Peter Jenkins
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Posts posted by Peter Jenkins
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I'm sure I have that copy of RM in my loft. I've also got a new OS 91FX that would give adequate power without resorting to screaming revs! But, I don't get the time to fly the others in my fleet so just another hangar queen probably!
I think you'd struggle to get cooling to the electrics in this beast John and yes, it would be sacrilege!
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Interesting! As we don't need extreme movement in F3A, whenever, possible, I always use the standard Futaba 4 arm servo horn. Futaba uses 25 teeth and the great thing about the 4 arm horn is that by rotating it you can almost always find one arm has the spot on 90 deg alignment with the servo pushrod with no need for any sub trim. So, I tend to use either Futaba servos or other 25T output servos. JR servos only come with 2 arm servo horns so are less adjustable. Pull-pull rudder setups do push you down the sub trim route as well. To illustrate my point, the photo below is from my current Anthem setup on the sub-trim screen.
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On 27/11/2024 at 22:17, steve too said:
Impressive bit of spinning. The reality is that we were lucky that Grant Shapps replaced Chris Grayling as Secretary of State for Transport when he did.
You should know you are a master of spinning.
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The worst engine I ever bought was my first one, a Mills 75 back in 1963 when I was 13 and had no one to turn to for help. I had it in a Veron Provost C/L trainer and running "flat out" it wouldn't drag the aircraft along the grass! I eventually bought a RTF KK badged plastic control line with a WenMac Hotshot! Wow, what a difference! I wasn't until I bought a PAW 249 that I realised the Mills was severely under compressed. The reason it was? Some one had put the compression stop in after backing off the comp lever by one full turn. The comp stop prevented you from over compressing the engine but only if it was installed correctly! Must have been a Friday afternoon assembly. Anyway, having cut the stop off with a hacksaw (I know young and foolish at the time!), and cranked up the compression the engine was transformed! I put it into a .8 cc stunter that came as a free plan in Model Aircraft of blessed memory. I still have it but haven't tried running it and it must be 60 years since it last ran!
So, a transition from worst engine I ever had to one of the best!
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20 hours ago, Colin Carpenter said:
I’m in 🥰🥰Steve ! I’ll keep perusing the ads !😂😂Colin
You could try putting a wanted ad on the UKF3A Forum "For Sale and Wanted" section but you will need to get a log in first.
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5 hours ago, Handyman said:
I have a OS FX .91 glow engine which I bought from the BMFA Auction. I am looking for a silencer, as there was no silencer with it.
The silencer mounting holes need to be 42mm apart to suit this engine, I have tried several suppliers for a suitable silencer, but no joy so far.
I dont have a part number for it, but I have an Evolution .61 that has a silencer that would fit it and it has mounting holes set exactly at 42mm so
even a silencer from an evolution engine should fit, as long as the spacings for the mounting bolts are 42mm apart.
So here's hoping that someone can help me out, but in the meantime I will continue to search the web.
Have you tried Slough Radio Control Models? While the silencer is out of stock they may be able to give you a supply date. This link also gives you the OS part number of the silencer.
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All looks very nice Steve. A friend who's flown both the Angel and Wind has always rated the Angel as the better of the two. Like all F3A aircraft, the u/c is not particularly strong unless you can land smoothly all the time. Good luck with flying it. Properly setup, they fly like they are on rails.
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3 hours ago, flying daddy said:
Starting to get a bit much now .That basicly £50 now .That has increased quite a lot in the last few years .I am lucky I fly off my own land .Do not think I be renewing .I can get the same cover of insurance for £30 .So I will buy that insurance and not renew my BMFA membership
You are not the only person who thinks that. That's because you don't understand what the BMFA has to offer members is far more than just providing insurance. We would have been stuck with a 400 ft ceiling had we not had the BMFA to argue with the Government over this. The way that the CAA registration works is pretty benign and all because of the BMFA or rather key actors in the BMFA.
All you are doing is showing us your complete ignorance of what the BMFA, and the 3 other model associations, have done for us over the last almost 10 years to ensure that we can pretty much continue as we have in the past.
Fine if you think that what I'm saying is a load of old codswallop but then I actually know what has been going on over the past 10 years......
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Nose overs are usually expensive! I fly F3A aerobatics and the aircraft tend not to nose over but with 55 mm diameter wheels they can be tripped up by rough lsnding zones - of course pilot error landing in strong and gusting winds, a prerequisite for most competition days(!), also takes its toll. The props are all carbon fibre as they need to be stiff to avoid flexing and, worst case touching, as they pass each other. That means expdnsive! My experirnce has been that either one or both props need replacing should you get a nose over. The prop shafts are concentric and while they might tolerate a gentle nose over the inner shaft is likely to suffer a minor bend that means a replacement.
You can 3D print appropriate size spinners if you have the skills and equipment to do that. The usual range of spinners is between 80 and 82 mm for the rear one.
Contras are fragile in that respect as I'm sure you will find if your MB5 tips over. Hope it doesn't happen very often and preferrably never.
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Whilst I applaud the design and build of your contra unit, there are commercially available contras that use 3 blade props - check out this link if you are interested. They turn 22 in to 20 in props and the revs are about 4,000 flat out. Since these are designed for aerobatics and push out over 3,000 watts you might want to reduce the throttle movement to a lower figure to give a more scale like power output. The sound off the props is amazing. Not cheap though!
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If you are looking for a Christmas present from your friends and family, I still have copies of "Advanced Precision Aerobatics" that I co authoured with Kevin Caton, our longest running UKF3A Team member. Cost is £20 including post to UK addresses. At no extra charge(!), I can put a small message in it and sign it. I can quote a price for any overseas purchasers as well. Just send me a PM.
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If anyone's stuck for a Christmas present from their family or friends, I still have copies of my book, Model Aircraft Precision Aerobatics, available at £22 posted to UK addresses. I will also post to overseas addresses but will have to add the cost of the additional postage. If you want, I can put a short message inside and sign it. Just send me a PM.
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Jeti do a Tx muff that looks like it will have the required space above the Tx for the pinch holders amongst us. Any users of said kit out there who could enlighten us on its pros and cons?
Bit on the expensive side at £113 - link.
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I use a combination of Zippo hand warmers and a pair of leather gloves with inners. The gloves were marketed a few years ago and were basically the same quality as the cape leather gloves used by RAF aircrew. However, in the RAF these gloves are fitted to be skin tight so that the aircrew have got good tactile feel for operating the right switches. They are also aimed at providing some protection against cockpit fires as well. The design that was offered teamed these expensive leather gloves with a separate inner that was like a string glove but made from high quality thermal insulating fibres. This meant that the gloves kept your hands and fingers warm but at the expense of losing a bit of tactile feel. That being said, they were a lot better than any other gloves I'd tried. The initial cost of £110 put me off and had the same effect on most other model flyers. The price dropped to £55 and I decided to buy a pair. They were excellent but needed the backup of the Zippo hand warmers to let me have warm hands all day.
As I fly precision aerobatics, I find that even with these gloves I found my accuracy of flying fell off - even more than usual some would say! So, now, I remove all gloves just before take off and put them back on after landing. Interestingly, some of my aircrew friends told me that they found flying without gloves very off putting as they had got so used to the feel of the aircraft through gloved hands. I suppose that if I were to fly with these gloves at all times then that would work as I'd get used to the feel of the Tx stick through them.
Sadly, the guy who came up with the idea of these gloves had to have a fire sale as he wound up his company and their final selling price was £25 so I bought a second pair for me and a pair for my wife who suffers from poor circulation even at home! She loves them as they are very high quality leather.
I'm now looking at using a Tx muff, perhaps with a Zippo hand warmer inside it but the size of the muff needs to be sufficient to allow my hands to operate the sticks without feeling cramped by the top of the muff. I will see what's available and try a friends one before deciding whether to buy one.
Thanks for posting the link John Lee. I see that also posted on the excellent product I found the gloves to be.
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You quite find that Mil Spec stuff is actually off the production line but tested to the required conditions to find the stuff that doesn't work and return that to commercial use! Meanwhile, having tested said component to the specified temperatures and found that it works, it gets a certificate and the price goes up by a factor of 10. Of course, infant mortality can also be eliminated by following similar routines and throwing away the stuff that doesn't work.
Quite an important point raised by the OP and should also apply to Txs especially where a kill switch is relied on to keep you safe. I have to say, I always treat kill switches with great care and never assume that the model is safe once the drive battery is connected. I do see lots of folk who have undue faith in the ability of our complex electronics to perform perfectly despite weather and electromagnetic conditions. Take care!
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PM sent.
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1 hour ago, Paul De Tourtoulon said:
Welcome back to rc planes, all you need now is a club .
He says he's joined a Club already.
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David
I don't know if this will help as regards engines stopping during stall turns or spins but I usually set a higher idle for my IC engines when flying. Of course, that does mean you need to remember to switch it out for the low idle for landing. As I used to fly/glide full size, I use my downwind landing checks routine to ensure the aircraft is properly configured for landing and, so far, have not forgotten to switch to low idle!
Peter
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I would set your voltage alarm at 7.5 v to begin with. That should give you time to land before you drop below 20%. How long do your set your timer for and what sort of aircraft is it and what sort of flying are you conducting? Pootling around is very different from flying aerobatics that have a significant vertical extent.
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12 minutes ago, Richard Acland said:
My only thoughts on the National centre is that more thought should have been made as to where it would be situated. If you live in Cornwall it is a bit of a trip.
Somewhere more central would have been better, and would have provided easier motorway access for a lot of people.
Richard
The location of the National Centre was fully discussed at Council at the time the decisions were being taken. A potential purchase had been investigated and that was in Leicestershire but that fell through. The Buckminster Estate then approached the BMFA with the offer of leasing the current site. No other viable and affordable site was ever thrown up during the search for a location. So, the issue was very simple. If you want a National Centre, there was only one location that was on offer. One could argue as to whether Buckminster is in the middle of the country but I believe that the road haulage folk consider Huntingdon to be in the "middle" of the country as regards distribution.
The entrance to the site is some 4 miles from the A1, a major trunk route that is classed as a motorway for part of its length. I don't know if you think a major road like the A1, the main north/south route along the east side of the UK gives good enough access to the facility but I think most people would say it fell into the category of giving easy access to the NFC. It is true that having a site within easy reach of a meeting of major motorways might give better access but then the land values would become unaffordable for the BMFA.
I don't know where else you think would be better but we are back to the whole issue of who is available to do the leg work of finding and assessing the available options. Remember, apart from 3 full time employees who are focused on specific areas we are reliant on volunteers to do this sort of work. When people say, the BMFA should do this and should do that, try looking in the mirror as you are the BMFA. I don't see a huge number of people standing for election to the BMFA Executive Committee and, therefore, requiring a vote of all members to select them. Mostly, there is only 1 candidate.
The arguments for and against an NFC were vigorously pursued at the time. It serves little use to continue an argument that has been thoroughly ventilated at the time of the decision. That decision included the use of sponsorship to be an integral part of making the NFC financially viable. So, to say that it's only the sponsorship that makes the NFC viable as Steve Too says is indeed quite correct. That was one of the issues that led to the decision being taken that leasing Buckminster for a 35 year lease was the only viable option on the table.
It may be that in coming years that BMFA membership might atrophy to the state that the BMFA will no longer be a viable organisation and all organised model flying will end. Equally, by using the facilities of the NFC, the BMFA is better able to keep the sport in the public eye and thus help to ensure that new members are attracted. As ever, the gloom merchants will never be satisfied that this was the right decision. In which case, it's very simple. Stand for election to the BMFA Executive and try and convince the rest of the Executive and Council that the wrong decision was made and the BMFA should exit the lease at the next break point. No, didn't think there'd be any takers.
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Helpful Innovation from Skywing - On my Edge 540 91"
in Sport, Aerobatic and 3D kits
Posted
Which systems are those Phil?