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Hello Phil, there seems to be a glitch in my mail system. I'm happy to pay your asking price for the model and I have your postcode. All I need is your address and a suitable time to pick up. Kind regards. Brian.

Hello Phil, I'd like to buy the Sportstar, where are you located? I live in Bournemouth . Kind regards Brian jackson.

Hello Ken, my Dracon is finished with lightweight tissue, dope and sanding sealer. I think you might see it in "All Write" in the upcoming July issue of RCM&E. I used sanding sealer for the initial coats, rubbed down with 400 paper. Non shrink dope was brushed on and left unsanded. I used lightweight Esaki tissue, don't know if you can still get it. The tissue is damped with plain water, lay it on to the surface to be covered, ease out any wrinkles until the tissue sits smoothly on the surface. While the tissue is still damp, and using a soft brush, coat the tissue liberally with ordinary dope thinners. Tissue trim is added by cutting to shape first, then glued on using thinned (very thin!) non-shrink dope. You might find that there will be slight white "bloom" marks when the tissue dries out, just re-wet the areas with thinners and let it dry in a warm atmosphere. Hope this helps. Kind regards Brian

Hi Kevin, I've been re-building my Hannibal for a couple of years. I'm using closed loop on all control surfaces. My model is modified to fit into my Mini. The fuselage and wings are in two pieces. I've got some shots of the model taken during the build over the past couple of summers. Let me know if you're interested and I'll email them to you. Kind regards Brian.

Some years ago, Brian Winch wrote about silencers. I'm sure that if you look in the magazine's archive, you'll find the article. I used the advice to quieten a famous make .53 two stroke that was far too noisy on a small propeller. The silencer modification was done with two pieces of large bore silicone tube, slit and fitted inside the main body of the silencer. The power loss was minimal and the noise level was acceptable.

Spektrum DX 7 for two years,JR DSX9 for five years, added Spektrum DX8 two years ago, added Spektrum DX 10t last year. JR serviced by McGregor, Spektrum DX8 serviced and upgraded by Horizon Hobby last year. Only faults have been lack of signal when binding the DX8, and a complete loss of signal once using the JR DSX9. Both faults were promptly fixed by the distributors. Years ago I used 35mHz Fleet gear with no problems and an early Futaba 2.4gHz, also with no problems. I use JR and Spektrum now, I find the programming is easier than other makes.

Anything would be most welcome. Brian.

Hallo John, has your LMS got a rack of plastic sections,? Usually there's a range of rigid white plastic tubing, I'm sure that some of that would be useful. The tube is, I think, made from rigid polystyrene. Its easy to cut with a razor saw and it'll stick with Uhu Por. Wrap the tube in Solartrim to hide the joint. Regards Brian

Hallo David, I flew my Dracon last weekend. I only mention this because its a Boddo design from 1987, published in RM as a free plan. There's a photo of a young Andrew Boddington holding the original model in tthe build article from the magazine. I'd like a "WingFing" it would make a good foreplane for a foam version of the Dracon. Regards

Hallo Tom, thank you very much indeed for the CraneFlyLite design and PDF. Congratulations to you and all those involved in the project. What's your secret? Is it a ten day week and forty eight hour days? Thanks again. Kind regards Brian.

Hallo Greg, your flying experiences are just like mine. The two things that finally got me flying were a flightsim program on my computer, this helped no end with orientation problems, and a model called Basic3D. At the time it was a free plan in RCM+E but now you can get a laser cut kit.for it. At least you'll be able to "fly" the simulator and have a go at building the model on the all to frequent days where flying isn't possible. However, joining a club and getting tuition from an instructor would get you flying with more confidence and less crashes. As a bonus you'll be with like minded people and you'll find that flying an R/C model really is more fun than trauma. Brian

Hallo Tom, the last few trips with the Crane Fly have been quite exciting. To clear the landing area, I turned too far crosswind and promptly lost orientation. Fortunately a fellow autogyro pilot told me to close the throttle. As soon as I did, peace was restored and the model autorotated into a nearby field.The repairs were a new prop and rotor shaft/bolt. Yesterday I persisted with taking off, there really wasn't enough wind, but the rotor was spinning in an encouraging way at the end of each attempt. Finally I tried to haul it off the ground. Now I've found out the hard way that autogyros can't be forced into doing something, they have to be invited, gently! The repairs won't take long, luckily. I must say that for a model that, apart from the power train and a couple of bearings, is built from leftover bits and pieces, it really is a lot of fun and a challenge too. Thanks again and I'm looking forward to the next development from your drawing board. Regards Brian

Hallo Paul, its good to hear about your enthusiastice return to model flying. A few years ago, I built a Skystreak 40 from plans bought on a famous auction site, it was to celebrate the 60th year since my oldest friend flew the model in the West Hants control line stunt event. The model was built between us as neither could afford the total cost. We drew lots on who would fly the comp, my chum won. He won the comp too! A few weeks later we had a kind note and an even kinder postal order for 10s/6d from Eddie Keil. I have two photos of me holding the Skysteak, I don't know which one is worst, me at sixteen with lots of hair and "attitude"or the last one at seventy six with little hair left at all. Model aeroplanes are definitely good for you, as a bonus they keep you feeling young, I sometimes browse my old KK Handbook and Aeromodeller Annuals, strangely, I still get the feeling that I'd much rather get on with a spot of model building, rather than do my homework! Regards Brian

Hallo Spikey, if 40" is your maximum wingspan, and you want to fly on three channels, I'd suggest a Lazy Bee. Its quick to build, cheap and very light. Don't be put off by the fragile appearance, LBs are as tough as old boots. My old friend of many years an I have been flying this design for around fifteen years now, we're both on our third replacements. Not only is the LB a good fun aeroplane, its economical on batteries as in the faintest of thermals, it'll stay flying all day.

Hallo Tom, its a Mk 1 SFH Crane Fly, built to the information on the pdf you sent me, and as described in the first few pages of the forum. I was expecting to have problems with the trimmiing on the first flight, instead I had a most enjoyable time. I must be honest though, the model really and truly flew itself, straight from the launch. All I did was to try and not panic and use very small stick movements. The flight consisted of a few left and right hand circuits, some straight flying with various throttle settings, and a couple of "touch and go" attempts. The conditions weren't quite perfect for a first flight as there was some turbulence close to the ground, however, the Crane Fly responds very nicely to throttle inputs, so landing was a lot less stressful than I thought it would be. Best of all, it survives undamaged to fly again. I was surprised to see that the forum had grown to so many pages, I'm sure it must be the most visited one for a long time. Have you published details of your latest lightweight design? If so, could you let me know how to get the information. Regards. Brian Jackson

Hallo Tom, its a Mk 1 SFH Crane Fly, built to the information on the pdf you sent me, and as described in the first few pages of the forum. I was expecting to have problems with the trimmiing on the first flight, instead I had a most enjoyable time. I must be honest though, the model really and truly flew itself, straight from the launch. All I did was to try and not panic and use very small stick movements. The flight consisted of a few left and right hand circuits, some straight flying with various throttle settings, and a couple of "touch and go" attempts. The conditions weren't quite perfect for a first flight as there was some turbulence close to the ground, however, the Crane Fly responds very nicely to throttle inputs, so landing was a lot less stressful than I thought it would be. Best of all, it survives undamaged to fly again. I was surprised to see that the forum had grown to so many pages, I'm sure it must be the most visited one for a long time. Have you published details of your latest lightweight design? If so, could you let me know how to get the information. Regards. Brian Jackson

Hallo Tom, I flew the Crane Fly for the first time today. It flew "straight off the board". This was a first for me! A fellow club member hand launched the model, and encouraging comments came from another autogyro flyer. I think perhaps i could be lucky in the successful first flight, but I must say that the model performed beautifully. Thank you for the design and your constant input to the forum. Regards Brian Jackson

Hallo Tom, the Crane Fly had its maiden today. It flew "straight off the board". I still can't believe that I really have flown an autogyro. Thank you very much for the design and your constant input. The forum has been a great help too. Much to my surprise, the "Dark Side" isn't all that bad really, in fact its most enjoyable! Kind regards Brian Jackson

Hallo Tom, thank you very much for the "Pilot's Notes". I saw your thread on the Crane Fly while i was in Australia. After contacting you and getting the PDF download, I was keen to get building. My Crane Fly is almost finished now, and to say the least I've been more than a little apprehensive about the first flight. Now that I've read and re-read your observations, I'm starting to feel as though I might just be able to fly the model. Thanks again for all your input Brian Jackson.

The engine mounting "box" has so much side and down thrust built in that its impossible to get the cowling to fit over the engine. The model is a Flair kit that I'm repairing. I have another Giles which I think is a "CM Pro" ARTF kit. The engine mounting is almost identical to that on the Flair model. So far I haven't been able to find any information about the thrust line of the Giles. Can anyone help please?

Hallo Crosswind, I wish I still had a big box with an Acrowot kit inside! Mine has finally come to the end of its colourful life, it was rebuilt at least eight times, the final "arrival" wrecked the wing and tore out the wing mounting from the fuselage. My Acrowot had various engines, Saito .65 four stroke, OS .46AX and finally Irvine .53. The only modification I did to mine was to increase the chord of the rudder, I did this because the model wouldn't spin reliably, after the rudder mod. it would perform to order. Instead of beefing up the U/C mounting, try using 6mm nylon bolts, these break off long before any damage can occur to the mounting. When building, make absolutely sure that the wing halves meet perfectly, the slightest mis-alignment will give you lots of trimming problems. Finally, keep all the die cut scrap bits and make a template of the fuselage sides. A well set up Acrowot is an absolute joy to fly and like a full size aeroplane, it has to be flown with some care when low and slow, as when landing. If you can, practice landing at a height that will allow you to recover, the stall of an Acrowot can catch you out, if you fly high enough to be able to watch it, you'll see what I mean. In closing, you'll always find "experts" who know all about "tip stalls" and wouldn't fly an Acrowot if it was the last model in the World. Just carry on and ignore them. Build it light, and build it straight, then go fly it and enjoy yourself.

Any one of those would be nice. Count me in please.

Hallo Peter, 70 is only a number and I'm sure your old skills will soon return. I'm 79 now and learned to fly R/C just a few years ago. The model that finally got me flying was the Basic3D, a design by Mike Keay and available as a plan or kit from RCM+E. I liked the model so much that I built another after an unfortunate incident involving an aerial that wasn't extended!. The second one is still flying and is nearly three years old. Whichever route you choose, enjoy it.