Peter Christy

The only time I've had a LiFe cell swell like that was when I accidentally left a transmitter switched on, and flattened it completely. They are generally regarded as much safer than LiPos, and I have some that must be 15 years old by now, and still going strong. Having said that, nothing made by man is ever perfect, and the odd faulty one will always slip through quality control. That's just the way things are! As Phil has said, get decent ones and they do seem to last well. -- Pete

I've got a 20cc petrol in a scale heli. The fuel is cheap, and they don't use much, but that is about the only advantage. Mine is incredibly noisy, prone to misfiring when throttled back, which causes the tail to kick, its tricky to start and vibrates like a hydraulic jack-hammer! Every time I land it, I find something broken from vibration fatigue, and this is a Japanese precision motor - allegedly! Model currently awaiting conversion to electric, and no, I would never buy another petrol motor! -- Pete

And if the mast is causing problems on 2.4GHz, there's lots of cheap - but good - 35MHz stuff kicking around! 🙂 -- Pete

If you can't find a long reach plug, 4-stroke plugs make a good substitute. They are long reach, and being quite hot work well with low nitro fuel. The plastic and "o" rings in Perry carbs deteriorate quite badly with age. Never got on with them. The standard Veco metal one was pretty good, but if you can find a Kavan carb, they are the best. -- Pete

Had one for years, brilliant little engine. Considered the "Rolls-Royce" of small engines in its day. I won't allow castor anywhere near my engines any more. It just causes varnishing problems, inside and out. Modern synthetics are far better. I use Laser 5 fuel in my small engines these days. Although intended for 4-strokes, those run a lot hotter than 2-strokes, so the lubricants used in Laser 5 have a relatively easy time in small 2-strokes. If you need more nitro (and you shouldn't) you could try a decent 10% mix. I would recommend Bekra 10, but availability seems an issue these days. Castor was fine when we didn't have anything else, but this is the 21st century, and we can do much better now!

Another vote for a Bambu P1. I traded my Ender 3 V2 for one, and the difference was like chalk and cheese. It just works!

TG: A picture would help. I've already got four Lark's in flying order, and if I bought another, my wife would probably divorce me! To anyone interested: I can supply the parts necessary to convert this to electric power, and they fly beautifully when converted! -- Pete

The REAL reason we never went back to the moon: