Cuban8

As far as I can remember, my first experience of model aircraft would be about 1964 at seven or eight years of age. I loved the 'Valiant ' comic with Captain Hurricane, The Steel Claw etc and amongst the regular free gifts that used to be given away was 'Ranger Redwing's Flying Model Aeroplane'. Made out of cardboard with a rubber motor and stamped aluminium propeller., it came in bits over several weeks. Don't remember it working, but it sparked something that's still going strong. Kev.

Posted by Erfolg on 16/12/2012 16:11:14: I have suspected that some of the issue with respect to Lipos and full storage revolve around the relationship of charge voltage and temperature. I have the impression that charging a Lipo to 4.2V, when cold say 0 degree, will have the effect of the cells voltage going beyond 4.2v when in a higher temperature, say 20 degrees. As the chemistry of the Lipo does not allow this, the result is some damage to the cells chemical structure. I do not know this is fact, just a conjecture I have reached, from reading some articles.   Store my Lipos in a very cold (but dry) garage never noticed the alleged voltage change or any deterioration.  Aways bring the packs up to room temp if they've been soaking at near 0C though. Also worth keeping them warm in freezing temps over the field - I put a couple of the click type hand warmers in their box - keeps their performance up to scratch.   Edited By kevin goodwin on 16/12/2012 19:25:21 Edited By kevin goodwin on 16/12/2012 19:26:33

I haven't seen any ill effects of leaving Lipos fully charged. My 6S packs are stored fully topped up and they still perform well after 2 years and are well used during the summer.( I always label my packs with their first use date from new.).

Posted by Dylan Reynolds on 10/12/2012 21:36:36: Really? this doesn't bnother anyone? if you went into your local LMS and made a purchase and handed over your card, would you not be a bit miffed if he said "thats another £10 please" Compared to HK's prices, that's what they do anyway LOL.

Flicked through the latest issue in WHS this morning.................sorry , but nothing therein to convince me to part with over four quid for it.

I tend to go out only on good days now until the spring. Not much fun getting cold and muddy this time of the year........now if we had a nice warm clubhouse to thaw out in after a flight, drink tea in and chew the fat, then that would be a different matter! C8

Have used the SM Services unit on my YT Spitfire with ASP 120 FS for two seasons now. Set to activate at 1/4 throttle so only comes into play at tick-over or when throttled back for landings etc hence minimal charge from battery taken. Nice simple unit that does the job perfectly.......... and as a retired electronics engineer, the very reasonable price makes it hardly worth the bother of buying the components and constructing one for myself! Not familiar with the SHM unit, but I'd guess that essentially, it acts as a constant current source that reacts to the small change in the plug element's resistance with heat. C8

Sorry if I've not been clear, but what I'm asking is if on inspecting the contents of the box in front of the HK staff at their depot, you are presented with a product that is damaged/badly built/ or otherwise unacceptable. I don't question whether HK's staff are unreasonable (i'm sure that they are not) but the  procedures they have been ordered to follow and how well any problems can be rectified if they are faced with the above scenario . As a matter of interest, my friend's Sbach came in an undamaged box and the faults only came to light after it was opened at home. Fuselage formers had been crushed with debris loose in the fuz and the cowl was of very poor manufacture (amongst several other issues) so it seems likely that the item was packed that way in the factory.     Edited By kevin goodwin on 14/09/2012 10:46:29

So, what happens when you go to pick up your new 50cc Sbach, open the box in front of the staff and find that it's smashed to hell??? Options...... be given another model from stock?.........have the busted parts swapped from another box?........be told that a ticket will have to be opened with CS and there's nothing they can do themselves to help? (got a funny feeling that it'll be option 3 but I'm very happy to be proved wrong) A friend of mine had one of these models delivered from the UK WH that was indeed a mess and is still trying to get the problem resolved after many weeks. To be fair Scott C has only just been made aware of the issue so with a bit of luck things will be sorted. Just keep in mind that despite what may have been suggested, experience says that HK UK are not too forthcoming with following UK mail order legislation (which they don't have to of course,as the purchase was made in Hong Kong!) so as with betting on the horses, never spend more than you can comfortably afford to lose! C8 HK Platinum member.

Posted by Engine Doctor on 15/11/2011 10:06:12: This is a bit off topic but it is relevant .Your right about the ASP/SC's FS 120's being down on power . A Club mate bought Three FS SC's, 2x 70's and a 90 from a well known supplier in a sale and only one had good compression and run properly with a reliable tick over/idle. Occasionally you will find one with good compession and therefore a good power output but most have at best a soft/poor compression and struggle with a 15 x 8 .If your engine has low comp when warm return it while in warranty . Dont be put off by the old "it needs more running in " or "they develop the compression when they fire" fob off .Get your money back and buy a proper engine OS or YS . I currently have a SC 120 and a 180 ,both came second hand so I knew they had decent comp but they are still down on the OS or YS Engines power .The OS ad YS will spin the larger props with ease, wont dead stick (when set up correctly) and last longer. The prop choice is also dependant on the type of model and style of flying, so choose accordingly. If you want to pay over double the price for 25% more power, then the OS comes as an expensive option. I've had half a dozen ASP FS motors of various sizes over the years and found them to be excellent value when correctly handled and matched to an airframe. Currently have a 120 in a 14lb YT Spitfire and the combination works well. All the ASPs require a lengthy period of running in before they give of their best, the Spit's motor has had about an hour of air time (still running quite rich) after the normal hour or so of short ground runs. It gets better with every flight and I don't expect peak performance until another couple of hours of air time. The secret is to gradually lean the mixture a click at a time after every 20 minutes of running so the motor gets a chance to bed in correctly without overheating, just don't over do things and when the motor can hold a brief period of max revs, pull the mixture back by 1/8 turn and all will be well. Ok, it's a bit of a faff and a lot of operators don't have the inclination to wait, but with care these motors will return good & reliable performance. C8

Posted by Piers Bowlan on 31/07/2012 10:59:11: XT60s are the new kid on the block so I doubt many will be using those at present unless they are new to electric flight. I quite like them but I have melted one or two when soldering. I don't seem to have the same trouble with Deans. Clearly my technique needs more work! Piers   Make sure that you have two connectors pushed together when you solder - sinks the heat away and keeps the terminals aligned if you overdo it a bit with the iron. Kev.   Edited By kevin goodwin on 08/08/2012 00:23:14

Posted by Martin Harris on 10/07/2012 14:28:13: Don't want to put too much of a dampener on everyone's enthusiasm, but aren't we meant to maintain visual contact (unaided) with our models? 4.2.2 Article 166 – Small unmanned aircraft (3) The person in charge of a small unmanned aircraft must maintain direct, unaided visual contact with the aircraft sufficient to monitor its flight path in relation to other aircraft, persons, vehicles, vessels and structures for the purpose of avoiding collisions. I don't think we should be seen to actively encourage contraventions of the ANO on a public forum! Yawn! C8

Never use a neck strap either for F/W or helis (thumbs on sticks for both). Find a neck strap distracting and have known tranny switches to be inadvertantly switched when tangled by the strap. Much prefer to be able to put the tranny down without all the bother. Each to their own though! C8

Many thanks for the suggestions. I think I'll go with the plasterboard attached to my flat work top. Cheers. Kevin.

I need to put together a large (ish) building board of about 3'X6' and I'm wondering what would be the best way to provide a surface that is going to be able to take pins. Any suggestions on what works for you chaps please? Thanks. C8

Posted by synapsis on 27/05/2012 20:23:13: Thanks Wingman for the reply, I don't nelive there is a power cable as there are fields all around and they have crops. I will try what the test and see what happens. Today there where no problems and it only happens every once in awhile. What a pain not knowing when it will happen again or the cause. Are any other flyers getting these problems? C8

Posted by Tim Mackey on 09/05/2012 17:14:55: As I have stated MANY times in the past, signal loss is not shown on the receiver by flashing lights, and brown outs and signal loss are completely unconnected. Edited By Tim Mackey on 09/05/2012 17:15:38 Spot on!! C8

Don't forget that Spektrum gear is very fussy about its RF environment at switch on. A system that is otherwise perfectly OK will appear dead during boot up if the required number of good data packets is insufficient. I've seen this over the flying field with my own gear (DX7) when switching on close to a line of cars with their tail gates open. The system just would not connect because of (I suspect) reflections/corruption of the signal due to the very close proximity to large areas of sheet metal. For all the world it looked like a lost bind, but was actually reacting just as the designers intended. Spektrum have had their problems (DX8 was/is a disaster for them) but just try doing a search for Futaba FASST problems and you'll find pages of alleged lock-outs, faults, etc etc. Much of the time we're our own worst enemy by cutting corners or just bad engineering practice.   C8 Edited By kevin goodwin on 09/05/2012 11:16:24

Thumbs for both fixed wing and helis.......... and of course the gentleman flyer's mode 1 C8

Posted by perttime on 13/02/2012 19:44:50: Birds have sophisticated control systems.   Variable geometry too. And 50 million years or so of software development!!!  C8