Trevor

. . . right alongside the on/off switch. A great pulse raiser, that one!

I was going to say ditto to this (albeit quite a few years earlier!), then Don mentioned those plastic deltas. I had two of them and for some reason the pale blue one always flew better than the red one. I spent a long time failing to work out why. Then before those, there was the Woolworths balsa chuck gliders. No catapult involved (although we did try!) I think I learned more about trimming and aerodynamics from throwing those about in the street (and retrieving them from less than impressed neighbours' gardens) than with any model since.

It most definitely isn’t! My wife is a quilter and she and her quilting friends are forever teasing each other about how many UFOs they have. Trevor UFO = UnFinished Object

I'm sure it's not just you but, speaking for myself, I have neither the physical space nor the mental capacity to cope with more than one ongoing project. So, while I have a major build underway, maintenance jobs, unless they are very quick and simple, are noted on a list until the bench becomes free. Trevor

I have seen this type of incident before with Futaba users, caused by the transmitter throttle channel being (correctly) reversed to align with the needs of the ESC, but this reversal has not been carried through to the receiver's failsafe setting, as PeterF surmised above. The result is that any interruption to signal, whether range-related or due to Tx programming, will result in the receiver going into failsafe and applying full throttle. This is why, when helping to check out somebody's new model, I always insist on a failsafe check before doing a range check!

I agree. But I prefer to line the wheel wells (1/16in balsa is enough) just to limit how far the mud and grade cuttings can penetrate into the wing! Trevor

Surely this results in people being on the runway for longer than necessary and could be considered more risky than taxiing out and in (from beside the pilots' box, not in and out of the pits!).

Marketed in the uk as the Bat-safe box. I use one for charging but not for storage. Happily it’s fire resistant qualities haven’t been put to the test yet but a bit of Googling may well turn up a few videos of it in action.

A small (circa 1m wingspan) foamie can be a big help in practicing new aerobatics or just gaining the confidence to fly your existing repertoire a bit lower and closer. So no, not cheating, just an excellent aerobatic trainer/improver.

I don't know what charger you have but most have a NiMh setting. However, I too prefer to use a separate charger on the basis that changing modes just introduces a bit more scope for human error! You might like to consider getting another general purpose charger though, rather than a NiMh-only one. That way you would have the ability to charge two LiPos at once if you decide to go flying at short notice! Trevor

Oh dear. Do I remember right that, in the pursuit of lightness you chose to rely on the enamelling of some wires for insulation? I’m just wondering whether this could be a source of some sort of short, maybe triggered by some sort of in-flight resonance?

If you can’t manage any of the above, then even a fixed tailwheel will give you better handling than a freely castoring one. A few years back the lovely Grosvenor House DH Comet underwent an upgrade to its temperamental undercarriage, including replacing the fixed tail skid with a castoring tailwheel. This made it a lot easier for the ground crew pushing the aircraft around but the pilot disliked it so much that after the next service the fixed skid was back.

Yes, back to front is more important than bottom to top. So, if you don’t want to rely on a trim line to cover the joint, doing the top before the bottom won’t cause any issues.

I must admit that my ‘thumbs off the sticks advice’ is based on the observation that many ‘out of control’ incidents are actually the result of disorientation. Hence the suggestion to stop fighting it and watch carefully for a moment.

My advice would be: Take your hands off the sticks and watch the model very carefully. Only return to the sticks when you are absolutely sure which way the model is pointed and what correction is needed. Then apply the correction - gradually!

In addition to the above, if you've got one or two spare receiver channels, it can be worth plugging the retracts into separate channels then using a time delay in the transmitter so they don't all operate at exactly the same time. This will reduce the peak current demand on your battery or BEC and so reduce the voltage sag. I have one tricycle u/c model where I had to 'de-sync' the nose wheel retract in this way otherwise it would stop when half retracted as the combined current peak with the mains caused enough of a voltage sag for the nose retract to conclude it had met with some kind of obstruction.

3s 1500mah for me. Loops easily from level flight, so not what I would call underpowered. I do though use a gyro on launch (Eagle Tree Guardian, 3D HH mode) so that I can give it a good chuck with my right hand, knowing that it will assume the pre-defined attitude, avoiding the need for a frantic grab of the stick. I turn the gyro off as soon as I have both hands on the transmitter.

Brilliant! Congratulations Nick. I look forward to seeing it before long. Trevor

Good luck Nick! Trevor

Looks great Simon. Good luck with the maiden. Trevor

Hmm. If the + and - connections run straight through the tester, couldn't you just Y lead the battery and servo into the output port and ignore the input completely? Depends how sophisticated the tester is perhaps, and it's early in the morning so I might have missed something! Try at your own risk!! Trevor

Likewise, I’ve used a wide variety of online retailers for many years with no issues (we lost our last local model shop a long time ago). There are one or two who don’t have live stock control so, if it’s critical, I will phone before hitting the button. I can’t remember when I had anyone debit my account for an out of stock item.

I agree with Zflyer. I do have an incidence meter but on the rare occasions I use it I find it hard to get consistent results. The Mk.1 eyeball is remarkably effective at picking up twists or misalignments, and if you build to the plan, the incidence (or more importantly, the decalage) should be okay. Trevor

And before investigating, remove propeller!

And before Jacks we played five-stones (AKA 'snobs' if I remember right). Similar gameplay but no ball involved.