Foxfan

Yup, we're planning on flying at our new venue on Monday. Local playing fields, electric only.

I have 3 water butts and they all empty very quickly in high summer. But it's sure better than nought! I'm saying THIS is the first day of Spring. Strange kind of light and a lightness to the air. Birdies all in good voice. No wind. That's all in Eastern England. Of course it's still much the same for the poor sods under water, no doubt. Martin

Oh I like the sound of that. Much better idea than some clinical evening meeting in the village hall with iffy beer and one person going on ad infinitum! I will suggest it to my committee "mole" when I see him on Monday. Martin

Also haven't flown since October. The field's generally OK, just can't drive down the track to it. Committee claim owner won't allow the club to surface the track. Hmmm, we finally have a mole in the committee who intends to find out if that's exactly true or just apocryphal. So, I've almost finished my Skystreak 32, built an FT 42" Spitfire and will be covering the Cub soon. When all that's done I might be able to navigate my Suzy Swift up the track without falling sideways into the big ditch! If not I was recently given a Black Horse Angel needing repair, fit out and finishing. But yes, model yachts are the next most involving sort of model and I do have a few of those up in the loft somewhere. Martin

I believe the CAA have a very capable tea lady who earns a small fortune and supplies some of Fortnum's most treasured confectionary and even imports the finest teas from China and Darjeeling. It is served in antique hand gilded porcelain and takes a fair chunk out of their day to serve, consume and relish. Fortunately the cost of this essential aspect of working there is exactly 324,000 Pounds per annum, so whoever worked out the accounts on that one was spot on! Martin (tongue so far in cheek I've had to tattoo my OP number on it)

Mike, the only reason I didn't used Hobbyking was because I'd been reading bad things about Hobbyking's latest dealings, so decided to try ebay, who also have a review system. If I can find the same thing on Banggood, I might try them. They have an excellent customer service reputation. And don't tell her I told you this, but my dear wife says the bras she bought from Banggood were the best made she's ever had...and she used to actually make bras for a living! Martin

Mike, the people are in East London and called Happiness Team.. Although their e-mail address is [email protected] I am hoping they will be good and send me working ones or my money back. Hobbyking are not much dearer, so how do we know their's are any different? And what about Banggood? A chum at the club buys all his stuff from them as they are seriously cheap and never has trouble. I'm just a bit wary of buying Chinese currently with their problems and with HK seeming to be having business problems. Half their website says "back order". My servo tester came from their English base (which I hadn't realised they had) and the Storm Rx. came from China in a very short time. I was quite impressed. I am about to send the above mob a few stills of the servos and the damage caused by removing them. Martin

I can't comment as my experience is so limited compared with you guys. I have so far managed parallel, level flight without any great effort and figures of eight with the "cross" at the centre of the field, so I am hopeful of a reasonable path to an A, then it will just be personal goals of practice and the occasional aero, rather than submit myself to any further inspection as the people who do that in our club are not those I like to be with. Just how most clubs seem to be. But the guys who are always there when I go are a fun bunch who may not be official instructors, but are by far the best at exactly that, combining instruction with encouragement and correction when needed. I do what I'm told and learn by it and that works for me. Different folks, different strokes. There are regular fliers there who have never yet come close to a landing, in three years membership! I admire their tenacity, but I really don't have that kind of patience! And, as a lifelong modelmaker I can repair anything better than most, I just prefer not to have to if at all possible! Martin

The company is called Happiness team, which sounds Chinese, but are in London, although the email was the most unreadable and appallingly badly written missive I've ever had! I shall send them stills of the servos and the damage caused by removing them. Failing satisfaction they'll get a foul feedback on ebay and ebay can pay me back. But if i went elsewhere for them they';re still the same TowerPro, but with English shop increased prices. No actual guarantee they would work any better. They're Tower Pro 9 grams plastic gears. I wasn't aware at the time that very little more I could have got metal geared ones. Martin

Another aim is to buy 5 servos and have any of them work! My first batch purchase were fine. The last 5, which were exactly the same, after I installed them and a friend tested them with a servo tester, grunted at best and then refused to do another damned thing. Then my chum said how he bought a pack of 10 extension leads and only 4 worked! This is an appalling success rate, but at least the supplier has entered into a discussion about the servos, although, not having a mobile 'phone, I can't send the required video of the non-working servos (and what, I ask, would I video anyway?) I've no doubt they will be replaced and whilst inconvenient, in this weather it's hardly a problem having to refit them. Martin

I can see your point, but for some time yet I have the laudable aim and ambition to stay at whatever level I choose and fly smoothly at all times without crashing through my own error. AND I still have to land and do a proper take of from the grass with a 'plane that will actually ruin on the grass, so I have more than enough aims and ambitions to be dealing with for a good time yet! Martin

Bruce, neither do I. I was just using 3D as a "f'rinstance". We have a few in the club. They come down occasionally with the same old beaten up foamie, show off and go. No chat, no banter, no tea or coffee. I'm sure I could develop my intended style of flying without the worry of a B. At present the appalling weather is making flying impossible as I can't get to the field. been that way since October, so I have to question if I really want to add pressure to my already reduced year of subs. Let's just get me flying to a decent standard first. That's really all I want and is perfectly attainable I believe, this year. Martin

Thanks, Peter, as long as I can get my A fairly soon, I'll be happy as I'm only ever going to be a sport flyer...scale like, a few simple aeros, but well performed, low, slow and smooth is my intention. I'm not a fan of 3D. I see that as showing off. I can appreciate the skill involved, but not what it makes the model do. Bit like clamping an even bigger outboard on your dinghy and doing a few knots more, it's a case of "so what" for me. Simple sport flying is all I want. But doing it with an A seems to garner some respect from fellow fliers. Martin

I intend going for my A as soon as possible, but ought to do a bit more flying first. I've only had three training flights on buddy box, two with my own Pietenpol and 2 with friends' models, a tiny foam glider conversion and a very sporty shoulder wing job with an Irvine 40 that my friend was kind enough to trust me with. A few years back my only previous effort at RC flying was with a clueless friend at the airfield of a full size flying club one afternoon when nobody was there. The model was a model of a microlight which, with a PAW 19 on top screamed it's way to a frightening height, where it cut and glided through interminable circuits down to a perfect tricycle landing...twice. So I have a 100% record so far! Can't last, can it? I was flying nice one level figure eights with the borrowed sporty job when I gave the Tx. back to the owner as the fuel was likely getting low because I'd flown it all over the field! I found left circuits just too tedious. It'll catch me out soon I'm sure   Martin Edited By Foxfan on 21/02/2020 20:30:09

Bruce, I'm not up to A cert yet, but thanks fore the warning. John, I have the ex owner handy at the club field, so will just ask him to show me round its abilities. The DX5e works fine on my Pietenpol and has no programability anyway. I may use that for my Vulcan when finished as it has a built in elevon mixing ability Martin

Very kind of Peter, but a chum has found one online, which I've downloaded and I will sit and read it when I have a spare half hour! Once again, many thanks, gents. Another mystery solved. Martin

My DX7 is the earlier sort, with no scroll roller, just "up and down" on the left and a clear "bind and range check" button in the middle of the back. To be fair to the chap who sold it to me, he's a regular at the field and would always help me out. I just thought I should sound like I at least had some idea of things! My main question was because somebody told me that failsafes were done with a button on the Rx., which mine don't have. Now I know it's part of the bind process I feel happier. My current model was bound and checked out by a fellow club member who whistled through the process and rather left me behind, but I do recall him making a point of putting the throttle stick at "low" when he did it. Thanks to everyone for your help, as always. Martin

I've been sent a youtube link to an English how-to (rare thing) about how to set failsafes on a FrSky i-6. Does the above mean I should take no notice? Martin

The Spitfire is the very easy to fly Flite Test one, built from free downloaded plans. It has an undercambered wing tip which prevents the usual tip stall. It is clearly, from various videos, an easy flier. That's why I built it (in two days!). I already have an FT Pietenpol which flies like a dream despite having no ailerons. I have also flown a friend's shoulder wing sports 'plane. Rather thrown in at the deep end, as it's a very quick, slippery and extremely responsive job, but I actually got on better with it than the two trainers the club teaches with on buddy box, so I am fairly confident that I shall continue to be a good pupil. Of course the instructor's manner is so important and the best teacher by far was my chum whose sportster I flew with his instruction and, most important of all, encouragement. And he ain't an official instructor! I was cock-a-hoop when I flew with him. Apparently I was flying almost an A cert. pattern, but when he said the fuel was getting low I insisted he take over to land, as it was his aircraft, but I have landed my Pietenpol and another friend's tiny foam glider conversion. I think flying real aircraft has helped me understand what these do when they're up there. But fear not, I have a DB Mascot trainer to fly when my chum is there and I will continue learning with the club buddy box, but that doesn't start till May, so I'll be cramming with my chum until then. The big problem with the Spitfire (which I thought I'd finished) is that all four servos are duff! The fifth which is in the wing of a Depron Skystreak is also no good. He has one more day to answer me or he gets a foul feedback on ebay! Maybe I should stick to Banggood! But I managed to remove the servos without damage to the foamboard Spitfire. Cheers, Martin

Thanks, Wilco, I'll refer to your post when I get it all set up and actually have a go at using it. I dare say after 4 months the LiFe battery that my chum put in it would need charging. Martin

Thanks, peter. Sounds simple enough, except that if it involves selecting a model on the DX7's screen, I'm stuck as I don't have a clue how to use the screen! A friend has sent me a manual site with both on it and the DX5e is very easy to do as it has no screen, but my Spitfire and trainer will be on the DX 7...only when I can get back up the field and consult the chap I bought it from, as I'll need to be shown. A written section or even a Youtube won't cut it. This weather dependant, alas. Martin

Thanks for all the info, chaps, but Oh dear, I still don't know what you're all talking about! I bought the DX7 at the last field visit I made, thanks to the weather, so I have no idea how to do all that pooterisation of model specs. that the screen is for. maybe I should wait until the weather breaks, take it all up the club and hope somebody can show me what to do there as I have no idea what to do with a screen. Never had one before. But do I take it that with my particular gear I can't set the servos to what seems safe, except for a low or off setting for the throttle? I really wouldn't want the ailerons to be set to roll as last instruction and watch it spiral in. But thanks all for your time. I thought it was something more to do with the Rx. than the Tx. It never occured to me that it was a result of a particular binding exercise. To be honest I still can't get used to that lark! 27 Mg never needed binding and that is my limited experience until recently. Martin

Hello, I understand failsafe is something people do now, but I have absolutely no idea how to do it or even if it can be done with my equipment. I have a DX5e and a DX7 TX, an Orange and 2 Storm Rxs. I've tried to watch youtubes, but they don't show my equipment. Cheers, Martin

My limited experience of ball joints led me to believe that they were very stiff in operation and still looked a bit likely to let go, but I have not used them in flight. Soldering holds no problems for me whatever, but soldering irons never seem to me to have a reliable amount of heat. I have made my living for many years making brass patterns for the white metal industry and so I have probably soldered more things in more ways than most people. I just don't like soldering irons, hence I can assemble the most complex assembly with a torch or three, but have trouble soldering wires to connectors or wires to slot car motors with an iron. I can do it, of course. I just don't like it. Martin

Yes please, a video. Martin