Steve Colman

Nice one Stephen. ?

Cheers John.

E-Flite Opterra. Always fancied one of these despite it being somewhat expensive for what it is, but life is short and it was my birthday a few days ago so why not I thought.

All purpose made Gary. The smaller of the two was laid first with the longer one (200m) added some years later.

Yes guys, It's a very nice place to fly and the club facilities are some of the best in the country. Here's a view of the club I did a few years ago.

Hi Gary. Shot at my club field in Northern Spain (Aragon). Foothills of the Pyrenees in the background.

My second head cam video featuring my Solius. This time the horzon is more or less level.

Hi Ron, I agree about the audio quality being quite poor and it doesn't accept an external mic. However, it's ok if just needing some ambient background sound. For my purposes it's not that important as I usually add music to most of my videos anyway. So, the convenience of it's size, features and video quality vs it's price suits my needs adequately at the moment. If you need to narrate a video live then it may be an issue.

Ron, I'm so sorry!

Thanks for the comment Ray. The camera is the Apeman Trawo action camera. I paid about 65 Euros for it from Amazon a couple of years ago and it has been updated since with even better specs. It has genuine 4k video recording, image stabilisation, and just about all the other features found on most action cams. Additionally it comes with a variety of clamps and mounts for almost every occasion. Last summer I played around with it on a gimbal attached to a long pole flying through some trees, using my mobile as a monitor via the wi-fi connection which works very well. The raw image quality in 4K is excellent in my view and looks great on my 27" monitor. The camera's field of view can be changed from wide, medium and narrow akin to a digital zoom. I used narrow for the video which I think is best for filming model planes (helping to avoid some of the inevitable spec in the sky) and the quality after editing and posting on youtube is sufficient for the purpose in my opinion. For what I paid I've been genuinely happy with the camera and will be using it more over the next few months as the weather improves. I'm sure you will find something even better specified nowadays.

My first ever video using a headcam. Need to get the horizon straight in the next one.

I also put together the occasional plastic kit and used to draw but not so recently. My other main hobby is photograpy; mainly portrait and landscape and lots of model planes too of course.

it's probably a very small glass.

Looking very stylish.

They're both flying really nice Steve. Next up the Auto-G I hope. I fitted a simple Tx controlled switch to mine today to replace the stock prerotater which was really unreliable. With luck,I might even manage a test flight tomorrow.

Looking very good to me Steve. The mark 1 is flying really nicely.

Watching with interest.

You're very welcome Stephen. I like your mast solution. That's one hefty servo you've got there. Let me know how you get on with the maiden.

I think I'll do the same to mine too.

Excellent Ken, brings back such great childhood memories.

Hi Stephen, Glad to be of help. The manual doesn't give any throws unfortunately. I have the rudder set to the right so that the control horn just clears the fin at max throw and the same amount set for left rudder - clevis is in outer hole. Elevator is a similar story, max up just clears the bottom of the rudder with the same throw again set for down. Aileron. This is more trial and error but I did the following. Looking from the rear, I set max left aileron to just clear the top of the tower and then did the same for right aileron. This was my max rates at 100% setting. I also have lower rates of around 80% and 60% and I actually prefer the 60% setting. Control rods in the outermost hole on the head and third from centre at servo. I will move the servo end in one hole in the future for max mechanical advantage and readjust the rates accordingly. Expo set as personal preference on all control throws. Hope this helps. I'm also planning/hoping to build a hybrid Auto-G with a few improvements incorporating the change to the tower/servo position as shown in the photos. First shows stock - note the angle between the control rod and the head. Second shows my proposed mod which provides better alignment and less stress for the servo .

Not a new model but It's been sitting unloved for over 6 years so decided to recussitate it with a RX and ESC from the spares box. 32" span EPP Jamara Eppler. A lovely little flyer.

Hi Stephen, I balance the Auto-G using the hang method; holding by the top of the mast and assessing the tail boom angle which should be more or less 15 degrees (nose down of course). I simply tape a sheet of paper to the wall which I have drawn angles at 12, 15, and 18 degrees and aim for somewhere in the middle as a starting point and adjust at the field if necessary. Yes, the stock motor does have downthrust of around 4 degrees, although that's a rough estimate on my part. However, If you're using a motor with an X mount you can change it easily to suit using washers for example. All the best with yours and let me know how you get on. Oh, I've subscribed to your YT channel too. Mine is "Artesanair" if you feel like taking a peek. Steve.

Stephen, I feel where you're coming from. I have similar frustrations with my Durafly Auto-G at the moment. A couple of good flights marred by a simple blow over on landing leading to something needing repair, Auto rotater not working properly, there always seems to be something. But, the worst part is the wind; mainly coming from the south recently, it blows directly over our club installation causing awful turbulence and at 90 degrees to the strip to boot. I'm now just patiently waiting for a gentle Westerly or Easterly before continuing my autogyro adventures.

The canopy of the Lentus is made from much softer plastic than those of the Solius/Heron so should be much more durable and remain crack free.