Cuban8

30+ degrees and intense sun for this weekend so that's a no no for me.

I've had this sort of problem on a well used engine myself where no matter what one does, the prop slips on the driver/spinner. In a magazine tips column years ago to help with this, a suggestion was given to make up double sided 'grip' shims from fine wet and dry paper - i.e. cut out to suit and stuck together back to back and placed between the prop and prop driver and/or prop and spinner. It does help, in fact I had occasion to do some work on a model that I was recomissioning recently after a long lay up, and there was a couple of 'grippy shims' I'd fitted years ago still in place. Might be worth a try.

Military Aircraft seriously damaged by activists, anarchists, protesters (choose whichever you fancy) at Brize Norton. Made their way inside the base on bikes by the look of it. No bike registration or qualifications etc needed of course. 'Only' paint used to wreck the engines......clearly easier and more effective than other certain more tech methods that the government and CAA have got their knickers in a twist over and are causing us grief. Having done a lot of electrical work on RAF stations as a civilian contractor back in the 1990's, I was regularly challenged by armed military police when working in outlying buildings even after they'd got to know me. I think there was a Bikini Amber alert at the time because of IRA worries.

Yes, agree 100%. I did mention "most aircraft" and in this context I was meaning your average sport flyer model rather than anything extreme flown by experts.

Unless the design is very simple in its wing planform and really only needs eyeballing and balancing on your fingers, I like to calculate my own CG position and compare the figure to that which the designer gives. On my Brian Taylor Spitfire and based on a CG positioned at 30% of the mean chord, BT's figure on the plan is fairly conservative and can be pushed back a bit - no more than 3/8" - but it does help get quite a bit of lead out of the nose even with such a relatively small change........be careful though! Jon's words on CG, control throws, rates and expo are all very useful and I've changed my MO over the last few years according to his advice. As in the example of expo, I avoid it on most models now - it's really not needed, particularly on elevator if other settings are attended to first. Maybe a little fine tuning here and there, but only a few percentage points - nothing like the huge numbers e.g 20%, 30%, 40% etc that some flyers dial in - I suspect to mask another issue. Fair enough on crazy fun-flys with barn door controls where various settings can be switched in and out as needed of course. One last thing......I don't think I've ever test flown a model, either my own or for somebody else, where I haven't had enough control movement and the model feels scary - always the opposite and far too sensitive, so I tend to err on the reduced movement side these days for first flights that really only need safe steerage way to start with. Some say that you need plenty of control movement to get out of trouble........actually quite the opposite, and something that I used to drum into beginners after toning down the settings on their models prior to a maiden flight. Many ARTFs still give excesive control throws IMHO - not good if their suggested CG is also out of whack and usually too far back. Start small and build up. A very interesting part of Test Pilot, Jeffrey Quill's biography 'Spitfire, a test pilot's story' is how they developed tests and testing in the 1930's for longitudinal stability before more scientific methods came about.

I've never used Dynaglow myself, but at one time, years ago, it was a popular fuel within my club. I don't recall anyone having a serious issue with it. Maybe someone who actually used it could chip in with some info - I believe it was intended as a 'performance fuel' for piped two strokes hence the low oil content and quite high nitro options which did require expertise in setting an engine. The early synthetic EDL used by Model Technics did catch some users out through tuning to an extreme and is probably why the 2% castor was added in an attempt to prevent nipping up in the case of a very lean run. Obviously, MT developed in over the years as the chemistry improved. If I had some Dynaglow available with the later EDL2 I'd give it a try in a well run in engine, ideally one that's not particularly out to give top performance with screaming revs. When Model Technics first made a big thing about their advanced EDL, I asked the owner of a local model shop where I bought my fuel (now long since gone, naturally) what EDL stood for..........always a humourist, after a pause he replied "Extremely Dubious Lubricant"! Not a great sales pitch. Apologies for drifting away from the original topic......conversations sometimes do go like that.

If adding a small amount of castor to one's fuel gives confidence, then that's up to the individual to make that call. I don't agree that it helps in the least with corrosion issues as none of my engines run with fully synthetic suffer from bearing wear other than that which you'd expect through usual wear and tear after extended use. Forty plus years ago when castor was king for sport flyers, engine bearings still failed and rusted if you didn't maintain your engine correctly- particularly when laying up for an extended time. I never bother with so called after run oils between flying sessions during the summer months and I often forget to run my engines dry when still hot at the end of the day. Can't say I've noticed any increase in problems over the years.

OK, the instructions say 18% oil content - they're the manufacturers, experts etc etc - however many, many years of practical experience with these engines demonstrate that 18% is very conservative and it's quite OK to run on a slightly lower oil content, in my case Laser fuel with 15% synthetic oil. Don't let castor anywhere near them - not a drop. 10% nitro simply isn't needed - 5% is plenty and I'm sure one of my friends runs his 4 strokes on straight with no problems. I doubt if it's actually needed and I don't bother myself, but run in on the higher oil if concerned and then go to 15%. Given the different brands of fuels that are produced around the world, each with their own local oils, methanol and nitro and all claiming to offer better this and that, our engines are remarkably tolerant of what we run them on. You really do have to go way off piste to do damage in my opinion. The makers have to cover themselves and scare us with refusing warranty cover if what they say isn't followed exactly, which is fair enough I suppose. Whether those warranties are actually worth the paper they're printed on is another matter. I've probably got an old SC/ASP instruction sheet around somewhere from the year dot that insists on 20% oil and a drop of castor as well. Times move on. I'm going to make up a litre of 12% oil fuel when I get a moment and try an engine on that - I reckon it'll run just fine. Can't say about other more high performance makes although my OS120FS runs as sweet as a nut on Laser 15%. The instructions for that engine say use 18% oil, either fully castor (what!!!!) or a good synthetic or a mixture of both.......really hedging their bets with all that. I understand from friends who favour Saito engines that they do need at least 10% nitro to give of their best - don't know I've never owned one of that make.

Just read through the article again and I'm puzzled as to the wholesalers' attitude to some Solarfilm products, in that they refused to stock and supply some lines to the model shops in the UK. All water under the bridge now and we wish Andrew well.

So sad and frustrating to see another once top innovative British company handing over to foreign competitors, and we as consumers relying again totally on imported products. Can't say that I blame AH for chucking the towel in - I'd had enough of work when I was fifty five, but it's disappointing to not have found someone willing to take on his business and adapt and develop their products and markets much as Oracover has shown can be done . I am surprsed that Solartex couldn't be somehow continued though - the films I can understand, but Solartex was unique and superior to its rivals. Easier said than done, I suppose, given the similar demise of Laser, Just Engines, Flair and so many others that were once go-to names in our hobby. I have the February 2018 edition of RCM&E with the Solarfilm article in it next to me now. Sadly, the pictures of the factory production area and machinery tell their own story and I think Solarfilm announced their closure shortly after the magazine piece was published IIRC...... which was kind of strange. Not a unique story within many small and not so small British firms over the last few decades.

I wish they'd come up with something - the racket from small 2st petrols causes a lot of problems and friction in many clubs. Very regrettably we've had to ban a few because of the very vreal risk of a complaint and who knows where that could lead to? The standard noise broadcasters that those engines come with are shocking. We've let the manufacturers and distributors get away with it for decades.

Yes, all of my models have tailplanes and fins rather than horizontal and vertical stabilisers (stabs, as the horrible sounding shorthand often puts it). BTW, how are Weston on producing silencers for noisy, small petrol two strokes - DLE, RCGF and the many other clones etc?

Always makes me laugh when I see a - 'now you see 'em, now you don't' - installation where the wheels are whipped away at lightning speed......usually air operated retracts that are operating at full whack to the cylinders.😁

I must say how very pleased I am with my newly delivered Tony Nijhuis Hurricane's pack of parts,materials and plans - very quickly produced and delivered yesterday after only a ten day wait. Considering that I believe the parts are made to order I reckon that's pretty good going to say the least. Many thanks Tony and SLEC. I usually buy wood and materials as I go along on a build, so seeing most of what goes into even a modestly sized aeroplane in one delivery came as quite a shock. Going electric with this one for simplicity, cleanliness and ease of operation. Just the right size to be a nice flyer but manageable cost wise, and for storage and transport etc. I'll probably add flaps - don't know yet. Not so much for easier landings, but the Hurricane is so full of character on approach with full flaps deployed that I'm not too happy to leave them off, shouldn't be a big deal to include them. I have an ideal electric setup ready and waiting from an old ARTF that I sold the airframe on BMFA ages ago. Covering and paint? This time a straightforward film finish, sprayed up in a camouflage scheme - no fuel proofing issues this time around. Don't have the stamina or indeed the talent for loads of detail but providing it looks OK from two or three paces back I'll be happy. Nice clear plan from TN.....I have my Brian Taylor 70" Mk1 Spifire that I built some time ago (better retracts being installed at the moment) and although excellent and a good flyer, BT's drawings - the originals of which which must be over forty years old now, are a bit like trying to decypher the 'dead sea scrolls' in some areas compared to nice clear modern CAD drawn ones. All part of the fun though, either way. The Hurri's not going to be a quick job - I really needed something to fill the space on my building board and to give the 'little grey cells' something fresh to ponder over other than refurbs and jobs on other models that seem to be taking most of my hobby time at the moment. It's funny really, you never grow out of the excitement of a new build.

Decent sprung oleos can be had for not a lot of money (around twenty quid a pair for ones suitable for smaller/medium sized models) from Ali Express. Worth browsing what they have on offer. I use Aliexpress quite a bit now and have had not one issue with their service BTW. You could of course make a set yourself - after all they are essentially only a rod sliding within a tube. For a simple set, only basic tools would be needed - enough to drill and tap a few holes really. Other than that a vice, hacksaw and files should be more than enough. Aluminium, steel bar and tubing of various sizes is all cheaply available in small quantities from ebay suppliers. Larger shouldered bolts and screws can be adapted to make axles. It's surprising what you can come up with only basic tools, a little care and ingenuity. I haven't needed to make a set from scratch so far, but I have upgraded commercial ones.........bigger axle, stronger fixing pin, larger screws etc.