Vecchio Austriaco

Erfolg How can the batteries get dead - does your esc not switch off in time? (lets say at 3V per cell? ) If you have equal batteries (same capacity same brand) you could combine the good cells - but take care not to produce any shorts. This can lead from burn marks on the fingers to burning lipos...   VA          

Keep the batteries in your pocket until you use them. Or do as I do - keep them warm in a box.       To do so I use Ice packs - warmed up on the radiator of my heating system at home. This is just an example - normally I use more ice packs and more batteries...   Something else: does your charger have the possibility to discharge or cycle? This could give you some idea about the remaining capacity. (works only if the discharge current is rather high - lets say 5A or more. Otherwise it will tell you that you have much more capacity than it really is. VA Edited By Vecchio Austriaco on 29/01/2010 20:19:42

Totally agree to Ken's posting. After having repaired it what about a range check?   VA

Erfolg  - you wrote further up:   "I will, I think, try and charge my Lipos. Although I anticipate the charger should more or less instantly indicate fully charged. Or will it."   Does it mean you store them fully charged They should be on 60% if you would like to use them also the next season....   Next season - when will it start?  Weather forecast for next Saturday in Milan: snow showers.  Temperatures between -4 and +3°C. I had a different expectation of sunny Italy as I moved here... VA        

If you want it cheap go for a normal lead acid battery as used in a car. I recommend minimum 50Ah capacity. This is a liquid acid filled battery - so you should not tip it over or you get holes in the carpets of your car.... If you want it safer go for a sealed or gel version, for the capacity I recommend the same.   Remember: lead acid batteries need to be stored fully charged if you want to have them for a long time.   I use a 55Ah car battery and I am quite happy with it. I use charging currents of up to 10 A which are no problem for the battery. I stop using it when the voltage drops to 10V.   VA

I don't wont to get rusty either - and fly as long it is not raining cats and dogs.   Look at this picture from last sunday - the dirt on the wings sprayed up by the wheels is frozen...   So lets think about deicing.... but Idon't get rusty on the sticks - only the movements get slower (because of the temperature) VA   Edited By Vecchio Austriaco on 25/01/2010 22:57:20

If it is for an electric you could paint any kind of spinner you like - if it is for a model powered by IC I don't think it will be easy to find one. You can paint also that spinner, but the starter will ruin it - or you start your engine always by hand.  VA 

Christmas has passed some weeks ago, so I think it is time to start building what Babo Natale (Father Christmas in Italian) brought.. It is an Extra 300S ARTF kit made by Graupner. Wingspan 1600mm, powered by a 60 2stroke or 90 four stroke IC engine. Why this model?       I have to go back in time a little. Last summer I watched an airshow in Austria where I was fascinated by an Extra 300S, and so the idea was born to build this plane as a model. Who is interested in how it will look should have a look into my albums, where you can find the pictures in the folder airshow Dobersberg. But back to the model. I looked for a decent plan and purchased one. A rough calculation showed me that the cost of building the model would be higher than that of an ARTF, and my self confidence in building from plans with all the pieces to cut out was not too high, so I decided to buy the rather cheap Graupner kit - as I think a product from this company should fly properly.   Sorry for Mrs. Wagstaff - I removed her from the cockpit and started to remove the shrink foil cover. All the nice original cover removed     What is very good is the fact that all the hinges are secured by little metal bolts (which look a bit like sewing pins to me). This may be good for everybody but not for somebody who wants to change the design. These pins are glued in with cyano acrylate and cannot be removed without destroying half of the model. So I had to find a workaround.     Using abrasive paper to open up the gap between fin and rudder     The workaround is to cut the new foil at the positions where the hinges are and push it through the gap between control surface and wing or fin. I found that Graupner did a really nice job as all the joints were so tight fitting that it was impossible to put the foil through. I had to open the gaps to some tenth of millimetres by the use of abrasive paper. This makes the straightforward job of covering a fin to a nightmare. This work needs precision in cutting of the foil and a lot of patience. Just to give you an idea of the timing: Covering the tail fin only needs one whole evening. As covering material I use Top Flite, not because I like it so much, but because it was available at the local shop in the right colour. It does not shrink too much, I have the feeling the materials I used some 25 years ago were more "forgiving" (or I was better at this time).     I am happy with the result so far, the fin has been changed to its new colour.    

Freezing cold around our part of the world - when I took the wings off my Yak 54 after a nice but cold flying afternoon I noticed that the usual water and dirt which has been sprayed on to the wings was frozen. So we have to think about deiceing our models.. VA

Looks like I have to remove the dust from the lathe. Tried the engine on the bench with the fuel tank position as described above and at the moment I opened the needle the fuel started dripping out. The engine was on the bench in regular position so on this type of engine the carburator is inverted (air inlet pointing down). I will make the extension and try the engine in its final position on the fuselage. VA

Attention - all ratings you will find in the literature are based on a maximum conductor temperature of 70 or 90°C in continous use. Even if you look for silicone insulated cables, where the isolation material can widthstand 180°C the ratings are based on lower temperatures. Also you will not have the max current all the time - not even if you are in constant torque roll. On the other hand you cannot go to a current where the copper is near the meting point as the insulation will be damaged and - not to forget - may be you have soft soldered connections between cable and connectors???   VA  

Thanks ED. I will break in the engine on a test bench before installing it to the plane and I will install the fuel tank exactly in the position as it would be in the model. If it will not work I can start thinking to move the carburator higher up. As I am happy owner of a lathe it should not be a big problem to do so. VA

Hi there   after flying for some years around with different small electric aerobatics I would like to go for IC again. (Had a trainer with 2-stroke engine some 25years ago) So I purchased a Graupner Extra 300, 1600mm wingspan, and a chinese (budget!) 4 stroke engine. Its a P.H. FS91AR, looks exactly equal to Magnum XL .91RFS. So far so good. The best position for the engine seems to be inverted. If I do so the high speed needle of the carburator is approximately 2 cm below the center of the fuel tank. Question to the experts: Will this lead to problems? Flooding of the carburator? thanks  VA

Just came home from the field and guess what I did duirng the last half hour?   cleaning my planes. It is true that wheel pants help, but they do not eliminate the problem. You still get some mud on the tail. Cleaned my Sukhoi - with wheelpants - and my Yak 54 - without wheelpants.   And when the growing period comes back and the grass is too long you may experience some problems with the wheel pants.   About the servos: as long as you do not soak them they should be o.k. VA

If you are not sure what is happening behind your power panel go for option one. VA

Already passed it a few month ago. Do I need to stop flying aerobatics now  ???   VA