Brian Spearing

Petrol power shouldn't require the paint to be fuel-proofed - cars manage quite well. Depends on the paint used of course.

At age 7 I got the chance to fly a neighbour’s model glider. Knowing nothing about such things I heaved it from his garden into the adjoining field, expecting it to come to earth within a few feet. Fortunately the field sloped gently away, and I managed a decent launch. Impossibly, it seemed to me, the glider flew at the same height for 200 yards before landing. I realised that flight depends on more than the strength of your arm. Thus was the seed sown. There followed umpteen 9-penny KeilKraft (?) chuck gliders, some carrying propulsion assistance or bangers around Guy Fawkes night. The great thing was that failures weren’t off-putting, they were interesting (!), and if you stuck with it things would work out. If we’d had superglue instead of balsa cement progress would have been faster.

I have an EagleTree add-on stabiliser in a small aerobatic model that can be hard to see clearly when backlit by the morning light. Usually flown stab-off but the spring-loaded panic switch on the Tx is a great comfort in turning an out-of-shape manoeuvre instantly into level flight.

Having this morning shrink-filmed the wing of an e-Funfly, I’m considering doped tissue for the fuz and maybe the tail.

You can’t beat measuring what’s actually happening. Just get a clip-on ammeter and try different props. If you can multiply measured current by the battery voltage you don’t need a wattmeter.

Dammit! I just had a quick look at the CAA test while waiting for lunch, and found myself with an operator number and a flyer number. Five minutes, maybe ten if you need to look at the crib.

I use a 3-position switch. Up - motor stopped, Mid - throttle range is from off to fast tickover, Down - full range. Obviously the mid position is for i/c only. The reduced throttle range is handy while carrying an I/c model to the takeoff point.

I’d be interested too. Made one many years ago and would like to make another.

The online testing etc comes at a bad time of year for many clubs, being close to the annual renewal date. When we moved to a new patch a good proportion of members didn't renew - they were probably occasional flyers getting on in years but still valuable contributors to the club's finances. I can see something similar happening this winter, though I hope I'm wrong. Brian PS - Maybe July1st would be a better renewal date for club subs - but that's another matter.

Even worse is the stuff that goes off in the tube/pot. Cyano does eventually, as does some polyurethane glue.

He wrote “First Light”, an excellent account of his flying life, full of detail and highly readable.

For holding the ESC, either tie it to the fus with zip-ties or if you prefer to stick it, use Uhu Por as a contact adhesive. The zip-ties can allow more cooling.

Posted by kc on 25/05/2018 11:49:02: The engine stand in that video did not seem to fail - it was the cramp that appeared to slip off or vibrate loose. Obviously it is necessary to retain the engine stands with bolts etc. And it would also seem to be important to make sure the bench etc does not have a chance to move either. A big engine might move a 'Workmate' etc along the ground unless well weighted down. A 30cc petrol motor can easily tip an unballasted Workmate over, as I have discovered.

Macgregor 27 Mhz single channel (Time passes) Futaba FF6, pre-expo model. Various makes of Rx Mulitplex Evo 9 - an early one with rub-off lettering, but a grownup Tx. And several makes of Rx. Mpx 3030 - bought at a good price. Very solid. Used later with a Mpx rubber ducky aerial when I was using 35 and 2.4, to avoid forgetting to extend a 35 telescopic aerial (once bitten...) Mpx dragging their heels over 2.4, so bought a Frsky module for the Evo Spektrum DX6i - to get into 2.4 - kept for buddying. Hitec Aurora 9 - bought partly for its novelty, but a really good system. Sold when Hitec lost interest. Frsky Taranis, early one. Later a Plus, now my main Tx.

My P47 is the bubble canopy H9 model. A Laser 80 powers it adequately and although more power might be nice I can’t be bothered to change it - it does sound good. Standard retracts have been OK with landing nose-overs usually preventable with more pilot care. Landings are surprisingly floaty.

Telemetry has been mentioned already. It’s been available for several years (I first saw it proposed by Multiplex while they were wobbling about embracing 2.4). Even my old Hitec Aurora would monitor voltage and warn if it was low. I’m surprised the BMFA Handbook doesn’t recommend it.

Posted by Geoff Sleath on 02/03/2018 16:28:02: It's an institution in Derby. Are there similar shops elsewhere? There’s Gee’s in Cambridge **LINK**

If I hadn’t had my mobile phone with me while walking alone along a local track a month ago I wouldn’t be writing this (or anything else) now. My aorta, or at least its lining, went pop without warning. I phoned my wife who then was able to tell the ambulance people exactly how to reach me. An operation at Papworth followed soon after, and I’m still here.

To clear up any doubts about Rx battery voltage in flight, surely it makes sense to log the voltage and apply suitable voice warnings. And for Hitec users, take a direct line from the Rx battery to the SPC socket (if that’s its name) on the Rx. And set a low voltage alarm too.

Just remember that a good 90 or 120 can easily pull a Workmate over. Quite scary at the time!

Dismayed by Multiplex’s pricing policy I went to 24GHz with Hitec Aurora, liking the clever way of getting LiPo voltage onto the Tx screen for free. But development stopped and the only sound was a beep. And Hitec decided not to provide a measure of signal strength - crazy. So back to the Mpx Evo with a Jeti module, v nice, just waiting for Jeti’s Tx to be announced - How Much?!!! Found a home with Frsky, it even had similarities to Mpx.

Thank you, good advice, I will replace the connectors, I also prefer not to have to tighten screws before every single flight, even then, there's nothing to say they won't work loose in flight. I’m probably missing something here, but what are the screws?

If you use a car charger remember that car batteries don't care about voltage ripple.

As well as the converted server supply I've been using a Junsi P350 for several years - Junsi make chargers too so you know it's suitable. Not cheap but well made. Experience* suggests it's important to get a smooth voltage input to your charger, otherwise the all-important cutoff point could be missed. * If using an ATX PC power supply be sure to check that.   Edited By Brian Spearing on 08/12/2017 17:14:41

Unless you are using the wizard to set up a new model, the default channel order doesn’t matter, nor does the Inputs order. What does matter is the order in the Mixers as its output is connected to the Outputs, ie the servos.