Mike L

Thanks Andy, much appreciated. Your memory is way way better than mine! I also built one in the 80's and all I remember is that it was too much fun! Mike

Can anyone advise what control throws they are using on their Flea Fli. I can't see anything shown on the plan. Thanks Mike

Hi Ken Short answer is yes, I flew her half a dozen times but it wasn't a pleasant experience. It looked great in the air and had plenty of presence but had a tendency to roll to the left which I and clubmates couldn't identify the issue or solve. So I had to fly with lots of aileron and rudder to compensate. I eventually rebuilt the wings and she flew reasonably straight and level at last but on that flight the wings folded up and she was totalled..to be honest it was relief, it had taken up too much time and effort. I found the plans tricky not overly accurate especially the wing centres, the design of which just didn't make sense to me. Basically, probably my biggest failure in 50 years of modelling RC planes. Poor design or my poor building, who knows. Sorry to sound negative and doom and gloom but compared to other biplanes I have built and flown happily this wasn't a great experience and it was a massive disappointment. Can't win 'em all I suppose. I would be interested to hear if other people have had more success with this design.

I bought an unflown Flair SE5 end of last year off a clubmate who no longer flies and I have had so much fun with it that I decided to have a go at the Puppeteer but will build it from scratch as a project. So I am on the scrounge for a copy of a parts list and instructions for the Mk1 Flair Puppeteer. I have obtained the plans but just need the above to assist or not as the case may be! Any assistance welcomed. Cheers

Thanks Jon, that all makes sense. Thanks Andy, I have ordered a new key and other bits and pieces from Just Engines but good to know. Cheers Mike

We maidened a Precedent/SLEC T240 yesterday that I bought last year from a club member who had decided planes weren’t for him anymore. It has a SC91 two stroke that has only been run in by the member. I ran it on the bench for a few minutes and it was fine; nice and smooth. On finals, the engine died on idle but as it was windy it did not prove an issue and floated nicely onto the runway. For the second flight, engine starts fine but we couldn’t get it to transition beyond half throttle without dying. A slight knocking noise was also detected, general consensus was it was a glow plug issue. We decided to call it a day and look at it back home. Removing the engine, I took off the prop driver, being careful to keep the woodruff key…..that wasn’t there…. assuming I had dropped it, I spent 1 hour looking for it, gave up and ordered a replacement. Thinking about it overnight, I put the propeller back and tightened the nut up and was a bit surprised to see the engine turned over. I had assumed without the key this would be an issue. This leads me to believe the woodruff key wasn’t there in the first place. I am no expert on engines by any stretch of the imagination so following this lengthy introduction, I have a few questions. Is it ok to run an engine without the woodruff key? There were a few iron filings in the groove that I removed with a magnet but not a keys worth! Sudden refusal to transition ? Thoughts? How much slack should there be at TDC when you turn the engine over, if that makes sense. I am a bit reluctant to fire it up again until I either receive a new key or I get some advice on this. Cheers Mike

One more for the list is Absolu-modelisme, I used them to source some balsa recently, decent selection at good prices. Thumbs up for Flashrc and Miniplanes plus Hobbyking EU warehouse. I have found you usually find what you need routing around the websites but can be frustrating if no stocks …. but I think that’s a challenge no matter where you buy nowadays. If someone finds a SLEC or Model Fixings equivalent, heads up please. Mike

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated. ED - goods heads up on OS as it looks like JE are offering the OS replacement tappet screws for the ASP so that could well be a result. It’s a good excuse to drop in the Saito 100 that’s been waiting in a box for a home. ASP will be earmarked for another project. thanks again

I was on 3rd flight this morning with ASP120FS in Wot4xl, on approach, engine cut at about 1m, no issues, but unusual though as engine normally runs really well. Starting it up again, no compression, engine just turned freely. Took off rocker cover and lo and behold this is what popped out. Sheared tappet screw, but in an odd location to my mind. Got back to workshop and it now has compression. I can turn the screw stub and there is enough thread to get the nut on. Spares seem to be in short supply, will give JE a call later. However the whole thing baffles me, why would it shear in first place and why is there now compression? I would be grateful for any observations!

I finally got round to completing the foam wings on my Aerostar 62. However, I decided the veneer had delaminated and split too much. I toyed with idea of re sheeting the cores in balsa but I have gone down the built up route instead Having taken root templates I went the sandwich method for the ribs. Due to the wing taper I have a sharp top and bottom edge on the rib front of the main spar. If I sand this out it alters the profile. As it see it, I can use the ribs as templates and cut again or glue a sub rib to the existing ribs. Luckily I have only cut one wing. For the eagle eyed among you, I realised this morning the ribs are on the wrong side but the problem is the same. All suggestions welcome!

“…..that’s nice dear, you will put the furniture back won’t you…..” Well, what more could you expect? So I thought I would post some photos here to hopefully a more appreciative audience! This is the Traplet Fairey Swordfish plan MW 2956 72” span. Please don’t ask me how long I have been on this, it would be too embarrassing. Not quite finished, some fuel proofing to be done on wings and other bits and pieces. It will have an ASP120FS upfront which should be fine, currently weighs 8 1/2Ilbs and I reckon 1Ib to go so should be ok – the only unknown is the lump of lead that will have to go in the nose. Covered in solartex – all scraps now in carefully marked brown envelope! Whatever will we do for the next build? Not the easiest of builds, the plans were a challenge, so anyone thinking one about this needs to be mentally prepared!! Hoping to get this maidened towards the end of this year but need to sharpen my flying up beforehand. Thanks for having a look!