Peter Christy

1) Merco 49! (2nd hand). Ran perfectly on the ground, but would stop as soon as the model got airborne. Even John Haytree couldn't cure it! Replaced it in the same model (and plumbing) with a Webra 61 which ran perfectly from day 1 and is still in use today, over 50 years on! 2) KingCat diesel. Looks fantastic, but couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding! 3) ASP30 four-stroke. Another gutless wonder that can't hold full throttle for more than a few seconds without tightening up, despite now being three or fours years old and with plenty of running. Turns a 10x5 prop at the same rpm as my OS20 four-stroke. Would replace it with an OS 28 if they still made them....

My wife trying to enjoy her chips in Brixham:

The receivers aren't the issue. Its the servos. JR servos burn out quite quickly above 6V, especially if worked hard. The general consensus is that Futaba servos are more tolerant, but any servo not rated for higher voltage will have its life significantly shortened by running it on an excessively high voltage. LiFe generally cells are better than LiPo or LiIon cells, as they are 3.3V per cell (6.6 for 2S Vs 7.X for LiPo/LiIon). They also don't have a tendency to burst into flames if mischarged like LiPos, making them safer to charge in situ. You really need to find out what your servos are rated to. -- Pete

Ooops! Just realised I posted that a while ago! Sorry for the repeat! -- Pete

Never mind "Two Old Boys", how about "Three Young Chicks"? I wish I could play like that! -- Pete

The throttle on a typical glow motor is very non-linear. With the barrel half open, its probably producing around 80% of its max power. As Don and others have implied, I usually offset the linkages to provide finer adjustment at the tickover end, and correspondingly coarser control at the top end, where fine adjustment is not needed.

Reminds me of the time I was working for a major news broadcaster, here in the UK. I was the shift supervisor in the videotape department that night which was around the time the miner's strike ended, and it was about 15 minutes before on-air. A senior journalist from the newsroom burst in shouting "We may have to change the top of the show!". This caused me some concern, as for once, we had everything ready to roll early. Now bear with me! You have to read the next bit out loud to get the drift: Me: "What's up?" Journo: "The Home Secretary has been caught with a minor!" Me: "A MINER?!?" Journo: "NO!! NO!! A MINOR!!!" As all the news had been about for months was the miner's strike, it was an easy mistake to make! In the event, the fact checking didn't stand the story up. To run an accusation like that about a senior government minister requires at least two verifiable sources. In the event, both were traced back to a common source, and the story was dropped. But it caused much hilarity, the thought of the Home Secretary being caught in flagrente with a coal covered individual with a lamp on his head bringing tears to the eyes of the normally stoical techies....! -- Pete

Thanks to Phil for a very clear explanation! To amplify my comments on venting and "black wire corrosion": The vents on a pen-cell (or similar) are at the positive end of the cell. The vented gas has a slight, but noticeable, positive charge. This attracts it to the negative end of the battery. The gas itself is relatively harmless - to the battery, anyway. The problem arises if the air is at all damp, which it frequently is in the UK. When the gas is absorbed into water, you end up with a very caustic solution, which will eat away the wiring quite quickly. This is why black wire corrosion was most common during the wet winter months, charging in damp sheds, garages, etc. Those who kept and charged their models in the house seemed to suffer from it less. It actually didn't matter what colour the wire was, either. Its just that black was the traditional colour for negative leads. This was all explained to me decades ago by the representative of one of the battery companies at the height of the black wire corrosion scare. The problem has all but disappeared since peak detect chargers became common place. Trickle charging still has its place, as it does balance the cells. However, I stand by my point that it is not something to do on a regular basis.

Trickle charging NiMHs (or NiCADS) is OK occasionally, but not something to do regularly. It will inevitably lead to the cells being over-charged, venting gas and drying out the electrolyte inside. This is not good! It was the introduction of peak-detect chargers that led to the virtual disappearance of "black wire corrosion", which was primarily caused by the cells venting caustic gas when trickle charged regularly. I normally discharge my packs after the winter layoff and give them a trickle charge to balance them. I then do a capacity check on them, and thereafter just peak detect charge them until the following winter. Most modern chargers will display how much charge the cells have taken, and as long as this is in line with their use since the last charge, then you should be good to go. -- Pete

I had to replace one in an old JR transmitter a while ago. I did manage to solder to the cell without damaging it, but it is tricky. There wouldn't have been room between the PC board and the case to fit a holder, which is why (I assume) JR soldered them in directly. Thanks to Jim (above) for the pointer to Amazon! I must admit that that never occurred to me! I had tried all the usual suppliers to no avail! -- Pete

And please don't, without some expert guidance! Helicopters are not easy to get to grips with, and can get away from you VERY quickly! Find a local club. If they don't have a heli expert, they can probably point you to another club that has. As other have said, its probably the lithium button cell on your radio. For some reason, JR had a habit of soldering them to the board rather than use a clip in holder. Since cells with solder tags are like rocking horse manure, this may involve some delicate soldering work. Like Andy and Jim above, I would recommend the Model Radio Workshop, which has an excellent reputation.

I think the point the OP was making was not the absolute price of fuel, but the fact that it appears to have suddenly increased dramatically for no obvious reason. -- Pete

I suspect this is the problem you get when there is a virtual monopoly in the supply chain. Not that long ago, there were two major brands, now there is only one. Yes, I know that there are other smaller suppliers, but these aren't what the majority of (remaining!) model shops stock. Further, with the declining use of i/c engines, there is little incentive for another supplier to enter the market. In days of yore, we used to mix our own, but thanks to government legislation, its almost impossible to buy nitromethane any more. Luckily, a lot of older European engines are quite happy on straight fuel....! -- Pete

I should have added that I've just re-acquired that Morley! I sold it - along with a 2c body (only one set of mechanics) - to a clubmate, who left it in the attic. He is now very ill, and a mutual friend negotiated its return. Its awaiting its turn on the building board for restoration to flying condition - and probably conversion to electric!

The Morley flew with a Sprengbrook "Red Box" set - you can see it in the non-flying picture, though not the colour! No gyro (not invented at the time) or collective pitch, and just a plain four channel radio. The engine was an OS Max 40, which is still flying in a fixed wing sport model!

My first successful (briefly!) RC Model - Mini-Robot, circa 1965: My first low-wing aerobatic model - "Tornado" (locally produce Taurus clone) c.1969: My first heli - Morley 2B circa 1974: Learning to fly it on Croxley Moor (Watford): Happy days! 😁

And finally, BEWARE:

Robin: I run my ASP on 5% nitro, pure synthetic (no castor). I don't normally stock 5%, as I use 16% for my OS powered helis, and straight for my European engines, ancient and modern. I make 5% by mixing two parts straight with on part 16%, which is close enough! Having said that, with the demise of Model Technics, straight fuel with pure synthetic is getting harder to get hold of. I've bought a gallon of Laser 5, which like MT Bekra, is pure synthetic. I may have to switch my "straight" engines over to that. (Mick Wilshere will be spinning in his grave! 🤣 ) I've always used an electric start on it, without problems. The rocker broke in flight, and the engine just stopped! It tends to tighten up if run at full throttle for too long. Just Engines reckon it isn't run in yet (now four or five years old)! Compression is generally quite good, but it is a bit gutless.. P.S. One last thought: Have you stripped the carb? If it runs on a prime, it could be fuel starvation. It is difficult to suck mixture up that inlet pipe. Mine runs on exhaust pressure, and a finger over the exhaust while on the electric start prior to attaching the glow should get fuel into the carb. -- Pete

Another model the OP might want to consider is the Astro Hog from 1958, generally acknowledged to be the first practical, low-wing aerobatic model. It certainly set the benchmark for those that followed it! I don't have a picture, alas, but the plans are on Outerzone, with accompanying pix. Glad you liked it! At first, I flew it on a Grundig reed set, converted to 2.4 GHz, but it tends to swing a bit on takes off, and needs you to be quick on the rudder! Much easier with proportional radio! Its a little bit under powered with the ASP 30 4-stroke, and needs a decent take-off run and short grass. I'm not terribly impressed with the ASP. It doesn't have a smuch get up and go as my OS 20 FS. I wish OS still made the 28 FS...! The ASP broke a rocker a while back, and while it was away being repaired, I fitted a 25 2-stroke, which made it a LOT livelier - but not quite in keeping with its vintage! 😁 It also emptied the rather small tank quite quickly! The ASP is now back in place, and peace and tranquillity has been restored! -- Pete

You might also want to consider a Frog Jackdaw - the often forgotten competitor to the Super 60, and a more lively model. Although designed for single-channel (rudder only), the plans also showed up to full-house controls (aileron and elevator). It is around 60" span, so similar size to the Super 60. Its not as "floaty" as a Super (or Junior) 60 and is certainly capable of loops and rolls. Originally designed for a 3.5cc diesel, "back in the day" many were fitted with Merco 35s, which gave them sprightly performance. Mine flies adequately on an ASP30 4-stroke. An electric conversion should be relatively simple, as there is a nice big hatch for the fuel tank. Mine has full-house controls, and has flown on "giga-ized" reeds: Plans available on Outerzone. -- Pete

Excellent! Hope to see it there! If the weather is calm enough, I'll have mine, too! Just be careful not to over-stress those fragile wings! -- Pete

Oh yes! I got in the habit of fitting locking nuts on my comp screws decades ago. IIRC AM15s used a 4BA thread, so it was quite possible to solder a bit of piano wire across a standard 4BA screw and use that! (Much cheaper and quicker than getting a manufacturers replacement!) Can't remember what the PAW 1.49s used, but by the time I got them, I'd learned my lesson and fitted locking nuts! 😁 -- Pete