David Davis

June 11

I never thought that the ST 2000 was that bad an engine, like all big two-strokes they drink a bit of fuel, but Weston UK make a mini pipe especially for the Super Tigre 2000. https://www.westonuk.co.uk/Mini-Pipes-Plate-Fixing-Points--44mm/ .

June 10

1 hour ago, David Davis said:

Weston UK made me a four-stroke muffler for my OS 52 which I use in La Coupe Des Barons. It gives a useful increase in power while producing less noise.

I was quoting the OP!

June 10

Weston UK made me a four-stroke muffler for my OS 52 which I use in La Coupe Des Barons. It gives a useful increase in power while producing less noise.

June 10

We've been practising!

June 9

How about Weston UK? https://www.westonuk.co.uk/Genesis-Pipes/

June 9

1 minute ago, Futura57 said:

There are far too many shots of tidy workspaces here that I won't embarrass myself by posting any of mine. I have my new hangar/workshop to fit out later this year. Whilst I always start with good intentions, my workspaces soon become messy and chaotic.

So do mine!

June 9

I picked up one of the New Yamamoto trainers, the one with the glass fibre body which looks a bit like a Cessna, over thirty years ago when I was trying to learn to fly with ailerons. The previous model was a Junior 60! Talk about chalk and cheese! The Yamamoto was far too fast for me at that time, mind you, it was powered by a Merco 61 which I don't suppose helped matters! I got rid of it and built a Uno WOT powered by an Irvine 20 car engine. I learned to fly on ailerons with that.

I've heard that the balsa ones flew well but I've never flown one so can't comment.

June 5

Work on the Junior 60 has paused because I have been assiduously practising flying for La Coupe Des Barons whenever I've had the time. https://forums.modelflying.co.uk/index.php?/topic/60495-la-coupe-des-barons-2025/#comments However, I have finished the basic construction of the fuselage and have installed the servos and engine. The fuselage now needs to be covered in doculam and tissue.

I thought of buying a set of wing ribs from a well-known internet auction site until I checked the price and the cost of postage, so I cut out some ply templates to match the drawing on the plan and started work on the wings. The position of the forward spars does not match the plan, it's a good 3/16" (5mm) further to the rear on the plan but we plough on anyway. I have used thin cyano in the construction of the wing but will use half hour epoxy for the centre section and the wing joiners which will be full depth.

I have finally decided to adopt the family Tomboy colour scheme for this model, yellow fuselage, red nose, red wing, tail, fin and rudder.

June 4

Concerning the CG, I thought that with having the heavy Laser 155 up front, I could mount the elevator and rudder servos at the rear which is what I did initially but when it came to checking the CG it was too far to the rear and I had to move the servos to a more conventional position. This meant that I had to fill the holes I had cut at the rear fuselage and put a patch of film over the repair which spoiled the immaculate appearence of the model! 😩

The Magician appeals to me too. I have an Irvine 53 which should make it go well.

June 4

Well done Ron!

They fly really well.

I was quite apprehensive when I maidened mine never having flown anything with so large an engine before. Mine is powered by a Laser 155 single but I need not have worried, in the air she's a pussy cat. My OS 46 powered Calmato is more intimidating!

June 3

I am in the process of fitting both models with larger but lighter wheels to avoid the risk of a prop strike on take off. I am also making a few cosmetic repairs on Bertie.

I have been very impressed by the OS 48 Surpass in the Reserve Baron. It starts on the button, throttles very well and burns fuel very cleanly. I will keep it in the model in case I crash Bertie in practice but afterwards I fancy the engine in something more interesting. I have a Skyways Models Stampe Monitor kit which has been on my shelves for at least twenty years. The 48 would suit the model well!

June 1

1 hour ago, Masher said:

That is still very impressive, to get 60 odd competitors is no mean feat. Good luck 👍

I expect that four or five won't turn up. Family committments, work, illness or broken Barons are the usual reasons.

1 hour ago, Ernie said:

bon chance (it means good luck mods)

ernie

Thank you Ernie. If I can get through the first round without damage I am confident of doing well in the four-stroke class.

1 hour ago, Paul De Tourtoulon said:

You mean all over 60's ?🤣

Probably. There is a prize for the oldest and the youngest competitor.

I hope they have put all of the four-strokes in the same group if only for the sound but I don't suppose they have. Mind you there was talk of doing just that earlier in the year. I am driving up to Chateauroux tomorrow to pick up the four-stroke trophy.

June 1

I received the list of runners and riders yesterday. I am Pilot 6 in Group 4. Inscriptions are well down this year compared to the 70-75 who normally enter, consequently there will be six goups of eight, one of six and one of seven. This reduces the chance of a collision but makes it less of a spectacle. I hope they have put all of the four strokes in the same group! 😉

May 31

I had the chance to fly both Barons back to back today so I've finally come to a decision. I will fly Bertie the British Baron in La Coupe des Barons on 21st June.

Reasons? It's a bit faster and a bit easier to control at low speeds and at low altitude. It's fitted with an OS 52 Surpass fitted with a Weston Genisis four stroke silencer while the Ukrainian Baron is fitted with an OS 48 Surpass with the standard exhaust. The 48 is a little jewel mind you but noticeably less powerful.

The painful arm turned out to be a trapped nerve which soon cleared up with some medication.

May 29

Barbi is impatient to fly the Auster.

May 29

As well as the bikes and the interest in WW1, probably because I was very close to my grandfather who was in the Royal Engineers, I also own a classic car. Nothing so desirable as a jag but it has it's own charm.

I'd forgotten that I also sing and strum a guitar. I lead two open mic sessions in two different locations every month.

https://www.facebook.com/phil.ferris.98/videos/1380629653109802

May 28

I really regret selling the yellow bike. I replaced it with a red 1999 Sprint ST but never really took to it. It's appreciable heavier than the yellow Sprint RS but it's only done about 12,000 miles from new. Once I've sorted out the engine management light coming on I plan to sell it and replace it with something smaller like a Royal Enfield single. Alternatively, now I've got the dog, perhaps a motor bike and sidecar! ☺️

May 28

I am very interested in the Great War and I have held a motor cycle licence since I was sixteen. I used to enjoy touring the Western Front on my three cylinder Triumphs. Two of my family are buried there. In 2009 I rode all the way to Gallipoli and back but today these bikes are too tall and too heavy for me.

May 26

Thank you for your advice gentlemen. It makes sense.

I took both models to the patch today because the wind was so calm and I found that the engine on the British Baron refused to start. I soon started the engine on the other one and flew it about for about ten minutes practising low level passes and high speed flight.

Then I turned my attention to Bertie. The engine started but did not run as well as it normally does. I thought that perhaps it would clear in flight but there did not seem to be any consistant response to the throttle. I tried flying low over the patch and operating the throttle cut but the engine kept on running albeit not very well. I tried climbing to altitude and looping the model in order to cut the engine but to no avail. In the end I managed a landing at higher than optimal speed and I ran the model into a crop of peas which abuts the flying field. That stopped it! No damage. Having removed the wing I noticed that the glue joints holding two hardwood bearers upon which the throttle servo is mounted, had all failed so the throttle servo was just flopping about any old how! I'll sort it. Fortunately I was all by myself at the flying field.

I also seem to have hurt my right forearm somehow. It's very painful and I'm typing this mostly left handed! Old age creeping up?

May 26

Here's a question for those whose knowledge of aerodynamics is superior to mine.

La Coupe des Barons consists of four flying rounds two of which, caisse baguettes and limbo require accurate flying close to the ground. The other two rounds are a simple pylon race and the "chaisse renard" or fox chase in which a trainer slowly tows a streamer around the sky and competitors have to cut or touch the streamer to gain points. In these two rounds speed is important.

My Barons are powered by an OS 52 FS Surpass and an OS 48 FS Surpass and currently both engines are turning 12x6 APC props. So my question is, "Would there be any advantage in changing to a smaller coarser pitched prop like a 10x8 for the high speed rounds?"

May 25

Still waiting for a calm day to carry out a comparison test but both of my battered old veterans are ready for La Coupe Des Barons! I may make a better looking cowling for the model I select.

May 25

Yes I bid for a Powerplanes International Maule kit on the APOB site last year but someone outbid me. In France an ARTF is usually available but it's not quite the same thing. https://www.weymuller.fr/article/kit_maule_super_rocket_15cc_arf_003144232.html&op=view_fic_rech

May 22

I've had another couple of flying sessions to compare my two Barons, Boris and Bertie, to see which I will use in the Coupe Des Barons on 21st June. I found that the performance of the Orange Scrap Box Special OS 52 Surpass, pictured above, was not really acceptable, so I searched through my stash of twenty-seven unemployed engines and selected an OS 48 Surpass which could have been used in my Radio Queen over ten years ago. I use the conditional sense because I own two OS 48s and I'm unsure which one powered the Radio Queen. However, they are not quite identical because the one I selected was fitted witth an after-market twin needle carburetter.

Having fitted it to the Ukrainian airframe I took both models to the flying field. The 48 started up "in a quarter of a turn" as the French say and only required me to adjust the high speed needle to suit the prop and fuel. The tickover was better than that of the 52 Surpass in the other Baron! Must look into that. I had two brief flights with the model; the first had to be curtailed when the rain arrived and on a low pass on the second flight the prop hit the ground, then steady rain arrived and any further flying was impossible.

I am waiting for a dry day with little wind in order to carry out a comparison test. ☺️

May 21

1 hour ago, Basil said:

David, re the Radio Queen...... I was given to understand that these older design models dont perform well in anything other than a breeze. Is it better weather over there in France or does the radio queen buck the odds on that issue. How does that sort of airframe fair when exposed to the rigours of Training. That goes for the holigan as well.Thanks

Bas

Where to begin.

I tend not to fly vintage models when it's windy. I currently have an ARTF Calmato and a Galaxy Models Mystic which I reserve for windy weather.

I used the Radio Queen to give beginners, usually nervous elderly beginners, their first experience of radio controlled flight. Trying to teach such beginners in windy weather is not very productive because the wind is blowing the model all over the place and the beginner has not yet developed a muscle memory and does not know what to do when the model is affected by a gust. When they have a little experience then it's possible but by then they should have moved onto something with ailerons. Colin Buckle reckons that the Radio Queen may be flown in windy weather by holding in some down. https://www.benbucklevintage.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_3&products_id=9. Radio Queens were designed to accomodate heavy 1950s receivers and batteries which could weigh as much as two pounds or a kilogram, so they are very strongly built and well up to the stresses of the training role in my opinion.

The Hooligan was Flair's answer to the WOT4 and like the WOT4 it goes where you put it. They were never as popular as WOT4s but they flew just as well. They were good as a second or third model but not a basic trainer. They haven't been made for many years and you'd be hard.

I sold both models before I moved to France and yes the weather is better over here! 😉

May 21

5 hours ago, Futura57 said:

Very soon I will have my own aircraft hangar (triple garage space) with plenty of roof storage space, and a large partitioned workshop area where I can have multiple concurrent builds/repairs/servicing. I can stop and start and flit between them until my heart's content. And my wife will finally be rid of all my modelling paraphernalia from the house.

I'm green with envy!

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