ChrisB

Looks good. Unlike me you PSS guys don’t need to worry about squeezing an engine in. I’m planning on doing a topical scheme to include the filter which should give me a bit more space in the cowl. There are so many schemes to choose.

It’s about time. My favourite warbird. Hope to start a DB Hurri kit soon.

What kit/plan??

If construction begins it will start in both the big smoke and the second big smoke and will meet somewhere in the middle, presumably in Oxfordshire. The question is, how far out will it be when they come to join it up? Not that it matters, as no-one will use it, as it will be so expensive for Joe public or business. Look at the prices today. Season tickets costing £2000 plus between Rugby and London, less than an hour on the fast train with no guarantee of a seat. I think most journey times by train in this country aren't that unreasonable, especially as home/remote working, mobile phones/tablets etc mean that you don't need to be in the office every day and can have video/conference calls quite easily. I fear it will be a waste of everyone's time and effort and will result in little more than an abandoned preservation railway funded by the Chinese. The key issue with the current system is the lack of rolling stock. We seem to have a very short term approach to development in this country. I work in a medium city near Birmingham and we hosted some pre-olympic football matches. Money was bid for, money was received and was spent on a new 'public realm' scheme, with new paving, shared spaces and 'artistic' bollards. Six years on and the bollards are broken, the paving is cracked, the chewing gum is spread everywhere and the roads have been patched up several times. Now the project is over, the money has been spent....the 'Legacy'.....is a c**p environment that continues to crumble and the next project is the focus. HS2, if it ever happens, will be the same.   Any road, glad to hear the SCRCS is still about. Edited By ChrisB on 22/02/2018 20:49:57

The Stinger It was a big, heavy delta from an old plan back in the early 90's. It was a pusher with an MDS 48 and had a slot in the wing for the prop and twin fins. Unlike most deltas it didn't glide.....at all!!

I've got some telemetry on my models. I think the only useful element for the majority of average club modellers is battery voltage. The rest is nice to have. Somehow all this technology detracts for the genuine modelling, for me at least. These days many of us, including me, use 2600mah 6v AA NIMH RX packs and in bigger models 3300 sub C packs and I wouldn't be without them, even with analogue standard size servos But 15/20 years ago we thought nothing of flying all day on a 600mah NICAD pack with standard servos, no telemetry and using a TX with trim pots and slide switches, none of this digital stuff.

I spoke to a filming company a few months ago and the lady said that they only get around 60 days a year in the UK when they can fly in weather suitable for filming. So, even if you double that for the likes of deliveries, when you then add all the other complexities of the urban environment, I still remain of the view that the realistic prospect of widespread mass market postal deliveries being done by UAV is never going to happen. Clearly there are currently uses that are feasible and are being used, but not the Amazon, UPS, FEDEX type, mass market postal deliveries and there never will be, there are just too many variables to make it a long term solution.

I completely agree! The number of incidents won't change because of regulation but its more about the powers that be being seen to to doing something. Anyhow, all appears to be settling down now. Cheers

Jez, its a very complex situation and has been discussed at length on many threads over the last 3 or 4 years. Several of us proposed definitions to EASA and quite reasonably they came back with a counter argument. That is why the end result...well nearly....is not based purely on the flying machine, but also the pilot and their membership of a national body. There is no easy definition re. multirota/fixed wing GPS, FPV, RTH etc etc and I won't go into that as it won't add anything to the discussion. Ultimately, it seems that the CAA and EASA together with the national associations are reaching a preferred option which will work for the majority of aeromodellers, it may not be perfect but it won't be anywhere as bad as it looked this time 3 years ago. Edited By ChrisB on 15/02/2018 19:27:26

As well as commenting individually at each stage I also commented on behalf of my club of 90. So, does that mean 90 people commented each time I submitted a response?

Posted by Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 11/02/2018 19:18:52: Posted by ChrisB on 11/02/2018 16:33:46: In terms of EASA considering all elements of our hobby. They didn't. They didn't because the regulations don't focus on model flying and its various disciplines, they focus purely on the use of UAS and the civil servants writing the regulations are more than likely not familiar with model aircraft and are just following the instructions of their masters, DFT will be the same. I agree entirely, which is exactly why I said it probably never entered their minds. However I do think our own CAA are possibly very slightly better due to their longer term dialogue with the likes of BMFA - the roots of which very much pre-date this matter. I got the impression, on the occasions I have had to talk to them, that there was genuine concern to provide a good professional service and some interest They are not necessarily "just civil servants" - I believe that some at least work for CAA because they have an interest in aviation generally. BEBt Certainly those in the CAA are fully aware of the details of aeromodelling. The Civil Servants at the DFT in Whitehall and many at EASA in Germany may well have little or no knowledge. Which ever way they are doing as political masters demand. Rob Buckley from the LMA has also been in discussion with the DFT.

I think the slope issue is likely to be easily resolved. The height could very easily be based on the point of launch. In terms of EASA considering all elements of our hobby. They didn't. They didn't because the regulations don't focus on model flying and its various disciplines, they focus purely on the use of UAS and the civil servants writing the regulations are more than likely not familiar with model aircraft and are just following the instructions of their masters, DFT will be the same.

Rob Buckley has put an interesting and informative post on the LMA forum which may help clarify some concerns.

All depends on the size, weight, performance and power train. If a small electric, or a low performance electric, then mylar will be fine. If IC or high performance, I'd personally use robart or the kavan split pin plastic hinges, both glued using epoxy and pinned (other than robart of course). Minimum of 3, as Don says, in theory, less chance of loss, or a full length film/tex hinge. Mylar is ok, but I have found it to be prone to failure due to engine vibration and given ts usually glued using cyano, which can cause the hinge to go brittle.

Loose servo or tray, flexing snake or pushrod, ill fitting servo horn,Tx settings, hinges?

I generally use 6v but I have a couple of models on 4.8v and I use Spektrum and never had an issue.

Posted by Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 10/02/2018 00:27:01: No Peter I don't think you have misread it, but it's not inconsistent with the 120m rule. Where it refers to "deviations from the regulations" these are what in CAA-Speak we would call exemptions, as I refer to above. In other words, there will be a set of default regs, including a 120m limit, that you can ask for am exemption (deviation) from. The detail isn't fully clear yet because this is not legislation, it's a Technical Opinion. In other words this is the technical advice on which any subsequent legislation would be based. First it will become European law, then it will be upto each country to draft their local law that will implement this. So two levels of unknown there; how will this look as Euro law, how will it turn out as UK law? My guess is the UK version will simply be an extension of what we have now, same basic method: a section of the ANO (bigger than at present) encompassing the basic regulations under the specific and open categories. And then the provision for exemptions which implements the ideas of what EASA calls "deviations" in a manner CAA are used to dealing with. Factor in the thought that EASA suggest this could be could by delegated authority ie CAA delegate to BMFA, and you can begin to see how this might work. But of course that's just a guess! BEB Edited By Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 10/02/2018 00:28:57 I agree. There are already well established practices such as the over 20kg and the individual exceptions to clubs within Aerodrome traffic zones, of which there are many. In the same way the CAA delegate the over 20kg scheme to the LMA, they could reasonably delegate the over 400ft limit to the BMFA. It may be that not all of the 800 or so clubs want an increase, many will of course.

I think it comes down to the management of risk. Particularly in big clubs with 7 day access, many members are strangers to one another, who happen to be in the same club. The ability to arrange with one another to go flying at the same time is often difficult. I think it comes down to the processes a club has in place, such as a first aid kid, model restraint and incident reporting and appropriate training. Risk will never be removed and injuries will always occur regardless of being alone or otherwise.For example, I've often been distracted by fellow members while I've been at the sharp end of a model, if they weren't there, i'd not be distracted and risk would be reduced, again it comes down to education. There isn't a simple solution.

It’s interesting that on the one hand the EASA make just make the statement that model flying has a good safety record but on the other hand limit the height to 400 feet due to safety concerns. I conclude that their concern is not actually model aircraft as we have traditionally know them but the new breed of drone flyers, namely the rogues who fly where and when they shouldn’t. I think the Acknowledgement that model flying has a good safety record and the recognition of that by the CAA will stand us all in good stead when it comes to any altitude increases. As has been said elsewhere many clubs fly within traffic zones with the full agreement and acceptance of the local ATC, so it’s not a new thing. Fear not colleagues, we will live to fly another day.

Posted by Cuban8 on 09/02/2018 13:37:15: Have to disagree with the blanket 120M restriction. IMO, it's unnecessary and unenforceable. It’s not ideal, but the CAA will be capable of delegating authority for an increase and I expect that will happen in the main.

The only way a facility like that can be successful is if it appeals to a wide audience and in this country we have too few participants to make that kind of facility economically viable. If it was a hobby centre with areas for all classes of boats, cars, railways, maybe scramble bikes and sailing and water sports, archery, golf course and chalets with adventure playground etc, then perhaps it could work, but that would require major investment from all parties and a lot of land in a part of the country reasonably accessible to all but remote enough to allow all those activities to take place in harmony. The only place that immediately springs to mind is Barkston Heath.

Posted by Tom H 1 on 07/02/2018 09:44:15: The wrapping in bubble wrap comment was just a joke Fair enough Tom. You’d be amazed what some people will try 😀

Tom, is your thinking that bubble wrap would help in the event of an ‘arrival’? Or for some other reason? Cheers CB

Comes down to the cost of land, the amount of land, the tolerance of society accepting a variety of hobbies and critical mass of the participants. It could be done but would need the will and acceptance of many people and organisations. As an aside, I know there was local objection to the NFC, have they changed their stance since the NFC has opened? CB

What a great shame. I'm a big fan of SolarTex and use it on most of my kit built models. Yet to be started is a DB Hurricane, DB Blackburn and nearing the covering stage is a DB Jodel. Although I have a mix of ARTF models and foame types, I love building from kits and plans.