Peter Jenkins

It may look that way Leccy but they are indeed that way. The photo below shows a better view. I use the Hobby King shielded and polarised covers for my batteries and that's why the female connector on the bulb is bare - allows it to slide into the covered pin on the battery.

Photo showing my two 24 v lorry headlight bulbs in their bulb holders screwed to a piece of wood and wired in parallel. I use 4 mm bullets on all my aerobatic models from 50 size to 2 mtr.

Good point Ron.

Toto It really is a simple solution. I went to Halfords and bought 2 x 24 v halogen headlight bulbs and the bulb holders to go with them. I have 5S packs that need to be put to sleep and at max voltage they generate 21 V. For a 3S, a 12 v bulb will do. I've wired the bulbs in parallel to double the current flow and hence discharge. I had to flatten 2 x 5S packs the other evening. From almost fully charged they each took about 90 mins for the bulbs to go out. Quick check with a voltmeter showed 0 volts. Jobs done. They are the safest they will ever be but don't puncture the pouch as the lithium will still cause a fire. Just give them to your waste disposal battery dump. I'll put a photo up once I get home.

Best put some photos of the 2 wings Toto and we may be able to advise on what remedial action is needed.

If you rest your wrists on the er wrist wrests and just use your fingers then it doesn't really need that function but is good if you can do that. Going back to Phil's point, I was a year into competition aerobatics when I made the change to a tray. It took me 3 months to get back to my previous standard and to feel comfortable. After that, especially when flying lkng inverted runs the tray was, for me, vastly superior. I do fly thumbs on other people's models if asked to check tgem out. But, recently, I forgot my tray snd tried to fly my schedule using neck strap and thumbs and it was not a comfortable experience!

The other thing to do is to make some structure to block air from taking the easy route past the bit you want cooled. I've used depron to channel the air to the component I wan to be cooled. This will force all the air coming into the cowl around the ESC while also speeding up the flow and further improving cooling.

Good suggestion Phil. I might buy some - just in case!

You might find glueing a piece of strng just in front of the exhadt hole will improve the airflow out. Another good idea is to mount the ESC so the hestsink is just exposed to the airflow.

I generally have the KE mix on a switch that I disable for landing and spinning. However, I just leave it in for all other manoeuvres as the amounts of the mix are small. Don't forget that you may also need a mix for the ailerons to prevent rolling with or against rudder movement. One one of my F3A aircraft, getting the CG in the correct place meant that there was no need for either elevator or aileron mixes but that is pretty rare. My current aircraft has very little mix for aileron and a multipoint curve for the elevator as I have to perform a half loop in KE and when it's windy you need a lot of rudder to prevent the loop being deformed as you start it from level flight heading downwind. Provided I have the wings truly vertical then it's just the rudder that needs to be moved. The problem is keeping the wing truly vertical when viewing the aircraft from the side!

Looks great Steve. Hope you have many hours of soaring.

The ANO states that it is the pilot's responsibility to ensure that he can safely conduct the flight he/she is about to undertake. You didn't answer my other point which is how does an Examiner know that the Candidate knows how to conduct a range test? Presumably you would be quite happy to pass someone who didn't know that you needed to turn down the Tx power before doing the range check? Well, I'm sorry, I don't. As a matter of interest, when I did my Examiner test, the ACE conducting it failed me after I had finished the flying part as I had not done a range check. I had in fact done the check but not ensured that he was watching while I did it. I thought he was watching me. So, had to redo the whole test from the beginning. Had I not done the range check at all then I would have felt it was a good call. At the end of the day, you have to satisfy the Examiner without the examiner introducing his own requirements. I do not consider asking someone to show you how a range test is conducted to be introducing my own requirements.

This is what it states in the current BMFA Handbook para 13.4 Pre-Session Model Checks: 13.4 Pre Flying Session Model Checks On arrival at the flying site: (a) Check airframe for any transit damage. (b) Check that servos and linkages are secure. (c) Check undercarriage for secure fixing and correct alignment. (d) Check propeller for damage and secure fixing. (e) Check receiver aerial for damage and, with 2.4 GHz equipment, that the orientation is correct. (f) Carry out a range check if any changes or re-installation of equipment have taken place since the last session or if a history of range problems exists. (g) Carry out a failsafe check and make sure that it does what you expect. (h) Check that the receiver and transmitter batteries have sufficient capacity for the intended use I am a Club Examiner and I always brief candidates to tell me what they are doing as we go through the checks. When it gets to 1.4(f) I would expect them to tell me, if they weren't going to to the Range Check and, if so, why? I would then ask them to demonstrate that they know how to do a range check. If they cannot do that, then they must fail. I cannot see how you can pass someone who doesn't know how to do a range check. The wording in the Test Guidance Document is: (a) Carry out pre-flight checks as required by the BMFA safety codes and demonstrate an understanding of ‘SWEETS’. Yes, it does pull out the Failsafe check but that doesn't mean that other checks are less important. There is nothing wrong with having a check list to which you refer to make sure you have not missed anything - after all, full size pilots do this.

The range check is a mandatory part of all Achievemdnt Scheme tests. How else are you going to display your ability to understand how to do a range check properly. I have seen a small number of pilots who, despite having an A cert, don'f know how to call up the range check function on their Tx. So, that leads to the question of have they ever done a range check with the Tx at reduced power?

I wait for an appropriate moment as I know better than to interupt someone doing their checks, however badly. I don't sit and watch for errors it's if I notice somebody doing something odd. I'm usually too busy reflecting on my last flight and preparing for my next one to spend time hovering over others