Cuban8

If you glue the canopy on, at some stage you'll need to remove it for whatever reason and that's not going to be easy. I prefer to use small screws with tiny rubber O rings under the heads (Ebay has really useful O ring kits for a few quid).

Start with a quad. Dead easy to fly, not easy to break and will teach her to use the rudder stick in no time!

4th of July in Florida.........reckon he'll have the Feds after him soon!

As many of my previous posts will testify, I'm very impatient with poor customer service and poor quality gear (my recent encounter and postings here with a budget make of radio for instance). Now we have a company who appear to be doing their very best to please their customers and they get hit with flak! As for the conspiracy theories.......If a sixty quid (retail, so more like fifteen or twenty quid to HH!) receiver is returned under warranty, then I don't blame them chucking it in the bin and sending out a new one - just not cost effective to have a technician plug it all together and spend twenty or thirty minutes testing such a low value item, whether it was duff or not. When I worked in Harlow a few years back, I popped into HH with a small heli that I'd had for a couple of months and had the tail motor fail (i had flown it very extensively though). They replaced the motor FOC while I waited I take my hat off to Horizon, I doubt if they're 100% perfect, but given their attitude to their customers, a few more distributors could take a leaf out of their book.   Edited By Cuban8 on 05/07/2014 21:00:28

Terrible accent............. Good grief, World Cup rammed down our throats, and now possibly the dullest sport ever invented (except for carrier deck) - pushbike racing - when's it all gonna end? C8 AKA Victor Meldrew

I think 99% of flyers will admit to a 'dumb thumbs' moment causing the loss of a model. If a model is destroyed because of radio failure (including batteries, servos, switches, wiring or whatever), then we usually accept the consequences and move on. What is unacceptable, is a brand new ARTF model (being flown within its design capability) failing structurally after a very brief time, and the indicator of cause being a defect in design or build quality. Moreover, the instances of retailers not taking these incidents seriously is doing nobody any good. I'm not saying that every weekend the countryside is being littered with debris from poorly built ARTFs, it clearly isn't - but where on a rare occasion a new model on its test flight does break up, then it need to be investigated properly and not dismissed out of hand.

Very unsatisfactory outcome similar to what my friend had (see my previous post 10/06/14). Really not impressed with some of the service being proffered by sections of our model trade. I wonder what would happen if the same thing had happened in a magazine test?   Edited By Cuban8 on 05/07/2014 12:10:00

I remember asking the chap who runs Southern Modelcraft about the shelf life of glow fuel and he reckoned that providing the container was kept tightly closed, ideally in a dark cupboard that didn't fluctuate wildly with temperature, then it's life was pretty much indefinite. With a lot more electric flying these days, I do have fuel that's three years old (stored as suggested above) and it remains perfectly fresh and runs all my four-strokes OK. As for fuel tank positioning......with four-strokes, I've found them to be nowhere near as fussy as regards tank height compared to two-strokes - maybe because of the FS's generally smaller carb venturi giving better suction?? My rule of thumb that seems to work across my range of engines, is to set the 3/4 full position of the tank level with the carb spraybar.

Posted by Percy Verance on 03/07/2014 12:07:13: You want minimalist C8? The DC3 I flew in many moons ago had bits of it's interior trim held together with tape..........   Actually, you make a very interesting point. At risk of sounding unpatriotic, when one considers the advanced all metal construction and retracting undercarriage of the the Boeing 247, Douglas DC1 etc, all contemporaries of the Rapide, it does strike you how very conservative many British civil aircraft makers were at the time. If I recall Nevile Shute's autobiography correctly, when Airspeed was created they were aware of advances in the 'states but felt that the money that would need to be raised to go all metal was just not available from British investors at the time - hence staying with wooden construction.......same old story!   Edited By Cuban8 on 04/07/2014 08:49:00

Posted by Masher on 15/05/2014 20:37:00:   My first choice was "our favourite" engine & accessories supplier in the UK but I was amazed to find that the 2 bits would cost me about £37!!!!! This is about half what I paid for the engine so a no go.   'Fraid our 'Favourite Engine Supplier' Is Just having laugh with their prices........27 quid for two bearings, but I got exactly the same items from the 'States for $18 (dollars don't forget) with delivery. Engine been running sweet as a nut.   Edited By Cuban8 on 03/07/2014 13:08:31 Edited By Cuban8 on 03/07/2014 13:09:34

I've had a couple of trips in a Rapide up at Duxford, although the short rides at airshows are getting very expensive now. Still, as a treat it's well worth it because if you've never been in an aeroplane of this vintage, then nothing today really compares. The noise, vibration and minimalist surroundings, although not alarming, do get your attention and gives you a seat of the pants feeling that's been totally removed from modern aviation (and a good job too, some might say). Landings are interesting as well, in that the pilots throttle right back on finals (it all goes quiet) then after touch down the airframe rumbles and resonates as it bumps over the ground......sheer magic!

Thanks very much for the offer of help, Phil - very kind. I've already sent the stuff back for a refund, I'm afraid that I've very little appetite for faffing around with what should be a simple plug and play situation and especially after the response from their tech support who are unequivocal in their explanation (I emailed then again to make absolutely sure they understood what I was on about). What's worrying is that a Google search throws up this very problem going back quite a while (see the YT vid in my OP with a JR module) from many users, so my confidence in the system is really not good. I'm sure that a great many flyers are using their modules with great success and will defend it wholeheartedly, or indeed aren't bothered by the problem that only manifests itself when moving the tranny sticks very slowly, but I just can't accept fitting a system that is inferior in operation to what was there in the first place. Again, thanks for the offer of help though.

Well, I'm no expert in these matters, but IIRC from the static exhibits in the hangers at OW, the rotary engine's 'carburettor' was mainly concerned with providing a suitable mixture to the engine in order to cope with variations of temperature, height and performance. I don't believe they had a throttle slide or butterfly as we would find on a modern carb, but relied on a 'blip switch' in the ignition to control revs by cutting out some or all of the cylinders depending on what the pilot wants. If you listen to the engine note of a rotary engined aeroplane that's being flown, it's rarely off full power (given the limited performance, I suppose), and the characteristic switching of cylinders from the 'blip switch' is very clearly heard on approach and landing. As for the valves, the Monosoupape engine had a single push rod operated poppet exhaust valve in the head, but relied on a piston-port arrangement (two stroke style) for induction. I recall seeing a similar example that had been 'sectioned', and there were poppet valves built into the crowns of the pistons, lightly held closed by springs, but that would open automatically during the downward induction stroke. At that time, engine development was at a very fast pace and designers 'borrowed' ideas from each other regularly, so it's not uncommon to find hybrid designs that are a mix and match.   Edited By Cuban8 on 02/07/2014 07:56:30

Think I've had enough of FrSky

My question to FrSky's tech support and their reply. o: [email protected] Subject: FrSky Tech Support Question I've just installed a DFT module to my Futaba FF8 transmitter and am using it with a V8 receiver. The system works OK but I am very unhappy that the servos are not smooth in operation when the transmitter sticks are moved slowly. I have tried two different receivers with several types of servo. Can you offer a solution to this problem please? Thanks. Hello. Thanks contact us, PPM signal cycle of our RF module is not exactly the same with your radio, it can not change. Best regards Ray So essentially, Futaba compatible actually means not Futaba compatible, system's no good to me! Edited By Cuban8 on 01/07/2014 13:20:37

I believe it's what they refer to as a 'late production example', built in the early '90s to original factory drawings with a genuine Clerget rotary engine. http://www.shuttleworth.org/shuttleworth-collection/aircraft-details.asp?ID=7 Edited By Cuban8 on 30/06/2014 21:42:43

The instruction sheet that came with the RX is entitled "Instruction Manual for FrSky V8FR-II & V8R7-II Receivers". Bob, the procedure you mention is not in my manual (I will try it though). Which manual did you get it from please? Thanks.

Thanks for the reply..........Do you mean the frame rate on the FrSky module? (wasn't aware that was adjustable) Failsafe setting in the TX is disabled but enabled as per instructions in the RX. Very odd.

Feel sick to my stomach seeing that. Have been visiting OW regularly for almost 40 years and thankfully only ever witnessed half a dozen or so incidents (didn't go yesterday). I dread to think how the pilot must feel when you bear in mind how upsetting it is when we bend a favourite model. Mercifully no fire. Edited By Cuban8 on 30/06/2014 13:47:06

I've just fitted a FrSky Module to my trusty old Futaba FF8 (DFT module with V8FR -II Rx so no telemetry). Works fine but the servos are so jerky in their movement when the sticks are operated slowly from end to end. Exactly like this **LINK** Seems to be a lot of talk on the various forums about this, mostly contradictory as to the cause. Bruce Simpson of RC Model Reviews puts it down to a difference in frame rates between different makes of radios and there's nothing to worry about! Not too happy, as on 35 Meg the servos are quite smooth in operation.........have I bought a pig in a poke?

Posted by Scruffmeister on 20/06/2014 21:48:52: Thanks all - I actually believe that no in model filter could be a good option. Couple questions: Couldn't particles from the muffler pressure line could enter the tank and then the carb if there is no filter? Thanks! Had a Sullivan ***p trap (their name by the way!) filter on my 91FS powered Super Chippy. Started to get tuning and poor running after about a year's use and eventually found that the very fine mesh in the two part filter had become blocked by fine carbon deposits emanating from the exhaust pressure tap. This was twenty odd years ago, back in the dark ages when I was running a 50:50 lube mix of castor/synthetic, so I suspect that the carbon was from the castor content. Went down the pre-filter route from that point and even now with fully synthetic oil I don't bother with a filter in the model. Every so often I'll part fill the tank and discard the fuel & give the carb a flush through. I've never found anything untoward on inspection.

You'll never get bored flying the chippy! Iconic low wing design that looks so good in the air.........float it around or give a full aerobatic display. I don't own one myself (still have my 20+ years old Goldberg Super Chipmunk though) but other BH models I've seen at both of my clubs are outstanding in build quality and finish (except for the pilot figures supplied, unfortunately). Edited By Cuban8 on 26/06/2014 15:36:06

Posted by Tony Bennett on 24/06/2014 12:41:35: thats just it, he is not a nobody. at the age of 18 he was fighting for our future, unlike lots of 18 year olds today who just want to get drunk and vandalize stuff. Thankfully not all of them.................taught a 14 year old lad to fly R/C 10 years ago...............went on to get his PPL.............now a very experienced commercial pilot.

Think I'll take a break from gardening this afternoon (no flying today) and put the DVD of this on **LINK**

A dear friend of mine, now sadly passed away, was visiting Duxford, and as an ex -flight engineer on Avro Yorks towards the end of the war, was very interested in the museum's York that was under restoration. When he happened to converse with one of the engineers about their work and they discovered he'd been on Yorks, they downed tools and invited him to tour the aeroplane and then bought him a pint (or two) in the bar. A nice touch that Sid never forgot.