Neal Snooke

Try try and try again....

How annoying - they obviously dont use good quality gaskets - just the kind of corner cutting I worry about on the cheaper engines.  On the subject of updates I noticed last weekend that one of my beloved ZG20's has developed a bit of endfloat that it never used to have.  Runs perfectly mind you - and makes no abnormal noises.  Should I worry about it or is it normal with a "high milage" engine... Doc? Neal.

The sim is clearly the answer as you say wlfk.  Something strange does happen though to me though. For example if I fly it away forwards and then fly back towards myself at reasonable speed I have no problem at all with the aileron, however if I fly a backwards circuit, I'm prone to correct the wrong way when it comes back towards me - which is odd since the model is actually travelling exactly the same path from my perspective (tail in travelling towards be)...  Something must be happening my perception of it.     The good news is that after an hour on the sim for the last few evenings I can fly around backwards 8's without crashing it, although the control is not really smooth and flowing yet, but 'incorrect direction' corrections are getting fewer and farther between. I do find I must intersperse normal flying with the backward so as not to learn only backwards....

The story is thus. After several years I can hover nose in, fast and slow circuits, eights, 540stall turns, loops, fairly axial rolls, flips and hover inverted (at a safe height) etc with my Raptor50s and mini titan. Next challenge is backwards flight. The problem is how do I best think about this. In all the above I of course `fly the nose' of the heli but is this what people do for backwards flight? There seem to be two possibilities: either I imagine `reversing' the heli in which case the rudder `feels' reversed compared to normal flight, but aileron is 'normal'; OR I fly the tail (rudder then feels normal) and then the aileron `reversed'. This is what my brain seems to want to do, probably because of the motion, and after a couple of hours on the sim I'm getting better at it but is this actually a mistake akin to flying the tail in nose in hover... Perhaps after a while it is instinctive (like nose in hovering is to me now) and there is no `thinking' involved at all... Does anyone understand what I'm getting at or had a similar experience? Ta. Neal.

Thanks for all that info Doc.  I have just gotten my DA50 running again after it started running like a dog.  Turned out to be a faulty ignition module, so I will press it back into service and put off buying any more until the cheaper options prove themselves a bit more.  Though I don't see why they shouldn't last, after all the basic mechanical technology is pretty well understood and lasts forever in garden machinery (which is real cheap) for example - just so long as they havnt put all the money int fancy light crankcases and cut corners in the basic mechanics quality. Neal.

Yep - I was trying to decide between the RCGF and CRRC engines. The CRRC ones look  (too)colourful - and perhaps a little tacky/over blinged, but one guy at our club just bought one.  I havnt seen it run yet though.  Both seem quite cheap... My two ZG20 from Toni Clarke have run faultlessly for over two years now (one has a lot of hours on it now) and I suspect that I'll invest the extra cash in another CDi Zenoah.  Still be interested in peoples comments of the cheaper options though...  Neal.

Hi Carl, Im considering one of these - what caused the interference problem ? How did you solve it? I have several Zenoah engines for a number of years and they have never missed a beat, I wouldnt want to buy into any trouble.... but the price is tempting...

I always used to have boughts of glow start problems, until 2 years ago when I invested in one of the RCAT systems glow drivers(see url below). It only needs charging about twice a year and actively controls the current so the plug always glows perfectly -  I have even tried holding the end under water - it still glows - although the current indicator climbs a lot to maintain the heat. I have lost count how many times I have instantly started other peoples engines when they have been fighting for ages with a flooded engine etc etc.  After a while you get used to how many lights come on for a given type of plug, and any change to this gives me the first indication of a plug that is on its way out (particularly on my helis where plugs get a hard life and I really dont want dead sticks). They arn't cheap, but in my experience are worth every penny in saved time struggling with non starting engines... http://rcatsystems.com/electronics/ligd.php Neal.

Perhaps some decent weather to go with it

And of course my muppet moment(some 5 yrs ago)... Having started my Laser Arrow (50size delta without undercarriage) and juggling the tranny neckstrap and holding the model, the aerial was trimmed by several sections... Annoying (no spare at hand). The purchase of a new aerial prompted a change of routine for this model as follows: start engine, hook tranny to neckstrap (right hand) while holding model (left hand), extend aerial(right hand), full power and launch model. Worked fine until a couple of weeks later. Off she went flat out for about 20m, slight twitch...nose down... and just as I realised why I had no control and hadn't yet got left hand to throttle stick - totally rekitted. Neal. (I did get another one but created a model support/restrainer to avoid the problem of having to hold the started model.)

Hi Roger, Wanting to bring my MicroStick to Stuttgart as handluggage I found the following useful to find out what frequencies are allocated to R/C all over the world: http://www.fai.org/aeromodelling/frequencies/ ps. Weather is like midsummer in Germany today and has been for 6 weeks - they are all worried about it - good for flying though...

Hi Phil, Yep mine was finished about 2 days after the original post! I didn't bother with rudder. It flies really well - and deals with a 'light breeze' OK. I fly it on a hillside behind my house when I havn't time to go to the strip, and it is not calm enough for a Shocky. It is really quite fast - keeps the old reaction time up ! Watch out not to run out of elevator on approach it will slow up well but don't overdo it... It is my only model allowed in the living room and lives on top the telly ! Sadly can't fly anything this week due to being in Stuttgart - without any models, although I'm thinking about making a hand luggage sized box for the microstick (and demote the laptop to checked baggage).... Especially when it turns out to be a bank holiday in Germany today :) Not sure about the frequency use though. Enjoy it, Neal.

Yep they are great little engines - actually I was very surprised just how quiet mine is with the standard silencer - and intake trumpet just poking through the cowl. (I like the look of it and easy to choke with a single thumb:) At least it is quiet compared to my DA50 with pitts style "muffler"... Enjoy it! Neal.

I have a FF8 and a FF9. The 9 is easier to program because it shows lots more info on the screen at the same time. For example all endpoints/rates for all channels etc. For me the biggest advantage is the ability to throttle and pitch curves visually rather than having to step through all the numbers. Only really relevant to heli flyers I guess. As far as I can tell the actual functionality for flying is about the same, though there may be a few more mixes/ free mixes available on the FF9. The rotary knob is good for quickly navigating the menus on the 9. Note that the CAMPAC format is different, you can transfer the memory module but it needs reformatting. Both great radios and my FF8 has worked faultlessly for many years, though now it is relegated to mountaineering expeditions with Zagi's !

1x 80" 50cc petrol Dave Patrick Edge 1x 68" 20cc petrol Glens models Extra 300 1x .40 Glow Bugly Ugger (RCME plan) 1x .90 Glow Bugly Ugger (RCME scaled up plan ) 1x .40 Glow Toot Sweet sport bipe (RCME plan) 1x .48 Cap232 (Great Planes I think) 1x .48 Laser Arrow (Laser Models) 2x .25 Phoenix model Crazee bat 1x .52 Phoenix model kerfuffle 1x 17" Micro Stick brushless 1x brushless Shocky 1x EPP zagi sloper 2x Raptor 50 heli (v2 and Titan) 1x Raptor 90 heli 1x Zoom 400 heli (brushless) 1x Icarus Piccolo micro heli ...and half a dozen other airframes without various electronic bits... Oh dear time for a visit to ebay...