Nick Cripps

Mine arrived this morning. Yet to read it.

Looking forward to it, Steve. Where does it figure in the build queue?

Sorry to hear your sad news, Jon. My condolences to you and your family.

Just to expand on item 2: the charger has a power output of 55W which means that the maximum current you can charge a 3s battery to will be 55/12.6 (Watts/Volts) = 4.36A. As Frank says though, most people limit the charging rate to 1C (ie 2.2A) which helps to extend battery life. You might find these guides on the 4-Max website here useful to expand your knowledge on the care of batteries and electric flight in general.

Live long and prosper!

Top man!

And if you need more nose weight, put a chip in its beak!

I must give that a go. There is a video describing this process on the Ghost Squadron website here. I've also had some success using contact adhesive. Run a bead of contact adhesive along the top of each rib, place the sheeting on top and move it around a bit to spread the glue a little. Then put aliphatic glue along the spar and LE and, once the contact adhesive is dry, press the sheeting in place and add pegs/pins. This is very much a one chance process though so you have to be accurate!

Still watching from the sidelines, EB.

Which switch is damaged? It may not be an essential one for your early stages of learning if, for example, it operates one of the auxiliary channels such as retracts. Alternatively, give Al's Hobbies a call in Milton Keynes. They have an ex-Spektrum technician who does their radio repairs and may be able to do a while-you-wait repair on your broken switch.

Interesting that the history mentions previous owners included Derek Knight and David Pridham. I wonder if these are the same people who run KP Aero and produce small free-flight equipment?

Velcro!

I think I'm right in saying that the K&S tube sizes and wall thickness are designed to fit inside one another as you step up/down in tube diameter. That means that you would need 5/16" diameter piano wire for a sliding fit. Doing some simple sums confirms this as the wall thickness of 0.014 is a touch under 1/64 so with an od of 11/32, subtract 2 x 1/64 and you get 5/16. Note also that 5/16 is just under 8mm so if the fit is a bit loose then go up to 8mm. Have you got any suitable size drills to test in the tube? As for suppliers, there are plenty to be found using your favourite search engine.

And me...

A former Hobbystores employee told me that he has half a dozen buried under his patio!

Thanks, ED, more useful info. I replaced the ASP with a new SC91FS bought at Don Valley earlier this year (for a good price!). I have to say it runs very well with a steady idle, good pick-up and plenty of power.

Hmm, what size are Laser crankpins? 🤔

I'd assumed that the pin would be hardened and then ground to diameter for the big end?

Thanks, Jon, I'll look into that.

A fast pass down the runway turned into an emergency landing when the crankpin sheared in the ASP91FS in my Little Toni a few weeks ago 😯 Has anyone got a spare crankshaft they would be willing to part with?

The windy weather seemed to have kept the usual Tuesday morning crowd at home today. I, on the other hand, didn't think it was too bad so had the field to myself to test the replacement engine in my Little Toni.

I don't think SAFE is particularly relevant for the standard training methods used by most clubs in this country and actually hinders progression. I think it is aimed at those who live in the outback without access to training facilities and who learn to fly by themselves on a large prairie with not another soul in sight.

Yes, another good day out at Don Valley. My thanks also to John and the team for putting on such a friendly and welcoming event. Good to chat with you, Phil.

Well, it was quite a few weeks but Smoke Trail has finally flown! The mods mentioned above have been incorporated and the calm weather forecasted for yesterday prompted me to pack the model and a can of diesel fuel along with my RC models for the regular Tuesday morning trip to the field. I was fortunate that scale free-flight guru Andy Hewitt was also there and he helped me greatly to re-trim Smoke Trail (more negative incidence on the tail) with some test glides over the long grass in the outfield. It must be 15 years since I last ran a diesel engine and it took me quite a while to get the Boddo Mills running sweetly but I got there in the end. With just a sniff of fuel in the clear tank, and the engine pop-popping away, Smoke Trail was launched into the lightest of winds and climbed up to around 20ft before the engine cut and it headed back to earth. Big cheer from the crowd in the pits and a big grin on my face! I had a couple of further flights with the same engine setting then leaned it out a bit for more power. This time the climb was more positive and, with a lot more fuel in the tank (too much!), Smoke Trail climbed to around 60ft or so and did several circuits before the engine cut and it drifted down just inside the field boundary. Phew, no tree climbing today. Overall I'm really happy with how Smoke Trail turned and I'm looking forward to the next outing. I've just got to get rid of the smell of diesel fuel from my clothes now!

I saw one fly at the Cranfield show many years ago. One of the rotors was stuck and didn't rotate - made no difference whatsoever!