Old Geezer
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Posts posted by Old Geezer
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Hope springs eternal in the eBay vendor's breast.
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Another vote for leather wellies (if you're flush) alternatively, neoprene lined wellies - 4mm is usually enough with fine woollen socks not thick as they mustn't be a tight fit. You'll never have cold feet again. Lined trousers make a huge difference, Rohan's Winter Bags - wind proof, well insulated and comfortable to walk and work in too. Heavy gauge fleece lined chinos from Orvis are unbelievably warm if the weather is really severe, not cheap but made for the American market where they understand cold weather (cheap UK alternative is Cotton Traders lined trousers). The Orvis chinos are brilliant on the slope but a bit bulky if you're walking a lot. Don't forget the silk thermals top and bottom. The above is personal experience working as a farm vet in rural Shropshire, so I know of what I speak - standard garb was the Rohans and Le Chameau wellies as soon as it got chilly. ( And always waterproof overtrousers! )
Edited By Old Geezer on 05/01/2019 16:05:47
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The Wot4 Mk2 artf is excellent in windy conditions, with just sufficient inertia to be less affected by turbulence than any foamy - particularly important when getting back onto the ground - a further bonus being the ultra short take off available into a brisk wind. With the right motor/prop/LiPo set up just give it the beans and it's off the ground and climbing at 45 degrees from stationary in less than 10-15 feet.
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OK - for real fun if he's got the right motor ( all suggestions gratefully received ) what about the Panic from JP, the kit's just been re-released, or a little less extreme from Seagull their Challenger 40. Both kits comprise lasered components so everything fits without further trimming/sanding - in fact should fit together like a Swiss watch.
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Just to get into the swing of building a balsa power model, a couple to consider: the Swizzle Stick or the Toot Sweet. Both straight forward builds, pretty strong, and with the right motor on the front should be sufficiently entertaining for most club fliers - and so keep him amused whilst building his warbird. Plans and laser cut wood ( unless he's going to cut all the ribs, formers etc. from the plan himself ) from Sarik (keeping it in the family). There's probably a warbird plan etc that will tick all the boxes for him from the same people..
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A couple of points primarily for information. Once a "noise sensitive" neighbour's aware of your activities, any two stroke bike, chain saw etc. that is run within earshot is automatically identified as a model plane - been there, done that. It is not unknown for local councillors (incomers usually ) to have got themselves onto the parish council with specific ambitions to reduce noise in the countryside - objections include running grain driers at night, silage blowers, chain saws, cows and/or ewes calling for their offspring when separated at weaning etc etc and don't forget church bells.
So if they can see you AND hear you, potentially you're toast.
Yet they all have Flymos and ride on mowers.
And a real corker - when I was Hon Sec of our club some 30 odd years ago the Environmental Health had a noise complaint from a single householder better than a mile away ( the other side of a low hill into the bargain ) - none of his neighbours, including a club member, had heard anything let alone complained to anybody. I made a point of accompanying the bloke from EH when he came out with his noise meter - nothing registered over ambient. We then went to see the complainer, partly as a courtesy, to inform him of the results and to find out what he felt was troubling him. Then light dawned - the gentleman explained that he had a deep rooted dislike of grown men playing with toy aeroplanes, and was hoping his complaint would cause us to cease and desist, at least anywhere near him. The field is still in use.
Edited By Old Geezer on 14/12/2018 20:11:50
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From the past - the original Gangster 63, with a smokey old Meteor 60 on the front, a sweet handling first low winger, finally died of fuel ingress. Currently - the Wot4, equally pleasant whether with an Irvine 46 or 900+ watts of LiPo power, and in equal first place the ugliest plane I've ever owned - a Bogey, a sort of aileron:elevator LiPo powered combat job made of Correx, fast as you like, huge loops, rolls faster than you can count yet it lands at walking pace and (tempting fate here) pretty near unbreakable.
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Something to do with import and export duties applicable to the state of Ee Baa Goom?
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Used to live on the riverside in Bewdley, years back Billy Smarts Circus had winter quarters some 3/4 mile away across the Valley, with the wind just right you would often have the sounds of Lions and Elephants chuntering to one another in the night. Sadly they're no longer there - but instead later on we got a Safari Park - just a bit further away, but we still have audible nocturnal lion-mutter at night. Rather nice.
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It seems to me that if you keep your i/c flying down to .46 size airframes and your electric flying to (the slightly) smaller birds utilising the affordable 3S-4S 2200 or 3000 LiPos your year on year costs will remain comparable and affordable. The choice of whether to take a LiPo or an i/c or both is ( for me ) down to: convenience for a sneaky hour or so whatever the weather - has to be LiPo - 2-3batteries, plane and Tx and you're sorted. For full morning or afternoon it's worth the time and effort to load, then set up at the field, all you need for a couple of i/c planes as well as clean up, load, and unload again at home after the session. Oh - and a couple of leccy models will probably find their way into the car too. For the above reasons my i/c planes have been laid up for the Winter, most of my LiPos are now at storage voltage too, but it doesn't take long to bring 3-4 packs up to full charge if the opportunity arises for that sneaky hour. So - costs are comparable within the limits above - and if we're honest, the most important criterion is "Whatever floats your Boat".
Edited By Old Geezer on 28/11/2018 08:37:46
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The ultimate El Cheapo solution: a couple of D Size Duracell torch batteries soldered together in series and wrapped in fibre reinforced tape, connected to your glow clip of choice with a foot or a foot and a half ( or whatever length seems appropriate ) of heavy gauge multistrand hi-fi speaker cable. Can't remember when I last replaced the batteries - so they last a long long time - or it's another sign of the old memory going!
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Not sure where Dad_flyer got the info' about the Wot Trainer, the ones I've seen at our clubs are far less than 6lbs and suitably powered are off the ground reasonably quickly but land at a very civilised speed. I actually feel the Wot Trainer would make a very pleasant and undemanding Sunday afternoon gentlemans sportster.
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Sonny, I'm a bit late arriving at this party, but for what it's worth I very happily flew a foamy AcroWot-e for a couple of seasons, set up exactly "as per" ( balance point being the later correct one, not the original dodgy one ). The recommended settings were well nigh perfect, the reduced deflections are very user-friendly especially if you get to know one another just stooging around at 1/2 - 2/3 throttle. The expo' thing is rather a matter of taste and should be just applied to the full deflection settings - initially at the proverbial 2-3 mistakes high - so if you feel uncomfortable you can safely wimp-out at the flick of the rate(s) switch(es) with lots of air underneath you. My expo' setting on full rates was 35% which smoothed out any tendency to twitchiness. I'd say the foamy A/W-e is one of the sweetest flying planes I've owned, two things to be aware of ( they're NOT criticisms ) those tapered wings can tip stall, but it's not meant to be a trainer. And if you hit a bump or hole on the patch hard, landing or taking off, you can pull the u/c off taking a chunk of foam with it - but some fibre tape and Gorilla Glue fixes it stronger than before.
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Looking at the estimated delivery date, they may not have even have started putting the things together yet!
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Nice little plane, very tempted myself but ( is it me?) the tiny wheels don't really look right and the u/c is a bit ??? too. Still, I guess the mass build allows a bit of personal interpretation/modification - and otherwise it looks "just right".
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My smaller/lighter electric babies are suspended with loops of sash cord behind the prop (pullers or pushers). Some of my larger/heavier electric planes are suspended nose down with the loop in front of the fin or tail plane, if there is any danger of the cord cutting into the foam I use a bit of Rx sponge to protect it. An additional benefit of suspending foamies is they are naturally held vertically, if leaned against a wall long term, not plumb vertical, there is the potential for the fuselage to have acquired a gentle curve when it emerges into the daylight!
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Sonny - if you do end up with a foamy AcroWot: a) You'll love it, and it'll do all you could ever ask of it on 3S.
But b) Beware of wiping off the U/C, as it will take a large lump of foam with it. Substitute the steel screws with sacrificial plastic items, possibly pre-weakened with a few strokes of a saw blade, better a couple of broken plastic screws ( easily removed using a heated blade screwdriver then replaced ) than the alternative which results in a gorilla glue and fibre tape repair.
U/Cs on so many artf models ( foamy or balsa/ply ) share the same weakness - being so easily torn off resulting in significant fuselage damage - presumably these are designed for the paved or bowling green smooth runways that look to be the norm in the colonies, rather than some of the more agricultural flying fields over here. Sorry - that's an axe I've been grinding for years and years.
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Further to the comments about the fibre reinforced tape you're using to hinge the aileron - suggest when your current tape hinge needs replacing that you use either Blenderm or Micropore, I would be surprised if you need to replace either of those again. And if carefully applied and smoothed down it should be almost invisible.
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One of our club members has a Turnigy stand, as above, OK for setting up, battery changes etc. but the stand is not terribly stable laterally, the 'feet' aren't that long and need to be securely pegged down even if it's not terribly windy. Certainly not really stable enough for starting and running up an i/c model - proud owner of the Tgy Stand in our club has defaulted to his solid, stable home brewed stand for his i/c planes.
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Twigged a few weeks ago that our TV licence should be f.o.c. - usually dealt with by SWMBO, who is still under 75, but I was 75 18months ago. Anyway phoned up the licensing folk who were VERY helpful and was reimbursed within days. Popped into bank and cancelled the direct debit - job's a good 'un.
Now I just need to cancel the standing order for my R/C transmitter licence. 🤔
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Alex don't fuss about the biodegradability of foamies - once the hardware's been stripped out the average garden bonfire disposes of the carcass in seconds, just wait until it's burning brightly before you pop it on (ideally, broken down into manageable sized pieces).
Edited By Old Geezer on 10/11/2018 23:24:06
Edited By Old Geezer on 10/11/2018 23:24:51
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Having flown on and off since I qualified for long trousers, my own feeling is that as long as you're enjoying yourself and not spoiling life for anyone at the field, or for neighbours within earshot, the motive power for your planes is just a matter of personal choice. When SWMBO and I had to share a single car (but a nice one) 40 odd years ago, carting oily i.c. planes about had an understandable potential for leaving indelible stains on the upholstery of the family barouche, with an associated risk of marital strife - the only answer was to join the emerging leccy movement, and honestly until recently I was blissfully happy flying almost anything and everything as long as it had an electric motor on the front (or back !) Recently, for no reason that I can explain I acquired an Irvine 46 and converted my rather tired old artf WOT4 to i.c. - after a bit of fanniying about with the tank and help from the guys at the field to get the maroon marvel to run consistently with no more dead sticks (helped by an on board glow driver), the W4 now has a regular place in the back of the car along with another 2-3 electric planes, all part of a healthy mixed diet of flying. As the youngsters (under 50?) might say - Whatever floats your boat.
Edited By Old Geezer on 05/11/2018 17:27:36
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On the subject of Eneloop Rx & Tx packs, and particularly relating to 4 cell &/or 5 cell Rx packs - - from the practical point of view - can I continue to come back from 1/2 a day's flying and hook up my planes (some with 4 & others with 5 cell Rx packs) to the wall chargers that came with the Tx(s) for an overnight - say 8 to 12 hours - top-up charge? That's what I have been doing for yonks without a problem, but it would be reassuring to have an educated opinion.
Slough RCM
in R/C Retailers / Distributors / Manufacturers
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Have been trying to get onto their site this teatime - getting either a "404" or redirect to an unrelated site. Know nothing about IT - Have they been hacked?