Jon H

The AX was improved but not immune, no data on the AX2 so cannot comment. Also to be clear, the plating problems afflicting the FX/LA series normally appeared after several years of service. Its not like it gave up the ghost after a few weeks. The reason it was notable was because they failed before other similar (cheaper) engines and failed more often.

OS plating issues are well documented. It didnt happen to all of them but most did suffer from it. ASP and SC series 3 engines (OS FX clones) were very good

Beware of old OS FX series though engines as they suffered from issues with cylinder plating. Given the choice between a 2nd hand OS and new Force at the same price i would take the new engine every time. If you can inspect a 2nd hand engine before buying then its a different situation but ebay/BMFA then i would use caution.

Given your experience i would skip the basic trainer (boomerang) and go for something low wing. From seagull their challenger is nice. its pretty dinky and can fit in the car in one piece if that is important. I fly mine on a 40 4 stroke (flying test bench for the engine) and its fine for zipping around. Not ballistic, but plenty for my purposes and plenty of fun. A decent 30-36 2 stroke would be more than enough and older used 2 strokes of this size are so cheap now, like under a tenner cheap on occasion. 40-46 is too much for a small model like this. A spacewalker around 60 inch from any brand would work well with a 40-46, plenty of other low wingers that would work. Just dial the rates down a bit and choose an engine at the smaller end of the range recommended. If money/space etc was no object the big seagull spacewalker (82 inch) would be ideal. Its big, stable, predictable and does nice smooth aerobatics too. A 120-160 4 stroke would be more than enough power, and even a 90 would probably fly it. Mine is great as a flying test bench for a 160 twin i keep tinkering with, i really enjoy it. It also fits in a vw golf sized car with ease along with at least one other model so transport is no bother. The Wot4 others have suggested is fine and they fly well, but personally i have never really got on with them. There's nothing wrong with them, i just find them unremarkable models and the acrowot would be a better choice. Although more expensive i would also investigate a 4 stroke engine for your chosen model. Given your experience level a lawn dart crash is unlikely so the argument about damaging the more expensive engine in said crash does not really apply. The 4 stroke will be more economical on fuel, cleaner, and quieter which may be important depending on the club you join.

Thats a nice easy repair. The front has just peeled like a banana

this is likely the root cause of all your problems. Many 'helpful' programs arent, i would go back to basics.

I am not sure i understand the problem then. Your photos should all live in your pictures folder with the likely address being C:\Users\your user name\pictures. In my case on the work PC its C:\Users\Laser Engines\Pictures. Just saw you latest post. I am still not exactly sure what you are trying to achieve. Normally if i go to an airshow for example, i would download all the photos from the camer into a folder called 'duxford may 2023' or whatever the date and show were and plonk that folder in the pictures folder so i knew where it was. Same with holidays, trips, etc. I can then backup my entire photo collection with ease by just copying the whole pictures folder to an external hard drive. With all that done, the camera is wiped ready for the next show. Also, within the pictures folder you can right click and have a variety of options. Things can be ordered by name, by date, size etc. You can select a list view (unhelpful for photos) or icons which show a little thumbnail of the photo itself making the one you want easier to find. There is no need to download any 'system'. This is all integral functionality within windows. If you can plug in a usb anything, external drives will not be a challenge.

With the updated forum you can just find the photo you want on your pc and drag it into the reply box. it then uploads itself and you are done. There is no need for any cloud shenanigans

As its free and you have a captive audience i would see what you can sell here first. Perhaps list one wardrobe/cupboard at a time to keep the work manageable and see how you get on. Personally, i would also rather spread the love a little and sell 10 people one kit each rather than one chap buying up the lot. It would be more work, but given how rare some of the kits are i would personally like to see them in a variety of homes were they mine. If someone wants more than one their interest can be recorded and a follow up can be made later if there are no other buyers and kits are left without a home. Just seems fairer to let everyone have a chance, at least to me anyway. If at the end of all that there are leftovers then tap up one of the bulk buy places and shift the last of it that way. I will throw my hat in the ring for the ASP radial. If you have a price in mind let me know.

What is this? i dont recall ever seeing it before.

ohhhh that is tempting

In my experience Safety Officers are self appointed walking clipboards with an exaggerated sense of their own importance. They adopt a 'do as i say not as i do' policy, but offer exemptions for friends and committee members. All the while, they enjoy collaring the regular club member to admonish them for insignificant infractions (real or invented) while remaining completely silent when the club kamikaze (there's always one) nearly wipes out everyone in the pilots box. This applies both to clubs and, sadly, model displays. As others have already pointed out, the safety of a flight is down to the pilot, but clearly a hive mind mentality should be employed across the field and help offered if something it spotted. That sounds good to me.

Request all posts back to and including Jason's at 14.05 yesterday be deleted and the thread locked until further notice.

I am sorry but i will not chill a little. It may or may not be the case here, but in this business people who have met you once consider themselves an 'old friend'. Also the method of exchange of the details does not matter. Being contacted directly or being handed a number with a note saying 'can you call this chap' is the same level of intrusion. I already spoke to Neil, asked if he wanted to get involved in this specific enquiry and others going forward. The answer was no on both counts, but for some reason that does not seem to be satisfactory. Neil is retired, no longer connected to the company, and has asked not to be contacted about anything. This is an extremely simple and fair request and i am honestly baffled by the fact that anyone is attempting to argue the point. Just do as you have been asked.

You mean my reading of you promising to provide those details, and then the person you promised them to thanking you for it? Sort of implies the transaction was completed. You will also note my reply was phrased as a question, with a follow up that was dependent on the answer. Perhaps it is not my reading which needs attention.

yes the email is fixed. Mods, this thread can probably be closed/deleted now

So you both have chosen to ignore Neil's request that he not be contacted? If so that is pretty disgraceful. If it is anything engine related that is most unlikely. Experience has proven that most of our customers struggle with installing and operating the V twins and this has gotten worse and worse over the years i have been here. The FT series was designed to be easier to install and easier to use in the current ARTF offerings most people now fly and they have been more or less trouble free since roll out. Consequently i generally recommend a flat over a V in most cases as it saves the customer the hassle of technical problems and it saves me the time of having to deal with it. As i cant keep the FT's in stock, and they are the model i would offer to most people, there is no point diverting limited resources to building the V's i wont sell. As always, the problem would be solved by just building more engines, but as i cant do that with the resources i have i will prioritise the flats for the time being. Spares and support are available for the V's in service though so i do not know what he's talking about there.

I think you are missing the point. Neil has retired, has no connection to the company and his privacy should be respected. i just spoke to Neil to make sure i was not misrepresenting him and he agrees with what i have already said. He asks that his personal information is not shared in any form for the reasons i have stated above.

Hi Mike Neil retired many years ago and is no longer connected with the company. As a result it is not appropriate to share his personal contact information. If you need any technical assistance i can deal with that no problem.

Radio active are a side shoot of Jotika with the latter being more focused on marine, and RA on aviation. To my knowledge they have never dealt direct with customers and only deal with the trade (ripmax etc) so you will have to source their gear through a shop.

http://phoenixmodel.com/Product.aspx?ProductId=636 Dose anyone have one of the above? I need some measurements from it. Thanks.

Agreed. I used those packs that had 3 little bottles with fine tips but they no longer seem to do them 😞

in the case of the bnq bottles they are so large, and we use such small amounts of glue that they last a long old while. As a result they eventually get gummed up and there is little that can be done. I just leave the caps off now and forget about it.

not always easy when you are trying to juggle parts. You also risk gluing your rag to the bottle!

yep, i have the thick and the thin. no complaints beyond the bottle cap getting glued on after a while.