John Roberts 9

Well my DX8 arrived back yesterday (impressively fast turn around by Horizon).   Their inspection revealed no faults but for safety & peace of mind they replaced the AR8000 Rx and a transmitter RF board FOC - again, impressive customer service.   Horizons final conclusion was that it was my installation and/or receiver/aerial positioning at fault.   I reinstalled the two Rx components this morning pretty much as they were before - one component laid horizontally on the fuselage floor and the second smaller component mounted vertically on a bulkhead with about 3 inches between the two components. The only real difference to my earlier installation was that I dispensed with the foam padding & elastic bands and used double sided sticky foam pads instead. Low power range tests easily achieved 30 paces (and plenty more!) so problem solved .   So, overall, I am delighted that next week (weather permitting) I should be flying again but I still have a nagging question in my head as to why the issue arose in the first place. Odd indeed!   Cheers, John

Thanks Erfolg .

Erfolg, I totally agree that it is somewhat surprising that hazardous whirring propellors have manged to avoid being regulated in some way.   Taken to its ultimate conclusion the authorities would prevent anyone doing anything which could be considered to be slightly risky or hazardous (and I certainly not in favour of that) but, by the same token, it makes sense (to me anyway) to take sensible personal precautions to reduce & minimise the chances of my soft flesh tangling with a prop whizzing round at 16,000 rpm.   I wonder why the engine designers & manufacturers haven't taken the initiative on this (altho I note that a few engines are available with rear mounted carbs)? As you correctly observe there seems to be almost overwhelming anecdotal evidence that large numbers of model flyers are sustaining injuries (sometimes truely horrific) and, especially in the litigious USA, I would have expected somebody to have sued for damages by now.   Cheers, John

Thanks Pete .   I did speak to Just Engines a few days ago but the OS remote assembly they supply wouldn't work with my old Irvine apparently. They suggested a replacement carb instead but that seemed a relatively expensive route especially because the Irvine 40 is basically a cheap 'stop-gap' whilst I am learning to fly.   Whilst I love all kinds of IC engines my plan (once I have mastered the basics of flying) is to go electric. It must be a sign of getting old or something but the noise and oily mess created by a glow engine no longer has the same appeal as it did during my youth. Sad but true!   Cheers, John

Chris / Peter - My DX8 was supplied with the telemetery unit although, as yet, I haven't bothered to connect it (on the grounds that I wanted to keep things as simple as possible until I was a bit more experienced!) but as soon as the set comes back from Horizon I think it might be a good idea to plug it in. The post flight analysis facility will doubtless provide some very interesting information.   Thanks to both of you for this useful advice .   Cheers, John

It is very reassuring that there hasn't been an avalanche of posts all saying "my DX8/AR8000 did that too". Looks as though I have just been unlucky with a rogue radio set.   Repositioning the two Rx components so that the larger component was laid hoizontally on the fuelage floor and the second, smaller, Rx component was positioned vertically and at a slightly higher level on one of the fuselage bulkheads did improve things a bit, Pete. Whilst not enough to eliminate the problem it confirms that aerial positioning is important.   I will report back once Horizon have had a look.   Cheers, John.

Yup, I am sure that Horizon will sort it out quickly - I hear that they have a pretty good reputation for customer service etc. which is reassuring .   My reason for posting was really curiosity about whether others had experienced anything similiar with this Tx & Rx and, if so, how the problem was resolved.   Cheers, John

Having given up trying to resurrect my very old Sanwa radio I decided to buy some 'new technology' in the shape of a Spektrum DX8 & AR8000 Rx.   Last week my Irvine 40 Tutor had its maiden flight and almost immediately the model started displaying 'out of range' issues even at pretty modest distances away. The throttle would cut to tick over revs as the failsafe mode kicked in and a second or two later normal service resumed.   Initial thoughts were that (as a raw novice) I was making the mistake of accidentally moving the throttle joystick but my club instructor experienced exactly the same problem.   Low power range tests on the ground showed that 'out of range' was happening at 15 paces or less (30 is the recommended figure). After conversations with the equipment supplier and Horizon I repositioned/reorientated the two Rx components and this improved the low power range test a little by about 3 paces. Still a long way short of the recommended distance.   I have now returned the equipment to Horizon for investigation.   Is this an issue that others have experienced or have I just been unlucky? I must admit that my confidence in the equipment has taken a big knock whatever the outcome.   Cheers, John

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time and trouble to post some helpful, interesting and thought provoking ideas.   I reckon that it is essential for a beginner to develop good safety habits right from the very beginning so that we become conditioned into instinctively doing the right thing. More experienced club members can be extremely helpful in this respect with timely airfield reminders about where not to stand and how & when to safely remove a glow stick after start up etc. etc.   BEB is, I believe, probably correct in his rationale regarding beginners/accidents/over familiarity etc. but I still feel that moving my fingers away from the whirling prop is a sensible precaution.   Aside from safety considerations I think it will also make needle valve adjustments easier to do. Why so? Well (maybe this is just me!) I find that due to the extremely close proximity of the prop I tend to hold my hands and fingers in a rather unnatural & uncomfortable stance. Essentially I am trying to hold & turn the needle valve between my thumb & first finger but without bending my finger joints & knuckles (the bending & twisting actions both automatically bring my fingers closer to the action).   Thanks again for the helpful advice .   Cheers, John    

I have recently been setting up my throttle/carb linkage on my Irvine 40 installed in a new Irvine Tutor trainer and (at the risk of stating the blindly obvious!) I was concerned that, when twidlling the needle valve, my fingers & knuckles are only a couple of millimeters away from that furiously whirring prop.   There is plenty of gruesome evidence on this forum & elsewhere of the devastating consequences of a momentary lapse of concentration (or even an unexpected cough or sneeze or an accidental nudge from someone nearby).   Is there a commercially available remote needle valve extender/adjuster that can be retro-fitted or even a diy solution to the problem? What I had in mind was something akin to a minature flexible drill extension, permanently attached to the model, that would allow safe twidlling 2 or 3 inches back from the prop?   I know that it is easy to pooh-pooh health and safety, especially when it goes completely over the top, but in this case I would feel much more comfortable with my delicate little digits well out of harms way .   Thanks for reading and for any advice you are able to give.   Cheers, John

Thanks to everyone for the helpful replies.............I now have all the information I need .   Judging by the 5 day weather forecast it could be several days (or more!) before I can get my maiden flight but I guess that gives me some time to get the engine run in and everything else set up (hopefully) perfectly.   Thanks again for the very prompt & helpful responses.

My Irvine Tutor Mk.2 is almost built but there are a few small things that I need to resolve before the maiden flight and I would very much welcome advice from some more seasoned flyers please.   First, will an 11 x 7 prop be ok with an Irvine 40 IC engine or would another size be more suitable?   Second, what settings (needle jet and carb) should I be using to start the engine for the first time please? The engine is approx. 10 years old but has never been started before and unfortunately I no longer have the instructions (they were lost, along with most of the other contents of my garage, when a huge tree was blown over last winter!).   Finally, what is the running-in procedure for the engine please? As I understand it, these engines need to be run at quite high revs in order to get everything hot as quickly as possible. Is this correct? I really would appreciate an idiots guide setting out precisely what I need to do please.   Thank you in advance for reading this and for any guidance you are able to offer.

Thanks for the reminder about adhesives not being included in most ARTF kits.   Fortunately I had noticed this in the "small print" on the web site blurb about the kit and so I (rather vaguely it must be said) asked the shop to include "whatever glue will be necessary"...........................but who knows what they will send . I am pretty sure that Webbies will send the right stuff.........or is that naive?   Anyway, its only a phone call to get some more sent if I don't like what arrives in the post .   Cheers.    

All these positive endorsements are making me impatient to get on with it now but I think it might be friday or even next monday before the big brown box turns up!   It is probably 10 years since I last constructed a model and I had forgotten about the joys of joining wings together with fast setting glue, glass fibre bandages and the like.   Thanks for the tips Nigel, despite my best endeavours to be neat, tidy & careful I will doubtless end up with epoxy in my ears, on my hair and up my nostrils.........and I can't wait    

Ok Nigel, thanks for those tips.   Until the model and associated goodies arrive from Steve Webb I am not sure what sort of epoxy will be in the box - I just asked them to send me the adhesives required to complete the build.   I guess that its not a big problem to get a different sort of epoxy if the super-fast-setting stuff turns up!   Thanks.

Thanks Ian your positive words are encouraging - it sounds like I might have made a reasonable choice with the Irvine.   Cheers.  

Useful words of warning KC - thanks - I will check all the wiring and connectors very thoroughly indeed.   A visual inspection and a some careful testing with a multimeter will be my next task.   Thanks.

After a fair bit of deliberation I have just ordered an Irvine Tutor 40 Trainer. My first choice was the WOT Trainer but this seems to be unavailable atm so I opted for my close second choice instead.   From what I have researched the Irvine seems a pretty straightforward build and I do have a fair bit of experience (albeit long out of date now) of building model aircraft. Neverthess, I would welcome any practical advice from anyone who has actually built one. Particularly whether there are any recommended upgrades or improvements that I ought to incorporate during the build rather than trying to retro fit later?   Things I had in mind were undercarriage strengthening or nylon "shear" bolts to minimise damage from the inevitable heavy landings and also control surface linkages. I am not sure if it applies to the Irvine but many of the ARTF models seem to have relatively poor quality linkages that can be greatly improved by using snakes instead.   Any other construction hints & tips gratefully received.   Thank you.Edited By John Roberts 9 on 24/08/2011 13:48:40

Tim, Richard, thanks for such prompt and helpful replies - problem now sorted!   I don't think it will be too long before I upgrade to more modern 2.4Ghz kit. My plan is basically to get flying as cheaply as possible to begin with using the radio gear & IC engine that I already have (all several years old but never used - long story!). Once I have a bit of experience under my belt and hopefully get all the beginners mistakes out of my system I will then make some longer term decisons about what model to build/fly, what radio gear to use, what engine to use etc etc.   In the short term it just seemed sensible to use what I already have and make the bigger spending decisions when I am slightly less "wet behind the ears".   Thank you again for the very speedy and helpful responses.  Edited By John Roberts 9 on 24/08/2011 11:00:27

My first post so please be gentle! I am trying to breathe life back into an old (but never used) Sanwa VG6DR six channel 35mhz set (about 8-ish years pld I think). I have ordered some new batteries for the TX & RX and will soon be plugging everything together to establish that everything still works as it should. Unfortunately I no longer have the manual supplied by Sanwa and I need some advice about which plug connectors go into which sockets please. Specifically, the RX has seven connector slots. Am I correct in thing that slots numbered 1 to 6 are for the servos and that the seventh slot, marked B/7, takes the battery power lead via the on/off switch? Apologies for asking such an embarassingly simple question but, as a complete novice, I don't want to risk frying the RX. Thanks in advance, your advice will be very welcome & much appreciated.