Alistair Taylor

Hi John   I used to fly a 45" tucano, sadly now departed, and my only advice on props would be to choose a really heavy one!   I found that my fairly lightly built tucano would only balance with at least an eight-cell CP1700 NiCad pack at the front of the battery compartment.   So you might want to go with a 3s2p lipo (if it will fit) to maintain the balance. If this is not going to be a problem...read on!   If you don't possess a whattmeter, go with a 10x6 or10x7 prop to start with. If this gives you ample verticle, and the motor is warm, don't fit anything bigger. I used to run my 2820/10 on 10 cells (12v) and an 11x8, and it was happy on this. An 11.1 v lipo will probably give better voltage stability, so dropping a prop size should keep you in the right ballpark for the motor.   NB - if you do fit a folder, make sure the hinges are far enough out for the prop to fold cleanly along the sides of the nose, and keep an eye on the prop while landing. If it folds one blade low, blip the throttle to shift it out of the way - you could bend the motor shaft otherwise.   Hope this helps!   AlistairT

  Thanks for the response steve - I've emailed Motorvation. I'll let you know what happens!   AlistairT

Hi All   bit of a retro question I know, but can anyone advise if spare parts for the Irvine replica of the Mills 1.3 engine will fit the original?   e.g. Comp screw, cylinder head, prop nut.   Thanks     AlistairT

Hi all   this isn't meant to be a commercial plug, but can I recommend the small handheld gas torches sold by a reputable high street electronics store (and others) that are fuelled with a simple gas cigarette lighter.   These make very short work of soldering bullet connectors, and are capable of heating smaller jobs (e.g. silencers) to temperatures high enough for "cold" aluminium welding, using commercial welding rods available from all over the place.   As the heat is delivered by flame, rather than physical contact, you don't end up chasing the job round the bench or the vice as the lightweight connector obligingly moves out of your way when you push the soldering iron against it....   These can also easily fit in a flight box with a twist of solder.   AlistairT        

I'm using the Missus' volvo today, as the auto box has a winter setting which pretty effectively stops wheelspin (and acceleration...), plus it has heated seats and ABS.   As soon as get back into my car without these accoutrements you just know things are going to go pear shaped...    

Hi   I'm building a Maricardo at the moment (or rather, I have been building one on and off for about three years).   Ken, could you clarify what the drawing errors are, cos I have hit one or two snags during the building process (besides daughter being born, moving house, F-in-law passing away), and would love a heas up before I go any further and end up with a passable welsh dresser instead of a flying model...   cheers     AlistairT

Good-E   Should fit nicely in Santa's goodie bag.  

Hi Magic stick   I've never used an SLEC stripper, but made one using a dremel and diamond cutting wheel, secured horizontally in a short length of (split) plastic gutter/drainpipe screwed to a wooden base with raised wood support either side of the dremel. Width of cut is set by moving the cutting wheel further out/in as necessary.   It generates a lot of dust while cutting, but talk about knife through butter! Excellent for running off batches of balsa sticks for e.g. framework tailplanes and wings, spars or longerons. Consistency and precision of cut - and of weight (all sticks come from same sheet) is much better than shop stuff. Depth of cut is limited to about 1/4" due to the diameter of the cutting wheel - but the wheel has yet to wear out in several years of use (admittedly light use, and spruce might give it coniptions).   HTH   AlistairT

Wow - what an oddity!   I had it down as a Savoia-Marchetti one-off.   AliT

How about a BMFA dart airframe?   I also bought one of these IR planes and was underwhelmed - it did a few circuits of the office to the great amusement of colleagues "wow, it really flys!!" before being consigned to the back of a shelf.   If you don't have ready access to a dart kit (or plan) - just make something up - 3" x 12" wing from 1/16 sq with corner gussets and 3" dihedral - cover with cyanoed-on clingfilm - shrink tight over boiling kettle.   Stick fus, 1/32 sheet tailplane incorporating rudder.   Easy peasy!   Google Hangar Rat for a possible airframe.   AlistairT    

Hi Eric   Check out www.modelenginenews.org   This a mine of information on model engines that I believe includes info on home-built wankels - I've no idea whether this covers the Polish design you mention I'm afraid.   Model engine construction in itself is a fascinating subject - constructing complex/odd engines like wankels even more so.   Are you an engine builder yourself?   AlistairT  

Huzzah!   Simon - sorry for not mentioning the Jupiter - I went for Bristol radials as a catch-all, as I known they made quite a cornucopiia of corn-cobs (now there's mixing your metalphors).   AlistairT    

Ach, dis is der grosse luft-bomber!   Looks like a Willy to me   Willy Messerschmitt that is...     I think this is correctly called a ME264, not BF.   AliT

Saab 21   The previous is a North Americam XB-28.   I'm gonna have to dig out some piccie of something obscure...     AliT

That's a saab summit or other        

This is a toughie - but the dates and motors are helpful.   Not many countries were capable of designing/building twin-engined fighter-bombers or could afford to buy motors (or were allowed to buy motors) off the USA in 1946.   China? nope Russia? nope   Europe was in hock to the USA, or desolate...   Would the USA build one? They were working on jets.   So that narrows it down a bit - and indeed, it's an argentinean-made I.Ae. 24 Calquin   Ali T

Hmmm - intrigued now   Shorts is a name that springs to mind immediately.   but it's not   It's a BLackburn BT1 Beagle - as sold to the japanese to become the Mitsubishi B2M?   Am I close?   AlistairT

Hi Phil   this looks a little bit like a Hawker Harrier - although the wingtips look wrong - so I'm a bit hesitant on the ID.   The nine-cylinder radial narrows it down to a Bristol engine, Dragonfly, or Alvis Leonides - this last was trialled in a Bristol Bulldog - which this definitely isn't.   It's fun this!   AlistairT

Hi Phil   this looks a little bit like a Hawker Harrier - although the wingtips look wrong - so I'm a bit hesitant on the ID.   The nine-cylinder radial narrows it down to a Bristol engine, Dragonfly, or Alvis Leonides - this last was trialled in a Bristol Bulldog - which this definitely isn't.   It's fun this!   AlistairT

Hi tony - these are unlikely to make it through the final sift, but keep in mind for future reference   1) Henschel HS P.87 - Canard-wing pusher with swept-back mainplane (never flew, looks amazing, google Luft46 for approximate three-view)   2) Pick any of Ray Malmstrom's designs and scale up for electric/IC - these include canards, floatplanes, rubber powered multis, all delightful - you'll need a plans catalogue from impington village college model aeroplane club - they have a website   3) Something based on Vincent Burnelli's lifting body designs - 4x podded elctric motors above the wing? twin EDF? twin IC?, google Burnelli BG177 or UB14.   The lightning and foxbat were soooperb. How about a cold war nomber twinset - Bear/Valiant?, Bounder/Hustler?   Best of luck   AlistairT

Hi all   interesting to see how open the Ed has made this (no restriction to "real" planes, or planes of a particular shape) and yet how narrowly framed have been most of (but not all) the suggestions/votes.   Most are fairly standard layout, possibly some sweepback, maybe multi-engined, perhaps (shock horror!) electric, and for the real avant garde modeller.....EDF!!!   For most of these, designing a model is a (relatively) straightforward matter of import 3-view, add approx former and rib locations, loft formers and ribs, email file to CNC company, press cut/print.   OK, I'm being perhaps a little disingenuous - sure there's more to it than that, and Tony has already shown that he's adept at not just designing a model that will fly, but also one that's within the building skills of the average muddler, not to mention budget.   I just think we should be setting the prodigy more of an aerodynamic/designing challenge, e.g. planes that were drawn but never flew, fantasy planes that never existed, shapes and configurations that you never see outside, e.g. the inter-ex model shows.   I'm off to sip something inspiring and think of something unthought of hitherto     AlistairT        

Hiya Ralph I've used this sort of thing (Technoweld)  to repair a car cylinder head, the exhaust of a .15 glow, and to plug holes in dead cox glow heads in order to diesel-ize them, so some experience at both ends of the size spectrum but I'm no expert/professional user. My tip would be to pick a heat-source that's just big enough (but not too big) for the job. For the car cylinder head I used the oven to pre-heat (very understanding wife) and two blowtorches, and it was just enough. For the model exhaust I used a small cigarette lighter powered gas torch, and again, it was just enough, although I still bubbled the surface finish as a result of over-heating in places. I'm planning to repair a cracked crankcase in the near future, and will probably use a small gas-torch recently acquired from Maplin, in combination with the cigarette-lighter torch. I've found these products fairly easy to use, but requiring a very strict approach to heat and cleanliness. This is not easy with model engines that are often caked in burnt-on castor, and, being small, can be difficult to manipulate. Oh - fairy power-spray is top dollar for getting burnt-on castor off. AlistairT

 who's shoulder would I cry on after transforming the twinstar into bean bag stuffing?

Excellent! I'm looking forwards to getting it together now - once the Baby's farmed off to school - siiiigh - only a couple more years to go AliStair

Hi Stephen Drilling a hole in a dowel is not easy, unless you have a V-shaped jig to hold the dowel in. these should be available from hardware stores. Alternative solutions include;  - Using carbon rod instead of wire pushrod, roughing up the surface with sandpaper, binding with thread and cyanoing as suggested by steve. the rough surface gives a good robust join.  - Bind pushrod to dowel with copper wire and solder first to wire, then cyano to dowel (cyano gives off evil fumes if you get it hot - best avoided).  - Make a slot in the side of the dowel for the bent end of the pushrod, rather than a hole. File/saw flats in the dowel and/or pushrod to give the thread/wire a better hold, and cover with heatshrink as steve suggests. Or buy a cheap kite, strip out the carbon spars - and use these instead of dowel. AlistairT