Bill R

Add a touch of vinegar to the water that damps the cloth. picks up the dust much better. BillR.  

Seems like this thread has died a death! All the comments are well meaning but some do not appreciate the actual properties of good old castor oil. It was the only oil that could sucessfully lubricate jet turbines in the early days of jet propulsion.  The expert on castor oil and the properties states that when castor is "overcooked" it actually performs better as a lubricant as the molecules bind together and are "stickier" thereby adhering better to the metal of the moving parts. Synthetic oil has made leaps and bounds as a superb lubricant but cannot replicate the properties of Castor at elevated temperatures. Once synthetic oil reaches breakdown temperatures it ceases to be a lubricant and breaks up and burns off very quickly. Castor on the other hand continues to lubricate long after the synthetic gives up the ghost. The engine can and will "gum up" if it is run at elevated temperatures on pure castor and the residue of dirty dark brown colour is the result. All engines should use a minimum of 2% castor and you will find that most synthetic oil fuels have a minimum castor content in the synthetic blend. When you run too lean or too hot it will be the castor content that will probably prevent the engine from seizing. If you use Irvine 10 fuel [synthetic blended oil]the best guide for fuel /air mix is a slight discolouratiuon of the exhausted oil from a red colour to a slightly darker red/brown residue for maximum grunt without seizure. This shows the 2% castor in the blend is getting nice and warm!

The airfarame looks well constructed out of the box. following the instructions I found that the aileron wires passed straight through the supplied clevises!. When fitting the wheels, one was a hard sponge and the other very soft plus one wheel was a greater thickness so that the axle required adjustment of the nuts to allow free wheel movement whereas the other wheel spun freely with the nut bottomed out on the thread. The rudder push pull is rubbish as the wire quickly cuts into the nylon of the servo arm. Why not supply a 2mm rod and tube? There were no servo spacers to raise the rudder servo above the aileron servo unless the two bits of metal were them. Problem being that the metal bits were too long to do the job and meant the servo screws were too short for a good hold. The instructions showed wood spacers anyway. One of the metal clevises for the rudder assembly was broken [pin fell out on opening to fit it] and there was no engine mount. Overall, "the ship is spoilt for a ha'porth of tar". I have built an Arising Star and a Black Horse Super Air, not so strong an airframe but far better quality of fittings plus 20 quid cheaper! the Super air flies great, especially with flapperons and does the business with aerobatics. I wont be buying another wot 4 and now you know WOT for! Excuse the pun!.    Edited By Bill R on 27/01/2010 00:25:27

As a "newbie" who started flying RC in June last year, the club I joined is essentially "old school" mode 1. The instructors are both Mode 1. Some club members who were taught elsewhere have usually followed their Instructor preference, either 1 or 2. Very few have actually changed mode from 1 to 2 or 2 to 1.  I started out with Win 98 Microsoft flight sim with the joystick in the right hand although I am left handed. For the RC flight sim I initially used mode 3 but found some difficulty in this. As I am being taught mode 1, this is what I now fly. Mode 2 appears to be easier with single stick control in the main [ailerons and elevator] as during initial training I rarely use the throttle and never the rudder - yet! Regardless of the mode, flying requires the use and co-ordination of both hands doing different things - just like playing the piano or guitar. I was useless at both of them but did like a bit of drumming!  With the crap weather in the North I have not flown since September but keep practising on the flight sim and building of course. I aint no spring chicken at 60+ so games consoles are not for me. I do change modes on the sim trying to find the best combination for me. Mode 1 is winning up to now but it is close.   Regards Bill R.

MODE 1 DURHAM DURHAM INSTRUCTOR

I have built 2 ARTF models. The Seagull Arising Star as my first trainer model and the Black Horse Super Air as the low wing trainer +. The only thing was the instructions are a little sparse. I glued the strengtheners for the wing screws on the top of the wing as they said. problem was it should have been the bottom of the wing. Should have really thought about it first but too keen to get it finished. it also dod not tell you how far forward the engine needed to be from the front of the firewall like the A* instructions did. The A* balanced great but the S/air needed some 6 oz of lead on the bottom of the firewall to balance. Having said all that both models fly well. The covering edges are starting to lift on the A*, especially around the engine and bottom of the fuselage. The problem I have is getting straight answers to questions I ask on the forums. The best example is what servo's did guys use on the ailerons of the TN Hurricane? I did not get any straight answers so asked Tony. His reply was any that has a torque of 1,7Kg/cm +. A straight political answer!     Bill R.

Hello Timbo, Thanks for the advice re sTowerPro servo's. Yes they are cheap and some report errors in centreing. Problem is the free plan states micro servos but the dimensions from the plan indicate (probably) a mini servo. The distance between the rib skin to skin is 30mm at rib W9. If you put the 6mm mounting square obechi through the holes in the rib you are left with 20mm below the mounting at the narrowest part to fit a servo. The other plan book states micro servo's but I cannot find a mini servo with a maximum depth of less than 30 mm. The plan does not give a side view of the mounting so I am working blind with this one. Futaba servo's I have looked at are around £25 each but seem to be too deep to fit. I have looked at mounting a mini servo sideways on a hatch for access but think this would detract from the appearance. Any advice would be welcome.   regards, Bill R.

Hi Danny, Feel free to join in, especially with good information. The build plans don't show any details on the wing covering. I suppose it was not meant for newbies like me. The tape idea is good as the photographs of the builds do show the centre section first sheeted then the two wings from the dihedral. The centre section will probably take 4 sheets with the wings 3 sheets to cover the top and th same for the bottom. A further anomaly that I have noticed is that the plan calls in micro servo's but the instructions in the mag  calls for mini servo's. The depth of the wing at the aileron servo position is only 28mm. Trawled the net this am to check sizes. Eventually found some micro servos at 22mm deep at the amazing price of 4 for a tenner at BRSC hobbies in Newcastle: not a million miles from here!. Son is collecting them tomorrow along with the retract servo which is an ordinary type, not a dedicated retract servo - something to do with an operating angle greater than 90 degrees I think.. Retracts are coming from Slough models as their service in the past has been excellent. With all the snow we might get some serious building time in after boxing day so could have the wings completed by the turn of the year. Thanks again for the info. regards, Bill R.    

Hello Bill, Thanks for the info. Brian's idea I had thought about, joining the sheets together at the edges. I intend using the medium balsa sheet rather than the hard type. The profile is thicker but I think will conform to the profile of the ribs better. I will dampen the sheets then pin them down before glueing. This should profile them into shape so that there is less stress on the frame when I do glue the sheets on. I have plenty of lead weights [sea fishing] so keeping things in place is no problem. I have the wingtips glued on and roughly profiled leaving an edge on for the wing sheets to butt against. On with the ailerons this morning [Saturday]. I have 3 micro servo's from an old Walkera helicoptor but I dont think they are powerful enough to operate the ailerons. I am going to trawl the net for specs, just in case. They are very small!. Once I get the retracts in place and the wing servo's, then I will be covering and sanding but I think after Christmas. I am considering tissue and dope covering to give added strength to the model, plus it is easier to paint. Also thinking about covering the paint with spray on varnish the nflat it down with very fine wet and dry to take the shine off. I am thinking also about a night fighter, all black with red letters and spinner but that will be around Easter by the time I am ready for painting.   Regards, Bill R.

Hello Bill, If you are sanding the LE then you are a lot further on than me. Held up here trying to work out the sheeting for the wings.Looking through the thread, some seem to have sheeted the centre section front to back while others appear to have sheeted across the wing. As the joints do not fall on stringers, do you use a piece of balsa underneath to strengthen the joint and give you a surface to attach the next sheet to? As this is my first real build project any advice would be welcome as to how the sheeting is done. regards, Bill R.

Hello Joe, Seems like everyone has gone onto better things or flying this weekend. I got a pair of wheels from the local model shop. 3.5" in diameter and about 18mm deep.They are JP? white spoked ones as the shop had run out of black / grey ones. the plastic inner is fitted with soft type rubber treads,  apparently they suppress bounce.  They are not old/scale type but with a bit of paint on or 0.8mm balsa disks glued on they will look the part when finished. As I have just come into the hobby this year, it is a bit difficult to get information about these little problems. I am on with the wings now and wondering how to sheet them up as the joints do not fall along any of the frame lines using 100mm sheet. It is ok for these gutys that have built models for years but a little frustrating when you are a bit green like me. It just takes longer to trawl the net looking for the info.   Regards, Bill.

Hello Guys, Thanks for all the good advice.Yes, it is frustrating, up the field today and only two members flying. No instructors so just watching 2 3D flyers for a while then back home to continue the build of the TN Hurricane. I have a simulator programme and fly regular with that. As I travel extensively in my line of work I take it with me to while away the hours in hotel rooms rather than prop up the bar night after night. The basic setups of the model I have no problems with. Radio has been a hobby for nearly 30 years so electronics, crystals, batteries etc are pretty familiar. I enjoy the building and like to see my creations fly. My son started with an old trainer and Irvine 40. We fitted the servo's and radio, set it up and went to the field at the beginning of summer. What we did not realise at the time was that spectrum and futaba bits dont mix so we had a slight problem with slow action on the ailerons. Having changed the servo for a futaba and checking the operation was free we did not check the actual direction of operation. to cut a long story short, neither did the guys that tested it so we had an enjoyable rebuild of the fuselage and the wings over some 6 weeks before it was back in the air. Since that episode I have overhauled the engine, fitted new needle and gaskets, cleaned all the gunge off the outside and converted from elastic bands to peg and screw wing fittings. It is now 2 minutes to get ready for flight as I always check everything is working before I get to the field. hopefully I will get some time in during the Christmas break. The first things I was taught was Safety. As I work in machinery Safety I found the lessons easy and straight forward but was surprised at the unsafe actions of some who should know better. The guys at the Club are great with some old timers you could listen to for years. Just like when I started in radio. There were guys who built their own radios or modified ex MOD equipment. The had used morse in lancs and worked on airfields with coastal command or in the desert etc. Great crack!! Rambling on a bit so I will heed the advice, curb my enthusiasm, and wait to be taught. Hoping that my first solo will be early in the New Year. Regards, Bill.

Hello Lyndon, Go to Maplins and get a couple of panel mount 1/4" jack sockets and wire the battery to them through a car type in line fuse. They are easily fitted through the wood of a flight box or even a metal plate as they are insulated. I have a wood plate fitted to the top of my battery, drilled through where youy lift it. I also incorporated a voltmeter on the plate from an old car backup starter unit.  While at Maplins or the local electronics shop get a couple of stackable jack plugs for each terminal. These can then be plugged in and are held safely in place with no danger of jumping off like croc clips sometimes do. The fuse will protect from short circuits, 15 - 30A depending on your starter wattage. It is simple and looks good. Bill.

I suppose I am in the position of deciding whether to go it alone or not. I joined a Club in June this year after much persuasion of my eldest son (33). Being 60+ I bought an ARTF, an "Arising Star" plus Irvine 46, Futaba complete kit plus the other bits and pieces to get the thing started and in the air. The Club instructor checked the model over and then took it off. Only very slight trimming was required and after a couple of circuits I was allowed control flying very high to my old eyes and very very quick! Just flying big high ovals - frightening!!!. After a few circuits and some up and down - difficult to keep it level, nerves took over and sticks were going the wrong way so that was the first flight- brilliant!. Since the first flight I have made a total of 13 until 16th October. Weather has been rubbish since then. I progressed through oval, figure of eights, squares, both clockwise and anticlockwise and then got control of the engine Yes!. I was now flying a little lower called one mistake before a crash instead of two mistakes high. slow approaches were made with the throttle at tickover, gradually reducing height, a little up elevator to slow down further to around 10 feet off the strip then open up and away.round again. The last flight left things a bit late and a call of more elevator resulted in a stall type flat landing 10 foot short of the runway from about 6 feet. Thankfully, no damage from the long grass. On a couple of occasions I have been up to the field but no instructor so sitting watching. or even no one flying at all. This is when you ask yourself why not just take off and fly?  I have a large playing field are near me with half a dozen football fields which are much under used plus a school field. The cliff tops are just a few minutes drive away plus a small industrial area with only the roads and a large grass field on one side. The urge is to fly with my very limited knowlege of around 2 hours on a buddy box to help me on my way to solo flying on the club site. I have not taken off - yet as the instructor states you must learn to land first as it is pointless taking if if you cannot land - sensible words but time waits for no man and Spring 2010 is such a long way off. Meanwhile, I have build the Super Air ARTF, flies like a dream says the instructor but put it in the loft till you can fly. So now I am building the Nijhuis Hurricane for the son. now that is a challenging one! So what do I do? keep building and getting instruction when I can or bite the bullet and  get some practice on my own? Any advice / hints and tips would be welcome.    

Hello all, As a "newbie" and back in the hobby after 50 years my son (33) has kindly left me to build this aeroplane. It certainly lives up to being a "Builders model" especially when I have only built up 3 ARTF models  up to now. Using the free plans It started out as from the plan. The bits did not fit [F1] so son bought the CNC kit. The bits were the same as we had spent hours cutting out by hand! Using the many comments and valuable info on this forum I have managed to build up the outer airframe and tail bits. I notice that may of you builders have cut out the infill on the TE of the vertical stab where I have infilled on top of the base 3mm sheet and sanded to profile. Am I wrong? A couple of other queries go like this:- Do you cut out the rudder LE to accommodate the torque rod for the elevators as it is not shown on the plan? Do you follow the hinge layout for the rudder as per the elevator as this is also not shown on the plan? Are the wheels 3.5 inch or 4 inch as the mag and the plan book tell you different sizes? Lastly, the name and reference number of retracts that fit with the oleos that were used in the plan. Any help would be appreciated as I am in the deep end with this model, perhaps a little too deep as the wife is complaining about the dust from the sanding! perhaps i need a bigger shed / hanger? Thanks in advance Bill - Durham