AVC

Thanks Phil, this is actually my plan B. The pawnee is nice as well, and I love Hostetler's designs. The only issue with this one is the undercarriage. It's made of a big piano wire, something like 2 SWG. I have no tools to make them, and it seems that only an american company makes them, and the price seems to be as huge as the undercarriage itself... If I could overcome this issue, I would definitely go with this option, maybe if someone here had built it, could advise on this subject... Thanks anyway, I keep this option open

Good afternoon I'm trying to find plans or a trad builders' kit of the Cessna 188 AG, at around 25% scale (around 3 meters), and I wonder if anybody knows about something similar. I know there's an ARF sold by YT International but I want to take the "tricky" route. On the other hand, there's no rush, as I want this to be my retirement project, and I will retire, God willing, next 16th of February, 2037, but I need to start making bulkheads and ribs if I want to have everything ready to start bulding by that date Joking apart, if somebody has come accross a plan of this model, I would be interested to hear about it Thanks, regards Alejandro

She looks nice indeed! Regarding the issue, your explanation makes sense, once the CoG is totally dismissed. Just in case, why don't you try to give ailerons some degrees upward and give it a go before changing servos?

Hey, I also live in the North East, in Boldon Colliery, near Newcastle. In the summer of 2012 I decided to change the boring weather in the south of Spain for this much more interesting weather in the North East of England. And so far, so good...

Excellent job, and excellent approach to share your knoledge and experience with us the youngsters (I'm 42 BTW..). Thanks, and please keep posting!

Very nice result Stearmanandy. I see you've put the squares and then you've tightened all together, base and squares, don't you? I use a different method for film-over-film works, which ensure a finish without a single bubble. First, I apply and tighten the base layer, and then I put the upper layer (decoration) using monokote solvent (or in most cases, glass cleaner which works exactly the same and it's cheaper...). I remove the excess of product with a credit card or similar (as in "wet" vinyl applications) and let dry overnight. The next day, I ensure the corners and external lines with the iron at a very low temperature (90-100 centigrade), and that's it. The only downside of this system is that you can't re-tighten afterward, but I've used it in many models with no issue at all (the last one was a Pepsi Chipmunk from Apache Aviation, with a checkered finish). In any case, very nice work Edited By Alejandro Valle Carrillo on 12/05/2014 13:03:49

It's almost finished, and looks nice indeed.

Tim, this Can Doo "Sturmovik" looks very interesting, a bit aggressive but nice all in all... I had the same problem you described with the elevator's servos and the room for the battery. In fact, the battery cannot go further due to my dual servo solution, so in order to achieve the CoG, I moved everything forward as much as possible. Now, with a 3S 1500 "kissing" the servos, and the esc and rx as forward as possible, the balance is exactly where should be. Last weekend I tried the new prop, a 7x6 cut to 6 inches. The change in regards to the 5x5 is massive: now she almost takes off of my hand, the speed has increased notably, and verticals are endless... It was enjoyable with the old prop, now is really funny. I love this little thing! Edited By Alejandro Valle Carrillo on 06/05/2014 23:35:43

When people start using bristly Velcro to battery side, this can only mean one thing: the end is close...

This is the motor I've used in mine (although my ESC is 55A). The plane will go fine with it, but I tried with a 7x6 on 3s and the amps went up to 30 which is the max for this motor. Also the motor got a bit hot. Maybe a 7x5 will be better but I would try a 6x6

Sorry Stearman, I have just fully read your post, I didn't pick up the "little" detail of the Oracover...

Posted by Stearmanandy on 20/03/2014 09:41:14: love the ziczac band, can´t do this with my oracover finish excellent work indeed! will add new pics of my progress next week (I hope) Stearman, there are different suppliers where you can find these "zigzag" (pinked) strips. In US there's one called Pink-It (**LINK**) and here in the UK, Mike Reeves can also provide with them (**LINK** Search "Scale rib tapes" down in the page ). If you buy them from Mike it will be faster and also will avoid any hassle with Customs (which I know in Germany is a bit "tricky"...)

Thanks all for your nice comments. Nigel, congratulate that guy for the design!

Stearman, where did you get you pilot from? And which engine are you using? I already got the kit (from Sussex Model Centre), and in fact I started working on it just after Xmas, but I left it aside until I finish another (already old) project...

Nicew plane indeed. I will try to build my second one as I finish my current project (the first one was sold before completing it...)

Flying Crust, these are not old wives tales. I've used the system of closing one eye when flying in the sun, and opening it and closing the other, and it works (I used to fly in the south of Spain, where the sun is much more aggressive that here in UK). It's not about the pupil closing, it's about the "footprint" that the sun leaves in the back of the eye, which you can see for many seconds or event minutes after, and that hides any other thing in your visual field. If you close one eye, the sun won't leave any "mark", and even if it's pupil was contracted as the other eye looked at the sun, it became rapidly bigger as you open it and close the "damaged" eye. You can test it using any light in the ceiling of your house. In any case, the best advise is not to fly by the sun, but if it can't be avoided, try and climb or dive the model a bit, to avoid crossing the sun and minimize the effects. And of course, sun glasses. Edited By Alejandro Valle Carrillo on 17/03/2014 00:04:37

Hi there. Well, this is my own Can Doo. I built it in Xmas but the maiden was just last weekend. For the build process I've followed strictly the plan, the only minor changes being the nose, which I did "shaper", and the airflow I've made for the speed controller by making some holes in the canopy (intake) and two big chevrons in the belly (exit). Regarding the equipment, I've used a Turnigy aerodrive 2826 @ 2200kV, rated at 300W. The prop used for the maiden was an APC 5x5, but after test it with the wattmeter I've changed to a 7x6 cut down to 6 inches in diameter. Batteries are 1500 mAh, 25C, and the speed controller supports 55 amps (a bit overkilling, I know...) The motor is mounted with no down or up trust, just straight. For the first flight, a fellow launched it, and although the initial speed was low, she gained speed very quickly. Two clicks of down trim, and something more that two to the right, and she flies like an arrow. The issue with the right trim was in fact my faul, as one of the wing tips is slightly "wrapped" because when I was covering I gave too much heat on one side. I tried to correct it but I didn't do it totally. The speed, as I said, is good enough, but with the power system I mounted, vertical performances are slightly poor, and requires high entry speed. Bear in mind that with the 5x5 and 1.5 batteries, the motor reaches just 200w and 18 amp (it's rated at 30Amp max), so I changed to the 6x6, and in the bench it gives 260w @ 25 amp (I still haven't tried in the air). In summary, it's a great model that's cheap to build, can be put in the boot with no issues, and is very nice and funny to fly. Thanks mr Hawes! Below I'm posting some pics. When I test it with the 6x6, I'll report. Alejandro Edited By Alejandro Valle Carrillo on 16/03/2014 23:35:54 Edited By Alejandro Valle Carrillo on 16/03/2014 23:38:49

Greybeard, was yours something like this?: " Just hoping this email reaches you well, I'm sorry for this emergency and for not informing you about my urgent trip to Manila,Philippines but I just have to let you know my present predicament. Everything was fine until I was attacked on my way back to the hotel, I wasn't hurt but I lost my money, bank cards, mobile phone and my bag in the course of this attack. I immediately contacted my bank in order to block my cards and also made a report at the nearest police station.I've been to the embassy and they are helping me with my documentation so i can fly out but I'm urgently in need of some money to pay for my hotel bills and my flight ticket home, will definitely REFUND as soon as back home . Kindly let me know if you would be able to help me out so I can forward you the details required for a wire transfer. Waiting to hear back from you.."

So it seems it's a common practice... I have sold a bought hundreds of times on internet, and I've never had this situation before. Peter, I also think as the police told you: greed is the key for those people to "do business". Thanks all for your advices

Every sale on internet implies certain level of risk. We, as sellers, want to ensure that we are paid, but at the same time, the buyer wants exactly the same for the bits that he's purchasing. There are mechanisms out there to reduce those kind of risks, but there are also other risks, not so evident, hence we have to be more vigilant. Let me tell you a story that has happened tome recently Some days ago I inserted an adv in another second hand forum to sell one of my models. The price was 180£  (keep this in mind). The next day I received an email of a potential buyer, asking for some pics. I sent them, and the same day he confirmed that he wanted the plane. When we discussed the payment method, he proposed this: he said he was collecting other bits in my area, so he proposed to send me a cheque for a quantity "slightly" higher that my price. I should cash the cheque, takemy money, and let him knows. He then would arrange the shipping, and I should give the carrier the remaining pounds. Sounds odd, but somehow acceptable... Some days later, I received the cheque, inan envelop with UK stamps and no sender details. Remeber my price (180£ ). The cheque was in €, was from a foreing bank, and the amount was 2.000€. Obviously, I sent him an email saying that I was in shock with the amount, and also with the fact that it was in €. Five minutes later he called me...from a Nigerian mobile number. I'm not English, but I can identify the English accent. His accent wasn't Engish,or Spanish, French, German or Italian, so I can only guess he's from Nigeria. He insisted that I should cash the cheque as soon as possible, becuase he needed the stuff. After that call,I tracked his IP, and it was registered in US, in California. Obviously, at that moment I was almost sure that he had no interest at all on the plane, but in any case I reported to the police and asked for their opinion. They confirmed what I though: it looks like a "low level" money laundry,and they said that I could be involved if I went ahead with it. But the final confirmation came when I send an email saying that my dog had broken the plane, destroying it completely, and asking him for an address to send the cheque back. His reply basically was: "oh! bad luck, but never mind, send it as it is..." He would buy the model as it is, AND FOR THE SAME PRICE!!!. Obviously, I'm not selling him absolutely anything, and I have already destroyed the cheque, straight after making a fotocopy and report the incident to Action Fraud. I hope this story could be useful to all of us selling stuff on internet, to keep an eye on the buyer and ensure that no criminal will use us for their purposes. Edited By Alejandro Valle Carrillo on 27/09/2013 17:28:23 Edited By Alejandro Valle Carrillo on 27/09/2013 17:28:56 Edited By Alejandro Valle Carrillo on 27/09/2013 17:31:48

Thanks Pete for your reply. Let's see if someone else have experience with these motors and can advise. In any case, I think the 110 should be fine (but I'm not even a rookie in electric power...) Regards Alex

I think that, to be on the safe side, I will go for the Turnigy Easymatch 110, at 8s and 120A ESC. What do you think?

Posted by John Privett on 26/07/2013 19:51:04: Hi Alex, welcome to the forum, and to the UK! Your English looks to be very good - better than some of the Brits I can think of on here... And certainly better than my very limited Spanish! I met some Spanish aeromodellers a few years ago when I was on holiday in Spain - near Caleta de Velez (I think!) somewhere a little west of Nerja anyway! I was amused that they sometimes had indoor flying sessions like some of us do. But whereas we sometimes fly indoors in the winter when it's too cold, they flew indoors in summer when it's too hot!   Hi John. If it was in this area probably would be my friends of La Axarquia (Antonio "Casablanca" & cia). And yes, I can believe what you say about indoor in the summer. I started in a club in the south of Spain where we had nothing to protect ourselves from the sun, and I remember that from May to September, we only could fly from 07:00 AM until 10:30-11:00, because with 38 degrees before noon is not easy... Edited By Alejandro Valle Carrillo on 27/07/2013 09:31:05

Posted by Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 26/07/2013 19:31:30: Hi Alex - and a warm welcome! My daughter is currently doing "A"-level Spanish - I shall send her homework to you for checking! BEB Sure!