Chris 'Chops' Dore

Nice and bright John, hope the maiden flight goes well. Chris

Thanks for all your positive comments, looking through the forum a while ago I just thought I had to come up with something different and looks like I achieved it. Its all the better that it actually flies as well. look forward to Greenacres, hopefully I wont bin it before then!

Here's my first attempt at an auto gyro, I call mine BATom Special (for obvious reasons). First flight yesterday, after some frustration not getting the head to spin up I waited for a bit more breeze then it got off with no problem. I wish I had put a steerable tail wheel on as our patch has just been cut for first time this season and gyro doesn't like steering at all. Anyway very impressed with the flight, no real issues other than orientation which others have already mentioned especially with my colour scheme, may have to add some colour to the top of the blades. And landed without damage, not bad for a first gyro flight. Basically built to plan with some minor mods as suggested by other builders. Batman logos hand cut from solarfilm, ok from a distance.

I meant to sign up ages ago but seems I didn' actually do it, anyway I've built the Atom Special from the plan, but with modified flex plate to support the whole area of the blade root as someone had suggested. First flight yesterday, great success with only minor trim needed and am very happy with this first auto gyro, although as others have said orientation is a bit of a problem and my black and red colour scheme doesn't really help. Thanks Richard for such a great design. I'll post pictures in the thread for them. Just got hold of a model designs FW190 CNC kit which I also hope to finish in time for Greenacres

HI, just seen this forum thread, I have a Seafire, and as everyone elses the Oleo leg broke. I have replaced the aluminium tube with 12mm steel, bought from B&Q, just had to run a 10mm drill down once cut to length then drill the holes and slot, work perfect now. As for the retract mechanism, I am using the stock mechanical ones and have had no problem. I use a Hitec retract servo which has been faultless. Any mechanical retract does rely on good mechanical set up with straight rods etc. looking a the photo I suggest (as others have) that the bends should be made so that the rod is exactly pushing in line, then it should all work ok.

If it's not too late my votes are for: 1 - Whittman tailwind 2 - Atom special

HI Tiny, there could be many reasons for this, it sounds like either your servos(s) are not holding their centre position or the aileron hinges are too stiff and not letting the servos centre properly. do you have one or two servos? I suggest removing the linkages and checking the servo(s) are returning to their neutral positions correctly. At the same time check for stiffness of the hinges. ideally the control surfaces should fall freely under their own weight, depending on size etc. but anyway there should be no stiffness. If there is the only solution is to remove the ailerons and re hinge them, I would suggest using pinned hinges fixing them in with epoxy and putting a cocktail stick through to peg them into the wing and aileron. in the good old days when a 450mAh RX battery was the norm it was even more critical to ensure hinged surfaces were free to move without any slop otherwise the battery drained during the flight. Hope this helps Chris

Hi David, glad to hear you're getting on so well. the simplest method I use for RX and ESC mounting is to use cyano to cover the balsa wood surface, thin is best as it soaks in well. when dry this gives a pretty good surface to then use either self adhesive velcro of double sided servo tape. Traditionally in IC powered planes it is necessary to wrap the rx in foam to protect it from the high frequency vibrations but in electric planes that problem doent seem to exist. However the foam wrapping will still work well and can be held in plave by a stragecially placed or glued in piece of balsa. Hope this helps. Chris

Hi All, following the points about filler, I currently use the light filler from B&Q, similar to the one in the link above, however in the past I also used a specialist modelling filler which looks the same colour as balsa but for the life of me I cant think what it was called or who marketed it, if I do I'll post it. Just as a tip for anyone, if there are any dings and dents in the balsa from hanger rash or even gouges from sanding block corners, they can be easily removed or at least mostly removed by ironging the balsa over a damp rag with your covering iron, it is surprising just how much that removes and save an awful lot of filling and sanding. Try it and see houw you get on, it will need a very light sanding after just to smooth the fibres of the wood down again. I've now finished the basic wing panels and making some modified wing joiners to incorporate a dowel for removable wing fixing, when done I'll post some pictures. Chris Dore

Hello David, there are a number of 'adhesives' on the market to help iron on film stick to awkward places. I have used 'Balsaloc' very successfully, it is like a thick PVA glue which you apply very sparingly with a small piece of sponge. When dry the iron on film will stick like the proberbial, even to concave surfaces. It is especially useful for sticking the film to ply surfaces and I use it around open edges like wing seats and bulkheads. As Martin suggests some areas will need to be covered in several smaller pieces to prevent too much stretching and wrinkles, the edges really wont show. Chris Dore

Lee and David, thanks for your comments, regarding the issue of pictures my frustration is being told of a problem with something (usually poorly engineered part, ill fitting or unsuitable component) and then left guessing what all the fuss is about. With the inclusion of a picture the problem can easily be highlighted to other unsuspecting buyers and maybe even the manufacturer / importer will take a little notice! I realise there are very high standards of photography at RCM&E but on occasion the inclusion of a less than perfect picture should be acceptable if it has its place. I'm not sure David how the photo of Martin Gearing tuning an engine can be misinterpreted. There is no 'appearance' of a 'less than ideal' situation. It is blatently obvious from the angle of view and Martins hand position that he is standing in line with the propellor arc. Of all the safety matters I have come across this has the greatest potential for serious damage and should not be belittled by phrases like "less than ideal". Surely someone at the MEX2012 was responsible for safety? Its not as if this was some spur of the moment demonstration at the local flying site. I've been to many exhibitions in the past (MEX, Sandown, etc) and every other time safety has been paramount with engine running displays being very well guarded from the public and best practises being demonstrated. What has happened here? I mean Martin is not even wearing safety goggles! Yes I agree that we dont want to see every photograph captioned with a safety warning but on occasion it must be done or questions should be asked if it is an appropriate photograph to use. I really am only making constructive comments and not just ranting (honest) Chris D

Nice job Martin, great looking model. I've just started today as I have just finished previous jobs. Only got as far as cutting the wing blanks from sheet, I've not got the laser cut kit as I bought the plan and canopy as soona sthe offer was announced and bought the wood from local shop, so doing it the hard way. Never mind it's easier to make the mods anyway. I've come up with an alternative wing fixing for removable wing but not finalised details yet, I'll keep you all posted as I progress. Maybe even start my own build blog (first time for everything!) Chris D

Sorry to be a H&S nutter but what on earth made RCM&E print that picture on P113??? For those who haven't spotted it, it must be an example of 'how not to tune an engine' but unfortunately RCM&E have'nt titled it so. Now I know Martin Gearing (we are in same model engineering club) and he is one of the most safety conscious people I know when it comes to machine tools. So I cannot understand why he has no eye protection and is standing directly in the propellor arc. Maybe some kind aeromodelling 'expert' should have been on hand to demonstrate the correct place to stand?? I really am gobsmacked that the RCM&E editor(s) did not spot this and either not print it or at least make some really obvious comment about the dangers of flying propellors. Come on surely you can do better than this?? On another moan, why is it that rewiew writers (or editors) seem to think that the only pictures worth printing are of the completed model on the ground or flying? I for one would like to see pictures from 'out of the box' and during the build phase, with maybe one or two of the completed model. So many times I have read in a review of a particulary good or bad component or point about the model then not seen any photo to illustrate it, this would be much more useful than a bunch of flying shots which can easily be downloaded from the manufacturers site anyway. On the flip side Alex Whittaker did a great job of the build photos for his Slinky, well done, this is more like it. Keep up the good work RCM&E, believe it or not I do really enjoy reading it or I wouldn't subscribe would I. Chris D.

Martin, thanks for the heads up on the MG16 servos, maybe worth investing a bit more on some decent servos? specially after all the blood sweat and tears of building the plane. Nev, regarding removable wings from my point of view it is not the access for repairs etc but the fact that the whole thing takes up less room in the workshop and car, I usually take up to six plaes to the field for a session so removable wings are pretty much essential. Chris D

HI all, ref Phils request for servo suggestions, i will go the route of 16g MG servos, probably the towerpro ones from same site as Phil identified. I just want a bit more asurance that gears wont strip, also I have both types in my workshop and the output arms on the 9g carbon gear ones are a bit on the thin/weak side, alright for foamies but probably not best for something this weight and potential speed. If using snakes for tail controls i suggest using ones of substantial diameter and not the thinnest ones I now see in the shops. I had problems of elevator blow back some years ago even though the unsupported length to the horn was only a few centimeters. I favour using 18g piano wire inside a tube (snake inner usually works well) or solid push rods, particularly where 'up' elevator is pushed by the control (horn underneath the control surface) Thinking of removable wing, as Phil suggested a tounge or dowel at front and screw at rear should be good, I'll have a look myself and do a sketch when I have a solution. About my comments on his materials list, KC has a point about the grades but looking at the plan again the rear part of the wing specifies 'soft' so there should still be a 17" length left to use for the top decking, but as always it doesn't hurt to select for each particular part and gives you a bit of spare for unforseen problems. I hope to get materials this week end and start the build so I will be posting a blog for anyone who may be interested (assuming no more domestic emergencies). Chris D

Hi Phil, I can confirm that the plan is infact not right and that the triangular bits do fit on top of the side sheets. I know this does seem a little odd. If you look at the original build article (downladable from this site) it does state in the text in the second part on page 93, middle column next to the picture of Nigel launching his model that (and I quote) "take a suitable length of triangular stock adn plane a'f;at' on it 3/16" wide. Cut to lengths shown and glue to the upper edges......." Also the same notes are in the build instructions which were included with the original BVR kit - see BVR website as identifed in earlier posts. The BVR website has Nigels original photo build sequence which has many more photos than the RCM&E article, I found this to be very informative. About the material list posted earlier, I have checked and believe that with careful cutting we dont need the additional 3" wiade sheet of 3/8 balsa. The wing panels will need 4 sheets in total but as they are only 19" long there will be 4 pieces 17" long left over to use for the wing tips and the fuselage top and bottom decks, this should be more than enough. I will be laminating the formers from two pieces of 1/8 sheet so eliminating the need to buy 1/4 sheet, it also strengthens the former as someone else mentioned the two pieces can be cut so the grain is at 90 degrees. hope this helps Chris D

following post just made see photo on this link. It is link to Nigels original build photos which he put on earlier. this photo shows the flat triangular parts on top of the sides as I had described. http://tucanobuild.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/5.jpg

Tony asked a question about the fuselage sides being bigger than 4", which KC responded to but I just got my plan and canopy and had a look at that point. The section showing former F5 and the 'flat' triangular section below the sheet top also shows the top of former F3. measured from the plan it is 1 1/8" which is the same as the inside of the triangular parts. From this It look like the 3/16 sheet sides come up to the under neath of the flat triangular parts which then glue on top of them, so Tony is right and the sides DO NOT extend over the flat triangular parts. Therefore you can get them out of a standard 4" wide sheet. As KC has done I started a material list, I'll compare them when I have finished and post any changes which may be needed. As I build mostly from plans I would probably have some of the odd bits 'in stock' so I'll check those as well for the non plan builders buying just fo rthis project. Does anyone think the 40mm dihedral under each tip seem a bit much? dont know what the effects of reducing this a bit maybe to 25mm? There appears to be concern over the weight distribution as brushless motors and lipos are much lighter than the original set up. Having looked at the plans I think I will move the servos to under the canopy and probably incorporate a bolt on wing. I hate trying to move fully assembled planes around, seem to just bash everything in sight, thats just me though. If I go this route I will add a battery tray adn other stiffening around the wing opening to maintain the structural integrity. Rather than copying and cutting around parts I have use a pin to prick through the outline into the balsa then join up the dots with a fine fibre tip pen. straight lines dont need so many pin pricks as curves. Alternatively you can put the plan face down on the balsa and iron over it, this will re heat the toner and transfer it onto the wood, just dont use the wifes best steam iron (ruins the plan). whichever way suits each individual. Right then, back to my material list.