dave windymiller

I often use a 1/16 hex key instead of a 1.5mm hex in m3 grub screws as they are a few thou bigger and less likely to slip. Where possible i also change short m3 grubs (say 3mm long) for 4 or 5mm which have deep holes and more surface area for the key to grip!

I was in my LMS yesterday and was shown the ripmax on line catalog for dealers. Something like 200 types of artf models listed, 4 in stock!

Im progressing towards a Mig 1.44 for two VT80 turbines. There is only one Mig 1.44 and this resides in a museum having flown only a few times after the Russians opted for J10 design instead. Having started with a balsa profile model the next step is a 60 powered model of a Mig 1.42 "LFI" at 1/12th scale. The 1.42 was the single engine version but this never got off the drawing board at full scale. This model was to have a turbine but i decided my vt80 was too big for it so went for a 65AX just to prove it (may convert to a smaller turbine if its a success) . Its at the painting stage so will hopefully fly this summer. The model of the 1/10th scale 1.44 "MFI" (or flatpack as its western codename) just needs a glass fuselage casting. The bottom pic shows the wings attached to the plug used for the mold!     Edited By dave windymiller on 22/04/2019 21:58:29

Posted by Gary Manuel on 01/02/2019 11:06:18: You could always do something like THIS. I'm very happy with the results. +1 Wish i had thrown away the nicads years ago. It gives new life for a tired 4s battery no longer any good for flying! I go for weeks between charges now and its always ready to go, never flat.

I for one enjoyed the article on Arduinos and the servo exerciser. For many years ive played with PIC chips and as such i ignored alternatives until this article. I knocked up an arduino to play with servos, flashing LEDs and the like and was amazed how simple the user programming is with all the hard work tucked away in the background. Far simpler than PIC chips and hence less time programming and more balsa bashing. Why the interest? I have built a 60 powered mig 142 (1/12 scale) as a test bed for a bigger mig 144 (1/10 scale) but the problem with these canard jets is the rear u/c is so much further back from the models cg which makes take off difficult. As the U/C retracts forwards i plan to try and partially retract the rear electric retracts and then stop them so they are moved forward a couple of inches. This sounds like a job for an arduino circuit to cut and later restore the power to these retacts in flight? Then theres U/C door sequencing, something else to try? If this works, the same will be tried on the 144 (twin VT80 turbines planned). I know of one in Germany that was destroyed on its maiden due to c/g and u/c positioning causing a violent ground loop on takeoff. I want to try and avoid this! I look forward to the rest of the series on arduinos. Dave Windy Miller   Edited By dave windymiller on 27/01/2019 19:35:23

Thanks all Ive reduced throws and managed to shed a few grams from the rear and will decrease the reflex on the ailerons and try again tomorrow. Cheers Dave

My Mosie had a habit of tip stalling. I now have reflex ie up aileron on both wings and reduced down throw on ailerons. It is far less prone to dropping a wing now. The last few times of flying its behaved like it had a rearward c of g with a lot of pitch sensitivity. Ive added some 200g of lead to the nose and have minimum throws on elevator and 40% expo but still its a roller coaster ride. Can upward reflex in the ailerons cause or increase this effect of pitch instability?   Edited By dave windymiller on 25/12/2018 20:03:39

Posted by alex nicol on 18/12/2018 23:02:26: Ive just been messing about with a home made foam cutter powered with a PC PSU controlled with a dimmer switch. I've tried various types of cutting wire from 0.27 - 0.6 nichrome wire ti lay straight control line wire. ideally I'm looking to cut a 30" span section. Has anybody else tried this and if so what wire/PSU did you use A PC power supply is switch mode type and powering it via a light dimmer which carves up the AC, sounds like a recipe for a distressed power supply! A dimmer would work much better on a simple transformer. Ive had good results using guitar strings which is handy when you have a guitar too! Cheers Dave

We got superfast from BT but the nearest the fibre cable comes to our house is 1/2 mile away. Its copper wires the last bit and it works fine.

That reminds me of shuffling feet and zapping the metal bookshelves in the school library over and over until they were fully charged. We then sat back to wait for a victim to choose a book and BANG with a 1" bright spark of lightning. How we laughed. They eventually earthed the shelves to stop this!

A mate of mine lost his cox 010 powered free flight model last Saturday night at the nats. After contacted the bmfa he discovered that it had been handed in to them by some kind person. The BMFA built a box around the model and posted it to him, arriving Thu (i think), totally unharmed. Well done those involved. I for one didnt expect he would see that again.

Once i tried oracover (or profilm) i never looked at solarfilm again!

Thankyou all

  Making some progress. I decided to add a better pilot than just the usual head and shoulders so i got one from real model pilots. Had to shrink him in height as i couldnt use the full depth Not totally to scale and once the canopy is in plenty good enough. The canopy didnt have any form of frame cast in so i had the bright idea of casting a fibfreglass shell around the outside of the canopy then cutting it out to produce a more realistic frame. Note the whole of the rear of the canopy opens on a 109G   Finished spinner   The thing i love about foam wings is the speed of progress once the wing skin is in place. 2 days work for a nealy finished wing. The flaps on a 109 are quite complex with 3 parts. The flap thats about mid span will be lowered by a servo in the wing. I can also make this flap act as an aileron if necessary as the now scalish aileron is quite small. The inner flap has an upper and lower section which is part of the radiator duct and these seperate as the flap lowers. The top will be driven bt a torque arm and the two halves joined by a linkage that increases seperation as it lowers (hopefully!) stay tuned Dave windy Miller Edited By dave windymiller on 18/08/2018 21:39:09