dave windymiller

I built my Curare in 1981-2. In 2020 I smashed it and rebuilt it but with a new foam wing. I then repaired the original built up curare wing and built a magic fus for it. So half of my curare and half of my magic are 40 years old. Both have worn out their webras and now sports a ax65 (curare) and novo rossi 60rear (magic) The curare is in bits again but it will be repaired!

When i built my jet engine, i was a member of the Gas turbine builders association (GTBA) and one of their article showed the Ball XJE engine and it was dismissed as something that would be very unlikely to even self sustain!

Found a bit more!

That looks nice. Having built the Vogul-fly Batwing which flies a treat, i was tempted with a boo for building when were are staying in Wales but wanted something a bit bigger. I am leaning towards an "AR-1" (plan off outerzone) but the boo still keeps cropping up in my mind. Decisions !

Im extremely pleased with mine. Glad i added flaps. Set to crow for landing!

Im sure i have one. Will look for you

Looking good Nick. It looks a robust model so every gram you can shave off eg holes in bulkheads etc will help! Roll on the Nats!

Something worth noting is the way the bands are put on. The last example has no side force keeping the band (green) on the dowel (red) and relies on tension and dowel length only. Add a bit of slippery fuel residue and they can fly off too easily along with the wing.

RCjet international did a review of the swiwin 80 in Apr/May 2021. No complaints if i remember correct. Xicoy or jetsmunt and you cant go wrong is my view! Just looked at Stirlingkit website. $27 for an enya#5 glow plug (not even the popular #3!)- Wow!

Model shop leeds Pelikan MPX 8 Pin Wing Connector 1M71285 (48078)

Ive just bought these for my turbine powered f86. They will trap between fus and wing for aileron & flap and will align as wing inserted. Intentions are common up both servos +ve on 2 pins, same on -ve and 2 connector pins for each servo signal. Cables ends then buried in epoxy blocks (shape formed by tape).

I had a model that briefly went into failsafe due to distance and having the transmitter aerial pointing towards the model. The engine went to idle but i thought it had cut. As i leaned on the sticks to glide it back i realised nothing was happening. The motor then sprang back to life and the control surface jumped to the ever increasing stick movements. This caused it to flip and it went in at full throttle. I now go for engine cut for failsafe.

Ahh Meccano, Hornby, Scalextrics and Airfix. Before i discovered balsawood, I would tie airfix models to a piece of string and spin them round and round (c/l fashion). Some even "flew". I had a big Meccano airplane which was heavy so would fly on an even longer piece of string... ....until I hit a kid on the head with it. Never seen so much blood! I was banned from such activities for several years before the cox bell aerocobra arrived. I could fly with the thing on fire now!!

I found Solartex was great with cellulose and brings it up like new with hardly any colour removal. I did this to remove all the old fuel proofer & paint from a 30 year old model leaving a finish like a freshly covered wing. Beware using cellulose thinners on Oritex however as it does remove the colour much more, particularly from raised edges eg ribs.

And Me please? Got this to Maiden. Im sure i will find a good tosser there?

Whats the error msg on the fadec?

I often use a bungy strap hooked around the nose leg on my jet!

Ive found when using paper gaskets as supplied by some engine manufacturers, the exhaust works loose after a while. I dont bother with the gaskets now.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Avoid these!

For years ive used the white lightweight filler from various diy stores. Recently ive noticed this filler doesnt sand and acts as if its got pva mixed in (rubbery a bit). Bought a second pot (different make) and its the same . Anyone else found this or have any good suggestions for the easy to sand version?

Did a bit of experimenting with the funfighter. Reduced power range check was a good 50 big steps away and was consistent with many tries until the aerial was pointed directly at the plane. It reduced by some 40-50% The 2 aerials in the plane at the orientation when it lost signal was with one aerial pointing back towards me. When the plane was rotated a bit, the range check improved! Had several flights with the plane with the tx aerial "correct" and it was solid all day.

Apologies if someone has already linked to this but this circuit has worked very well for me for years! https://www.learningelectronics.net/VA3AVR/gadgets/glow.htm

Whilst flying my funfighter FW190 a reasonable distance away (approx 150-200m and quite low at some 15m high), the engine appeared to stop so I tried to bank for a deadstick landing. It then became clear that the plane wasn’t responding as I pushed the sticks further over. Just as I realised this, the engine sprang back to life and the model did a sudden flip and hit the deck at full power (luckily very little damage!). What had happened was the plane had gone into failsafe with the engine going to idle but it did it so quietly I thought it had stopped. It then came out of failsafe and with the sticks being lent on, the control surfaces suddenly moved and combined with sudden and unexpected full power, brought down the plane. As I looked at the transmitter for some reason for what had just happened I noticed my transmitter aerial was not how I normally orientate it but pointing towards the model. We did some ground range checks and found the orientation of the aerial did cause failsafe to cut in at a similar distance! The radios instructions make it clear that the aerial should not point towards the model as this is the weakest transmission direction. Whether I knocked the aerial or forgot to orientate it I don’t know but a simple error brought the model down! I was using the Futaba SG14 FASST transmitter and Futaba receiver. This worried me as this could have been my jet losing control, all for an aerial pointing in the wrong direction! I have now glued one of the joints in my aerial so it can now only rotate 90 degrees and never point straight forward (towards the model) whilst holding the transmitter. This will ensure I cannot accidentally have the aerial in the worst direction for range. I will also seriously consider having a failsafe set to kill an IC engine rather than idle – The engine suddenly coming back to life was why I lost control. A dead engine wouldn’t have been so much of a problem!