stu knowles

and nothing happens

**LINK**

Yes that was the one, It flew so well (in a slightly weird way) I thought that it was so innovative.

I had a great day on the Sunday at the Nationals, arrived at 9am and left at 8pm, The crowning glory for me is the Free Flight Scale event which starts at around 6pm, We know Free Flight Scale is always amazing but a DHC Chipmunk and Hawker Typhoon with no exaggerated dihedral? and a TSR2 which flew beautifully. Then over to the FF Jamboree, which is just a delight to witness. It was all good but the gossamer winged ornithopter and rubber powered helicopters were unbelievable! I did think that the weight limit had detracted slightly from the variety of models being flown but non the less it is a joyous spectacle of aeromodelling. To all who help to stage and make the event happen, Deep Respect and Thank You All. and to all who participate or just attend and watch, may you never grow old.

It was a pleasure to see this model being flown again after quite an absence from the shows. Its very impressive

If the police catch you with a mobile phone in your hand, or see you looking down at one, it constitutes the same offence as if you were making a call. Same offence? Not really, One is Driving while using a telecommunications device and one is driving while not in a position to have full control or even Drive without Due Care...….. Which would also apply if you were fiddling with a dedicated Sat Nav while Driving.

The Puppeteer is one of my all time favourite aeroplanes, Head and shoulders above all the other in the Scout Series. I had my last one for about 15 years and flew it from land water and snow with equal capability and enjoyment. Somewhere in the middle of all that time I bought a car that wouldn't take the Pup' ready assembled. The Pup didn't fly again until the car was changed for another which did take it in one piece. The moral of the story is that the Pup is a lovely flyer but an absolute cow in standard form as it takes far too long to rig/unrig, which ruins the experience. Any additional time spent making it a quick to rig model during the build will be rewarded many times over at the flying field...…. or buy a car that takes it in one piece.

I've recently had a letter about renewing my Driving Licence. The DLs with a photo last 10 years and the renewal costs £14 In terms of which is the more important to the social fabric of these Sceptred Isles, a Driving Licence or some form of consent to fly toy aeroplanes, I believe that the DL triumphs and yet the Government feels content to let it run for 10 years, I don't have to retake a meaningless test on the Highway Code or Traffic Law every year and, if I were over 70 years of age, they will renew at no charge for the rest of my life. I'm not normally one for rebellion but I do think that I can recognise when I am having my leg lifted and the proposals in relation to Model Flyers do seem to resemble a large container containing equine faeces. I can only hope that the lack of official information so late in the day does mean that someone in Whitehall is having a quiet word in the shell like cavity of a Minister or Civil Servant to think again.

For me, the prime reason to go petrol is to stop the damage that glow fuel residue causes to the airframe and finish. It starts and stops there. Touch wood, my models die of old age now but if glow powered more damage is caused by the fuel than anything else. even with a good coat or two of Solarlac over a celly paint finish it still attacks the paint and will eventually find its way into the wood around the engine bay. I always slightly over prop my engines and have fairly restrictive exhaust outlets - which does loose some power but so long as theres enough power left to adequately fly I leave it quiet rather than powerful.

The Vifly 2 has a pretty piercing noise generator. I hold back from throwing it into the middle of a corn field as a practical range check but unless you fly next to a motorway or are completely stone deaf, I would say that its good for 50 yards.

The first landing flair would have been perfect had it not been 10 foot up in the air at the time. The wheels have mudguards over them and that's what comes off in the impact. I have inherited a 120" version of this aircraft with 4 x 46's. It comes out a couple of times a year. It is the most space hungry shed hog imaginable. I wouldn't be that upset at it's demise but it flies well every time!

**LINK** The ViFly Finder V2 is a made for purpose model finder which is switchable from the TX and even has its own battery so that if the RX battery is disconnected it operates with it own battery. £10

Hmmm! Just got my mobile phone bill and there is a £3.12 charge for a 5 minute call to an 08456 number, A bit of a hidden charge there by Carbon Copy which does them no credit.

I have a couple of the GT Power switches but haven't used them because, as I read it, if they were inadvertently set in the LIPO mode, then they will cut the power as the voltage falls, saving the battery and killing the model. Murphy's Law is strong and sooner or later it will happen...…. or have I got that bit wrong?

On a slightly connected topic, If anyone has the misfortune to 'land out' with an electric model in one of the many cornfields that abound at this time of year, may I suggest that giving up on it is absolutely not an option. Not for the Pilot, the Owner if different, or the host Club from which it came. The thought of a Lipo being ingested by a Combine Harvester full of dry straw and dust does not bear thinking about. Any subsequent bill could run into several hundred thousand pounds. Modern Combines can come in at a quarter mill alone.

Hi All, I was recently in need of a 1/4 scale Piper J3 cowling and was surprised at how hard it was to find one. I googled Carbon Copy and one of the responses was a thread on this forum where some prospective customers has encountered difficulties in contacting the firm and obtaining their goods. It came up in conversation at the field and Carbon Copy was mentioned as a possible source. That person had recently bought something from them - no problem. I rang them on Monday or Tuesday of this week and took delivery of a very nice quality cowl today. Very happy. Aftermarket accessories are hard to find in the shrinking model trade so I pleased to confirm that CC are still in business and producing decent products. I have no connection to the firm in any way.

Ignore me, Clearly I have no idea what I'm talking about

I have a Me110 which has a habit of veering left on the take off run, which can be held on rudder (on a good day) I have mixed the throttles channels into the rudder so that application of full rudder backs off one engine by 15% and advances the other by the same amount. (partial rudder pro rata) It has most effect at mid throttle settings so if it starts to wander off applying rudder and just backing off on the power momentarily works well. It has been very useful and has cured wayward take off antics. I normally switch it out after take off but I have tried it while flying and it has not caused any drama. I also have a twin on floats which has no water rudders. Very Handy. I also use curves to match the rpm at idle, mid point and full power but that is gilding the lily. I have several mutli engine models without that facility. So long as both are running - who cares! Edited By stu knowles on 25/07/2019 22:21:43

The S8 will often do weird things, almost all are cured by correctly performing the calibration procedure.

There is a movement to use older TXs for vintage RC and classic aerobatics bit usually only after they have been converted to 2.4 using the FRSky hack module. Personally I wouldn't contemplate using it as is or even consider spending money on it. I had a Skyleader set back in the mid 70's. it wasn't that good! Google will be your friend regarding the conversion. I still have my Futaba M set in the cupboard which is waiting for conversion.... after a I build the Pete Russell Striker that I have lusted after for the last 50 years.

Hi Piers, The large holes needed to let the cylinders out rather rule out a wrapped ply cowl. Making one from balsa wouldn't be hard but Glass is the better solution. I have made cowls from a blue foam plug but I thought that a Cub cowl might be an easy find off the shelf..... that seems to be no longer the case. Thanks for the suggestions. stu k

I'll try ringing Mike Smart but the J3 cowl is shown out of stock on his web site and I had a feeling that he was running the business down now. There was a thread on this forum some time ago about Carbon Copy being unresponsive but I'll have to look back and see what the outcome was. Thanks for the suggestions. Anyone got one in their shed? any condition cheers stu k

Hi All, I know that this is a long shot but does anyone have a 1/4 scale fibreglass Piper Cub cowl going spare?? I have come by an airframe from a modeller who now flies in higher skies but it came without cowl and struts. The engine is an ASP 160 flat twin which rather rules out a wrapped plywood cowl. I've had a good look on the t'internet but can't find anything and no-one seems to be making aftermarket glass parts in the way that there used to be. A used cowl that has been cut is no problem as I can repair and make up existing holes before fitting it to this engine. Decent price and postage covered regards to all stu k

These are good as landing lights and only need the wires extending. The set even includes an RX controlled switch! **LINK**

On the other hand.... I just had a local anaesthetic and thought it a pretty painless process. In and out within the hour. No discomfort. Job done. You'll know better after the first sample is taken.