David Davis

I have hit a couple of snags. The fuselage is very narrow and the servos are mounted well down in the structure which means that they are not very accessible. This is the first time that I've used Hitec HS 5055 MG servos and their extremely small size has posed some problems. For example I had to move the output arm of the elevator servo but even my smallest Phillips head screwdriver was too large for the set screw which retained the output arm. I found one in my kitchen drawer which had been included in some long defunct ARTF kit. That fitted! I have a little 400 mAh four-cell NIMH battery which fits nicely between the engine bearers but it has a little BEC connector. This a small red component about 1 cm long by 5mm wide. I cannot get it to connect to the switch harness. I am going to replace the BEC connector with a more conventional fitting. One step forward etc..

Martin Forest used to fit quiet ends to standard silencers. I remember buying one or two from him and being amazed at the quietness. Was it him Maninder?

I am coming to the end of the build of a DB Sport & Scale Auster. I have decided to finish the model as VH-KSB. The fuselage is away with the paint sprayer at the moment having the red and blue stripes added. I currently have a Laser 80, a Laser 75 and a Laser 70 doing nothing. I would prefer to keep the 80 for another project, so of the 70 and the 75 which engine do you think would be the more suitable for this model?

I bought a Laser 50 from them. It had new bearings. OK I fitted new rings which was probably not necessary but the engine runs very well indeed.

The fuselage of Uncle Ivor's seventy-six year old Keil Kraft Outlaw has been prepared for covering in doculam and though you can't see it the servo plate has been installed. I need to open up the hole in the former to allow for the egress of the elevator push rod and the rudder's closed loop cables. The sheeted area of the fuselage was covered in at least three coats of paint so it took two or three goes with paint stripper and my orbital sander to get to this stage. The next job will be to install the servos, switch and elevator push rod before continuing with the covering.

It depends upon the aircraft, i.e, more diameter less pitch for a Tiger Moth, more pitch less diameter for a patternship.

Flew my Calmato yesterday afternoon. It was cold but with no appreciable wind and it was quite sunny. The OS 46 AX doesn't like straight fuel and tick over is unreliable. The engine cut as I did a stall turn and the model didn't quite make it back to the runway. What caused the electric foamie to end up in the ploughed field at the same time I've no idea but the club's photographer caught us carrying the models back. I have just ordered 10 litres of 16% nitro fuel. I will mix 5 litres of straight with 5 litres of 16% which will give me 10 litres of 8% nitro fuel which should be ok for the two strokes and my Japanese two strokes. The other container of 16% I will keep for La Coupe Des Barons! I'm going to fly my four-strokes this afternoon.

In 1979 I was in a similar situation to you Jack. I was in a steady job in Australia but my reason for coming back? Well, have you ever seen Mary McDonnell in the film Dances With Wolves? Don't do it Jack! You'll regret it! ☺️

I need to finish my Uncle Ivor's Outlaw, build a Carden Baynes Flying Flea started by my late best friend over twenty years ago, repair my Big Guff's wing and assemble an ARTF Flying Fortress!

I had a similar experience when an unsupervised 2200 3S LiPo which was being charged, exploded and set fire to my Big Guff and WOT 4XL totally destroying the fuselages and tailplanes. Fortunately the floor of my cellar is made of concrete, had it been made of wood I may have lost the house.

Good Day Gentlemen, I am starting to think about about the Coupe Des Barons 2025. I currently have two Barons, one finished in British markings which I've called Bertie, and the other, Boris, in Ukrainian colours. Boris is slightly easier to fly but I broke the wing in practice earlier in the year so will need to build a new one. I propose to build one with a D section leading edge and depron ribs as I did for Bertie last year. This will be lighter than the stock wing but at least as strong. I toyed with the idea of building a completely new Baron, covering it doculam and tissue and powering it by a Laser 50 which I bought from A Plane Olde Bargain at a very reasonable price earlier in the year. I thought that it would be ubercool to have a British pilot, flying a model powered by a British engine with RAF roundels on it in the competition. However, other committments may get in the way so I'll concentrate on repairing Boris's wing first. Another expatriate Englishman called Mike who also lives in La Belle France intends to enter the competition next year with a model powered by a PAW 35 diesel! If he does enter we'll be able to pit for each other. Which leads me on to engine choice. I'm actually spoiled for choice. I have become well known for competing with a four-stroke powered model, indeed I have taken to giving a prize to the leading pilot who uses a fourstroke engine in the competition, I have two OS 48 Surpasses, a Magnum 52, a Thunder Tiger 54 when it comes back from the menders and an OS 52 which I've built up from bits after the model crashed. It has exposed pushrods and rockers but it might look quite quirky! Then of course there's always the Laser 50 but I'll be giving my opponents something of an advantage if I were to use that because it is 100 grammes or 3.5 ounces heavier than an OS 52Surpass nd I doubt that it's as powerful. Decisions, decisions. What does anybody else think? Last year's event was cancelled owing to an inclement weather forecast but for those unfamiliar with La Coupe, have a look at this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuMm24PTZ_Y

Very nice Edgeflyer but my model will be powered by an ED Competition Special.

I am making some progress with tissue over doculam. There are one or two cosmetic errors to be addressed but I have not used tissue paper as a covering for over sixty years!

Sad news indeed but 87 is not too bad an innings. My condolencies to his friends and family.

Frequently the birds in the smaller V insert themselves one at a time into the larger V. It's quite fascinating to watch.

You're quite right FF but a few days ago my tame computer engineer rigged up a way of putting pictures from my phone onto something called the iCloud and after a few false steps I managed to download a picture of the cranes as they flew over my house yesterday afternoon. Sorry about the electricity cable. These birds must be the rear echelon. According to the dates on other pictures in my folder, we normally see them in early October. We rarely see them flying north again in the spring. Different meteorological conditions I suppose.

Every autumn, those harbingers of winter, the Common European Crane fly over my house. Thousands turned up yesterday afternoon on their way to their wintering grounds in the South of Spain and North Africa. In the spring they fly north to their breeding grounds in Russia and Scandinavia but rarely over my house. Different atmospheric conditions I suppose. These were filmed by a friend in the next village. https://www.facebook.com/dominique.labbekohler/videos/2218912221816959/?notif_id=1730784153124088&notif_t=close_friend_activity&ref=notif

I do it all the time in reverse. I am the only Mode 2 pilot in my club here in the middle of France and all of my pupils are Mode 1, however, by the time they come to me they've already had some stick time flying with the CFI on Mode 1.

Quite right Martin, they require cutting down to match the rib profile and a little sanding. 🙂

Tailplane under construction courtesy of my computer expert, Dave Burley.

I have finished the tail surfaces and I'm just waiting for some small hinges to turn up before proceeding. No pictures I'm afraid as my camera is u/s. I have taken a few pictures on my phone but don't know how to transfer them from the phone to the internet. I have asked an IT expert to assist me.

My Baron, Boris, competing in La Coupe Des Barons in 2018. The white model was being flown by a thirteen year old girl, one of a pair of twins. Ok she was on the buddy box with her dad. Her sister flew another Baron. I haven't seen them since. They'd be young ladies today with other interests and priorities.

Yes.

I can do that, the dead tree in the background lines up with the middle of the runway, my problem is trying to judge where the runway starts.

I'm finding it difficult to judge distances when landing. I always think that the model is a lot closer than it really is. I've landed in the adjacent field on finals when I thought that I'd crossed the threshold. I've done this twice with the Big Guff which is the slowest flying model which I own but I've also done the same thing with the club's Boomerang trainer. The Big Guff is an eight foot wingspan (2.4 metre) vintage model so not difficult to see. I am seventy-six years old and only wear glasses for reading. Any advice will be welcomed.