has to be 42, after all it its the answer

92?

He's not coming . Or his green mate . Can you imagine ?...

Martin , I am bringing the Fw190 , Tempest , Mossie and Yak . Not sure I can get the Heinkel in as well . However , Paul Johnson is bringing his beautiful 109 , so we can have a nice chat around the subject and its future . Bring the Heinkel bits you have so we can do the same on that .

To answer the last 4 posts. Frank, Got it now the irone, the issue was servo arm slip due to impact in the end, previous owner fitted the wrong ones. Initial loss of control was me. Chris, It was aileron Midi servos that have the issue. Andy, RX and TX Futaba T8j. kc, Whole thing had me a puzzle but sorted in the end.

Hi Toto. Thats good news on the maiden. I did originally order in a set of sprung loaded oleo retracts sold as an upgrade, but when I got them realized the oleo would compress even more on the landing and it would give zero ground clearance, so kept the originals. I ordered a set of 'Black cat' decals for mine from Callie Graphics. The plane is a bit battered but still flying. Darryl

It's good to find the reason for the problem! It didn't waste forum members time as we all went through all possible problems and ended up finding the least expected thing was the culprit! Good example of crash investigation and another thing to check in future.

NP Toto, enjoy your holiday and I am following the shed building as I have plans as well. Mine will be mostly for storage and a large useable space for spray painting as it will be much easier to sheet off than the garage with all the tools and models. On the top of my list is the Big Tigercat, only had four flights (one of those was at the LMA event with a Bearcat, Hellcat & P47) and despite its weight and size its pleasant to fly and needs to be held off touchdown to bleed the speed of. Perhaps the wing loading is less important than taking liberties or doing something wrong. The Tigercat is currently massive workload, but very rewarding when it stops rolling!

It was the fact that both aileron arms had slipped the same amount that fooled me into thinking it was a radio issue, a real fluke. Found that servos are Ripmax items, will look through my collection of arms.

Anyone else bringing their Silhouette along to the BMFA Buckminster Best Of British Fly in on the 28/29th September, would be good to get a few of them in the air together. 😁 I have just bought the moulds for the cowling and cockpit plus a load of the Silhouette decals that were being sold by a friend of the original manufacturer who has passed away. If anyone wants f/g or plastic mouldings or Silhouette decals pm me for prices. Apart from my Electric flyer i have two unbuilt kits (not for sale), i am going to build one up for a 4 stroke i.c, probably some sort of .52.

It appears a few of our ideas about incidence and vintage FF models converted to RC is nonsense ! An awful lot of us have been sucessfully flying this " nonsense " for many years, and also flew a Yamamoto mk1 , 2 and the fg version We all have our ways and means to tackle a problem . Sorry Ernie never meant to hijack your OP .

My only observation is that it's quite a thing for both aileron servo outputs to twist on their splines by such a similar amount given the force needed to shift them as you tried. Hopefully no repeat.

So was the servo arm slippage on the servo output shaft caused by the crash, or by aileron deflection from an external source during flight ? Was the servo arm the correct arm for that servo ? Same effective spline diameter and number of splines, or worn components ? Glad you have found the culprit. So so glad it's not a *futaba fault*. Hopefully futaba controlled planes falling out if the sky will be due to " operator error ", which could be a very very long list...... A servo arm slipping with a relatively large *torque* force applied, one might expect a *aileron to control horn interface* failure or servo mounting ( less likely I would have thought ) failure..... May I ask, what is the aileron structure ( solid balsa, no ply reinfirment, built up aileron structure ? ) and any sign of failure due to aileron movement whilst no control horn movement ? Aileron hinges come into play.... Anyways, cause found, only limited damage to aircraft, and a reminder for us all to "check, check, check", and probably check again. Absolutely brilliant weather again. Cheers John.

Shame about the damage but tufty grass did well. Its a weird one. Never buy a Futaba Tx, planes just fall from the sky!!!

I think you're probably right.... not something I'm going to stress over 🙂

Surprising the amount of force exerted with an unplanned arrival. I had a 80 inch Seagull model go in from about 40ft. lawn dart as the entire front end was destroyed, but the surprising thing for me was the aileron and flap servos including there pockets ripped clean out of the wings. either breaking the control horns or pulling the control surface out of the wing!

It would be easier if all similar sized servos had a standard number of splines so that there were fewer 'issues' when an incorrect servo arm was fitted and was apparently OK. I try to keep and label spare servo arms with their source but, I admit, not always.

My thought is that your original suggestion that you had got caught out either by a gust or by flying too slowly downwind caused the model to stall and drop into a spiral dive. The dropped ailerons then occurred when the model hit the ground (tussock). The sudden deceleration could have caused the ailerons to force the servos / pushrods. Then one of the following would have happened: The pushrods kinked which effectively shortened them. The horns have got bent backwards. The servos jumped a tooth on their output gears. The servo arms moved on the output splines. This can happen if the wrong arms are fitted (mixing different makes for example). I would doubt that the transmitter aileron stick pot would be the cause (shifted centre) because that would make one aileron move upwards. The same goes for the Tx aileron trim. You have already discounted a mix in the Tx (flapperon mix). Not sure how a faulty receiver could cause an offset in just the two aileron outputs, but easily proven by substitution. I’ll be interested to learn the final outcome. Brian.

Very true cutting grass ain't rocket science, the professional does it for a living, that often times means his/her tools are likely to do a better job, they maintain/ store and the cuts superb, It's also likely a weighty lump so It's pretty much a given It's rolling as it cuts. There's no expensive strage unit, no cameras, alarms needed, no, who's gonna do it if your club mate has problems, no insurance claims going in, no members linked to CCTV pondering "Do I go confront them, or wait for plod". Negatives ? Well to cut our very large area, the whole field, not just a runway, we each pay in the region of £2 a cut, to me that's a no brainer.