Chris Dowell

We always were on the same page ...it's just that you are on the top line and I on the bottom one.😂 Unfortunately I have not been flying recently .My flying club is located very close to the sea and when the wind comes from that direction it can become unflyable in a couple of minutes. But yesterday I got me a new printer. Just released Ender 3 v3 core XZ . Man its like a jack rabbit on steroids' . It's like this ,that every time I get a new electronic toy .I go through this like, hate period. I like it but it hates me . But this new toy was extremely easy on me and we are now good friends...well that's until it starts playin up ...and it will ,one day. I happen to have a set of 600mm blades lying around so I hope to make a two blade set to try on this model. So what is the starting angle on the head ?

I just worked out what you mean. 5 Pence. You could said that you added a metal disc with a diameter between 18 / 23.59 mm with a weight of between 3.2/5.65 gms ...just to make it clear . (farthings)😆 Chris...

That wind looked a little bit of a problem, but the flight looked interesting .You will have to translate for me please (5ps to each tip)

I was aware of that Rich....I was just drawing to Steve's attention that I had had a similar situation re Fuz and UC. Chris...

No Steve ,you are not the only one to have this problem.I actually split the fuz in half during construction as I was installing the side rails into the slot,the grain split. After flooding the joint with thin CA and quite a lot of bad language all held together. I suggested to Rich that the center 6mm core should have the grain vertical stopping this problem .AND I also had a similar problem with the U/C mounting ply.I performed a heli landing with no roll out (straight down) and found out later that the wire U/C had spread splitting the ply. CA applied to the split ply and a couple of bolts above the wire so it cant happen again. Chris...😎

The model is one nice looking 3D project .All the colours will definitely help with orientation. Rich A farthing is a 1/4 of a penny...which is 1/12 of a a shilling which is 1/20 of a pound .I guessing you are unaware of pre metric.😲 Chris...

Sorry bout that. So when you step out of your back door in the morning and are hit by 31deg in the shade you kind of know that this is not the best conditions to fly cos your eye balls dry up in the wind .So this has been one of the problems that I have been unable to fly, so I had to find other ways to pass the time. Whilst perusing thingiverse I spied a blade sanding jig that had been designed for the Panther /Gyroo. So off I went and printed this work of art. I came out pretty good but was designed for 6mm balsa and I wanted to use 7mm .I could have modified the print but decided to make one out of a timber composite material. I have now made two sets of blades and am pretty happy with the result, not that I ever had a problem sanding blades but this set up gives me a more constant profile. I did find on the first pass that I had few prominent score marks ,but found that brushing on water and allowing to dry raised the wood and then when sanding longways on the blade all the imperfections disappeared (well most of them ) One very important thing came out of this project was that not one speck of sawdust was lost during the project as I had the shopvac hooked up .I have seen that sanding is a problem with some of you.Take note Rich .I have a spare set of blades with no model. Now on to a bit of 3D printing. I did design a motor mount that did not have offset ,but during early testing foundthat it did not suitable this model and so I have made a few versions with a 6mm offset. This uses a crimp plate similar to the wooden version. Rich advised me that the ply version came in at 13 grams and my one came in a little heavier at around 16 gms.I realize that this was an unnecessary project but I just wanted to play with tinkercad to see if this old guy could actually do it .I use a couple of British farthing's a s tip weight an her is my very low teck /light weight / non digital 15 deg angle tester .Lets see if I can add a couple of pics to let you see what I was on about. I do like the one of the tree support ,It makes the part look organic. Chris...

Formation landing.😎

Now that looks like one very stable model to fly. Well done gents. Chris...

Down this way it's a bit HOT and windy. Chris...😎

Well Stephen ,I do like the pretty boots and you are not the only one waiting for some decent weather to test fly. Chris...

SJ2 I have a question re the Minidigital Protractor that you are using on this project. I have been looking at them for years ,but was thinking that the weight of the unit would affect its reading on our lightweight models such as when holding the model at the balance point and sitting the unit on the horizontal stab because sometimes the stab is the only horizontal point to get a reading. I do like the your choice of colour scheme on your model .I bet it took longer than the build. Cheers Chris...

Back to the picture Rich Are you showing that the motor is not square to the boom/ because to me it looks a if the motor is pointing away from the boom? but have been known to get things wrong in the past.😕

Thanks for the Pic Rich The AUW of my model came in at 1108gms..soundf a bit heavy This was because I did not have access to Light ply..just the old domestic DIY stuff.I know its a bit sad ,but unfortunately the light ply is unavailable as well as unaffordable. I have made my model as a one piece job and so I could/should have used balsa down the back under the stab and I'm pretty sure this would have saved me adding around a 100gm to the nose. I did this by removing a whole chunk of balsa from between the ply outer skins on the underside of the nose. So there is your ballast box rich already built into the design. My model is ready to go apart from finding the motor that I had, did not have the get up and go .I now see that my new motor is in transit but has been rejected by Australian customs .So let that be a warning ,do not try to smuggle a brushless motor into the country..What a pity as the weather has been pretty flyable recently and no sign of floods like in the UK recently. Chris...

Hopefully ,I may not have a balance problem as you will notice that I have modified the top ,front of the fuz just a little trying to get that "Calidus" kind of a profile and I am not in a position to get my hands on light ply. My biggest hold up at the moment is waiting for some props to arrive. Chris...

Looks like a pretty successful testing session. This is where I'm up to at the moment...Even printed out a set of coordinated bit's. May even get to try some of my printed blades?? Chris...

How good is that.😁 Chris...

Nice one Steve .That one really pops Rich Modified motor mount??

I am a little surprised that you have still gone with an of center motor. I have found that a central motor mount on my modified Mantis and my own WA 116 design, there is no noticeable difference ? I could put this down to my modest expert skilled flying capability......(but I very much doubt that.) or the fact that it does not make a great deal of difference?

I'm afraid that the hatch was a bit of a killer. Now the first pic is what it looked like just before the fatal flight and the other three are latest version showing that I did not go with the long elevator cable ,but installed a servo insitu This was several years ago and after the prang I started on another build which I completed in quick time .....then it sat completed ,ready to go ...for about six years.....sat on a shelf ...in plain view but forgotten about. I took it out for its test flight about six weeks ago and very nearly put it in because the settings were a bit off . I now have the ailerons with very little movement and it is a pleasure to fly....but it is very fast ...just a little different to an autogyro. Happy Landings Chris...