[Log Books]

Back in 1972, I was undertaking, what is now back in fashion, a 5 year degree apprenticeship with ICI. In their Soulth Wales fibres research department, in the lab next door, to where I was trying to improve the tensile  strength of polyoxadiazole fibres, I found they had an electronic calculator. I used a lot of maths|number crunching to solve statistic equations wot would suggest likely mixes. Godsend.

It sat on a bench, was the size of a couple of shoe boxes, did the work of a basic calculator, and cost, a couple of quid more, than a brand spanking new MGB GT Convertible. 
Still can’t spell.

[General Aviation Alliance say commercial drone users must bear cost of any new airspace sharing system]

Ditto

[D.B. SPORT @ SCALE SE5]

Just read this, life gets in the way of building, and this build is still stalled. I’ve just had the second cataract done, so eyes sorted. Bit of heart surgery next, and that’s me sorted. Workshop still a mess, but I am determined to sort it out before I get chopped, so I can start to get backlogs done during convalescence. 
I also have a cunning plan. Missus is thrilled, she’s getting a VW Transporter, converted to my design as a motor caravan. Full hippy wanderer. Ooo, mon Cherie, she coos. 

It just so happens, can’t think why, but it , by happy coincidence, will have racks that happen to carry large aircraft fully rigged. 

[Wots wot aerofoil]

I think it’s a TLAR. A Foss own design generic airfoil, nice general function section, but not fast.

A lot of kit buyers take root and tip sections onto paper, I know I do, but I’ve never built a Wots Wot.

 

[David Boddington Appreciation Society]

An RM Aerobat sorted me out after a very long layoff. And a Tyro with a Fok 15 was a first venture into RC flying. 

[Flair Stearman plans]

If the problem is the scarf joint, and they don’t look good, why not reinforce, 1/16th,light side of medium, both sides of the scarf. Cut the infills with scarfed ends, lower edge above the main stringer edge, so it’s invisible under the covering. Glue as desired.

[Flair Stearman plans]

You are a sucker for punishment. As a fellow self flagilator, I’m curious, but only if it doesn’t hurt too much. I have a 1/4 scale Svenson Stampe, picked up casually that has been eating time for years as I get enthusiasm to get it a little further. I also have a 1/4 scale Precident Stampe, ditto. That one is not quite as bad, it might fly come late spring.

[What constitutes a Park Flyer ?]

Arthur, you say “Hardly anyone wants the end of ICE cars, yet it will all end in 2030 or 2035.”

Might  I ask the source of that statement. I’ve just had a wade through the internet and can’t find much support for it. It seems younger drivers don’t, and a German study refutes it.

I have no hat in that argument, but I like statistics to be bearers of truth rather than prevarication's to deceive 

[Sign of the times - funnies * Remember this is a family friendly forum and inappropriate postings will be removed without warning.]

Not the sub zero degree version.

[This months Kick The Tyres column. Flight logs - do you log your flights?]

I used to keep a log of what equipment is in each model, so after an arrival, if fit to use again( judgement) the arrival was recorded, and also maintainence schedules. 
I stopped doing it, with some regrets.

[Sign of the times - funnies * Remember this is a family friendly forum and inappropriate postings will be removed without warning.]

I used to pee on mine to defrost the windscreen. And before you lot start thinking fire engines, as in stand on the bonnet and pee.

I also liked the automatic ashtray. No door sill so the fag ends fell out as they accumulated. 
Not a dainty girlfriend magnet.

[What constitutes a Park Flyer ?]

Try a bolting horse, spooked, Toto. Or said toy hitting a bike rider, or causing a fall trying to get out of the way. Public spaces are public, and the definition of where is safe has a lot to do with the space, a lot to do with skill levels, and in particular where to crash the model if needed. Read John Stones post,

[First taste of the sky]

Toto, nose wheels have hard lives. Lock it straight. One less failure point next weekend. If you have that much time make chutney. It’s a trainer, one job. No complexity. 

[First taste of the sky]

Re nose wheel steering on a primary Trainer, Toto, and a foam jobbie to boot, I would say, an unrequired  complexity. Point it into wind, open it up, and the rudder will hold it into wind as soon as it’s moving. Fly, land, charge, point fly…..

Just anchor it straight ahead. 
Game of blood, KISS applies. 
As a stress reliever, learn to make chutney. You will never touch that turnip chutney you all seem to be addicted for cheese sarnies again. 

[Painting a balsa model]

Future, I use Matt doculam. To get water based paint to stick my experiments suggest it needs a scrub with solvent after covering to get rid of (I assume) a manufacturering  coating. Not my game, but there is a whole science based on altering the surface of things to allow coating to stick, or not stick. 
I find acetone, or 100% isopropanol works. There may be better solvents out there.

Thank you Sam, I’ll try a bit of that, I’m just doing a new big hack, and I’m going for a semi naked wacky look. 

[Spektrum Receivers]

32 minutes ago, leccyflyer said:

Disappointed to receive a marketing email from Ali Express advertising what are pretty obviously fake Spektrum receivers, though they have attempted to obscure the fake Spektrum logo on the photos of what is on offer.

 

 

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004151286633.html?ug_edm_item_id=1005004151286633

 

E bay only do fakes nowadays. The other day, I was on page 5, every one a fake, then I got bored. 

[Smart phones; a discussion]

I was an early adopter (forced) of mobile phones. I used to do crime scene management.

My job, I signed off a strategy with the senior detective, and set about doing it. It was subject to alteration. I could be reached every 2.5 hours, when I left the crime scene, pee, tea,  return. For the entire 16 hour day, with a two 20 minute meal breaks. Day after day. 
Mobiles arrived, instant contact, don’t care what you are doing, don’t care I’ve not thought about it, want this altered, or not.

Now you get one chance to get a crime scene right, and that’s it. After a few too many, a phone was accidenty dropped one in a pond, another, 3rd floor window, another, reversed a van over it. So sorry. Spikey got silence to work.
I note, the 20 year olds regard it as rude to phone someone without clearing it first. I note, old scotes take the Michael. I see the same 20 year olds point. 

That said, I have a nice smartphone, it does not ring much, because I have a high filter as to who gets the number. I don’t use it much, best bit, my recipe books on it, and I see something nice, can pick up the other ingredients. Also, train the voice recognition AI, the keyboard is redundant. But it still earns it keep. 
Really good basic camera, music, plant ID apps, maps ( saved me today when the dog led me miles into an unfamiliar wood), world class voice controlled timer, and all sorts. But it’s a serious tool, not sumot to fritter a brain away. 

[A bit of an ask]

As Paul says. Remember the motors you run need risk assessment. A cooking 40  can get in the car and drive to casualty. A 55 and I can’t.
Competent  includes experience of casualty treatment. Also nice to know for electrics. At least Ic motors stop as they chew into fingers. 
Jon (laser engines)has a load of carb tuning advice, also tank positioning.  

what to do is easy;

Install a motor in good condition correctly with a reasonable prop

tank and pipes ditto
good fuel, and knowing how to look after it.

good air supply

good cooling 

reliable ignition source.

Set the carb for that installation

And there lies a lot of pitfalls. I’m used to motors. I do the above, and I achieve reliability similar but perhaps not quite as good as electric power, but without laying out on new motors after a bit of lawn darting. 

[Original Avicraft Panic Undercarriage Wanted]

I’ve got this I don’t want. It’s off a modern JP Panic, unbent or damaged. The key ring on string is for the rubber band track tensioner. But, it’s in France. Getting it to the UK is a slow process this time of year, and I’m not in the UK until late spring, as the doctors have got me for some pre planned repairs. One evan had the cheek to say, “now you  are in our grip,,,,,”.

But saying that it is in the way, and I don’t think I’ll build more Panics.

[Lipo storage volts]

It’s a serious issue for longevity of the cell, as it warms from full volts to room temperature, the cell volts go up. Cells hate overcharge volts. This is not a new issue, there are threads all over the internet, discussing storage temperature, and charge temperatures.

 

Me, charge/store/discharge in workshop, take precautions, see loads of threads, fire suppression strategies.

Store in workshop. 

Lazy, perhaps. I might say eliminates senile mistakes, where the disaster, ie idiot set the charger wrong, has already covered that bet. Crystal memory is the term psychologists use. For younger readers, read daft for senile. Ignore crystal memory, you haven't got it yet. 
 

[Wing band size]

I’ve used a loop of string to make up deficient length in the past.

[CAA Call for Input: Review of UK UAS Regulations Aug 2023]

14 minutes ago, Rich Griff said:

when Amazon aviation gets going there will

When and with what technology is that ever going to happen, if scrotes rob drivers, scam deliveries, et al, hitting a drone from anti drone shot, out of a home made shotgun, is child play. Easier than nicking Whiskey from Tesco. Also God help the drone trying to manoeuvre to lower its load into the designated delivery point, when it fails to spot a higher than expected wire, or indeed when  SWMBOs new underwear explodes under the shock, the chance that SWMBO reorders after being told by Amazon  it was ( ie the debris) delivered. 

[WR FW190 Build - Dave B]

Not my turn to try this yet, but if I was doing this in glass, I would have a 3inch radiator roll to hand, and roll the paper out, chuck the foam roller after use. Then heat to stick it down. 

[We value your privacy pop-up on every page!!]

1 hour ago, Basil said:

Still got that irritating blue circle thing in the left hand bottom corner. I dont remember seeing this before.

Bas

Arrr Bas, never saw that, now I’m fixating on it. Looks like a “I  like cookies button”.

[LiFe Batteries can the be recovered or binned]

On 09/01/2024 at 16:05, Martin McIntosh said:

Whatever your charger may tell you, you cannot put LiFe packs on a storage charge since the voltage will always be 3.3V/cell. I try to leave mine fully charged and have several Zippy packs which have seen no action for a few years. They now take 10mA/hr at the most and are good to go.

I have managed to kill several by forgetting to disconnect them from Failover switches until it was too late. Once these are discharged to zero the only place is the bin.

Martin, why can’t a charger put a life cell to storage. The cell voltage does drop across the normal discharge range of the cell, about 0.2 Volts across a cell between the start and end of the flat bidder bit of the curve, and that’s not an unmeasurable voltage. I’m curious rather than stating your wrong. 
I’ve also killed a few forgetting Failover switches are not on/off switches.