Geoff S

I had to repair my Riot this week and one of the nylon clevises really needed replacing. I have loads of them suitable for screwing onto 2mm push rods but, like a lot of ARTF foamies the push rod on the Riot is much smaller. I did manage to find one but a search on the 'net has failed to find anywhere that sells them. I thought SLEC would but they don't. Anybody know of a source? Or an alternative. I suppose I could replace the push rod with a longer one that would enable me to fit one of those screw on types but I'd prefer not to. Geoff

Just out of curiosity what's Shawbury like? I've never been but I know it hosts model related events and my nephew is a helicopter instructor there Geoff

I get the feeling that the RAF isn't very interested in allowing their facilities (or our facilities as tax payers as someone mentioned earlier) to be used for aeromodelling events. The use of Barkston has been quite seriously reduced in the past couple of years. Until recently it was the home of Grantham (IIRC) model club as well as being used for a fly-in over Christmas/New Year until the permission was withdrawn at very short notice. Geoff

I'm using the same motor as you and I'm going to use 4mm high tensile cap head bolts through aluminium spacers (50mm long x 10mm dia bar which I'm going to drill through 4.5mm dia.). A couple of points - 1: how are you going to access the motor. I'm thinking of leaving the bottom open as I did with my Fantasy conversion last spring. and 2: If I'm leaving the bottom open then I'll have a second hole through F1 like the that already in the SLEC CNC cut one to allow a flow of air to the esc under the flight battery tray. btw I'm not totally surprised by the battery position. I had to push the 3600 mAH 4S packs right back over the wing on the Fantasy (also a long nose). It might even be worthwhile allowing the battery position to be adjustable right back to F4 if you haven't already. Geoff

sorry, double post Edited By Geoff Sleath on 11/01/2016 12:56:51

Posted by GONZO on 10/01/2016 15:02:34: Forgot to mention but in Irland you have to register every model over Ikg at a fee of Euro 5 for two years. My understandind is this fee is non refundable and non transferable - crash your plane just after registering you loose the fee and have to pay again for the replacement. I would guess that over time the cost would go up and the time period come down to 1 year. As models don't have serial numbers, particularly those that have been built by the pilot, I really don't see how the authorities can know exactly which model any registration applies to. When I was heavily involved in motor cycles, and mostly old ones, I had friends with huge collections of (say) Triumphs and number plates, engines and frames were swapped all the time because over years differences were only small. Even so, they all had numbers, yet it was done. Quite honestly, even a short review will demonstrate such a system is totally unworkable. Bureaucrats are said to like order and rules but even the most hidebound would quickly realise that such a system can't work. Geoff

Posted by Whatgoesup.... on 05/01/2016 16:40:56: ... and a Hillman Imp ? I had a wooden frame on a trolley which rolled under the engine from the rear .. an hour disconnecting all the bits n pieces and roll the engine out the back on the trolley - those were the days ! My cousin worked in the development dept at Rootes when the Imp was being finalised. I also worked in Coventry (at GEC) and had a lot of rides in prototype Imps. The only proviso was they weren't driven through the city centre. He gave me some very fast lifts back home to Nottingham at weekends a lot of it sideways! A case of a borrowed horse and your own spurs. At one time they were testing the gearboxes and if there was any engine trouble (they were thrashing up and down the M1 flat out) an engine could be swapped keeping the same gearbox, whilst Derek had lunch in the works canteen. He also got to test the car in Kenya thrashing round the Safari Rally courses. He moved to Lotus afterwards and I was surprised he managed to survive but his driving calmed down once he was there for some reason. Geoff

I think the main reason for twisted or offset hubs is to allow the folded blade to lie closer the fuselage to reduce drag. Like these at Hyperflight. Changing pitch is a side issue, I think. Geoff

Yes, Ian gives great service. He's geographically quite near me and his family were once customers at our family's radio & TV shop. I don't know Ian personally but I also use his web site for all my nut & bolts and the range gets better. Geoff

I'm a digital subscriber but bought the paper mag last month for the Ballerina plan. I'd been thinking of changing to digital+paper but having seen this month's issue with its concentration on quads I'm glad I didn't. A very experienced modeller in our club recently built himself a full house quad with gps and fpv etc. He admitted to me a few weeks ago that he was bored with it. He found building and getting set up was interesting but once the technical challenge was over, flying it had little to interest him. This is a guy who designed and marketed a V twin glow engine and I have the drawings and CNC cut components to build his 2 metre electric glider so he isn't a newcomer to aeromodelling attracted by the latest gadget. I think quads have a place and I bet racing fpv versions is great fun Not for me but I can see the attraction. I think their main applications are going to be commercial rather than hobby. Once they work they aren't that interesting in themselves because there's so little variety. Incidentally there was a picture in today's Guardian of an electric man carrying quad displayed at a big electronics show in the USA. Interestingly it was called a man carrying drone which I would have thought was an oxymoron Geoff

Posted by Jim Carss on 08/01/2016 10:58:56: Edgar I can tell you that the ailerons need a fair bit of differential my Flair 1/4 scale tiggy had 2" up and 1/2" down,and it flew a treat I now have a 66" tiggy from the premier kit and have the same ratio just scaled down a little,eg 3/4" up and 1/4" down approx. I have 1" either way on elevator and rudder as much as you want,bear in mind the rudder is very powerful,I would suggest 1" either way for starters. JIm I would certainly agree about aileron differential. My DB 58"ws Tiggie has 20mm up and 10mm down on the ailerons and turns easily without needing rudder input. I've increased that a bit for future flights after the maiden a couple of weeks ago. For details of the control throws see my post further back in this thread. Geoff

It seems to me options C Dand E would be ruled out because of their vulnerability if you have no undercarriage and they would be just as screened as the options A or B if you did have one. Quite honestly, I think your over thinking it. There are always going to be problems with less than optimal transmission in some orientations where ever you fit the antennae. I think I'd opt for position B as the least worst Geoff

That sounds like what I'm looking for. I'll give it a try. Thanks. btw it's foam-2-foam as I discovered when I googled it Geoff

I was flying my Riot today and it started to behave rather less well than it does normally and I thought I was having a bad finger day. It turns out that the rear part of the fuselage had separated at the glue joint and part of it had broken as a result. It looks easy to repair but I really need some slow acting glue so that I can position it accurately. I know normal cyano works and I have used hot glue but I don't want the cyano to grab too soon and hot glue has a tendency to cool too rapidly. I've heard epoxy doesn't work very well on EPO but slow epoxy would be ideal if it makes a good, reliable joint. Ideas gratefully received. Geoff

Didn't quite understand your post until I looked at the title I guess it's one of those automatic (supposedly intelligent) predicted texts thingies. One reason I would never use one - I KNOW what I want to write the machine doesn't. Looks quite a decent model but not much detail. I suppose if you live nearby it would be worth a look. Geoff

John, I guess the reason you're getting away with using that switch in other models is that you aren't actually switching a high current but merely passing it after switching the low current that powers the receiver and esc in idle mode. Never the less, it's an unnecessary risk IMO. What current are you drawing in your earlier models? Geoff

I'd endorse 100% not using a switch in the battery supply. I simply use the battery connection itself as the arming method which works OK if access is easy. However if you feel you need a different method then an arming plug will be infinitely more reliable than a switch at the sort of currents the battery will be sourcing and don't forget any switch failure renders your model a free flight glider. I like the name btw Geoff

I used B&Q acrylic indoor quality paint on mine successfully. It brush painted quite well but use a decent brush. It helps that water washes the brush, so it keeps well. Not sure if it's fuel proof but, as my Tiger Moth is electric that isn't an issue for me. Solartex is probably the easiest covering to use but the covering that Hobby King sell is as easy to apply as the best of the rest - Profilm and is a fraction of the price. Geoff

Posted by ken anderson. on 03/01/2016 18:02:15: Posted by Steve Hargreaves - Moderator on 03/01/2016 17:46:24: The tea probably wasn't to fix it Dave it was so Ken could have a brew by the roadside.....cheaper than visiting the Cafe & you know what these Geordies are like for saving a few bob!! ............................................................................................................................................................................................. methinks the Mods should have a bit more respect for my bespoke thread......i remember my mini ovrheating due to a duff rad...all we had was a bottle of lemonade...so in it went...good old days...lot of handy tips on here dont you all think?. ken anderson...ne....1 ...lemonade dept. Three of us were driving down to Portsmouth to catch the early ferry to Ouistreham to go on a lad's cycling week. The Renault 16 had a piece of copper pipe as part of the cooling circuit to the radiator and it sprung a leak where a rivet cam adrift. We fixed the leak by moving the flexible hose but we were short of water. So, using a drinking bottle off one of the bikes, we replenished it from a human source - actually 3 human sources. We caught the ferry but the bottle was discarded as of no further use for drinking We had a great week in the Auvergne and never went thirsty. IIRC we got the car checked out at a Renault garage and the radiator refilled with a more conventional fluid. There's a lot on entertaining tales here of very misspent youths doing bodges that were strictly illegal even then. I wonder if kids today still have the practical nous (and shortage of cash) for them to be telling similar stories in 20 or 30 years time. Geoff

Most people in my club fly mode 1 fixed wing but several of them are good heli pilots, too and usually use mode 2 for that. One guy taught himself to fly helicopters and uses some peculiar mode that is neither 1 nor 2 and he's also a go to test pilot on mode 1 fixed wing which can even be fast gas turbines. It seems the demands and requirements between fixed wing and helicopters are so different that he mode is irrelevant. Phil: Not sure that applies to everyone. I have been known to change up (as I thought) from 3rd to second when BSA went over to Triumph gear boxes. Never had a problem swapping to a rhs brake and lhs gear on Japanese and German (BMW) motorcycles. Geoff

I thought everyone had a box of wood pieces too small to be of any further use I have drawer full of junk, too. Anything goes in there - bits of plastic, metal of all types, old undercarriages, copper pipe etc but not wood, that goes in the aforementioned box. If I want/need to make something I sort through my junk drawer until I feel inspired by an odd shaped piece of something. Wouldn't want to be without either. I also have pieces of electronics I can't bear to part with. Amplifiers I built years ago and never actually use as well as the remains of PCs. When will I ever use a modem ever again. There's a 'Quad' amplifier I built when I was about 15 using the wound components from a damaged one - that's 60 years old now! There's a genuine Quad II amplifier and pre-amp in a cabinet in my workshop that keeps getting in the way. I should put it on ebay, I guess. Geoff

As the sheer web commonly are the last step in wing construction (if they're in the more usual position) they don't stop clamps being used to hold the L/E sheeting. I'll stick to Peter's design but I was curious to see if there was a good reason. I won't be building the wing over the drawing but I'll just draw a line for the main spar and use precut sheer web pieces to position the ribs and just use the drawing as a set of instructions. I will certainly be using Peter's method to ensure a warp free structure ... hopefully - I can make a mess of anything Geoff

The one best suited to the job in hand is the right answer. I use the wedge shaped 150mm one most of the time but the longer 280mm one is invaluable for finishing wing leading edges. I suppose if I could only have one it would be the shorter one as it's the most convenient for most jobs. As Bob says, they also make good iron rests I have a worn out short block that gets used for that - yes, they do wear out in time. Geoff

Back in the spring I built a Skyshark Fantasy from a kit I bought on eBay a few years ago. The wing is a built up structure and the instructions are to join the wings with the supplied glass cloth bandage. I've used that method with foam wings but never with built-up ones. The biggest bind with that method is trying to hide the bandage when you cover. That's unavoidable with a foam wing (though IIRC Precedent/SLEC used a couple of spars embedded in slots to join their Funfly wings). I deviated from the instructions and fitted a plywood wing brace which I think is far more elegant solution. I must be right because Peter Miller does the same. Geoff

I've been studying the the wing drawing as I'll be building it very soon and I noticed the sheer webs are attached to the front of the spar. In every model I've ever built they've always been on the back. Is there any reason why that isn't the case on the Ballerina? Geoff