MattyB

Very neat. Presumably the spinner is removable so that you can swap the battery out if needed? It doesn't look like it could be extracted via the fuselage once that former with the cross shaped reinforcement is in place. How is it secured to the carbon tube?

Annoying, but I can officially tell you it is less so than living for a few weeks with a mouse that the cat brought in... This monster took up residence underneath our kitchen cabinets, then ran all over the place nibbling cereal and toast crumbs until I eventually snaffled him with nutella and Aldi fake Kinder bars!

Just found some videos of these flying oun Youtube, do look quite fun for minimal investment...

It absolutely does if the EV is charging. The key question is whether you get that same low rate as per the schedule even when it isn't. If you do, it's an even better deal than I thought and I might switch over even before we swap the second car for a pure EV...

If you buy the BNF (Bind and Fly) it comes wtith a Spektrum RX that you will ned to replace with a Frsky one. However, the Timber X (I presume that is the variant you are looking at?) does also come in PNP (Plug and Play) format where the RX is not provided for a slightly cheaper price - that is what you should go for. https://westlondonmodels.com/product/e-flite-timber-x-1-2m-pnp-a-efl3875/ Bear in mind you will obviously not get the gyro stabilisation (AS3X and SAFE functionality) in the HH blurb if you go this route, but you can fit a Frsky stabilised RX if you want.

Looking at the T&Cs it is a bit grey... My previous understanding was that any electricity you use within the schedule they give you will be at low rate provided your EV is plugged in at that point, but that if the EV is not charging you would be charged as per your std rate at that particular time. I still think that is what is most likely, but you could certainly read it either way - I'd ping them an email to check if I was you (we are still on Flux for now as 3hrs of charging is enough for a plug-in hybrid and the export rates are better).

It’s not that hard, but is expensive on a one-off basis - £90 seems to be about the going rate for a single film, though the rights to screen lots of different content for a whole year in the same venue is dramatically cheaper (£130 rings a bell from when I researched it a few months ago for our Scout group).

Indeed. Whilst ongoing changes in the hobby (particularly regulation and demographics) will have an effect on the BMFA and other national associations (and therefore a secondary effect on their members), those clearly weren't the changes the OP was talking about in his original post, so digging into the BMFA's finances and mission seems rather OT for this particular thread.

Yep, was looking for some small 2S packs for the FX707 conversions, but no dice...

Sounds like a power supply issue to me - have you consulted the manual to see what it would do in the event the battery is clapped out, or checked the pack voltage under load? Those would be my first ports of call.

Thank you, that is very helpful. PM sent! 🙂

Maybe, but exchanges like this one in this very thread make meinclined to believe he's also including this forum and it's members too. Whether that's the case or not, I can't see any point point is in calling people out like this in BMFA News - it is only likely to get peoples backs up more and increase the volume of the posts that he is describing.

Good stuff, thanks for posting that. I have logged back into the Octopus site, and have found the content that correlates to the second of yourpics on the FAQ page here: https://octopus.energy/blog/saving-sessions-faqs/ However, whilst I am not doubting that you are correct, but there is clearly something screwy going on with the T&Cs links they are using on some of their website pages. If I log into my account, click on Octoplus rewards, then Savings session page, I get to a page with the URL https://octopus.energy/dashboard/new/accounts/[AccNoGoesHere]/saving-sessions (I remoived my account number for security reasons). If I scroll down that page, I get to the following: Click on the T&Cs link and I end up here - https://octopus.energy/saving-sessions-terms-conditions/ - which as you say looks like it is the old 2022/23 T&Cs. I can't find the T&Cs you have screenshotted above anywhere on their site - it's baffling! Can you post up a direct link to see if I can get to them? Thanks. PS - Can you share your Home Assistant automation so I can adapt it, assuming they ever let us participate in savings sessions? At the moment the website is telling me I can't despite meeting all the criteria on smart meter readings etc).

One additional point... In general I thought it was a good issue of BMFA News, but I wasn't impressed by Andy's somewhat snarky remarks about members who have discussions on this forum and other social media platforms regarding regulatory matters: "...When you read some of the comments from a small number of people on social media and internet forums you would think the hurdles in front of us were almost insurmountable and take a huge amount of time to get past, then you get the internet 'know it alls' who quote chapter and verse from obscure sections of various bits of legislation, usually out of context and that do nothing but feed in to the incorrect perception of a massively overbearing regulatory framework affecting us. I often find myself thinking that some of these people, rather than spending time damaging our sport online with their negativity, should get away from their keyboards and find a hobby to take up instead. Model flying for example, a great social activity with great benefits for mental health and general wellbeing, great value for money and really easy to get involved with. " Being grumpy at members who actively engage by reading, understanding and discussing the various whitepapers and proposals from the CAA, UK Gov, EASA et al. would seem to be completely counter-productive. Yes, the regs we have today are not too onerous thanks to the work of the national associations and their members, but our rights have still been eroded (and are significantly more fragile) than in pre-registration/Article 16 days. If we do not act collectively against regulatory over-reach those rights could undoubtedly be eroded further in the coming years (see what has happened with RID in the US for example). With that in mind the BMFA would be far better looking to work with those who are already engaged to help spread the word about responding to consultations like this; the more engaged members we have, the better our long term prospects. PS - One of the reasons there was so much discussion on social platforms like this was the lengthy period (>2 weeks) between the CAA's launch of the RFI and guidance from the BMFA on how we should respond. That time period represents more than 50% of the available response time for the RFI. Yes, the CAA probably gave them little warning of the RFI's release, and yes the BMFA only have a relatively small full time staff available to respond, but it was entirely predictable the CAA would launch a consultation or set of proposals along these lines given the global regulatory landscape. This was one of those times when dropping other things in order to move at pace (as one would in a commercial organisation) and get guidance out within a day or two would have been extremely worthwhile, giving the BMFA far more time to publicise the guidance and mobilise members to respond.

Good point - those T&Cs do seem to cover the winter 22/23 period, I had not noticed that. They are definitely the T&Cs that are currently linked from Octopus Savings Events page, though. I will send them a question about this, but in the meantime can you point us to a source that talks about the payment for export during these periods? I've done a bit of Googling but can't find one anywhere... Yes, I get it's not primarily about financial savings to customers, but every little helps, especially for those who are struggling in this cost of living crisis. The bit I am really puzzled about though (assuming you are correct about people being paid more for export during these periods) is that lots of people with home batteries will charge them just before as you are proposing, creating an new artificial increase in demand just before the event. That doesn't sound like something they would want to do, but maybe the grid effect is relatively insignificant given demand in that period should be slightly lower and only a relatively small percentage of homes have a battery at present.

There is no downside, but if you have home battery and solar you aren't likely to make significant savings as your baseline usage during peak periods is likely to be very low or zero. This is (rightly IMO) aimed at delivering some savings to those who have not yet been able to invest in that kind of tech, so whilst I have singed up, I'm not expecting much from it in financial terms.

Information on the National Grid scheme to incentivise users with smart meters to reduce demand during peak times this winter - may be of interest to forumites (first discussed in the EV thread, starting here) : The National Grid (ESO’s) Demand Flexibility Service News story about the successful tests of the DFS events in 2022 Octopus savings sessions - overview Octopus savings sessions - FAQs Note - these sessions do not provide additional incentives to export back to the grid during these times, only to decrease usage against your previous baseline in that period. More info in the Octopus T&Cs here.

Hang on - The T&Cs do mention export, apologies. It looks like there is no additional incentivisation for export during these savings events, which actually makes sense otherwise those with home batteries would all do what you were suggesting which would create the opposite effect to what they are going for jsut before the event... "17. Customers on electricity export tariffs will be credited on their reduction in import and not export, in line with National Grid ESO Demand Flexibility Service specifications." There is also this clause which is probably to enable them to handle any "gaming" of the system via means they haven't yet thought of... "If you are one of our Smart Tariff customers or are part of any of our Smart Meter trials, we reserve the right to remove you from the Service at any point." I guess you can hold fire on your HA automation @Gary Manuel!

The savings events are a new experiment from National Grid (who have seemingly rebranded as ESO, or Electricity System Operator). In these hort events carried out at peak times they signifcantly incentivise smart meter owners who opt in to save power against their current baseline. More info in the links below ... The Natiional Grid (ESO’s) Demand Flexibility Service News story about the successful tests of the DFS events in 2022 Octopus savings sessions - overview Octopus savings sessions - FAQs @Gary Manuel, a QQ... I can't find anything online that says you will be paid incentivised rates for export during these events, only for avoiding normal usage against an established baseline. Here are the Octopus T&C for savings events - they don't mention anything about export. Do you have a link online that explains that?

Update from this months BMFA News - sounds like no feedback or new proposals on this til 2024...

Corona do have a website, and whislt it doesn't appear to have much support information available to review/download, they have direct conract info - maybe worth a shot... https://www.corona-rc.com/contact.html

It is perfectly straightforward if you are prepared to a small amount of research - 10 seconds on Google would have got you any number of answers that are extremely comprehensive from sites dedicated to EVs (here's a good example). Instead you chose to ask the question of some well meaning EV owners on a RC flying forum, then criticised them because their answers didn't exactly align in every respect. However, Ron is absolutely right - there is nothing inaccurate about any of the posts on this page, it's just that different cars will charge at different rates off a granny plug. This rather reminds me of those who who have used IC power in their models and complain that electric is "too complicated" to understand. In reality there are only a small number of variables you have to understand to select an appropriate electric powertrain, and far, far fewer problems that would prevent it from running once it's been installed in comparison to IC. However, if you have run IC all your life and already understand the variables and techniques needed to run them effectively (carb setup, tank position, fuel type, cooling setup, mounting type, silencer setup, tank plumbing, starting technique...) then learning something new and different will seem like a faff when you could set up and operate a new IC model in your sleep. The same is true in the opposite direction - it would be far harder for me to acquire all the learning to kit out a new IC model for the first time than it would to install an electric powertrain, as I already know everything I need to do the latter. The key to transitioning in either direction is accepting that a) some of your previous knowledge will no longer be applicable, and b) that you'll have to do a small amount of research and learn something new in order to be successful. There is lots of research out there that most people find a) pretty difficult to accept, especially where the established knowledge is long held (like in the case of fueling and operating an ICE vehicle). That's not really an issue though in thie case - if moving from ICE to an EV or PHEViisn't for you right now, then don't bother - no-one is forcing you to go EV. Just don't criticise those who want to maximise the potential of this technology to minimise costs, maximise efficiency and reduce carbon use - that is their choice to do so.

V2L is great in concept, but it does rather rely on a having an EV on the drive and plugged in at all the times you need it. It also doesn't enable those of us with solar to capture that excess generated to use later. Sure, with tariffs as they are right now the financiasl for a home battery may not be quite as compelling as 12 months ago, but in terms of energy independance they are great, and I personally have't paid for a single kwh of peak time electricity in over a year which feels pretty damn good to me. YMMV.

For me the key is to avoid discharging the home battery in high amp situations like EV charging, as a) it msut stress the battery and inverter more, b) it's inefficient, and c) it puts cycles on the battery. I know some will disagree, but I have always been sceptical of those who said "get a bigger home battery, force chafre it off-peak then discharge it back to the grid at peak times". When I saw this guys maths it was enough for me, so we don't do any forced discharge now - the battery is jsut a pure backup to the house at peak times and during the night.

And here is the same story from a couple of sites that aren't behind a paywall - certainly sounds interesting, though given how long Solid State batteries have been being trailed for, I will believe it when I see it as a live commercial product in 2027... Business Standard news story - Toyota solid state batteries Toyota's press release