John Parker 1

Thank you all - very helpful. I can now get on with buying, until I get stuck again

After my first post in the Beginners Forum I have put my tin hat on for this one and promised myself I won't mention Douglas Bader (damn!). I am new to all of this and buying everything I will need to start building and flying before moving to the Canary islands as I won't be able to get anything there. Anyway, I have bought a new DX6i, together with some Spectrum receivers but now I need to buy some servos. My question is, will all servos be compatible with the above or only certain types/makes? Sorry if this is a bit of a basic question but I can't find the information anywhere else.

Thanks to all for your comments and advice (especially Alan) As Pete has said, the Canary Islands are not part of the EU for customs purposes, although they are for other things by association with Spain. This is actually an advantage as we can get things sent over with zero VAT. Pilot Error: Thanks for the shop and ship idea. I will look into it.

Pete, thank you for the advice. You obviously posted while I was composing mine. Don't worry about the comments - after 11 years as a Special in the police force I have very broad shoulders The link you have given is the one I found and the guy with the beard (Gary) is the one I know, and is actually one of the best acoustic bass guitarist I have heard. I have sent him a message. One of the annoying problems with having things sent to Fuerteventura is that some items (it seems random) get diverted to Gran Canaria to clear customs and then stay there. Although postage/courier fees have been paid to Fuerte you have to pay again to get them shipped on which is frustrating and even more expensive. If it is a relatively low cost item it can cost more to get it moved between the islands than it cost initially. But the strange Spanish beaurocracy is just one of the things you have to put up with I guess. The benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Edited By John Parker 1 on 12/08/2012 12:06:47

Interesting that a small remark in my posting has sparked so many comments about Douglas Bader. Actually Peter, funnily enough, my mother worked as a secretary with Colin Hodgkinson for a number of years after the war at an advertising agency in Holborn, London called Winter Thomas & Co. She said he was a miserable person who was always very bitter that Douglas Bader got the notoriety and he didn't. I have a copy of his book but that certainly doesn't come across in it but perhaps it is a trait of those that went through so much when so young. I certainly know that Bader wasn't an easy person, perhaps very unpleasant at times, but it was his attitude of not letting his disability stop him doing anything that I find so heroic more than his war experiences. Bouncebouncecrunch "you will probably move back from the Islands quicker than you think," - we will never move back to the UK. We have been "testing the water" by spending the winters there for the past three years and a month or so at other times of the year. I couldn't stand the thought of another winter in the UK, not that there is anything of a summer either. To borrow a description of the weather I heard a farmer in a Scottish Isle say once that seems more and more appropriate to the whole of the UK "We have 10 months of winter followed by two months of bad weather!" 2.4Ghz is legal in Fuerte now.

Hi all I am a complete novice. I am about to retire early and move to Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands with my wife (poor us!). I will no longer be able to continue my existing hobbies so I need an absorbing hobby to while away the long, hot days and nights and have decided on building and flying rc aeroplanes ("never, ever, call it a plane" - my hero Douglas Bader). I do hold a PPL so I hope that will stand me in good stead (for the flying part). Purely by chance, since deciding, I discovered on Google Earth that there is a 115m purpose-built tarmac runway less than a km from what will be our house and visited it on our last trip and discovered from the signs that it is owned by a Spanish rc club. I have yet to see any flying but I think it is a good omen. Before I go I need to buy everything I will need to take with me as I imagine obtaining anything other than general diy stuff on the island will not be possible so I will have to buy online and have it shipped which is both expensive and slow. I have looked through the forums and found much useful advice about tools etc that I may need but my question is, can anyone suggest anything else I will need? I realise this a bit like "how long is a piece of string". I would hat to move out there and start to build only to fund I need a vital something or other, perhaps that only costs a few pounds, that I am going to have to order and have shipped. I can guess at most of the tools but I don't know what else may need with regard to spares, glues, etc. My initial intention is to buy an artf to learn on and take a few kits with me (my preference is for scale light aircraft) along with a transmitter (Spectrum dx6i perhaps) Any suggestions gratefully received. Regards John Parker ps. Starting this posting inspired me to do a google search to try and find the club that operates from the runway - it turns out it is run by an English music bar owner/musician I know. Its a small world!