Dave W

Thanks very much KC. My main worry had been securing the battery once it has been inserted and your idea overcomes that. There is a hatch on the underside that I can make removable and it will be no problem to have the model inverted while I insert the battery on its ply plate - I already have to do this on my Riot. I will now go and explore this possibility. Thanks again, Dave

Has anyone built the DB Sport and Scale Corben Baby Ace for electric power? If so, where did you put the battery and how did you get access to it? I plan to use a 3S 3350 LIPO and have tried all sorts of possibilities but I find snags with all of them so any help will be gratefully received. Thanks, Dave

I have built an electric powered UNO WOT following the downloaded conversion from the Chris Foss website and it flies very well. The motor is an EMax GT2820/07 850KV with an APC-E 11x7 prop. I cannot see the ESC without removing the battery plate but I suspect it is 60A. The battery is 3S 3300mAh. I am not sure if it is already on the plan but the top of the fuselage in front of the wings is removable for battery access, held by a peg at the front and a couple of magnets at the back. I am not sure if this motor is still widely available but there are several equivalents. Ignore the sizes given for the motor mounting box - build yours to suit your motor's dimensions. Hope this helps, Dave

Mainly Models is not defunct - they have moved about 5 miles to the Fen End Industrial Estate in Stotfold but have restricted opening hours (11-3 Mon, Wed, Fri and 9-11 Sat). Phone No is 07931 731333 and the Post Code for satnav is SG5 4BA.

Thanks for your quick reply Peter. I have just marked it out but not cut it yet. I will save myself a bit of ply and go with reduced dihedral.

I have just hit the dihedral problem mentioned on page 2 of this thread. I made the dihedral brace exactly as on the plan and then dry-fitted it to the first wing half to check the dihedral. With the exposed bit horizontal (as it would be when fitted in the other wing half flat on the board) the wing tip was raised by only about 3/4 inch. I have done some quick calculations and estimate that the angle on the dihedral brace should be about 2.6 degrees instead of the 1.5 degrees of the one on the plan (which I agree was difficult to measure accurately). I shall make another brace with the new angle and see what happens.

At long last my Zulu ET is in the air. I started building it soon after the plan was published but after reading some of the reports realised it was not for a beginner like me so it was put on the shelf while I got on with building more suitable models. With a lull in building the Zulu was completed. Its first flight showed a marked determination on its part to swing left, as outlined in other reports. I had already built in a small amount of right thrust but this was obviously not enough. Someone else double checked that there were no warps creating problems so I then increased the right offset by quite a lot - to about 4 degrees. It now flies straight. Its flight is quite interesting. Taking it on a gentle turn via ailerons it gets part way through the turn then suddenly rights itself before reverting to the bank and the turn. It is as if the dihedral (measures exactly as stated on the plan) is causing it to right itself every so often. As I say - interesting. Assuming I don't crash it, I see many hours of fun flying ahead. Thanks Lindsay and RCM&E.

On my Discovery I put the main receiver on the wall in front of the servos with the aerial horizontal.There is a space there that seems to be made for this job. I made a small hole in this wall for the cable to the satellite receiver (the cable unplugs easily) and mounted the satellite Rx on the side wall of the empty compartment in front with the aerial vertical. On this model I used Velcro to attach the receivers but on others Servo Tape has been fine. This is a lovely model for learning.   Edited By David Ashby - RCME on 21/03/2013 10:07:36

Before subscribing to RCM&E I bought copies from WHS or my LMS over a period of a few months to see if it was what I wanted. It was so I have been a subscriber for a few years. I had hoped to do the same with Aeromodeller but I don't think sufficient quantities were distributed. Our nearest WHS apparently had just two copies to sell. We only go into town once a week and unfortunately the day we go is not a Thursday (the day of its release). It was little wonder that on our next visit to the town they had none left. Chatting to others today they also were unable to find any on the shelves at their WHS branches. For those who say I should have pre-committed, I am reluctant to commit myself to an annual subscription for something I haven't seen.

I had this problem when I got a new PC with Windows 7 (the old one had XP). I emailed Reality Craft explaining the situation and they replied with an attached file which, when run, gave me a working simulator. Can't remember their URL but a Google search should find it and then look for "contact us".

Have just sent emails to both my local MP and to the DEFRA minister, Richard Benyon. Seeing a Buzzard used to be a very rare occurence but now we see one or two at most visits to the flying field. Now they have at last recovered from pesticide problems and persecution by farmers we don't want them to become a rarity again.

I have used plaster board with no problems. Pins go in easily and the board hasn't crumbled. Mine is just laid on a level surface. I changed it recently when starting a new model. Although there were hundreds of holes in the old board I have kept it as a reserve because it is still in good condition.

I'm going to let another worm out of the can! If it is considered not a good thing to lengthen the wires between the battery and the ESC because of possible damage to the ESC's input capacitors, what effect will putting a watt meter in this lead have? This introduces more wire and some circuitry.

The backplate on the OS 46LA has been known to work loose. Also, with a different engine, someone in our club had exactly these symptoms and the cause was a very slightly loose silencer.  

I got a spare prop from Slough RC.   The C of G is a mm or 2 behind the leading edge of the plastic covers for the aileron servos - easy to locate when doing a check before flying.   A lovely plane to learn on but a bit light for the strong winds we have had lately.    

Gary,   If you don't want to use any glue then I will have to steer you away from the Ready 3. You have to epoxy the wing halves together, glue the firewall and another former into the fuselage and stick on the tailplane and fin.   Sounds as if the TT Trainer 3 is the one for you.    

The Ready 3 is recommended by at least two of my local clubs. It is plastic, easy to assemble, and quite strong. The only problem I found with mine is that I kept breaking undercarriage legs (always the right one!) on anything but a perfect landing. Although these only cost about £6 something a pair, after the last mishap I had to wait ages for a new batch to arrive in the country so got myself an ST Discovery. With that I was soon off the Buddy Lead and it is so easy to get it ready to fly that I just haven't bothered to get the Ready 3 off the shelf where I put it after eventually replacing the leg. I suppose I will get it out again reasonably soon - it will cope with some of the winds we have had lately better than the Discovery.

This was my first Shuttleworth event and I agree with you it was excellent. Plenty of variety and, if you like models of the old timers, plenty to whet the appetite for future projects. Like you I thought it would be too windy for the Edwardian era flight but well done to them for waiting to see if the wind dropped sufficiently. By the time it was nearly dark the wind did drop and we were treated to four of them flying - a sight that won't be forgotten. Thanks very much Shuttleworth.  

How about the Multiplex Easy Star? This is strong and reasonably easy to fly for a beginner. However, I strongly endorse what others have been saying - try contacting a local club.

Yes, definitely excellent value for money.  

I have the same size battery as you (an Overlander Sport). I made a simple foam wedge to hold it in place rather than use the Velcro.   I think different models off the production line could need different weights. I replaced an Easy Star that had quite a lot of nose weight and the new one only needed about half as much. Perhaps the foam varies in density and this determines how much you need..

Thanks Martyn. I have been away on holiday so your information isn't too late. I agree with your review of the model (under "ST Discovery (Trainer)"). My only adverse comment about the model is the amount of weight I had to put in the nose to balance it at the specified point. The only convenient place for it was in the battery compartment but now I know how to get into the cowl I can use less weight positioned a bit further forwards.  Edited By Dave W on 12/07/2011 15:03:32

Many thanks   I had hoped it was just a cowl but I didn't want to remove it until I was more certain that I wouldn't be removing the whole front end.   I agree with your comments about it being a great flyer - ideal for a beginner like me.   Dave W      

The nose wheel assembly on my ST Discovery seems to have a little slop in it and I want to get in and have a look just in case something is coming loose. It isn't obvious how I can do this and before starting work I thought I had better find out if anyone else has experience of getting into the nose area of the Discovery.   It has what looks like a foam cowl that doesn't have too much adhesive joining it to the fuselage. I am hoping that this is indeed just a cover and that the motor and nose wheel leg are mounted to the foam that makes up the rest of the fuselage. If this is the case then I can just remove the cowl and examine the nose wheel leg mounting.   If this bit of foam is structural then I think I would prefer to cut out a small section of it, just enough to see what I want and rectify any problems, and then stick this section back.   Any help would be greatly appreciated before I start wielding the scalpel.   Dave W.      

I have memories of the Twin Pin from Borneo in 1964. Something about it made me fancy it as a model but I never got around to it. I can't find any 3 view drawings but there are a couple of decent photos (in civilian guise) on www.military-aircraft.org.uk/transport-aircraft/scottish-aviation-twin-pioneer-3/htm. Now I have returned to modelling after a 40 year break perhaps I will finally get round to it - once I have learnt to fly properly!