Ian Whittaker

HI. I thought i would try asking for hints BEFORE i started this build. Is anyone aware of any traps i may fall into? Any obvious errors i could lead myself into please? I'm not looking for a ultra fine scale result, a club level stand off scale is the aim. Also any ideas on engines? I'm thinking of going petrol but unsure of the size I'd be needing. (ps I've bought the kit already....) Thanks Gents / Ladies.   Ian. Edited By Ian Whittaker on 21/04/2012 07:42:01

And me....

@import url(http://www.modelflying.co.uk/CuteEditor_Files/Style/SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/CuteEditor_Files/public_forums.css); I'm flying a Raptor 30 for autos. It's only got the cheap wooden blades on present. I have a 50, which has CF blades, but I'm reluctant to start splashing out for replacement blades for this! @import url(http://www.modelflying.co.uk/CuteEditor_Files/Style/SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/CuteEditor_Files/public_forums.css);Edited By Ian Whittaker on 15/01/2012 13:17:14

if it is as easy to perform autorotations with a model helicopter as people claim why do i keep screwing it it up? I've bust my third (fourth?) main blade set / tailboom / flybar combination this weekend. I hear heavier blades may help but i reckon the way i'm going at present they will just smack the boom harder and make bigger holes in my wallet as they do it! Im trying to set it down level, but its just not happening. I have had five sessions now practicing - two went well, three ended in tears. I'm not a total novice either - I'm quite happy with the heli flying in general, circuits, nose in, rolls, loops etc and am starting to lower the inverted hover down now. I think it's becoming a bit of molehill made into a mountain by my head now! What a daft hobby this is sometimes....

Does a helicopter having its main blades clobbering the tail boom in the air count as a mid air? If so I've had a few - I don't even need other aircraft to hit - my whirrlybirds collide with themselves!Edited By Ian Whittaker on 05/11/2011 15:46:19

It worked out about 13kg i believe. Ian   @import url(/CuteEditor_Files/public_forums.css);@import url(http://www.modelflying.co.uk/CuteEditor_Files/Style/SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/CuteEditor_Files/public_forums.css);

HI ALL.   A rather late update on progress.   Despite my best efforts during construction to keep the weight down to somewhere near the figure of the prototype, i was significantly over, even before painting / detailing. With the 4 SC30's running well, on a 1 mile concrete runway the plane was struggling to lift off, and managed only about 3 feet. After much discussion with others, the conclusion was reluctantly drawn that while it would probably get off the deck if i uprated to OS40 (4 strokes) or the SC52s, flight would never be be pleasurable or even safe due to the very high wing loading, and the landing speed would be far too high to ever allow safe operation from the (large) grass fields near home.As to refit flaps would be a huge task and would only add to the weight, i have reluctantly pulled the plug on the project.The plane seemed tail heavy first and foremost, with a significant amount to lead in the nose required, as well as the heaviest radio batteries i could find.In retrospect i still don't see where my mistakes lie, i built as per the plan, using the wood supplied in the pack, picking the lightest for the tail wherever possible. My fibreglassing was sanded down to a mere coat, and of course the paint / tail turret would have only added to the tail weight requiring even more metal f'wd.   Oh well. That's aeromodelling i suppose!   All the best, Ian.  

Hi to all.   Now i'm starting to throw my Raptor round a bit, i keep suffering boom strikes, and it's proving rather expensive! They seem to occur most when flipping back upright from inverted, and needless to say the flight ends there and then. I've fitted hard rubbers, carbon blades, and try and keep the head speed high to avoid problems. Would a engine governor help, or am i really just pushing the helicopter past what could be expected of it? I'm thinking that before i invest in yet another crash kit, skid set etc, i may be better off looking at other options. If this is the case, dare i ask what would be suggested as a suitable replacement?   All. the best,   Ian

Edited By Ian Whittaker on 14/03/2011 21:51:25

Just tried fast taxi-ing / first flights on my regular club field. It ended with running out of room and a trip into the long grass, having used perhaps 50 to 70 metres of mown patch. The plane was looking good on the main legs and seemed close to lifting, but it wandered slightly off track. The moral is - I'll be making the extra 150 mile round trip to a concrete, ex WW2 runway when the retracts are fixed! Ps sounded well though, with the 4 engines pulling!Edited By Ian Whittaker on 12/03/2011 16:46:21

I've recently got a HAL 2100 auto leveler. Are they any use? It was fitted to a 15 year old Heli I've been given. Is it worth refitting when I start rebuilding? Is it designed purely to help the hover?

If anyone else is thinking glow engine/SLEC tanks, I'd measure carefully before settling on the 9oz tanks. I've being trying, and they would be very tight In the nacelles. I've settled on the 6oz.

If anyone else is thinking glow engine/SLEC tanks, I'd measure carefully before settling on the 9oz tanks. I've being trying, and they would be very tight In the nacelles. I've settled on the 6oz.

Thank you kindly. I've give 'em a ring in the morning and see how my luck goes.

After much flying my beloved Bushwacker has become too fuel soaked to be used, so i'm rebuilding the fuse' tail and rudder. I've got the template of the fuse' sides, but can't find a plan of the tail plane. Would anyone mind getting a tape measure and measuring the span of the tailplane please? Thanks. Best regards, Ian Whittaker.

After much flying my beloved Bushwacker has become too fuel soaked to be used, so i'm rebuilding the fuse' tail and rudder. I've got the template of the fuse' sides, but can't find a plan of the tail plane. Would anyone mind getting a tape measure and measuring the span of the tailplane please? Thanks. Best regards, Ian Whittaker.

Thanks. Just been on their tinterweb shop and the word Panic isn't recognised. I'll ring tomorrow though. They may have one buried somewhere....

Thanks Stephen. Was this recent? I did a fair bit of ringing round when i bent mine, and struggled. I also spoke to the Oxford Panic team, and they are also struggling!

I don't suppose anyone knows where i can get a new Panic ARTF from? My last, number 4 suffered damage in an arrival and i foolishly gave the repairable airframe away, thinging i could get a replacement.I can't, and i'm lost without one!  All the best, Ian.

Good afternoon! After much flying my beloved Bushwacker has become too fuel soaked to be used, so i'm rebuilding the fuse' tail and rudder. I've got the template of the fuse' sides, but can't find a plan of the tail plane. Would anyone mind getting a tape measure and measuring the span of the tailplane please? Thanks. Best regards, Ian Whittaker.

Personally I'm in favour of broadening the scope slightly, but how would Mr. Ashby and yourself feel about a larger column? I'm not the world's best glider pilot, but find myself reading your column and regarding it as one of the better bits of a all round good magazine!May i add your video of your test flight was very impressive  too - good piloting of what looked to be a well flying plane on a brilliant slope! All the best, A Novice Glider Guider.

Craig -re your question "Im currently pondering again the electric V  4 stroke issue.  Is everyone going electric??" Nope. There's 4 SC30's sat new in their boxes waiting upstairs. I rathered fancied OS40s for the extra power, but the cost put me off. I've seen the RCM+E video of the prototype in flight, and it seems not to short of power, so time will tell,Anyone else? By the way, are the foam wheels significantly lighter than the Dupro ones? Ian. Edited By Ian Whittaker on 31/10/2010 08:18:33

from Mario's post - 'N ote that I made some holes at the F1 to permit to separate the vacuum nose and have acess to  bateries place'. An excellent idea! Thankyou. 

My retracts have arrived today as well. The engineering in them is rather neat! I'm impressed!

Evening Gentlemen.Firstly some good news, of sorts. I've sorted out the dilemma i was suffering of servo choice on the primary control surfaces. It will indeed, as i posted earlier, have digi' Futabas on the aileron and elevator. These have been liberated by the unfortunate dead stick of my day to day club hack going deadstick on me, and the resultant 'landing' snapping the fuselage in half cleanly just aft of the wing mounts. I would post pics of the damage but i removed the servos, engine and receiver and lobbed the airframe in the bin at the field, followed by a little fuel and a match.However, I'm now thinking ahead and slightly worried. if i gang all 4 throttle servos together, both elevator servos and three 'rudder' servos will this be a little too much for one receiver without the aid of a Powerbox type thing? I'm only intending to use tiny seros on the throttles, granted, but  11 servos thro' the one  receiver, with 4 on the on channel seems a cause for concern. I'm thinking about splitting the RC set-up on board, and using two receivers/battery packs, so having one receiver for the inboard / one aileron / one elevator and one for the outboard engines / one aileron / one elevator and the retracts.  Best regards, Ian.