Sam Longley

Posted by gangster on 09/07/2018 20:48:01: Sam. Just reading BMFA news. Seen ad for the Ruckus. Would that suit your requirements? No! because they are not particularly cheap & having had a Riot I doubt would not be that easy to repair. It is too heavy. It is getting away from "cheepo bouncy 3d"

Posted by Don Fry on 08/07/2018 16:00:55: I'm 66 Sam., I was winning E boat class OD races before you could pull an halliard I suspect. I was sailing dinghies about 4-5 years after you were borne !!!!!. Buy a copy Of Practical Boat Owner - Summer Issue,& read pages 40-43 Shall I go on?

Posted by Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 08/07/2018 10:19:08: I think those comments are bit unkind Sam. You might not like what Percy is saying but he is sincerely trying to help you and he has a lot experience. I can understand where you are coming from on this - there is a hard learning curve learning many things in our hobby and you are looking for something that might just make this learning curve a little easier - not because its easier to fly but because the consequences of getting it wrong (which we all do when learning) are bit less severe. So, my recommendation is similar to an earlier one - get yourself a largish shockie. This time of year you can fly that outdoors - and if it is a bit windy, well that adds to the benefit! That will help your fingers learn the movements, your muscle memory will take over and eventually, as you know, you end up flying the move on instinct without thinking about it - then if it goes wong you correct automatically - without thinking - you have to reach that point. And if it all goes to hell in a handcart then the shockie will indeed just bounce. They are very hard to damage! But something you really should think about listening to Percy on - make progress slowly, build one step on the next. Don't just "try a move", build up to it through a series of simplier moves. That's how the full size guys do it - and bear in mind if they get wong big style it isn't just the plane that gets damaged! BEB BEB you have summed it up but your opening sentence may be right but you need to understand that I intend to beat the 3d barrier, That is my target. Just because someone else cannot do it is no reason to say i should not & that is what got me started in my post. I did not really mean to insult Percy, Although it comes across as that. My main hobby is sailing . I was probably sailing, & winning schoolboys races, before Percy was flying model planes. But if someone asks advice about foiling dinghies I do not say " Buy an old gaffer because that is what I have got because I cannot sail a foiling moth" I say " sorry no experience" & leave it to others to reply" The rest of your post is spot on. Of course I intend to move slowly but some of our older club members have told me " if you are not prepared to take the crashes then it is not for you, Go back to your boat". Even "simpler "moves need to be learned. But having a good model for it makes a good start. No different to sailing. Hence my asking for opinion.

Posted by Percy Verance on 07/07/2018 20:28:07: My work here is done........... With all due respect Percy Typical forumite Does not know the answer so tells me that my question is wrong Why? because he has been doing it for 25 years t I should be doing a different type of flying Why? because that is what he does So when one does not accept the "non advice" one gets the "oh well I tried but I give up--" bit I am sorry Percy but your second post prompted me to say that All i wanted was some suggestions for a cheepo plane to try some 3d stuff on that is easy to repair & will not break the bank One forumite told me to get a football - would be funny really but I hate football 2 forumites came up with the same suggestion of a hummer so that bodes good for me If that does not work I will re read Percy's post & send him my apologies-- But not yet

Posted by Gary Manuel on 07/07/2018 22:09:10: Posted by Sam Longley on 07/07/2018 19:47:04: Posted by Steve Colman on 07/07/2018 17:31:00: Hummer from Hobbyking. Just under 30 euros and an absolute blast to fly. Watched the video but cannot find the plane on the site for sale HERE it is Thanks that is exactly what i was looking for. I will be checking my parts box & ordering later today

Posted by Don Fry on 07/07/2018 19:57:31: First off mate, get the basics right, and secure the battery, and possibly the other weak points. And there lies a tale.. Why, if it's not for steering about, as in the biplane you decry, do you launch something you can't afford to break. Edited By Don Fry on 07/07/2018 20:01:25 TheS Bach was purchased because i was getting quite confident & wanted to get smoother so wanted something to do Imac manouvers as I felt that making myself fly a disciplined pattern I would get better rather than just fly about aimlessly. The loss was because i was demonstrating how to do rolling circles to some members instead of sticking to the sequences which I had bought that plane for. I was just unfortunate that to change the C of G temporarily I did not fix the battery in securely enough (in a hurry) & the 20 or so rolls on the trot threw the b..dy thing out the canopy. I was not intending to do 3 d with it. I did have other planes for that but now they are all dead ( nearly killed the Jive this week & spent 45 mins looking for it in a wheat field) & i just want something a little less expensive for learning the awkward stuff with. It takes a long time to re build an Acrowot- i know from experience Edited By Sam Longley on 07/07/2018 20:24:56

Posted by Steve Colman on 07/07/2018 17:31:00: Hummer from Hobbyking. Just under 30 euros and an absolute blast to fly. Watched the video but cannot find the plane on the site for sale

I hold an "A" cert. I do have Phoenix but do not actually find it much use. If one watches some of the demonstration flying on youtube I cannot seem to find the models or keep them anywhere near me long enough to perform the tricks. Most of the time the plane is a speck on the screen so I do not find it much use. As for 3 D - No i cannot do much but if I cannot try then I will never learn. Flying figure 8s does get a bit boring. I would certainly get fed up just flying a biplane round in circles. I bought the S Bach to start doing the Imac sequences which I really enjoyed practicing, but during a rolling circle, ( I am good at those!!) whilst showing off, the battery came loose,( I had just temporarily moved it to change the c of G) exited via the hatch & that was that. Practicing Imac is great for practicing stick control, but one needs a good plane for it. So I just want something to fun fly without the risk of great expense now & then to get rid of those occasional " urges"

if I am not always worrying about major repairs I would be a lot more confident with the sticks. Trouble is that being nervous I tend to make more mistakes. I am experimenting with some 3d manouvers but keep loosing planes. What I need is something that I can keep fairly close, does not cost too much. Can do a wide range of manouvers & if it all goes wrong It is fairly easy to mend on the field.Will not break the bank. My Hanger 9 S Bach cost me £840-00 complete in the air & when it turned to matchwood I felt like committing hari kari I have a Phizaz but am frightened of loosing it & it flies brilliantly So can someone give me a few suggestions of good performing  really cheepo ones. I assume they will be bendy foamies. I am not into self build. I have too many planes to re build as it is. Edited By Sam Longley on 07/07/2018 15:46:55 Edited By Sam Longley on 07/07/2018 15:47:36

Last year one of our members turned up with an electric foamie (not a multi rotor) that he had built himself. He claimed a duration of something like 30 minutes plus an additional payload carrying capacity of nearly half a kilo. There was clearly plenty of space inside the fuselage & he had lots of batteries. It was not that big, He flew it for a few minutes then put it onto some large circles & explained that he had fitted an autopilot ( my description, not his) as his real interest was electronics etc. To prove its effectiveness he left the plane circling a couple of hundred feet up, Laid his transmitter down, walked to the pits, collected a coffee, went back to the transmitter & landed the plane, which was still circling in the same place & at the same height Have only seen him on site once so have no idea what he has been developing since. Neither have I seen any other models like it: but if the authorities preparing the legislation saw that aeroplane in operation the proposed rules might be somewhat more stringent me thinks.

Apologies. i have not been reading the full thread & I had not picked up the difference between a model & a flying RC controlled object such as a drone, helicopter or model plane being flown irresponsibly. Perhaps i had a different view of "non- organised site" to others- ie Street on an estate,children's playground, back garden, layby near an airfield, retail centre car park??? You can see all of them on You tube. Glad to hear that they do not cause any issues

Posted by MattyB on 14/02/2018 14:59:01: A quick update... Had a very good email back from Dave Phipps from the BMFA earlier this week. I will not reproduce all of it, but in summary: EASA now seems to accept that not all model flying takes place at organised sites and that there is no evidence to suggest that this gives rise to any problems. Well I would contradict that statement. Surely one might suggest that virtually all ALLEGED drone/projectile problems have come from sites or launch areas that are NOT organised sites. If not can one tell us where drone incursions have come from organised sites. That would indicate the opposite of what is being suggested above

Posted by Braddock, VC on 28/06/2017 09:35:45: I bought a servo tester from HK at the same time bought 8 metal geared corona digital servos. Put them on the servo tester and left them running (3 at a time) 3 were warmer than the rest so got them replaced by HK, new ones are ok. Generally any faults show up on the servo tester after 15 mins, I allowed about that. Way off thread here--- but I have been having servo inconsistencies & someone suggested i get a tester. may i ask what sort you have. I have not researched the subject yet but a start suggestion would be handy Edited By Sam Longley on 29/07/2017 10:24:33

So if a young lad of 12 years registers his small drone & flies it near Heathrow & it gets sucked into the intake of a jet causing a major disaster & comes out as tiny burnt chips. How do they actually trace the youngster after he hops on his bike & goes home & what was the point of registration Edited By Sam Longley on 24/07/2017 16:25:27

The way to do it over a long period of time is for transmitters to have the same requirement as EU VHF sets. When ,say, a Dutch( Or french, Belgian etc) user transmits on his/her VHF it emits a short "hiss" as the transmit button is released. This identifies the radio & user. The UK does not comply with this but  it is called ATIS ( Automatic transmission Identification System) & is part of the Rainwat agreement So if the govt insisted that all transmitters had to issue a code every so many seconds that identified the user or its position & all transmitters were sold under license then we could fly to out hearts content without any worries. Anyone operating in a banned area or operating in an illegal manner could be traced regardless of what we were flying It is not beyond the capability of manufacturers to add this to their sets if they wanted to or were forced to before they could sell them in a certain country ( Inc those sold via internet) It would also help if the USA insisted on it as well The big problem would be how to get rid of all the existing transmitters in current circulation. But that is the same as getting all the existing drones in existence recorded as well Edited By Sam Longley on 22/07/2017 21:33:46

Considering all the redundant sailboards stuck in the roofs of peoples garages I would have thought that one could find one for peanuts & have enough foam to last for ages.Would not take much to saw one in half & get to the foam once the skin was off. Especially the older non epoxy versions

Nobody could believe that after 50 years of trying Superman finally passed his "A" test Edited By Sam Longley on 19/07/2017 15:19:00

Posted by fly boy3 on 18/07/2017 17:16:55: Hi Sam, perhaps it's not your landing technique that's to blame. Over the years Acrowots at my club have been prone u/c breakages. Could be down to larger and heavier ic engines being used leading to faster landings or the fact that at one time there were loads of these classic models at most clubs. Cheers Edited By fly boy3 on 18/07/2017 17:37:21 You are right about coming in fast. One has to keep speed up because if one has to give it a quick burst of power the plane seems to torque roll. Especially if aborting the landing. I have had 3 Acrowots & they are all the same. I certainly know the plane can bite on the stall if speed is not kept up on landing. One only had to catch a tuft of grass with a steep landing & the undercarriage is gone.

Thanks That was what i was looking for. Sam Ll

Somewhere on this forum I read a post by someone who had encountered a few bad landings with their Acrowot. They had mad an alteration by somehow using an additional piece of sacrificial ply to hold the undercarriage. I want to try that solution but cannot, for the life of me, find the post. Does anyone know where it is please? Alternatively has anyone got a system for making the landing gear such that in a heavy landing the undercarriage comes away without destroying the plane & one can quickly re fit it. Plastic bolts on their own are not really the answer, especially as one is left with a stub to remove from the mounting socket.. On my Wot trainer I fitted a plastic plate to the undercarriage then fitted that to the plane with elastic bands via dowels . That worked very well as the plate just sheared & i had a stack of new ones. Finally -- yes I know -- learn how to land properly - !!!!!!!!!!!

Instead of PVA to stick the brown paper can one can use wallpaper paste as used for heavy weight papers?

Posted by Denis Watkins on 23/02/2017 15:45:24: At the bottom are User model downloads Thanks I have found it now.

Posted by Denis Watkins on 23/02/2017 10:12:27: Ok Sam, people are trying to help you, and when flying, our fingers dont leave the sticks until we switch flaps or retracts or trim, and even then flyers keep close to the sticks Accept their help and dont keep throwing it back at them LoL Google, Online Phoenix User Models and you will get a whole list of them They are on the Phoenix website Also look at all the updates for the most recent Denis I am not trying to throw anything back & always appreciate advice. However, Are you saying that i cannot ask the reasoning behind that advice other than accept it as gospel? I have spent my life in business questioning authority & cannot get out of the habit. So if I sound argumentive then I apologise - it is an inbuilt mentality. But let's be honest about this if on one hand one is telling me that one should not hold the stick to hold level flight then tells me to trim the plane to dive I think It is reasonable for the brain to question why. I was not actually asking how to hold the sticks I really wanted some hints on using Phoenix.- partly I suppose due to laziness- I have not yet found the Phoenix website & the post has told me to look for one so thanks for that & I will now start the search as I have something to look for. That has achieved what i wanted & I am grateful Cheers Sam L

Posted by Nigel R on 23/02/2017 08:55:26: Yes, definitely worth having a look for user made models. "It is not good practice for you learning with a stick input held" Depends on the model, I would say the 3d types you want set up as neutral as possible which will mean a slight dive when right side up as well as wrong side up. Can you tell me where to find user model please. When i installed the 5.5 programe it updated to 5.1 & i assumed that was all the models available As for stick input. I would respectfully suggest that you have contradicted yourself. If the model does not fly level in upright flight then one has to apply stick input. If one has it set up as you suggest to have a slight dive then it will end in tears if left to its own devices. I just find it more comfortable to let my left thumb rest on the stick.I know where I am & because I am mechanical & not intuitive with the controls it helps as i always know where up is.

Posted by oldgit on 16/02/2017 17:16:47: go to model tab then click edit then turn dial to 100% for throws etc click on detailed in same edit screen hope this helps Put it this way If it had been a real model I would have been crying by now Thanks I see where I should have gone Sam L