leccyflyer

Posted by Paul Marsh on 08/02/2020 18:08:00: Posted by leccyflyer on 08/02/2020 15:58:31: Leeds Model Shop is indeed a decent shop, but it's unlikely to fit into a diversion on a trip from NE England to Dundee. Could be, if he goes up the M1 and A1(M) then A68 via A696, depends. Nope, Mike lives in Sunderland - calling into Leeds model shop on the way to Dundee via Edinburgh means heading south to go North.

Leeds Model Shop is indeed a decent shop, but it's unlikely to fit into a diversion on a trip from NE England to Dundee.

As John says you;re talking of Marionville Models - which was a great shop and I used to love to drop in there on passing. Haven't visited their warehouse premises in Livingston. Wonderland Models in Lothian Road is mostly plastic kits and toys, but has a few bits and pieces, a small balsa stock, drones and parkflyers, plus glues and paints. The only other RC model shops that I'm aware of round these parts are Scoonies Hobbies in Kirkaldy and Tay Models in Perth - which is mostly cars and drones.

I agree completely - the only accurate measure of capacity is to properly cycle a pack under an appropriate load and monitor it on test to determine what it can safely deliver. In practice though, in most sports applications I've found that the excess of power available is such that it isn't anything to really worry about and I prefer to determine the longevity of a pack in the air by having a comfortable flight and landing with power in the tank. On rare occasions I'll push it a wee bit too far and land with the pack at a slightly lower indicated voltage that I'd ideally like. I use a timer with the more critical models, but tend not to use one routinely - I should probably change that. I was far more organised and religious in the old NiCd and NiMh days, regularly cycling and monitoring the capacity of my flight packs, but we didnl;t have the surfeit of power available then and needed every mah we could get. Contrary to the popular perception though we actually were able to fly electric models successfully before Lipos were ever thought of,

My Frsky DFT module was purchased in 2010 and is fitted to a Futaba FF9 tx that I currently use for all of my gliders (11 rxs)and a small number of powered models (10 rxs), my main system for the vast majority of models is Spektrum - DX7 and DX9 (33rx). I wouldn't want to unecessarily replace a large number of receivers, even if they are relatively inexpensive.

Thanks Mike - that's good news.

I've never looked at or knowingly read off the % remaining on a battery, but regularly hear folks say that their battery is at 35% or whatever. All my gear displays the voltage per cell, which is what I use - if it's <3.85v/cell it needs charging and if it's >4.1v/cell it;s fine to fly. If it's in between, then I'll pop it on the charger before flying. I have enough batteries to not have to need to try to eke more than one flight per charge out of them and I only charge at the field.

I've read the thread and have a simple question. What does this mean for users of the pre-Taranis series of Frsky modules and receivers, such as the V8-FRII, V4-FRII and D8-FRII - I have quite a few of these in operation, don;t use telemetry at all and they have been working very well for years. I assume that if I do nothing to the existing kit that they'll just keep on working and will be fully legal? Will those RXs be discontinued or will they fail to work with the old modules in the event that I buy more of them in the future?

I mostly enjoy funfighter sized models - so 40-48*, 3lbs ish, so several will fit in the car fully rigged and they give me the best bang per buck. However I'm increasingly being drawn to slightly larger models with more in the 60*" + range planned for the coming years, due in part to flying at a new club field where the models are somewhat larger in general. I've also got a bit more workshop space than previously and am investing in getting that up to a high standard with a view to having a bot more time in the future for building and tackling the kit mountain. I can see a future of taking just one or two larger models to the field, rather than a half-a-dozen smaller ones.

Posted by Alan Gorham_ on 03/01/2020 19:54:19: Posted by Don Fry on 03/01/2020 19:39:53: Alan, if you care to read my original post, I think you might find I said I am not a BMFA member. No point for me. When it is a point, I will rejoin, with my BFMA achievement paperwork. Now Erf is a BFMA member. He flies, legally,with his bits a paper in his box, or on his phone, legally, until the CAA tells him what his numbers are. What have I said that is inaccurate? Edited By Don Fry on 03/01/2020 19:41:44 You made an error of omission. In erfolgs case he needs to carry his BMFA membership, his A cert and the exemptions which you did not mention. I noted that you were not a BMFA member on your previous post but you could have been a member of another UK association who are also covered by the exemptions. It's not necessary for every single post to contain every single detail of the regulations. A specific question was asked about the requirement to have the Operator ID number on the model. This isn't complicated, the BMFA have given the necessary advice and provided the required documentation. Every BMFA member ought to be in possession of that information.

You are legal to fly the model with a waiver against having to display the numbers until February 2020 when they will be issued by the CAA to those who have followed the procedure through the BMFA.

I play the soundtrack album from The Battle of Britain on the trip to and from the flying field every trip. Now that I have a nice field five minutes away I don;t get beyond Ron Goodwin's Aces High March, but visiting my other sites allows the whole thing to be played through, at least once. It gives a warm fuzzy feeling coming away from the field to Battle in the Air and at my old club field I could time it for the last note to sound, just as I pulled up outside the Hangar

Good piece and a great ambassador for the hobby - well done to all involved

Posted by Scott Edwards 2 on 15/12/2019 10:30:33: Like most clubs, we have some 'senior' members. You can do the BMFA test and upload the certificate on their behalf. I've done several now. I'm sure I will get criticised, but it solves the problem and I have no guilt about treating this ridiculous legislation with the contempt it deserves. Hmmm, what was stopping you from merely helping the senior members do the test themselves and then providing their certificate on their behalf, rather than just doing it yourself? In the highly unlikely event of an incident involving any of those members you've just made a public declaration that you've deliberately circumvented the very simple and easy process to enable everyone to remain legal.

Still haven't seen a decent alternative for getting the exhaust out to the outside without drilling a tricky hole through a >2 foot thick stone wall. I'd hoped to be able to take a single pane out of the glazed door and replace it with something similar to the no-longer-available heat-resistant and non-conductive asbestos sheet that used to be readily available. Haven;t seen anything of that sort for years and the local Wickes had nothing remotely suitable.

Posted by AndyD on 08/12/2019 08:18:29: my old black horse spitfires wing is held on by thumb wing bolts so no tools required so does this mean I can put the number in the fuz,or may be the wheel wells,and as for my sopwith pup how about the inner edge of the round cowl or does it have to be visable with out turning the model over. I guess so and that;'s the approach I'd like to take with my Balsacraft funfighters, where the wing is the battery hatch - replace the standard wingbolts with those which can be opened with the fingers rather than using a screwdriver. A lot less disruption to the existing airframe than having to put in a large battery hatch,

That's a good tip Paul. When my Silhouette had an Irvine 46 on board it needed to be started inverted because of flooding. Ran fine once started but if she didn't fore up first time the engine would flood.

Yep, good day in the winter sun yesterday and heading out this morning as well. Flay calm yesterday, so didn't feel all that cold in the sun even though it was minus 5 degrees. 5-8mph forecast today, so expect it to be really freezing cold and feeling like it.

Posted by Michael Adams 3 on 30/11/2019 19:02:42: Sorry, or am I wrong. Mike. Yes you are wrong. I used to be Membership Secretary for a moderately sized club - 80-120 members, BMFA affiliated. Thought the sticker scheme made the renewals reasonably straightforward there was still a fair bit of work to do and quite time consuming. y subsequent experience, as a Country Member using the Membership portal has been that it is very simple to use and well within the capabilites of anyone who could log onto this website to read this thread.. I presume that there is some provision made for the minority of members who don;t have an email address. Personally I rather like the idea of the Membership Portal as it is inline with the basic premise that the pilot is responsible for every flight, for his/her own models and for their conduct in the hobby. That makes perfect sense as far as I can see.

Previous dolly thread With a bit of forethought it's possible to fly off the dolly. letting it continue to run to the edge of the strip, to be retrieved when you've finished your flight.

Very nice job Sir!

It's spelled windlass. Some years ago we made a few very simple, effective foam cutting bows with three pieces of 2x1" PAR, with tension applied by a windlass on a stout nylon cord across the two arms at the top. Make up a set of asymettrical "rugby posts" with a notch cut in the upper section on each side, fix the cord across between this, then use a stout stick through the cord, winding this up to tension the cord. Power supply varied between a couple of car batteries, a Minicraft minidrill power supply and an MCA foam cutter power supply. Something between 12v and 24v worked well, depending on the length of bow, which varied from 12" -42".

I was following the BMFA flowchart produced earlier in this thread and intended doing nothing until renewing my membership online following the AGM. However it occurred to me that as an occasional drone user and aerial photographer- less than half a dozen flights on the past three years - decided that it would be appropriate in my case to take the online test. So as to have that in place after 30th November, have just taken the BMFA online test and uploaded the certificate the the BMFA membership portal. All very straightforward and simple. I'll register and pay the fee via the BMFA also, when the portal goes live for renewals.

Thanks for the flow chart Andy - that is crystal clear.