Geoff S

Posted by John Lee on 24/12/2015 11:51:48: as per JRMan....and make sure you only use the clevises supplied by Sullivan, which have an Imperial thread. I found to my cost that 2mm links superficially fit but will pull off under load. That's why I usually throw away any hardware supplied in kits originating in the US and replace it with all metric parts. Fortunately kits with what the US sometimes call 'English' threads are becoming rarer as those manufactured in China etc are metric based. A pity really as the quality is usually excellent but the risk is too high. Geoff

Posted by Masher on 24/12/2015 08:46:27: I suppose you could simply turn the volume down when on the Simulator? I have volume control programmed on to the LH knob so that I can "shut her up" if the anti-Taranis squad start moaning at the strip That's probably the easiest solution. My sound is set up so that one of the knobs is a volume control but if I'm flying my glider with an altimeter I wear earphones to stop bothering other flyers. I use one of my Taranis transmitters with Phoenix flight simulator but always leave it turned. I haven't tried switching the power off. The only time I'm bothered with the inactivity alarm is when I'm setting a model up in the workshop and fiddling with pushrods etc. When I'm on the simulator there's usually enough activity to keep the lady quiet I'm almost sure the inactivity setting is global and can't be set differently for a particular model. Geoff

A wise choice IMO. My 58" one is an old kit and good but I think the new ones that are CNC cut should be fantastic. Plus it overcomes the biggest disadvantage of bi-planes - assembly and dissembly . Not as quick as a monoplane but quick and easy none the less. Geoff

My original Riot's elevator hinge was off centre on one side, too but as it had no apparent effect on flying performance I didn't bother getting it replaced. I was offered a new tailplane/elevator when I phoned them but, as I was enjoying the models so much and I was asked to return the faulty part I didn't bother. Everything else was OK except the paint was coming off the motor cowl. The cowl on the XL looks not to be foam. Perhaps the worst feature of my Riot was the foam and wooden spinner, now replaced after a few windy landings on tarmac. I think the Riot is quite capable of doing the 'B' schedule in the right hands. I can do all the manoeuvres but not very well. You can see my early experiences here Geoff

Posted by FilmBuff on 23/12/2015 13:07:49: Mind you, if we think of the wind energy on his flight path, assuming a 100m x 100m box (conservative) and the 60mph (27m/s) wind and an air density of 1.125 kg/cubic metre then around 110 Mega Joules of wind energy is hitting the slope. People are often surprised that ice yachts (with very low 'rolling' resistance) can sail at speeds up to 90mph in a 20mph wind. They think wind velocity rather its energy is the limiting factor. One thing you learn in sailing is that the apparent wind moves forward the faster you go (obvious if you think about it). I just wonder how that works with dynamic soaring when a glider has a 500 mph headwind. Geoff

I've used PVA (Wudcare 5 min super fast) but despite its name it takes a long time to go off over a big area. It wasn't a problem as regards warping. I've also used Titebond with no problems apart from the long setting time - at least overnight. I use my stock of old lead acid leakproof batteries as weights. I've always been a bit wary of contact adhesive because it's nice to have a little adjustment time, which true contact adhesives don't always offer. Geoff

They both look to be the same aeroplane but badge engineering isn't unknown in the ARTF world. That video was certainly helpful but didn't say an awful lot for all its length. The nearest physical stockist to me is Gliders in Newark - about an 80 mile round trip. It's almost next door to Brownhills and I cycled over there to pick up our first campervan 15 years ago when I was a strippling of 60 Inwoods is the cheapest I've seen until you add the postage. I bought my Riot from them at a show. Others are more expensive but offer free postage. Geoff

Posted by Ian Jones on 23/12/2015 09:59:31: oops twitchy finger, double posted. Edited By Ian Jones on 23/12/2015 10:00:10 Better not try dynamic soaring at 500 mph then Unbelievable achievement and all without an engine. Not really my thing at all but I'm still full of admiration. Geoff

As they say - incroyable! Didn't look like they were using it though but it's quite a big 'un Geoff

Don't celebrate Christmas, PC I just try to let all the nonsense wash over me unnoticed. I still fancy the Riot XL though ... or the Wots Wot Foamie. The Riot's probably better value though ... perhaps. Geoff

I'm more tempted by the 2 Moth Minors but, as you say, they all seem to be stunning models and really far too good for the like of me. Geoff

Posted by Donald Fry on 22/12/2015 16:25:22: Still had the soul of a shopkeeper. It's funny, when we ran our TV shop the only people we had to watch carefully were those who didn't trust us. Many of our customers were 2nd or 3rd generation. Their fathers and grandfathers had bought watches and jewellery from my grandfather and radio, airguns, cameras from my father. He sold HiFi when it was an esoteric interest of very few and attracted customers from a wide area, many of whom became friends. He never made much money but a lot of friends I think the same attitude prevailed in model shops. it certainly did in the ones I used and the cycle shops I frequent are the same. Geoff

My 'go to' model for any conditions is my Riot. I've had it over 3 years and flown it 100s of times - probably more than any other model I own. So I'm quite interested in the new big Riot, the so-called XL. Has anyone bought/seen/flown one? With the dearth of model shops locally there's nowhere I can go to look at one and I haven't seen a review. I'm a bit reluctant to shell out over £200 for a model unseen. Geoff

Posted by pete startup on 22/12/2015 13:08:25: http://www.rbckits.com/shop/tiger-moth-p878.html This looks a nice one and is available from Sussex Model Centre if a little bit smaller than you want but ticks all the other boxes. If your going to build a Tiger it has to have open structure with riblets - sorry DB. I'm almost certain the DB Moths do have riblets as standard. I got mine given to me part built so I never saw the original kit but I got a drawing from DB and there are riblets shown and they're on my wings. I almost wish there weren't because I've been putting off doing the simulated rib stitching for days and all I have to do is the top wing riblets Geoff

If the retailer is an actual local shop, then I'd certainly go there first and talk to the owner/manager. However, that is becoming less and less the case for most of us. A few years ago I had several options of bricks and mortar model shops to visit and I did. Generally I got excellent and knowledgeable service but all those shops have disappeared so I'm left with either mail order, internet or buying at shows. The first two options are often identical and the last doesn't work for regular needs. So I think Adrian's approach is the best that's open to him unless he bought the engine in a face to face purchase, in which case perhaps he might have discussed it with the shop. Even then, the shop may well have advised him to take the approach he has. I was brought up in the retail trade and worked in the family radio/TV shop from a very young age (12/13) serving customers. Ours was a proprietor run business, under capitalised and my father closed it down because good service doesn't trump lower prices. That particularly applied once TVs got to be so reliable customers were no longer worried there's be no-one available to service/repair them like we did - even on Christmas Day! Retail business has changed beyond all recognition in the last 30 years. Geoff

Posted by Adrian Smith 1 on 22/12/2015 11:30:46: Well I decided against involving Probuild UK, purely because is introduces another leg to the problem. All they will do I assume is sent it to Ripmax. Assuming Ripmax will deal with me directly I will leave it at that. I have sent a copy of all my communications with Ripmax to Junichi Shimazaki at OS in Japan. His response was he was watching developments very carefully and awaited Peter Halman's report. Can't do anymore really. I think you're taking the boring but absolutely the right approach One thing I'd add is a link to this thread to show both Ripmax and OS that potential buyers are watching and hoping for a sympathetic response. It's looking like a reasonable response so far except for your unanswered phone calls to Ripmax at first. No critics are jumping up and down ... yet. Geoff

One thing worth considering with a biplane is the ease of assembly if it's too big to carry with wings attached. Biplanes can easily become hangar queens if it's too much trouble to get them ready to fly. Believe me, I love them too, but mine very rarely get an outing because of the faff. I'm hoping my latest one won't suffer that problem. Geoff

Posted by Robin Colbourne on 21/12/2015 18:46:18: It seems some full size pilots have a degree of contempt for model flyers. I'm not sure why. Geoff, Some people just are just obnoxious, and unwilling to find a way to which accommodates everyone's needs. I've seen it in model clubs between R/C, control line and free flight, and in hang gliding clubs between hang glider and paraglider fliers. Microlighters used to be treated the same way by spamcan fliers, although these days so many PPLs have trained on microlights that there is a bit more understanding. It sounds as though in the case you state that the Tiger Moth pilot shot himself on the foot. Yes, he did. When I flew full size gliders in Derbyshire the club realised that we had to share the slope with hang gliders and invited them to use the club facilities for meetings even though they tended to use a different part of the slope from us. It all worked very well. I know when I was flying in a snug cockpit in winter I wondered how the hang glider pilots survived the cold. Geoff

How about this one from DB? 48" ws for electric power. Or if that's a touch too small this one is 58" ws and I've converted one to ep but still not test flown because of the weather Geoff Edited By Geoff Sleath on 21/12/2015 21:29:18

Posted by Engine Doctor on 21/12/2015 10:07:21: Wires hanging out of the side of the model should not really be an option as they are untidy and can get caught or damaged when landing. Not necessarily. The esc for my Limbo Dancer is mounted on the outside of the fuselage between the undercarriage legs and perfectly safe and secure. Geoff

We were getting regular low flying over our airfield from a Tiger Moth being flown from a local airfield and taking people up for joy rides. Despite friendly approaches from one of our members who has a PPL and his own Cesna the pilot was somewhat uncooperative. We now have a permanent NOTAM up to 1600' agl IIRC and he keeps away or high. Pity really. It seems some full size pilots have a degree of contempt for model flyers. I'm not sure why. Geoff

Well you could always try this Tiger Moth. Tim Hooper has just finished his and very nice it looks, too if the pictures he posted on RCGroups here are anything to go by. Other than that I'd suggest any of the bi-planes at DB Sport and Scale. There are several to choose from. Geoff

I have virtually zero interest in football but the car crash that is FIFA I find strangely fascinating. Just as fascinating is the strange decision to host a World Cup, a summer event, in a country which isn't a major footballing centre and moreover has summer temperatures in the high 40s. That many of the imported labour force used to build stadia in a country with none have died just makes it genuinely tragic. And that one of my sporting interests, cycling, was called corrupt (and some of it was) just feeds my sense of schaudenfreude. Like most sports the important people are the ones actually playing or organising it for fun at the grass roots level and they will continue to do so. Geoff

Posted by Peter Miller on 20/12/2015 21:21:05: Posted by AVC on 20/12/2015 21:11:44: So it will be the "Fatty Ballerina" May be it should have been called "Fantasia" ... or perhaps "Fatasia" Geoff

Well anything will be better than an MDS 40 in my personal experience! I have a G46 670 kv that's slated for installation in a Dennis Bryany 1/6 scale SE5a (56" ws IIRC) and I'm intending to run it on 4S LiPo on 12x6 or perhaps 13x6. I haven't run it yet so I don't know but in any case you need at least a 60 amp esc or perhaps 80 to be super safe. A wattmeter and a few props will be your best friends. To some extent battery size and weight depend on getting the CoG in the right place. I converted an 84" ws Ezee Pezee trainer and ended up having to fit 2 x 4S 3600 maH LiPos just to get the model to balance. So there'll be a bit of suck it and see but it should be fairly straight forward. Geoff