Jump to content

Tim Flyer

Members
  • Posts

    1,955
  • Joined

  • Days Won

    2

Everything posted by Tim Flyer

  1. Ps I won’t be mixing my own fuel though 😉
  2. Interesting Jon . For 19L of high purity minimum 99.95% US made drag racing methanol it’s about £75 with collection at Santa Pod. https://santapodshop.com/products/vp-racing-fuels-m1?_pos=2&_sid=8b814a3c7&_ss=r
  3. I should qualify my equivalence comment as there are a number of 30cc 2strokes that have a lot more power than the Laser 180 . So it’s not an easy comparison. It probably fits between 25and 30cc 2stroke equivalent but there are huge differences in different engines and exhaust system combinations . Propeller size and rpm are the only real test.
  4. I would heed Jon’s advice and put it in I have an Apache/SLEC Chipmunk (about 80in wingspan) with a laser 180 which probably should have a 150 size but it’s great with the 180 and cruises beautifully at half throttle. I don’t find having too much engine any problem at all . The 180 is such a nice engine and throttles so well it’s too good to leave in a box! Power wise the 180 is the equivalent of a good 30cc petrol 2stroke but it sounds way better .
  5. That sounds great Peter. I did have a look at the Robart rear retract. I will take another look! as I think the rear retract does improve the look of the model quite a bit.
  6. The Wingspan is 69.5 inches. I’m not sure of the weight offhand but it’s designed for a 20cc petrol engine and the 25cc laser certainly has power to spare in this model. It’s about the biggest engine that would fit so it certainly goes well and is powerful like a mustang should be.
  7. 6250923a-e3f2-4a1c-b671-f0296cfbe00d.mp4
  8. The other interesting thing with this model is that I had to add quite a lot of lead in the tail to get it to balance. Apparently this is common on mustangs. It would be great to replace the lead with a tail retract unit if only they were actually available. The tail retracts as well as spare oleos seem out of stock at all model shops. I’m sure I will need some spare oleos😳
  9. My Mustang is well and truly “maidened” now. It had its first flight last week and two far better flights today. The first flight was rather dull with strangely poor performance from the engine. A lot of that I believe was due to the awful plastic spinner supplied with the kit. The spinner was slipping despite massive tightening torque on the engine bolt . I certainly think this spinner is unsafe on IC engines. It is crudely made and not of sufficient strength. I gave it the benefit of the doubt for the first flight but it is now binned. I replaced it with an aluminium spinner I from my hurricane . I added a semi scale scoop outlet which I made from aluminium plate on the back of the radiator too, in order to help airflow out of the cowl just in case that needed improvement. With the new spinner the engine performance difference was massive and the capability of this model opened right up . It’s a very fast plane with really great performance . I’m now waiting for some yellow paint to arrive for the spinner.
  10. The only thing that would bug me if I had so many models that I couldn’t get anything done in my workshop. Luckily I can use my garage for model storage. It’s nice to have enough space to do projects. Having said that I find it very difficult to clear my bench . I guess part of modelling for me is saving bits and pieces for which I eventually find a use. When building kits I save the off cuts and always find something to do with them . Same goes with most materials . It’s quite fun recycling bits and pieces into repairs and new models.
  11. Just in case of interest this is a quick and easy DIY fix for a new exhaust retaining strap. I understand the OEM Laser straps are available at Model Shop Leeds but I decide to do my own fix on my Laser 180 in my Acrowot XL. I seem to have gone through a number of straps as there is a fair bit of vibration in this ARTF model with the side mounted single cylinder with an exhaust extension. My inverted Laser engines in other models don’t have the same issue. Anyway I decided to make the part myself as it’s quick and easy and cheap and the Acrowot gets flown a lot. I bought a 400x400mm sheet of 0.8mm thick mild steel from Amazon for £12.50 . I used a good pair of tin sips to cut a 1cm wide strip with a bit of excess length to make it easy to bend. I bent it around an old pipe in my vice and bent the ends with pliers to match the original . I carefully drilled each side of the strap to accept the original 4mm bolt. The original straps seem to be 0.65mm thick spring steel and mine is 0.8mm mild steel so hopefully at least, if not more durable. I flight tested it today and it’s fine. Making these is a quick 20min or less job. One sheet of metal will make loads and leave spare for other projects 😊
  12. Good to hear you’re progressing well 😊👍
  13. Good to meet you Ron …Aha my mistake I wondered why the planes were so similar performance. The 160IL makes sense as similar to the 155.
  14. I went today and was very impressed with Ron’s display flying his Laser 200IL powered Mustang joined by a Hangar 9 P47 also Laser powered with a single 155. The planes were well matched for speed in the air and their manoeuvres were incredibly scale like and close together . Dare I say they beat the wings and Wheels team 😊. It seemed from the flying the two pilots had done a lot of practice together but Ron told me it was their first go. Great Flying!
  15. Looking good. One thing you might want to do is reverse the forward sweep of the undercarriage by simply turning it round. This is because by using the more modern fixing of the aluminium undercarriage, it puts the wheels further forward than the kit wire version. That means there is lots of tail wheel weight which spoils ground handling.
  16. Regarding the wing fairing fillet in my kit I think it was a block of balsa and I think some thin ply that I stuck to the fuselage side to make a smoother curve after adding the wings. I then trimmed and sanded it to match the wing . That part of the build was slightly fiddly .
  17. Just added the photo in the workshop to show undercarriage. Ps I moved the cockpit for on my build as I preferred that look.
  18. Here is my Mystic taken after another good flying session last week. It gets regular use and is a smooth easy to fly plane. I have tail mounted servos and power is an OS 120AX with added nose weight. A laser 155 would be nicer (or a 160 twin😊) but I don’t have one spare . My undercarriage is from a Wot 4XL but reversed to sweep back due to its fixing position. My C of G is currently as per the plan but I will probably reduce nose weight a bit and bring it back as the plane requires a fair bit of forward stick when inverted. It knife edges very well and rolls smoothly. coming in it does float a fair bit especially coming in with light winds. but I can soon stop that by engaging the “up flapperons” that I also use on my Acrowot. Happy flying all!
  19. I also add my best wishes for a speedy recovery 👍
  20. Very sad to hear this . An end of an era! Good luck to Jon with his new job.
  21. That’s sad to hear . I have been going every year for some time. It was great to see the traders there as well as other modellers and do some shopping.
  22. I use neoprene fingerless fishing gloves. Fishing gear is cheap and tends to be nice and warm and well made. They are fine for flying in all but the worst weather. There are a number of different types available.
  23. Solved!!!! 😊😊😊😊😊 I had restarted the Mac a few times but that hadn’t worked What fixed it was deleting all the browsing history on Safari. Apple has a great browsing history with lots of added functionality that can be much too helpful 🥺. I think that’s what spoiled it
  24. Cheers Dick . Thanks for your speedy reply…I will try to see what’s happened from this end then 👍😊
×
×
  • Create New...