Anthony Billings

Looks stunning, and what a great build thread, awsome, just awsome.

Phoenix for me as well, and welcome to the forum.

Hi, just read this thread, and J.N. comment about cutting long straight lines with a scroll saw/fret saw, the trick with these saws is to push the wood through at a slight angle don't laugh, it's true, I have a large woodworking workshop and have been making toy's, furniture and turning bowls for longer than I care to remember, and I too had difficulty with getting straight cuts with a scroll saw til I found a very old book on making toys with a scroll saw and this tip was mentioned, I tried it and after some practise, it works. With a bandsaw, it's the depth of the blade ie front to back that is important, if you want to cut straight then fit a blade with the greatest depth you can fit on your machine, if you want circle or tight curves then you need a blade with a narrow depth.

Once again thanks to you all for pointing me in the right direction. Ben, another good calc that I will download when I get home. Chris, that set up sounds perfect, a 20 min flight on half throttle without anything getting hot and the guy managed to fit a bigger capacity lipo in so I will probably go with his set up.   Cheers to all, now itching to get home and start this build. Tony

Hi all, thanks for the replies, the wattmeter will be ordered when I get home. Frank, had a quick look at that calc, and it looks just the job, will download it properly when I get home as the company is a bit funny when it comes to downloading stuff on the pc's. Starting to get my head around the electric setup choices, as all my heli's came either rtf or with specific guidelines on motor, esc, lipo and rotor blade length, and my two other planes are rtf.   Cheers Tony

Hi all, when I get home from this working trip abroad, I am hopeful of starting my Ben Buckle Super 60 4ch build, after reading a post from Tim I intend to use a E Power BL 3526/05 685Kv motor and swing a 14" prop, but what pitch? I want a really slow flyer, to my mind (maybe wrong) but the slower the flight, the more time I will have to correct if I make a mistake. Is it a case of buying a number of props of varying pitch, fit them on a test bed with a wattmeter inline and see which gives the best readings? or is there a magic formula that will give you the thrust generated for a prop of given dia and pitch? As a second question, what would be the best with this motor and 14" prop, a 3S or 4S Lipo? I have a few 3S already for my heli's.   Cheers Tony

Hi Chris, any pics of the finished article yet? I noted on another thread that you had started the sharkface.   Tony

Hello from a fellow rotor head.

Hi Chris, yes there will be a small build blog, but sadly will have to wait till I get home from this trip, currently off the coast of Brazil laying oil pipe, and before you all say lucky sod, it's peeing it down but slightly warmer than home. Should get home around then end of Jan so providing the list of jobs is not too big from SWMO then I will be able to start the build, I can't wait, it will be the first build I have done for donkey's years.   Tony

That is looking really good Chris, and your build blog with it's good explanations, photo's and tips is going to prove invaluable when I start my build. Keep up the good work.   Tony

Plus the Super Cub is very light and does not like cross wind hand launches, don't ask It needs a hand launch or rolling takeoff directly into wind.

Hi Chris, enjoy your break, that hinge stiching, can you confirm that it forms a figure of eight, and how tight do you pull the thread and still get unrestricted movement ? Cheers Tony

Ben Buckle 4 ch Super 60

A lot of people see our models as toys untill they realise that some can take hundreds of hours in the build and that some builders are really genius standard enginners who can fabricate something from odd bits in the workshop and end up with a fully flying model. I used to get it a lot when flying my heli's untill I explained that my heli can do things that full size machines can't i.e. hover upside down but mostly people are curious and want to know more and on the whole that must be a good thing, get more into the hobby, keep the LMS happy and possibly boost the local club numbers. So I do not mind talking about my hobby and showing my models.

Hi Chris, following your build with much interest, originaly I was going to get the Tranquiliser as a trainer build, but RCM&E plans have the plan sheet with no instructions and the mag article is no longer in stock. So this afternoon I purchased the 4 channel Super 60 kit to start a build in mid Jan when I return from work abroad, I will be doing the electric conversion and will unashamedly pinch some of your build ideas and mods if you don't mind. I have to say your photo's are nice and clear and your build explanations are really helpful, keep up the good work.   Tony

Hi, ok as a spinning head ??? a co-ax which Tim meant is an easy heli to learn on but you would quickly outgrow and soon get bored with, there is the MSR which is a very small single rotor but easy to learn on, great fun and can be flown outdoors on a calm day, it has the advantage of having dual rates pre-set so that with the flick of a switch you can set it on advanced and really throw it around, it is fairly robust, plenty of spares available when needed and the spares are fairly cheap as well. This heli has a big following so much so that other manufacturers have copied it, Align the makers of the T-Rex have marketed thiers as the T-Rex 100 but unlike there other models it is not very good and has had poor reviews, another one is the Heliguy Atom, google Heliguy and that will take you to the forum and online shop, the Atom is virtualy a direct copy of the MSR so flys very well, and is half the price, so although I have the MSR and thoroughly enjoy it, I would recommend the Atom.   Tony

Hi Ben, I have two ARTF fomies, a little powered glider and a Super Cub both of which I am using trying to master the basics, but as with my helicopters, I find the building just as enjoyable as the flying although I do know what you mean about the heartache of crashing a newly built model. So I am going to go down the route as you have suggested and get to grips with learning to fly my foamies while enjoying a very slow and steady build so that when the build is completed I will not trash it first attempt.   Peter, well that little snippet of info has helped me to make my mind up, the Tranquiliser goes on the xmas prezzie list and save the Push Moth till later.   Tony

Hi Ken, yes the powered glider is an option I am looking at as well, there are enough places in my area to fly one.   Peter, will have a look at this solarfilm as oposed to tissue.   Have been looking through the RCME plans, and have seen plans for a trainer called "Tranquiliser" which may hit the spot although a google search has not brought up any info on it, so it may be the powered glider to start with and then move on to something like this vintage build.   Tony

Hi Guy's, thanks for the replies,   Ken. Still want to go electric, I have a number of lipo's from my helicopters which would keep me flying. As for sudden arrivals, that is why I would like to go the trad balsa and tissue route, have never used solarfilm or any of the modern coverings before and I think a trad build may make it easier for me to repair.   fb3 & Ernie. So possibly on the small size for a trainer, so will keep looking for suitable plans, I am a sucker for the vintage look stuff so will keep you all posted if I find something, sadly it will have to wait till the end of Jan now as I have to go back to work abroad and will not be back till then.   Tony

Hi, if it is not the fuse then I would defo send to horizon even if just out of warranty, thier customer service is excellent and they would probably repair it at no or very little cost.   Tony

Hi all, I really fancy building my own trainer, I have built a couple of balsa models many years ago as a lad, and would like to get into it again. I like the look of the Push Moth and don't forsee any major stumbling blocks in the actual build, so my question is, is this model suitable as a trainer ?. From my limited knowledge and from reading much on this forum it seems to me that it may suit, a good bit of dihedral for stability, originaly designed for rubber power free flight so must be fairly benign in the air. So people, any thoughts on this ? and if not thought of as suitable as a trainer, any thoughts on a suitable balsa trainer fitted out for electric flight ?   Tony

BBC 1 is showing all of next year's F1 races.

Tucked away in a folder, it will come in handy in the years to come.

Try covering said picture, advertisment with duct tape, leave for a few days and then peel off, you will probably find the duct tape takes it off, it did on mine.   Tony

Hi, just looked at the online version of the BMFA handbook and achievment scheme downloads. The good news is that powered gliders are covered by the silent flight electric A cert, and there is no mention of a minimum weight, only a discussion between the examiner and candidate on the suitability of the model for the local flying conditions with the possibility of the exam being postponed till suitable flying conditions are available for your relevant model. Hope this helps. Tony