FunnyFlyer

Posted by Lee Smalley on 06/09/2011 13:19:56: WOW hold on to your hats boys i am going to agree with Funny Flyer!!! well almost! See - I knew we could be friends one day!

The banter between glow heads and LiPo monkeys is amusing but ultimately irrelevent.   I still prize my collection of small DC engines, the treasured results of weeks of saving pocket money as a youngster. My 1964 Enya 15 that was first used in a Veron Skylane in Ghana by my father, and then by me in my first successful control line model in 1976 will never be sold.   My contest winning 1/2A control line combat PAW 1.5cc diesel that was "breathed on" by Pete Tribe (and then used to beat him) stands proudly in my workshop. My Copeman tuned Oliver Tiger will go with me to the grave. The memories of unsilenced Super Tigre G20/15 glow engines turning 21,000 rpm in combat wings still sends a tingle down the spine.   But..   I can't see me flying an IC model anytime soon. That would require me to join a c*u* and drive a thirty two mile round trip to fly my toys. Nope, electric power has revolutionised my RC flying and will contunue to do so until I finally succumb to old age, The Daily Mail, cardigans, conversations about wee-ing and join my local club.   My electric legacy also spans the decades. My first was in 1976 - a free flight model using the Mabuchi A1 unit. I built electric RC models in 1981 and my first ARTF foamy was the groundbreaking - but underpowered - Acoms Cessna 172.   So for me, it's not about goo v electrons, it's about convinience and ease of flying.

Posted by Lee Smalley on 24/08/2011 21:33:23: i am off to sellotape my 11x tx to my superstar exhaust to see if that makes a difference   Great post! Nice one.

How about:   "Are there too many polls appearing on the forum"   I reckon the publisher is selling the results off to the trade!

@Stephen,   You are doing all the right things re diaries, noise check records etc   How about putting a cheap GPS tracker (or smart phone with the correct app) in a model? This will then accurately track the flight path and provide pretty clear evidence of exactly where it is flying in relation to her house?   You can download the data into Google Maps and use it to have a sensible conversation with her using some objective criteria.   Just a thoughtEdited By FunnyFlyer on 25/08/2011 10:16:41

Posted by Lee Smalley on 24/08/2011 21:33:23: we have jets at our site as well and nothing is going to make them under the noise limit no matter how much you spend, but as its a different type of noise its not really a problem on our site, Nero playing the fiddle while Rome burned?

Posted by Lee Smalley on 24/08/2011 11:50:16: i have a dle 32cc and the silencer is anything but,, i am very fortunate that we do not fly at a noise sensative site, i am however acutely aware that it is to loud, after market silencers are available from the likes of just engines but they are horrendously expensive 70-80 quid thats over a third of the cost of the engine, and i am sorry but they are not made in house they are made in china as they are identical to the ones available from ebay etc and these are 40 to 50 quid, i am all for buying a more effective silencer but i am against being ripped off ... but you're happy spending £700 on a radio set?

Re cost of modelling items.   Here's a thread from year with a link to a neat Historical Price Calculator.   See here

Usual quality offering but...   I thought the long awaited Anatomy of a Trainer was a bit underwhelming - and a missed opportunity. Also - slap on the editors' wrists for the use of "aide" when it should be "aid". Apologies for this piece of anoraking.   I thought Alex whittaker's piece on dressing up pilots was a great left field article. And, according to the editorial you are at last going to do some comparitive reviews. Nice one!

There are many options and preferences for connectors.   Peeps should just use what they are comfortable with and stop trying to convert others!   Thing is - standardise - then you can mix and match.

@Lee Agreed - but don't strangle the dream just yet. Think of it as a centre of excellence that compliments all the local flying sites. Look at the success of the indoor site at Silverstone. Also, many of the fixed site "Learn to Fly" schools seem to be making a go of it. It would be good to have just one site that is aspirational with superb facilities

Typical model flyer type thread and responses.   Stifle the ambition and vision with a heap of negative details.   Good job Henry Ford, Orville Wright, steve Jobs and Richard Branson didn't fly model aeroplanes.   Edited By FunnyFlyer on 17/08/2011 12:20:06

I fly exclusively electric and still on 35Mhz.   Glitches on some models have become a way of life - but I have never suffered a crash with them!   Guess I'm lucky...

Many LiPo packs can be charged at 2C or even a claimed 5C. Personally - I always charge at 1C - just in case. This is a bit tiresome when my 4000 packs have to use 3A, because my ancient PSU trips out at anything over 3A.   Ross - in my experience, get as higher value "discharge C" as you can - even if you don't plan on slaughtering it with the claimed current capacity. I find that at 10-20C discharges, a 30 or 40C pack will hold much steadier sustained voltage and give a much higher power output than a lower C pack.   Of course, it's all about balancing the economics as well.

@BEB You really should not be worried. What was it about being BT Technician that concerned you?   Seriously though - it's nothing but model planes on here from me, from now on.

@Ross Clarkson I agree - I expected alot more flack or sniggering comments. Maybe most model flyers are in denial... "I'm just staying up late darling to contribute to the forum..."

Posted by Spice Cat on 12/08/2011 21:09:48: Bottom fell out of the market eh??? Very funny

Simon, I had one of these.   I found it very prone to tip stalling - but maybe it was my poor flying!   Best on the slope, as I wouldn't trust the wing joining arrangement on a tow launch   Converted it to electric power in 1991 and it flew a treat.

Seeing a thread called "Where do I get good wood" has prompted me to spill the beans...   After 16 years as a BT Technician and Manager - I got into video production. Corporate videos at first - but then became involved as a producer for various Adult services, starting with DVD but quickly moving to pay per view TV channels and on-line media.   This is now a very dead market because as we knowm everything is becoming "free" on the web.   Now producing and financing music videos and small independent film productions.

I've been building and flying models since I was 11 years old in 1973.   There have been long gaps in between when I have not been an active flyer - but the bug never leaves you. I would always buy RC mags in a WHS whilst travelling on business - even if it was in French!   Maybe people who come to model flying in recent years don't have that same deep rooted passion that only an apprenticeship of 1/8th square and balsa cement stuck to the tips of your fingers can give.   Personally, I always give myself mini-challenges. Can I fly a short IMAC pattern I have dreamt up, rather than aimlessly thrashing around. I seek out new sites - especially with the gliders. I take my electric gliders for cross country flights - combining an hour's walk along a safe route with the chalenge of keeping the thing in sight and scratching around for lift - using the motor as a last resort.   Over the years I have found that I hate crashing. I wrote off my Formosa last month and it was my first crash in around 20 years. Okay - it was only a £50 electric foamy - but I just hate crashing! so that is always my number 1 motivation - always return home with the model!Edited By FunnyFlyer on 11/08/2011 21:41:18

I have no problem with the goals and aims of certification - it's just that I can't see how I will ever achieve it!   All of my models do not have undercarriages - as the terrain I fly from would probably rip them off on the first landing.   I can do everything required in the A except for the landing bit!   What if I spent a day at one of the flying schools? Could I use one of their planes to take my test?

Thanks guys, I do have insurance and consider myself a pretty good flyer. Over 30 years with soarers and 20 years with IC and electric power.   I used to be in a club in the days when you just needed to turn up and show you could fly safely without having to take any sort of certification.

Hi - I currently tend to fly alone in parks and common land. Do I need to get an A Certificate?