Steve Colman

I have a few plastic kits on hand for when the mood strikes; including planes, cars, bikes, a yacht and even some garage accessories. Makes a nice change at times and as the OP alludes to takes up far less space.

Hi Stephen, I live in Spain and I've not had this particular VAT problem as I don't buy products from the UK anymore. However, my Mother likes to send me a few goodies from the UK now and then, often including the RCME mag and some Bassetts Jelly Babies (which my Spanish girlfriend loves) and are non existent over here. This has become financially unviable because my mother now has to pay extra postal charges to send the item and I now have to pay the post office here in Spain to receive the item. For example, I now have to pay a minimum of 5.50 euros for the aforementioned RCME mag and Jelly Babies on top of the item price and postage cost from the UK; the total for the RCME mag was around 15.00 euros which is stupid money. I've also read of stories of peoples sending gifts in both directions and having to pay quite significant sums of money at the destination country in order to receive their gift.

I've been flying every day since Thursday. Absolutely perfect conditions with temps in the high teens, bright blue cloudless skies and virtually zero wind. It's been a wonderful end to 2021 and start to 2022. Going flying again tomorrow and perhaps some days during the coming week. Making the most of it while it lasts. ?

Brilliant! I was lucky enough to see him live way back when I was a student. I went with some friends and we couldn't stop laughing for days afterwards.

Merry Xmas everyone and many happy hours of enjoying this wonderful hobby of ours.

Here, in not so sunny Spain, It's been completely fog bound for two weeks now so no flying for me.

Farcical end to the season.

I can beat that Martin! I have working; VHS video recorder, Super VHS video recorder, Super VHS/c Camcorder, Sony V8 camcorder, Walkman (cassette tape) now 40 years old, Walkman CD and several dual audio cassette players. I did also have a ZX81 and a 128mb Spektrum with inbuilt cassette drive but these are long gone unfortunately.

I also have the first four items on the list in the post by cymaz!

After a couple of weeks of very poor weather a perfect afternoon arrived today. I spent a somewhat lonely but very relaxing few hours completing 2 flights of each model.

Now we go from Romania all the way to Australia to listen to child prodigy Taj Farrant. I think he was 10 years old when this was recorded.

Aiden, the Calmato in the video is not mine, it belongs to a friend. I had a 40xt some tears back and others in my club have had various Calmato models and all seemed to fly well and were well liked, including the one in the video.

While it's fantastic to see and hear all of this excellent music I also think it's fantastic that there's a new, younger generation of musicians continuing to keep music alive. I make no apologies for posting about these teenagers from Romania again. The main guitarist is only 19 as is the bass player and I believe the other 2 boys are too. The girl is only 16. They also write and perform their own original music too as well as recording, videoing and promoting other young artists in Romania. I highly recommend checking out their various websites containing both studio and live performances.

I've been looking for some 5S lipos for some while now but it's almost impossible to find any available in the size/capacity I want. Both HK and CNHL have very limited stocks in their european warehouses and buying from other warehouses is just way too expensive.

Thank you, I particularly like the sawdust idea Don. I will check the rules over here before going ahead with any method I decide upon. What I was particularly wondering was whether there are commercial smoke generators that are suitable for foam models that I could trigger on and off from the Tx as an alternative to my first suggestion. Cheers.

Oh well, never mind.

I recently got myself an E-Flite Air Tractor and just for fum I'm looking for a way to add a simple system to simulate crop dusting, or more likely, foam used in fire fighting. So far I've come up with the idea of a simple, appropriately shaped and fashioned box filled with something like talcum powder which can be released by a servo controlled opening. If anyone can offer some alternative simple ideas I'd be very grateful. Thanks.

It wasn't ! Northern Spain.

Maidened this morning. E-Flite Air Tractor. Really smooth and easy to fly. Fitted with aftermarket main gear and wheels and a few small enhacements.

Despite what I said earlier I do have to agree that E-Flite models fly extremely well. The FW-190 of my friend flew wonderfully but was a real handful on take off and landing. I met him at the club this morning and he's selling it on and has bought a second hand FMS Corsair which he flew and is very happy with. I must also say that my E-Flite Air Tractor completed it's maiden flight + one this morning and redeemed itself. Within 30 seconds after take off it was evident that it was an extremely well behaved aircraft, super smooth and very easy to fly, and I'm really looking forward to many more flights.

I've had three E-Flite models spanning from several years ago to the present day and I'm in agreement with Grumpy Gnome. I just bought the E-Flite Air Tractor as I was looking for something different. Overall the model looks quite decenty finished but it's the details that spoil it. Firstly my model came with a severely warped tail that had to be replaced under warranty, a process which took two weeks. How the piece in question passed any form of quality check is beyond me. Also, I find some of the plastics used to make many of the parts are not of the quality they used to be. A friend recently splashed out 550 euros for the E-Flite FW190 and has had nothing but problems with it and has vowed never to buy anything E-Flite ever again. I consider my Avios Grand Tundra and FMS PA-18 Super Cub to be equal to or better than many E-Flite offerings nowadays and they offer far better value for money too.

As someone living outside the UK, (Spain) when I go the the HK website there is no sign that the UK warehouse even existed, only European or Global. Sorrry for you guys over in Blighty.

Thank you for your replies gentlemen. Perhaps I should clarify what I mean by "performance" in this instance. Firstly though, I must highlight that generally I rarely fly at full throttle, mostly preferring to cruise around doing low and slow passes along the runway with flaps down. As such, the Tundra flies in a manner that I would describe as "acceptable" on 4S but also somewhat lethargic at certain instances which is my main concern. It is capable of flying loops, rolls, inverted flight and performing some basic aerobatics if I so wish when pushed. It's the "when pushed" bit that concerns me, as I get the feeling that it is lacking in oomph and could do with a tad more. This is especially so with reference to the low and slow flying with flaps down scenario as I don't feel the model has anything in reserve to enable me to punch out of a situation quickly with confidence. So, essentially I'm wanting some reserve power to provide me with some headroom if and when needed. I could of course go to 6s but personally I think that's way too over the top. However, many do fly the Tundra on large 6s packs so I don't think the added 150 grams of weight for the 5s 4000's is too much of a concern given the model weighs in at 2.9kg. Of the two battery choices I have, I am swayed towards the 4000's because I think it will cope better with how I like to fly the model. If the 3300's weren't on offer I probably wouldn't consider them.

About to invest in some 5S lipos to get a small performance improvement over the 4S lipos I'm currently using in an Avios Grand Tundra. All the electronics are fine up to 6S and I will be changing the prop to keep things within amps and watts limits. I have a choice between 3300mah 40c or 4000mah 55c. The 3300's have around the same Wh as my current 4S and I'm assuming that provided I keep amps to a similar level when flying I'll achieve similar flight times of around 6.5 minutes, with the 4000's enabling slightly longer flight times of perhaps 8 minutes. The 5S 3300's are virtually the same weight as my 4S 4000's and the 5S 4000mah lipos are 150g heavier. If the C ratings are to be believed perhaps the 4000's might be a better long term and performance bet. Because of an offer I can get three of the 3300's for just 7 euros more than 2 of the 4000's. Which would you buy?