Slidemaster

Great help Phil - much appreciated and much to practise! Looking forward to the next big blow now!

Now I've got a pretty good idea on how to launch in big winds any issues to consider with the landing? At the moment I would assume the wind speed would pretty much stall the model without resorting to crow or spoilers so turn at the last minute and simply stall the model close to the ground? I guess I'll soon find out! Oh.....and be ready to grab the model before it cartwheels away! Edited By Slidemaster on 03/01/2015 13:34:23

Thanks Ernie.......That's one tip I'm going to let my buddies try first - I have a couple of guys in mind for this one Cheers....Chris

Great tips - many thanks! Can't wait to try the new technique(s) and will post back! Cheers.......Chris

Cheers Phil. Buddy launching with the bigger winds. Sounds like good advice. Too date we have probably launched to high up the slope with the model flying back overhead - not pretty! I'm flying a 3m Fox & a 2m Flip but have been careful so far to avoid the big winds. My pal has a Phase 6 which suffered badly with our poor technique. Taking your advice will try a launch with the buddy around 10 metres ahead and down the slope a tad. Many thanks for the advice!

I'm a fairly recent newcomer to Slope Soaring and am enjoying it as a great option to flying off a flat strip. So far our small group has had great fun flying in wind speeds up to 35 knots with no real launching problems. Our efforts to launch in winds above 40 knots have so far not gone too well! Our models all have a decent wing loading so should be more than capable in which case we must be going wrong with the launch technique for these high wind speeds. What's the best technique to master gale force winds....any suggestions?

Hi Hogster - thinking of getting a Fairchild & would be interested in hearing your experience. Did the SC52 work out for you & how did it balance out with this engine?

All comments gratefully received as I know very little about these engines. Yes the engine is an OS55 Max. Now here's an odd thing - I followed Alan's advice and removed the plug looking for movement behind the prop drive. No movement at all. I flipped the engine over around 10 times and the squeak disappeared as did the initial resistance at TDC with the plug removed. Restarted the engine and the vibration disappeared! So no idea what was going on but thanks for all the suggestions. Cheers

Thanks for the responses -   Yes the prop was replaced & balanced & there is a slight squeaky noise when hand turning at the top of the cycle. I'll check the gap behind the prop driver tomorrow but at first glance earlier today there didn't seem to be any obvious movement.   Cheers

After spinning my WOT 4 into the ground following a transmitter failure I have rebuilt the model and refitted the OS 55 engine. The engine flips over fine but with a slight squeak at full compression. The engine started fine but runs with significant vibration. Could the shaft be slightly bent and if so is it a straight forward repair or does it require expert attention? The engine is brand new with only 20 minutes run time (!). Are the spares readily available? Any comments appreciated. Cheers

Hi Pete   Yes the aerials were orientated in the same way however as a double check I tried both the DX8 7 the DX7 with the aerials in several different positions with no difference in either case. The DX8 simply lost signal but the DX7 maintained control with the same Rx from the crashed aircraft. The WOT 4 was actually on its maiden flight running in a new OS engine so I was just making large circuits at low throttle openings when the model at the furthest end of the circuit (about 400m) suddenly dropped into a downward spiral from straight & level flight with neutral sticks. This happened twice at roughly the same point in the circuit. The first time the model managed to pull out & I suspected an issue with either the servos or a linkage. A few slow fly pasts convinced me this was not the case with all surfaces responding normally so I resumed the circuit. (should have landed - I know!). The second time the aircraft did not recover and was brought back as a bag of bits but with all the radio gear functioning so I was able to run the range tests as mentioned above. Talking to the other club members it now appears that a total of 4 aircraft have suffered the same fate all with DX8's. The other 2 Tx's have been remapped by Horizon but are no longer used. I guess mine will follow that path which is a shame because I really liked the unit & agree it i so easy to program. Unfortunately I won't trust it again unless Horizon tell me they found a malfunction in the circuitry - if this is the case then I will post the outcome in due course.

I bought a DX8 about 4 weeks ago and just yesterday lost the signal to my WOT4 and wrote it off!   I used a spare model to test both the receiver and the Tx for range (by walking down the field) and found that the equipment lost signal at a range of about 500 metres. I then used a DX7 to check that the Rx was not the culprit and confirmed the Rx was working fine and that the problem was limited range on the DX8. It then transpired that 2 other club members have had the same problem in the last 6 weeks. Both have sent the Tx's back to Horizon Hobbies who have reported that "they could not replicate the fault" but had remapped the RF board as a precautionary measure and returned the units. Both these guys have stopped using the DX8 due to a loss of confidence and I guess I will now be following suit.   I would suggest you stay clear until Horizon can improve the reliability - unless you like building planes that is.

Another good suggestion Tom - thanks. I hadn't thought to check the alignment of the bulkhead - I'll check this first. Seems like a good call to me. Cheers

Thanks for the comment Chris. The motor is nice and firmly set to the bulkhead but I will add down thrust if improving the gaps & changing the servo haven't helped. I take your point on the throttle but the model was even looping with the throttle off (honest!) until it ran out of energy. I'd like to sort the problem as it seems like a lot of fun if I can handle it. Cheers

Thanks for the suggestion - I'll do that. Another thought is that perhaps the elevator servo stalled on take off as the model has obviously had some mistreatment. Perhaps my heavy landing jerked it back so it wasn't noticeable when retrieved. With this power to weight ratio I guess that would promote the extreme looping if you doubt the gaps were the cause? I'll also change the servo & try again (carefully!). Appreciate your comments. Cheers