David Davis

I tend to buy quite a lot of fuel from Southern Modelcraft at the shows.   Regardless of composition the fuel starts off pink like a good rose wine, then darkens with age until it is the same colour as a 10 year-old Beaujolais!   Don't try drinking either!   I've never come across fuel which is too old to use. I flew for an entire season a few years back on other people's dicarded castor based fuels and if I felt the fuel was not quite up to the mark I used to mix in a bit of petrol! I've never had any trouble with my engines.   Happy Landings   DD  

Team Telemaster will be at full strength!   Reserve pilots are bribing me to be allowed a go on the transmitter!   ( All A or B Certificate Holders just in case anybody was worried)

The carburettor on both my Merco 61 and 35 are the twin needle fuel adjustment type. In to weaken, out to enrich the mixture on both the slow running and main needles.   The airbleed carburettor was fitted to PAWs, Enyas and some of the plain bearing OS's.

I've just phoned them. They are still trading. I was confused by their website having nothing on it after 2006.

Does anyone know whether Flair Models is still trading?

It would certainly be cheaper for a beginner to buy an ARTF and learn to fly on that, but if he also wants to learn how to build, then any of the trainers on the list will give him a good starting point.   Once you've built a trainer or some similar simple model, you then have the skills to go on to build a Spitfire or Tiger Moth or whatever it is that blows your skirt up! 

Team Telemaster will be there even if it's just me!

I had a similar experience while slope soaring once. The reason was that two models were finished in the same transparent gold finish. No harm done.

By fitting a propeller with more pitch the revs are reduced thus reducing the noise.  Fitting a larger propeller with the same pitch will also reduce the revs but the tip speeds go up which can result in increased noise.   As a general rule with engines of 10cc or less (0.60 cu.ins,) if you can reduce the revs to 10,000 at maximum rpm, they meet the 82dB criteria.   We've found that the prop sizes mentioned above achieve this target with a rigidly mounted 40. By fitting a Quiet Mount, a type of engine mount with rubber bearings, something like miniature version of the engine mounts in your car, you can lose an extra couple of dBs.

We fly from a noise sensitive site and find that rigidly mounted 40s are too noisey on a 10x6. On a 10x7 or 11 x6 they usually meet the noise limits.   A Boomer will fly fine on a 40 and Irvines make fine engines; I've got three of them.

Peter, why do you need a small round tank? Is it to fit a hole in a former? By altering the shape of the hole,  you should be able to get a 4 ounce SLEC tank to fit. The SLEC tank is square in cross section and fitted with a blue front in this size. A 4 ounce tank is ample for a 25 two-stroke or 40 four-stroke.   Myron, I don't think that EFneeds to extend the nose on his Super 60 as it already has quite a long one. Not getting your Super 60s mixed up with your Junior 60s are you?Edited By David Davis Telemaster Sales UK on 29/04/2010 19:37:52

The difference between building a model and assembling an ARTF is a bit like sex.   You may meet a woman, get to know her, fall in love with her, (or the other way round) and then finally, after a considerable period of time, get her into bed.   On the other hand, if you've got the inclination and the money you could buy her body dressed up like your fantasies.   The former is a longer, more involved process.   I know which I prefer

Hi DW   I'm a Radical from the Modelling Tendency so cannot advise directly on the Boomerang but having built over 40 models I feel experienced enough to comment on your queries. Please bear in mind however, that if you ask ten modellers the same question, you're likely to get ten different answers!   1. Concerning the former. If this former is the F2 former, i.e the one beneath the leading edge of the wing at the tallest point of the fuselage, it MUST  be repaired or replaced otherwise the structural integrity of the fuselage will be impaired.   2. Are the legs of the engine mount being forced apart because the engine is too tight a fit in the mount? If so, I've always removed some of the material on the inside of the mount using a rasp so that the engine fits in neatly.   3. I've never had a problem using screws in nylon engine mounts.   Finally I've always advised beginners to replace the steerable nose-wheel with a fixed one which you can buy at your Local Hobby Store (LHS) because the original equipment tends to break on the first rough landing but if you've flown before you should be alright with the steerable nose wheel. 

You're right Ed but we don't have to use those materials if we don't want to!

They obviously don't appreciate the smell of the balsa, the enjoyment of making a well-fitting joint, the gradual development of a structure from a lot of small pieces of wood into the model's skeleton and, in the case of a sports model, the exquisite process of deciding what colour scheme to choose.

I'm a bit better builder than I am pilot, but I'm not particularly skillful at either.   My landings are nothing special.   I enjoy seeing a model take shape in the build..

Some of us like to build our own models, to have something rare, unique even, or even if commonplace, at least finished in our own choice of colour scheme knowing that all of the glue joints are well-made.   As an example, I have in the loft a 1/6th scale kit of the Fokker DVII; no not the Flair version but one produced by a long-defunct Scottish company called Absolute Scale. God knows when I'll start it for I have just landed a pretty demanding full-time job but I plan to finish it in the colours of Emil Thuy, the leader of Jasta 28. Pure narcisism I know for I was born on 11th March 1948 and he was born on 11th March 1894!   Now I could have bought an ARTF DVII finished in Rudolf Berthold's blue and red finish with the lozenge fabric replicated in a plastic film or perhaps Raben's red and white version, assembled by some twelve year-old in Shanghai; there do not seem to seem to be any alternatives.   But that would not have been the same. There would not have been the same sense of achievement nor the same bond with the model and before anyone says that they do not have the time, we all have the same amount of time, it's just that we chose to spend it in different ways.    I accept that most people fly mostly ARTFs these days and  that applies even to experienced modellers who are capable of building their own models, and indeed we have come to the stage where an ARTF WOT 4 costs £85 but a WOT 4 kit which you have to build yourself costs £108 if you want a glass fibre undercarriage and cowl.   Even I have one! You may see me holding it in my avatar but as I import Telemasters from the USA, I thought I'd better assemble one. I also have a Decathlon in its box under the bed. It's been there for at least four years!   I, however, despise this throw-away society where perfectly adequate products are replaced simply because they  are not as sophisticated as the latest version. There are guys in my club with £900 transmitters who can still crash as well as I can with my old Sanwa (Airtronics in the USA,) which I doubt I could give away.   I'll concede that if everyone was like me there'd be mass unemployment everywhere.   The environment would be better though.  

You must burn it BEB as this season's sacrifice to the gods of gravity!   I burned my Astro Hog last week when it went in. Pilot error? Radio problems? As I hadn't built it myself I didn't feel that close to it but I should be alright now for the rest of the season.   As for mid-airs I've had two.    I had been teaching lots of beginners in crowded skies when I insisted on having a flight with my ARTF Citabria. I'd previously told worried learners that models look close together but aren't really. I knew I was close to that Flair Piper Cub, (Irvine 40 up,) when I put the Citabria into a vertical climb right in front of it but I thought,"They look close together but they're not really." The Cub's prop took off my tail surfaces as neat as you like and carried on flying for the next ten minutes.   On the second occasion my Flair Hooligan, Irvine 46 powered, took out the tailplne of my mate's ARTF electric powered Sukhoi which was on its second flight. No-one to blame, we were both flying in more or less the same direction.   If I'd deliberately tried to fly into someone else's model, I doubt that I could have done it

Introduction   Years ago I bought the wreckage of a Senior Telemaster from an old chap for £10, repaired it, shoved a Merco 61 in the nose and flew it for years until it went in owing to pilot error, i.e: the pilot had forgotten to charge the receiver battery! This model featured the earlier inset aileron wing rather than the strip ailerons which are a feature of modern Telemasters. Last year I rescued the wreckage  from our club chairman, a notorious magpie and gave it to another club member who is good with CAD to draw up a plan. I am now building a wing off this plan. This wing is known as the "Barn Door Wing"  to Telemaster officianados and each aileron, stuck out on the end of the wing, measures nineteen and a half inches by three and seven eighths of an inch. (19.5" x 3.875" or 49.5 cms x 10cms.) The wingspan of the model is 8 feet (2.4 metres)so each wing-half is 4 feet (1.2 metres.) and the ailerions pivot off a substantial rear spar.   Flaps   I plan to build flaps into this model. The easiest way to do this would be to pivot them off the rear spar in the same way as the ailerons. There are nine ribs between the centre rib and the ailerons, set at 3" between centres.     Question.   How big should I make the flaps?

Posted by Doug Ireland on 25/03/2010 15:17:12: Just need the rain to stop so I can go out and play   Come on Doug, we've had beautiful weather here for at least a week!  

If you can fly the Speed Air without breaking it you'll be able to fly anything!   They are in my view a bit fragile.   However, if you can handle a Speed Air  why not assemble a scale ARTF?   There are some nice Decathlons and Citabrias about, both high-winged monoplanes which are simultaneously aerobatic and pretty stable as well as any number of warbirds and aerobatic low wing models, Extras, Sukhois and the like.   Then if you want a nice easy to build kit, try an Acrowot, foam wings, sheet sides, lots of balsa block...easy!  

  Building From Plans   OK Co-pilot, looks like you’re determined to build a trainer from plans so I’ve done a little research to help you out.   I’ve tried to find a set of plans which would be similar to a typical 40 powered ARTF trainer, hereinafter “40 ARTF.” To this end I visited the My Hobby Store website, clicked on “Plans” then clicked on “Sports Models and Trainers.”   I rejected: All small trainers as they were not comparable to the typical 40 ARTF.All large trainers such as the Estate 90 and the Big Wig for the same reason and because they would be more expensive to build.All three channel and vintage models even though in my view a vintage model is the most appropriate choice for an elderly beginner, again because they are not comparable to the typical 40 ARTF.All parasol wing models like the Tranquiliser or the Barnstormer because of the possibility of getting the wing incidence wrong.RC1806 Morning Star because the construction looked a little complex for a first model.   I was left with two designs, both appropriately enough by David Boddington:   RC1556 Instructor at £14.95RC1600 Pronto at £9.95   Let’s see if we can help him out gentlemen. In addition to the plan Co-Pilot will require: ·        balsa wood and plywood for the firewall which could be ordered in bulk from the Balsa Cabin or SLEC if it’s not available at the Local Hobby Store. ·        A pair of wheels, maybe a tail-wheel, an undercarriage from wire, ally or carbon fibre, maybe some axles and wheel collets. ·        Hinges, clevises, pushrods, control horns. ·        Fuel proofer, engine mount, fuel tank and tubing glues, and 3-4 metres of covering materials. ·        Anything I haven’t thought of! ·        You get all of this with an ARTF and a 40 ARTF need cost no more than £80! ·        How much will all of this cost?   Finally Co-pilot,   There are other sources of plans, DB Sport and Scale and the other magazines offer plans for sale.If you chose the Instructor you could speed the building process by buying a veneered foam wing at £26.95If you’re determined to build your trainer, a suitable kit would be a better option as you’d have all of the wood and instructions on how to build it from the outset for about £100.I recently wrote an article about building trainers from kits. If you're interested I'm sure the mods would find it for you.    

1. A trainer is definitely easier to build than a scale model, you don't have to replicate all of that scale detail to start with; e.g, cockpit, canopy, markings etc.   2. A trainer is much easier to fly than a scale model. The pilots who flew the real Corsairs and P51s didn't  learn to fly on one of those; neither will you.   3. It grieves me to say this, being a man who sells trainer kits but an ARTF trainer is cheaper than a trainer kit and will be pretty straight. A kit-built trainer may contain mistakes, tailplanes not on straight for example, which will upset the aircraft's flying characteristics.   4.On the other hand if you built your own trainer from a kit you will learn building techniques which you could transfer to a scale model later on, you'd also make sure that it had sufficient glue to hold the joints together. Some of the ARTFs skimp on the glue.   Just my two pennorth.  

His spirit lives on in his models.

Posted by Ed Anderson on 02/04/2010 03:18:13: Well, naturally we all want the newest toys.   Not necessarily.