Old Geezer

Can't think of any club would be welcome you to fly with them if you were uninsured - and unless you have nothing that could be taken off you ( see: Man of Straw ) if you became subject to a civil claim for damages as a result of any of your model flying or associated activities, and you're not insured, you're going to be comprehensively stuffed. All for getting snotty over Nine Quid A Year. Get real and grow up everybody - we're about building and flying our planes (Models to most folk, Toys to those we upset.) not making a principled  stand in a scrap you can't win. See: Episode 1 of The Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy -- Arthur Dent v The Bulldozer. How much damage will the bulldozer sustain if it runs over Arthur Dent? I rest my case. Edited By Old Geezer on 09/11/2019 10:39:01

Seen on Facebook ( in German but the translation is slightly confusing ) a big fire at their manufacturing/storage facility - so it looks like Multiplex products are going to be in short supply for some time to come. Shame, Multiplex are the Mercedes of the model world, I've had more planes from Multiplex than any other manufacturer, everything fitted together without any sanding or trimming and all flew well - never had a dud. A very sad day.

A dozen flyable (some without Rx's though), and two "almost" finished. Even after all these years I still can't get my head round how long it takes me to get from the bare uncovered airframe to Ready to Fly. Having taken the time to do a head count, and then thought about how many have actually been flown this year, I need to grit my teeth and thin out the unflown. The obvious solution is to take as many of the "unflown" as I can pack into the car to the next local Swapmeet - and try not to come home with more planes than I left with! (But if the right engine's there at the right price - - - - !)

I'm another power panel refusenic - had one once, vastly over rated, electric fuel pump failed quite early, adjustable glow driver output makes it so much easier to burn out a plug and the combined weight of a lead acid battery and your fuel in one container invites a slipped disc and/or a hernia. My own preference is for a retired 3000 LiFe flight battery powering my starter. My glow clip is fed from a pair of size D Duracell dry batteries soldered together in parallel and wrapped up snugly in fibre tape - these usually last at least one season ( the last pair did two ) and are pocket proof unlike some of the clip on NiMH glow drivers. And a hand cranked fuel pump - far less fuel wasted by overfilling!

Well said Chris. How many of us have chucked in the towel and stopped driving just because they have to renew their driving licence every 3 years? Remember: "Nil carborundum illegitemii etc. etc. - - - " ( Don't let the Barstewards grind you down! )

Unfortunately the bean counters have significant input in any business, and the price of best quality fittings versus the cheapest can have a significant effect upon their Bottom Line. The only way the kit importers/wholesalers can deal with such a situation is to be ruthless in their own Quality Control, not relying on the manufacturers' QC dept which in the above case has obviously been the victim of the bean counters/purchasing dept buying cheapest rather than the best value ( there IS a difference!). Ripmax, as the importer/distributor need to take a strong line with their kit manufacturers with regard to poor quality fittings. As customers we have a duty to ourselves to check everything in the box and demand the retailer replace anything not fit for it's purpose as is our right under The Sale Goods Act - or if we really wish to upset the applecart, the entire kit, which I believe would be our right. A stack of returned boxes in the warehouse would soon get an importer/wholesaler's attention - and be rapidly brought to the attention of the manufacturer. As you might guess, I am unashamably, one of 'those' customers - but generally speaking I find that politely drawing a suppliers' attention to deficiencies you ultimately do get what you are paying for - as was my way when I had my own business.   Edited By Old Geezer on 29/10/2019 08:39:59

Dead right Andy - we're not all doomed - as presented the reg's might be a minor irritation and a marginal additional expense ( cheaper than a standard servo or entry to a show ) and neither of the clubs I fly with will have to change the where or the how we fly. Oh, and well done BMFA - just keep an eye on the blighters ( politicians and uncivil servants ) in case they try to sneak a nasty into the mix just when a meeting is breaking up ( it happens ).

Yes - 1/2 a vote for a Wot4, as long as it's not overweight/overpowered they're friendly old things and almost impossible to stall/drop a wing, then with increased confidence put a bigger motor on the front ( electric or i/c ). However Mr Foss has designed the perfect plane to take you from gliding to powered flight - the Uno Wot - it's available with either a dihedral wing ( ie rudder, elevator, throttle ) or an aileron wing to give you the full four function experience, so you could start with the tamer RET airframe with a modest power unit on the front and with increased confidence and competence get the aileron wing and add a bit more gee up on the front to allow more progress. Then, when you're happy and confident flying your Uno Wot no longer under supervision, that's the time to progress to the Wot4.

12 miles to the club I fly with where we can fly either i/c or electric. 7&1/2 miles to the other local club flying only electric + the bit of bungee for the sailplane purists. So, weather permitting I'll fly at one or both most weeks (i.e. 2-3 sessions most weeks - but that's retirement for you). Now and again I'll do the 62 mile ( 1&1/4 gallons of diesel ) round trip to the Long Mynd, to have a happy 2-3 hours sloping at Pole Cott - however, being very much a fair weather flyer these outings are very weather dependant. (A bonus flying at Pole Cott, it's only a few minutes up the road to the full size glider club who have a very welcoming caff on site - excellent sarnies and home made cakes.)

Strip of self-adhesive Velcro (hook side) along one (smooth) side of LiPo - strip of self-adhesive Velcro (loop side) stuck to appropriate site in airframe and being a belt and braces bloke a Velcro tie around the battery, especially a brute the size you're contemplating to stop it sliding off/pulling away under flight loads. You will need to prepare the surface you're sticking the loopy Velcro to, I smooth a thin layer of epoxy on the surface of your battery mount just thick enough to seal the underlying ply(?) and produce a glossy surface as it cures. As an afterthought - the very best "Velcro" is that supplied with Multiplex kits, almost too strong a grip twixt hook tape and loop tape.

A few days ago on a related thread I mentioned that my LiPos live outdoors, in a big weatherproofed hard foam box, courtesy of Donald Russell ( frozen meat etc ) - frost proofed with a seed tray heating element (12watt) but separated by about 1.5cm from the batteries by putting these on a roasting rack so there's no direct heater:element contact I would be interested to hear from one or other of the unfortunate victims of a LiPo fire as to how they were treated by their insurer if they found it necessary to make a claim, and what steps their insurers expect/expected them to take to mitigate their losses.

Checked with mine own dearly beloved ( fed teachers and pupils in a girls' private school for years and holidaymakers by The Cob in Lyme Regis before that ) - agrees, has to be a chutney. How much chilli - ? Equivalent to 5% or 20% Nitro?

Roger - my first skinned foam wing repair was a build-it-yourself Fuji40 powered Wot4 that I had flown into a Leylandii at full chat on one of my rare off duty Sunday afternoons - the wing was repaired, solartexed, fuel proofed and ready to go by the middle of the week, as usual, the limiting factor was the drying time of the aliphatic glue and curing time of the fuel proofer. By the by - varnished or fuel proofed Antique Solartex looks really nice on one of C.F.'s b.i.y. Wotties, it shows up the grain of the balsa and adds some strength to the airframe - ok, not as much as glassing, but so so much less of a faff.

The way I've repaired similar damage in the past is: cut out the entire damaged section using a razor saw, a nice fresh and very sharp #22 blade and a straight edge, cut a piece of soft balsa ( grain running laterally, obviously ) to exactly fit your now tidy hole in the leading edge. My own preference is to cut out the damage obliquely at each end and the ends of the balsa replacing the deficit at a similar angle - thus ensuring a snug fit without lots of trimming, logical when you think about it. Now all you have to do when the white glue is dry is plane and sand the balsa to section and re-cover. The balsa was usually found in those cheap packs of off cuts at your LMS - used to be too cheap not to always have a pack or two in the shed, kept in the 'might come in useful' box.

Yes - - - - BUT! Although an ammo box might keep the flames inside - metal boxes are remarkably poor heat insulators and as Peter mentioned above, you need to provide vent holes to allow the gases to escape, otherwise you've got a bomb on your hands, also, given time the heat transferred from inside your box may ignite anything remotely flammable nearbye. Potentially you can add to heat and fire risks the smoke escaping through the vents which will damage the inside of your shed/garage/hobby room. We had a house fire back in the 60s - having been there ( but no Tee shirt ) - I never ever want another one. My own "solution" has been to store my LiPos outside in a large insulated box after charging ( charging always outdoors - on a pensioned off NHS steel trolley ), the box is frost proofed by fitting the bottom of a heated seed tray on thick foam underneath my LiPos. Incidentally, despite assurances from some LiPo suppliers ( not all, some remain cagey ) some of my LiPos that did get well and truly chilled a couple of years ago have never seemed quite as good since, however I have no figures to quote, it's just a feeling. Edited By Old Geezer on 14/10/2019 12:27:36

Which takes us back to: do the legislators define a Drone to be a multirotor (whether Programmed, flown by FPV or Line of Sight), or are they using this as a portmanteau term which would include our model aircraft flown exclusively for recreational purposes?

You might have a look at 3 models from the Galaxy range at Pegasus - the Wasp ( looks like a small Mick Reeves Gangster ), the Wizard or the Jester ( near enough two wings for the price of one ), all trad', foam winged, British kits designed for 25-30 glow motors. Had several Galaxy kits myself over the years, never a dud amongst them. Including - r.i.p. - My overpowered little Spatman, a real YeeHaa R/E/T model that released your inner hooligan!

Cuban 8 Seems an awful waste binning this month's comic, seems to show a little touch of pique? ( Je suis un "War Baby" - so I hate waste - back in the 40s we even saved paper bags and string! ) Your magazine could have been passed on to a junior club member - or dropped off at the medical centre, dentist, casualty dept, that's where mine go. Always welcome. Edited By Old Geezer on 01/10/2019 22:16:55

Excellent, definitely a Beta Plus, plenty to get our teeth into this month. The only reason for not awarding an Alpha was your omission of one of the Hobby's longer term suppliers of real trad' build-it-yourself kits: Galaxy Models selling through Pegasus in E.Anglia - most are tough sports offerings that just do the job, those I built worked for me! Could it be that they don't advertise in our comic these days? I'm still waiting for an obit' of The Wizard, but guess we'll see that in a future regular issue.

Trevor - brilliant decorating job - love it - but somehow it's no longer a Hurricane - bit like dressing Douglas Bader as an Aussie drag queen.                                                                                                                                                          Being a fully paid-up Wrinkly Flier ( my skin & also the finish on most of my planes ) - mine are "decorated" with visibility and orientation as the main criteria. Edited By Old Geezer on 24/09/2019 12:41:07

Sad to see the passing of these old machines, they disappeared quite rapidly when some genius started recycling them as self-propelled 'squeegees' to push the byproducts of bovine digestion ( or slurry ) ( or poo for the initiated ) out of the collecting yards and the passages between cow cubicles. Still hard work, but 10 times easier and quicker than the manual alternative. In good order an Alan Scythe fetches good money when they (rarely) come up for auction - and definitely won't be mutilated - it'll get TLC to the point of looking almost factory new and only brought out to be proudly exhibited at agricultural shows alongside the standing engines and the vintage tractors.  Edited By Old Geezer on 20/09/2019 05:35:17

Like Geoff - I use a pensioned off rechargeable - in my case a 4S 2300 LiFe flight pack - so much lighter than the alternatives and never seems to need topping up ( but I do anyway, when I think about it ). I would never use the LiFe in another airframe - this one cost me a much flown ( & much loved ) hack when it browned out a Spekkie Rx when I tried go round again when I overshot a landing. I know - that's why we have timers. Carelessness costs airframes!

My own "safety system", if I have to dignify it with such a term, is an external plug placed such that it can be conveniently reached from behind the prop' - breaking the positive lead between the LiPo and the ESC. So far, depending on the likely current that a particular set-up is likely to have to cope with the plugs have been a fuselage mounted XT60 with a hefty bit of copper wire soldered across it potted with epoxy (care with the installation - some XT60s need a bit of a tug to separate), or a pair of female 3.5mm or 4.0mm fuselage mounted plugs and (obvs!) a very short piece of wire with appropriate male plugs on each end to join them after you've switched on your Tx and never before. And keep 'em in your pocket until you're ready to fly., Far better than a bit of wire with a male plug waving about and a female plug waiting for a sparky kiss. Oh - and make up a couple of spare connectors of each size that live in your Tx case! I'm going to claim the above is fool proof (and so far it has been me proof) - not necessarily pretty but safe. Edited By Old Geezer on 06/09/2019 17:07:32

Club AGM tonight ( Central MFC ) -- it was decided that if/when registration becomes a legal obligation - that along with the obligatory BMFA membership and associated insurance, the member will be registered and his airframes will have to be appropriately 'labelled'. The registration will be the responsibility of the individual member. The point was made, and accepted by the members present, that once the legislation has been enacted members will need to be 'CAA registered' and the airframe correctly labelled - as failure to comply with the law as enacted would in all probabuliy invalidate their insurance as well, as flying a model without 'registration' would be a criminal offence. (In certain circumstances I understand that a criminal act committed whilst driving your car can invalidate your motor insurance.)

Steve - depends whether the £2k fine is the maximum that can be imposed or (unlikely) THE punishment, no ifs no buts. If the max' and the idiots are prosecuted in the magistrates court then you can expect a "naughty naughty" speech from the bench and a fine of twenty quid!