Tim Flyer

I really appreciate the achievement schemes. At my club we try to encourage members to take the A test although we don’t make it compulsory. I did my B a few years ago and that really made me focus on trying to improve my flying and the focus on safe aspects too is very valuable. I took the B test at Buckminster which was a real bonus meeting so many really great instructors with enormous experience and enthusiasm plus seeing the top class BMFA HQ and facilities.

I have been using LIFE batteries both in transmitter and receivers for about 10 years now and they have been very reliable. They are in all the 9 planes I fly regularly. I have once had a battery puff up when it was accidentally left on for days, and one of two batteries retire a bit early but have not had any real problems . I balance charge at 0.5c and do not get any heat issues . I use a balance lead extender from Component Shop where charging access is difficult. I certainly prefer LIFe batteries to The others for receiver and transmitter power.

I also had Veco 19s and ran them in model boats back in the 70s. I went through quite a few engines and liners then. The Veco 19 didn’t last long compared to other engines of its era such as Enya. The Webra engine I switched to was far superior. We ran them on 5% nitro most of the time which was perfectly ok and 20% when we could afford it and needed a bit more power. I remember replacing a Veco 19 in my Mardave stock car with an HB 25 Heli engine which was ringed and far superior.

Thanks all . I’m pleased not to have to try to fit gear doors , as I can imagine them easy jamming and the model isn’t that big and there is “quite a bit going on already with a steerable retract in a smallish space. I think electric retracts have come on well now and have safety cut outs so they don’t just jam and burn out when they get restricted like some of the bad ones of old😊

I have now installed the Freewing tail retract from Motion RC . Their service and delivery was excellent and very quick! I’m very happy with the unit. The wire is 3.1mm with a plastic scale detail shrouding the leg . The retract body is plastic so it’s fairly light and perfect for a tail wheel. I also added a UBEC as it’s rated at 5-5.5v which will add some protection from my 2s LIFE retract battery. I mounted the retract on an aluminium plate that I cut from sheet and fixed it to the old tail wheel mounting plate inserts . This makes it easy to remove if there are any future issues. There was plenty of work cutting out the old wheel fairing box to allow the wheel to cleanly retract. I decided not to add retract doors firstly to avoid a lot more fiddly work, and secondly for reliability. This is a stand off scale model which I want to fly quite a bit this summer so I want to keep it simple. I had over 40g of lead in the tail , and only needed to replace that with 20g . Next small job is the test c of g for the assembled plane on my balance scale just to double check 😊

One “technique” I have often used to remove things from fiberglass etc is the hot chisel. Heat it in a flame and obviously use gloves and be careful. It works very well😉

Thanks very much all! I have just ordered the Freewing tail gear retract from Motion RC as suggested. It will be interesting to see what it’s like . It was EUR 25 for the whole assembly so not expensive. I would imagine the tail wheel doesn’t get that much abuse so even if it’s a “bit light” it should be ok. As I’m using a relatively big engine the tail wheel area on my Mustang currently has a strip of lead in it to balance c of g, so adding the retract won’t be an issue as I can easily remove some of the lead.

I have been looking for tail retracts for the Mustang hoping to find some for a while , but there do not seem to be any available. The Robart ones disappeared last year . Unfortunately it seems that tail retracts aren’t too popular. Anyway it’s a great fun plane and I’m looking forward to flying it again when conditions improve.

Totally agree for me the engine is a really important and adds so much enjoyment to the hobby. I really like warbirds but engine sourcing is so difficult and without the right one it’s not the same.

Thank you Jon for the heads up on that . I do now remember that day with the Bearcat and P39. I would definitely prefer to buy a new 300v and I know they are very powerful, but so far haven’t had any luck at all. I saw that GF60 does have a number of incidents posted online with a number of broken con rods after possible over revving which as you say could possibly be down to user error or some design /manufacturing issue. For me being already a 100% glow engine user plus having seven other Laser engines, a 300v makes way more sense. Lasers are way easier to operate than most petrol engines and incredibly reliable so always prefer one if I was lucky enough to have the option.

Hi I’m considering purchasing a Saito FG 60 for a future Warbird project and I wondered if any forum members have experience of this motor. I would particularly like to hear about its reliability and any set up problems to look out for . It seems getting hold of a good Laser 300v will not be possible and although certainly expensive the Saito seems a good alternative?

Good luck and keep on pushing!

We just re affiliated our club to the BMFA. It’s a very important matter for our club and needs to be done each year . It actually costs nothing but gives a number of very important insurance benefits from BMFA to the club and committee . Without BMFA affiliation our club would struggle to exist. We are registered as a CASC (community amateur sports club) , which gives us a mandatory 80% discount on the business rates we pay . To be registered as a CASC the club needs to be affiliated to BMFA which is a government recognised sports association. Our club status is routinely checked by the council and we have to make sure we remember to re affiliate each year

We use Nat West and do not pay charges. Obviously we always maintain a positive cash balance. We are set up as a Community Amateur Sports Club which also helps . Setting up the account and mandate takes some time and a lot of information is required, but once done it all works well. Nat West mobile banking works well and is easy to use.

I find fingerless fishing gloves very good . I use the neoprene Guideline fir-skin ones and they are very warm. I did think before purchasing this pair of buying full coverage gloves and removing thumb and index finger but the material in these is very warm , much more so than wool fingerless gloves I used to use.

I have 9 planes which are IC powered and in good flying condition , plus two electric foamies which I never really fly( one is destined to become an FPV trainer) . I try to keep the number down so all the engines have a good run each season also due to time and space limitation. Warbird Replicas La7 with Laser 80 Hangar 9 Mustang with Laser 155 Seagull P47 with Laser 100 Acrowot XL with Laser 180 Wots Wot XL with Laser 200v DB Spitfire with Laser 180 Galaxy Mystic with OS 120AX SLEC/Apache Chipmunk with Laser 180 Wot4 Mk2(kit version)with Laser 80 Current favourites are the Mustang and the Mystic although I do enjoy flying all of them . I also agree with Paul re starting a new model . I would always avoid starting a new project until the previous one is finished … I’m sure it would just clutter up the place and create confusion until everything grinds to a halt!

Just my quick thoughts from a personal point of view. I really appreciate the national centre and the work it does and the huge effort put in by those who run it If it wasn’t for that resource I would not have had the benefit of meeting and getting advice and support from other members I have met there. A national centre brings people and knowledge together and supports our hobby. Yes you do have to make an effort to go there . Being in the middle of the country it is a long hike for many and takes me over 2hours by car , but it’s well worth it. Going there has widened my perspective of the hobby and and given me an incentive to improve plus allowed me to gain a B certificate which would have been difficult locally.

Agreed also on our patch in Hertfordshire most warbirds have a high chance of a nose over or getting bogged down and landing would be quite risky. Despite no rain the damp cloudy/misty still conditions have let the turf become quite soft. A bit of sun would soon make a big difference . Very nice looking model. . And thanks for posting . I’m also quite tempted to have a go at this as I have a spare OS 95v that I might use.

Sorry to hear that about your P47 it really looked the part and it’s very sad loosing such a nice build. I hope the engine survived . The Laser 180 is a tough beast and I’m sure in the future will grace another one of your excellent models. Your new Hellcat looks really brilliant . I would love to try building one sometime… possibly a bit smaller in 1:6 but unfortunately am currently engrossed in a DIY renovations which might go on for a while!

Our runway was good today but the worms had made quite a few casts on it that ended up under the wings… However that certainly didn’t spoil today’s great conditions. I took the opportunity to do some flying with my Galaxy Mystic before we get more wind and rain 😊

I’m using the 700mah 2s Life just for the retracts. Not the receiver. I believed this thread was about retracts not receiver and servo power. For retract powering I have been using the 700mah 2s Life for about five or six years with no trouble for tail dragger models of up to around 7kg using two wing mounted electric retracts. i power my receivers/servos separately with other higher capacity batteries and separate switches.

A very small 2s 600 to 700mah Life battery is plenty for most electric retracts . For my JP 60-120 size retracts in my 69” Mustang and most others I use the 2s 700mah Life and it’s fine and uses less than 10% capacity even after 5 or more flights

Went flying my Hangar 9 Mustang today here In Herts . I brought a sports model as a standby in case the runway was too soft after all the rain we’ve had. I was pleasantly surprised to find firm ground and managed five great fun flights so at least it’s done one good October outing. The wind was quite modest WSW/SW slightly across our E/W runway but easily manageable. The temperature was incredibly warm for October …only requiring a tea shirt!

The “rule “ quoted above epoxy for epoxy and polyester for polyester is not correct “. Epoxy resins stick very well to properly keyed polyester resin surfaces. Epoxy is commonly used, and has been for decades in boat repair. However polyester resin is less flexible than epoxy so it is not a good idea to use polyester on top of an epoxy resin surface. The important thing when repairing is providing a proper key by degreasing and surface abrading down to the matting. Many new moulded components still have release agent on them so preparation is very important with kits or new parts

As you say seems like sudden bearing failure caused the issue. One of my 180s once had a dodgy bearing that went from producing a bit more vibration than usual, to almost complete failure and noisy running in a couple of flights. Unfortunately I think that now and then there are dud bearings produced which deteriorate fast. Probably impossible to spot when new.