Hamish

Had picked up a Saito 40 at the beginning of the week that was seized solid and I had eased off and bench run, running like a little sewing machine.  Had been renovating a Cub and with the engine fitted was desperate for a flight.   Down to the field and although it was blowing a bit, half a dozen hardy soles out.  Set up for first flight and was I impressed.  Either the wind was stronger than I thought or the Saito is a lot more powerful than I first considered, but within 10metres she was up and away, gob smacked and delighted.   Got a bit of height and was being blown about far beyond my capabilities so decided to land and call it  a day.  Pulled back on throttle and went dead stick.  Managed to get it into field bein blown all over the place and managed a bit of a cartwheel taking the top off the cabin  and minor damage to the wing but not even breaking the prop.  Lesson from previous incident with Boomerang, made sure I picked up ALL the bits,  getting good a jigsaws but it will repair.  I think I will do away with the perspex windows and make solid as this will give more strength to repair.   Lessons learned today are to ensure model is properly set up.  If  tickover had been set higher I would not have dead sticked.  Other lesson is to fly within my capabilities although you have to learn sometimes.   One major plus is that the Club will be easily fixed and is not a display model.  It is there for me to learn both in flying and repairing.     Roll on next weekend although I could be out earlier with another model.

Thanks Doug and John   The crankcase breather is free, however I will check.   Its going in an old Cub I am renovating and can't wait for the weekend when hopefully it will get a flight.  Have an APC 11 x  7 which I will try.  Model shop did not have a APC 11 x 6 although I have a Master Screw 11 X 6  which I can change too if need be.

Recently purchase off net.  When total came, after I had ordered, postage came to about 25% of cost, which would have purchased enough balsa for two more models.   I can go to two good model shops reasonably easily and from now on will buy locally

Picked this engine up off ebay.  Sized solid and covered in grot and had epoxy to hold carb pipe in place etc.  After a complete strip, with gently persuasion in heated engine cleaner, got it all apart and cleaned up and turning freely.  Re-assembled and it looks really good.   Put it on my test bed and having no idea what the needle settings would be and did the "blow through" set up.  Second application of the starter motor and away she went, am I gobsmacked. First problem was I though she was running the wrong way.  After several stops and starts had a look at the prop I had just thrown on, a pusher!!!!! Changed prop and I really am impressed.  Can get it ticking over so low that  I am sure I can count the revs. just like taking your pulse.   Anyway the purpose of the post is should oil come out of the front bearing?  I was turning the engine over by hand and noted oil coming out.  If it does need a set of bearing any ideas from where.   Just as an addition to this post, this type of engine encourages what I have term the Harley Davidson syndrom when you just polish  and polish as they look so good.  Anybody else have this affliction?    

Oops   When I come back in I have to log on and end up with my details page? re-enter the site and it appears ok.I do not no if this is a new problem without trawling through to find out.   Can I repeat my previous suggestion that moderators maintain a sticky with known faults, action taken/to be taken and a date  and this will provide a ready reference

Unfortunately, and unless somebody can list otherwise, at the moment I have seen no change to the site other than losses to valuable features e.g. go to last post that we previously had and the random appearance of photos depending on the position of the moon,again a loss.   Still being patient, but can't understand how it can be said to be better

Myron   They are still gone  we're doomed, doomed, doomed   Giving my age away here, although I can scarcely remember it, but I did see a blue moon.   In a few hours, after a few low fliers, I will be seeing the stars as well

I have the existing one to copy off which was not to well fitted and held on with servo screws.  Did you manage to shape the perspex with heat or what?   Note to Mods   Spell checker now working - Great, although where is it on the tool bar?   Will go  out and see if full moon as photos have now disappeared

Photos have now appeared  - must be something to do with the sun going down.   Stephen it looks good.  I am about to try the canopy to my own cub to will see how I get on 

Thanks for your input Eric, which is the method I am applying.  Do you use the same method for solid surfaces so in effect it is only held at the edges and shrunk tight but not adhered to all over.

I have the proper iron and have started to master its use.  Have used a hair drier and it appears to work ok.  I am more interested in the tips on using these tools.   I am recovering an old model that I have stripped back.  Covering the fuzelage from the back forwards I have covered the tail plane surfaces which are solid balsa.  Instructions for Solarfilm(solid colour) for solid balsa surface indicate heating from the middle and working outwards which I have done.  I have achieved a nice tight finish however I can clearly see balsa grain etc at bits which suggest I may be ironing too hard and squeezing the glue out.   Discussion with an experienced modeller suggests that I should cover like an open structure, tacking at the sides and pulling tight, with a finish off with a hot air gun to tighten up which should allow the non ironed areas to achieve some grip.  The wing in this model which I do not intend to strip off appears to have been done this way and is just full of unsightly bubbles which I have found I can iron out.   Any help very much appreciated

Sorry, missed the decimal point 1.3 volts.

Thanks Bruce   I now use a stabalised (sorry if incorrect spelling,  on wish list)  PSU and charge at just over 13 volts.  Again I was a bit concerned that the current draw was quite large at that voltage and did not come down as  anticipated.   Unit appears ok

I purchased a NiMh glow start and found it got very warm using the NiCad charger.  What should the charge voltage for a NiMh be?

Thanks Gemma.   Appears the Hobby is a bit different from the Flair.  Will try and source a Flair cowl front or just make the effort and fabricate

I have a scratch build Cub with a damage front cowl.  Can somebody please give me the dimensions of the Hobby Zone Cub as it looks the same.   The existing cowl is approximately 118mm across and 80mm high and could be that as fitted to a Flair Cub.   Any help much appreciated

If I had paid a expert for the changes I would not be impressed at what has happened.   Hopefully many of the features that previously existed will reappear and ake the site more user friendly in function and appearance.   Will be a bit more paitent   ps Whilst Firefox brings up the spelling errors I get a menu of totally unrelated operations   PATIENCE , Patienc , patien, patie, pati, pat, pa, Gone

Phil I have taken on your comments.  I am building a SE 5a and without the in-depth knowledge appreciate what you say and have experienced. Will keep for sunny calm days

Its on PDF format and therefor just trial and error which is not that difficult. Have a local print shop who copied a large plan for me at a reasonable cost.  The said they could provide me with a disc with the copy on but were not sure how to do so still waiting.

Thanks Ben Used a little bit of the grey matter and worked it out in the PDF format. I assume its a bit of trial and error on the percentage reduction to get the print near the actual size as 100% is way to big.   

Got the same disc but unable to locate software for printing. How do you print off a whole plan in A4 ? Any help appreciated as there appears some interesting model to have a go at.

Phil "This is the stuff they use in tiny amounts in natural gas so we can smell when we are gassing ourselves or we're about to blow up." I served my apprenticeship at a high pressure gasification plant which produced odourless gas to which we injected a substance to provide the safety requirements you refer to.   An individual took some  solution home to put outside his house to scare away dogs,  Next thing the gas board are digging up the street. Used to hate working on these motor/pumps as you threw away any clothing afterwords

Thanks Dave  I can see the advantages as the PVA is very difficult to sand.   Will look for next time I am in model shop. 

Thanks Phil I take it, it is a two part epoxy resin, 5, 30, 60 minute or whatever?

I have used Evostick wood glue which I think is a PVA and use this most for general building. I use Pound Land's super glue, which has just gone up in price, as you now only get three tubes instead of five, for quick stitches as I am not too sure if it could be brittle. Have just started using Gorilla Glue for my none to accurate joints.  It expands when it sets and is rock hard.  Just change my trainer to a tail dragger.  Epoxied a small piece of ply to the fuselage.  Had a bent bit if wire attached by undercarriage clamp however easily bent.  Cut a small bit of ply and re-enforced the wire.  Where this ply joined to the original on fuselage I have created a fillet using this glue and it is solid. Use epoxy for joints where strength is needed. Can somebody please explain what  "aliphatic glue" is