Bob Howard

Many thanks guys. It looks as if Futaba changed the design at some stage, so the new aerial will be going on very soon.

Already thought of that. If the range is affected, it means stripping the Tx down twice. The connection to the circuit board (miniature spade terminal) is not the most robust in the world, I am reluctant to place it under any strain more often than I can help.

Can anyone help me? My 12 year old Futaba 7C 2.4GHz Tx is in great condition, and still works perfectly. The only issue is largely cosmetic - the aerial swivel is damaged. I have bought a new aerial in original the Ripmax packaging (part no. Y-9M99Z02203) which has the correct fitting, but is approx. 30mm shorter than the existing aerial. I am concerned that this may result in reduced range. I have emailed the Ripmax Service Centre for advice, but they are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Does anybody out there know anything about this?

Many years ago, British Railways (or whatever name they were masquerading under at the time) decided to abandon steam in favour of allegedly clean diesel. They are now going for allegedly cleaner electric locos (where will we be getting so much clean leccy from in years to come). Visit a heritage railway and just see what attracts all the attention - good old fashioned steam. Why? Because a steam loco is a living, breathing entity with a mechanical heart beating away. Diesels might have some attraction, but soulless electrics - never in a million years. The same is true for a model aircraft. Having that piston lump beating away on the front brings it to life in a way that no electric motor can ever hope to do. One of our members flies a spitfire with a 52 four-stroke up front. Recently, a female member of the public stopped to watch and commented on how lovely the model sounded. We have never had any glowing comments about electric models. I fly some electric purely for the convenience, but I will always prefer the throb of an I/C motor, especially a four stroke.

The website I found when I googled "alternative to balsa" also mentioned Pawlonia as another option. I recently stripped & recovered the club trainer wing. I have no idea what the wing ribs & cap strips were made of, but it certainly was not balsa or liteply. There must be comparable timbers out there somewhere. They just need looking for. Maybe tree experts would be the ones to consult.

Has anyone looked into the possibility of using Albezia Wood as a substitute to Balsa? I understand it is comparable in strength and weight to Balsa, although it apparently is much slower growing than Balsa.

Reduction drive sounds great to me. I remember about 40 years ago seeing a member of the old West Drayton MAC flying a large Pat French Zlin 526 with an undersized engine and a reduction gearbox - very impressive!

Jon, Most important question of all - how is the move going, and when will everything be back in production?

A couple of years ago, one of our instructors reported elevator glitches on 2.4GHz. Later, the wing of the model broke in the middle!   A couple of weeks later two more trainers also sufferred what appeared to be elevator glitches. It turned out that all three models had poor quality wing bands (supplied in the ARTF kit) which were allowing the L/E of the wing to lift, giving the impression of an elevator glitch.   Stronger wing bands cured the problem, and we now advise all of our beginners to throw the cheap bands supplied with the kit into the bin, and buy proper ones.   The broken wing was amost certainly due to L/E lift causing a sudden increase in lift, overstressing the wing.

How about hitting them with our "Human Rights".   If a convict justly serving a sentence in one of HM Prisons can claim all manner of rights, so can we!  

Many thanks.

Phil, My bow also just over 1m long, Dural tube handle with nichrome wire attached to insulated springs. I have a feeling that MFA made something very similar some years ago, but I have no idea if it is the same one. What dimmer & transfromer do you use?

Some time ago (2 - 3 years) an article in RCM&E contained details of a DIY power supply for use with a bow for cutting foam wing blanks. I feel sure that it was a letter on the "All Write" page. The power supply was built from various bit from the electical department of B&Q, including a dimmer switch and a transformer intended for domestic halogen spotlights. I would like to have a go at making the power supply (or having one made by a qualified sparky) & cutting some wings. I already have the cutting bow, but I have lost the magazine with the article in it. Does anybody have the magazine article,or  any details of what items were used, and how they were wired up?  Thanks

You have it spot on - all Lasers had the owners initials stamped on them at the factory before despatch. I am not sure if they still do that. The bearer width of 40mm was common to the 61, 75 & 80, as are the mounting hole spacings.  The 61 was the first laser ever produced, the 75 followed it a few months later.

Come to think of it, it could even be a very old 61. The only external difference between the 61 & 75 was the width of the cylinder head, but I have no details to hand what the difference was. You could always email Neil for information. Re. my Laser 80 with a blocked silencer, I struggled with that problem for months. Neil diagnosed it from a single email. It has been running like a sewing machine ever since.