Geoff S

Any chance you could open the case and replace the contents? I have the same problem with the V911 indoor helicopters. The 1s LiPos are similar to the ones on (say) the Vapor indoor fixed wing planes but have a different pin spacing.

Works for me.

That's what makes sidecars so much fun - they're very manoeuvrable and steering with throttle just become second nature (like model flying). In fact, I preferred a worn back tyre so I could get it to drift on right-handers. I had a Steib S350 sidecar that ended up on a lot of bikes. My friend's wife, who's probably in her 80s now, has a BMW outfit she uses for shopping/touring and their son is a successful sidecar racer. I never had a bike bigger than a 650cc; I'd love a go with a much more powerful modern outfit. Unfortunately, I just don't have the space for one (or the money probably!). I tried the pushing the handlebars in the opposite direction when riding solo and it certainly works but it wasn't my usual technique.

I wouldn't put Surtees in the same camp as Schumacher as regards F1. He won multiple 500cc motorcycle world championships when he was riding 4 cylinder MVs and his competitors were on (mostly) Manx Nortons etc. and his solitary F1 championship is remarkable mainly because it made him the only person to win worlds on both 2 and 4 wheels. I still think Moss and Clarke were the greatest British drivers, even though Moss never was world champion, because they competed in a variety of races other than F1 (tragically in Clarke's case). Moss's Miglia Mille victory can never be repeated, but I think it was the most outstanding achievement (with Jenkinson's help as navigator). Probably my age writing 🙂

I suppose I've done a lot of 3 wheel travelling. For many years, motorcycles were my only means of both sport (trials) and transport and a sidecar was used in both categories. I had a 1949 ex-works BSA trials sidecar outfit I used as my means of transport back in the 1960s - it was very narrow and it was safer to negotiate right handers by lifting the chair on the approach and leaning like a solo! You can cope with a lifting sidecar but not a lifting back wheel! It was fun but I must have been mad (or perhaps just young). When we took up cycling as a means to get fit for sailing, I eventually bought a racing trike for ice and snow. I built it up in the lounge one evening (warmer). I took it out for a test on the packed snow, then rode it to work the following day! They're harder to ride than you might think. It's amusing to offer a ride to someone who's never ridden one and watch them head for the grass verge 🙂

Modern slavery, perhaps?

I used a hand pump for both glow and petrol. I didn't mount either. I just held it in my hand and wound the winder as they appear deigned to do. They occasionally don't self prime and it's necessary to hold the pump below the fuel level for a start, then wind away. Much less hassle than the various electric pumps I had in my early days (20 years ago) As an electric flyer, I guess you have a supply of 3S 2200 LiPos to hand. Connect an XT60 to your starter and use one of the less than perfect LiPos simply taped to it. I haven't checked, but I bet the current draw is little different from a model - perhaps lower. Or you could just have the battery on the ground nearby. I preferred to hand start engines when I could and used a 'chicken stick', in my case a short length of 30mm dowel I happened to have around. A chicken stick amplifies your wrist/hand movement so you turn the engine faster.

I set out with good intentions this morning. At home, the sun shone and the wind was light, but 15 miles west in Ashbourne I was met with a heavy overcast and a 12/14 mph westerly and 7 deg. I was on my own and I sat in the car listening to the radio for 3/4 of an hour and headed back 😒 I really must be getting old because I just couldn't face unloading and standing in the cold, on my own and flying. The annoying thing is that when I got back it was still sunny with almost zero wind!

I would be more inclined to suspect poor connections somewhere that only became a factor as you manipulated the wires during the installation. After all, the motor wouldn't 'know' there was a prop fitted before it started to turn and there would be minimal load at just a few rpm. I feel the timing is a red herring.

No. I'm not a golfer but I think a caddy is a human being who carries your bag and offers advice.

That's right. My Frank Castle 'Logarithmic and other tables for schools' is about 2' from me as I type. I can see its spine. My slide rules are just as close in my desk drawer.

They're the ones I remember from nearly 80 years ago! I still think handlebars to be more appropriate than a steering wheel 🙂 My father attempted to teach my mother's grandfather how to drive back in the 1930s (no test). He owned and drove steam traction engines to haul timber from trees he felled. He refused to change gear in motion because it 'would damage the gearbox' but selected a suitable gear before setting off. Fortunately, it was an ex army big Humber with lots of torque and in the flattish Nottinghamshire lanes could actually set off in top. His steering method was terrifying - he tried to spin the wheel as you would on a big engine until taught otherwise.

The last time I flew a liquid fuel powered model was my Maher's Thunderbird with a Zenoah 26, magneto sparked petrol engine and the 2200 3s LiPo coped easily. I always turn an engine back on compression, much like bump starting a single cylinder motorcycle engine (as used to be the case for racing).

I've used a 3S 2200 mAH LiPo to power my electric starter with no problems. They're designed for 12v lead acid batteries so that's more or less a 3S LiPo.

I still use my 4 Figure Tables and occasionally my slide rule. I still use trig to work out motor offset on the fire wall to get the prop in the centre of the cowl. It's not, as they say, rocket science. Logs and indices are very elegant concepts and I never aspired to university (very few did in 1956) so all my post grammar school education was part-time (night school and day release). I've heard of Taylor Swift, but I have no idea what she looks like or any of her music. Most of the music I like was written in 19th century 🙂

Back in the 1940s I remember 3 wheelers (vans mostly I think) which had motorcycle girder forks sticking out the front. As a young child, I was convinced there was a whole motorcycle inside, fuel tank, engine, saddle and all! Would they have been early examples of Reliants? Brough Superior had a motorcycle with 2 closely couple rear wheels with a shaft drive between them with an Austin 7 engine. They were intended for sidecar use. I don't think they went into mass-production - even in BS terms!

I thought that what cycle clips were for - to keep it from running out.

I just use a spirit level on the tailplane and my Robart Incidence meter on the wing. A smartphone with a suitable application will do the job just as easily and quickly. It's even easier now that I have my adjustable model stand, and using magazines as packing is no longer needed.

Back in the 1980s I edited a national cycle club magazine (Tandem Club) until a serious incident with a cat put a stop to hard cycling and started me on the path to aeromodelling. The magazine came out every other month and was posted to the 2000 members. It was hard work, but much eased by the positive feedback I received. Without that feedback, I don't think I would have bothered.

Absolutely. I notice that the BMFA isn't listed as part of the General Aviation Alliance. In this respect, perhaps they (or we?) should be. As an aside, I noticed on the same web page that the Gipsy Moth flown in the film 'Out of Africa' by Robert Redford's character is up for sale. That's the aircraft my icon aircraft represents (mainly because of the colour scheme).

Reminds me of a 300km bike ride I endured back in 1988. It only rained once - it started just after we set off and never stopped all day!

I watched it for the first time and I was glad to do it on the iPlayer so I could skip the boring bits. I can't say I was impressed, mainly because it was so superficial - nothing was covered properly. Obviously it didn't do us any harm and the Astro Hog eventually flew (at Buckminster, I think). I liked the Reliant bit. I can remember when sub 5cwt 3 wheelers were popular because you could drive them on a motor-cycle licence. There were a lot around in the 50s and 60s (Bond Minicars, Meschersmitts, BMW Isettas, Berkeley etc). I was surprised the Reliant designer never mentioned the sporty Scimitars - they had 4 wheels. There was a garage at Newhaven, Derbyshire that specialised in them at one time.

I met him a few times when he came to the RR(Hucknall) Scale weekends. He was very approachable and once even started a chat with me at one of the Elvington Christmas events. One of my favourite models is my 58" ws Gipsy Moth (a slightly modified Cirrus Moth). I feel he would approve my very amateur 'improvement' 🙂 He was nothing if not practical!

I haven't solved clogging either, but I have found a way round it by cutting the spout short and fitting one of the spout extensions I seem to have acquired over the years and starting again.

I first got involved with computers when they were made of discrete germanium transistors (GET103 mostly), had actual toroidal magnetic core store, main storage was a magnetic drum with multiple heads, input was usually via 80 column cards and output was either a line printer, punched cards, or 1" tape. No vdu, no keyboard but tons of switches and lights on the front. When I went for an interview for the job, I had to 'google' the local library to find out exactly what a computer was and what it did. GEC manufactured the ICT 1301 for ICT itself. The machine even had hardware sterling (that's £sd) multiply and divide by 10 built-in. Registers were binary coded decimal with 1 2 4 8 lines. And it ran with a staggering 1mhz clock speed. We spent our days with eyes glued to huge Tektronix oscilloscopes, fault-finding. There were some clever blokes on final test with me. One played the clarinet and wrote a program that played Mozart's Clarinet Concerto as well as Christmas carols in 4 parts played on 4 different machines (we had about 10 on the shop floor at a time and it was probably the most expensive musical instrument in the UK). This was in the early 60s (I was in my early 20s) and it was (mostly) a lot of fun being at the cutting edge. So you can see why I get a bit blasé about the latest gadgets and can take it or leave it - I've been through it all several times over the last 60 years 🙂