Danny Fenton

Hi John, I think Chris Foss offers an ARTF Wot4 on his web site, if you really want one http://www.chrisfoss.co.uk/business.htm

My three votes are for the Hurricane, Stuka, and the B-25

Hi Phil, I bought a bag of assorted springs from EMA-Model supplies and there are some in there that may fit the bill 5mm x 30mm as well as some at 6mm x 40 amongst many others. The bag of 100 springs was £2.98 but you may be hit with a minimum shipping charge that will push the price up. http://www.ema-models.co.uk/shop/prodpages/page-SPRING-100.html

Hi Antony, it depends on what your definition of short kit is. If you order a plan sometimes there is a laser cut set of parts, plus cowlings canopy etc available. As Evan says, this is not always the case. The laser cut parts usually covers all ribs, fuselage formers and any fiddly parts. The sheet stock is not usually provided and you will have to source yourself. It is not difficult with a little paractice, you should give it a go, you will be amazed at the sattisfaction of doing it all yourself and the range of models increases significantly :)

I am interested in the scale scene, and have just waded through the BMFA Scale documentation. I am still a little puzzled, and unravelling all this this may be an interesting future article. (appologies if allready done) There seem to be three classes, full blown F4C, Clubman (F4C for us mere mortals) and "flying only" Which lowers the restiction on self build and Static judging. The documentation required looks formidable, even down to obtaining paint chip samples. Can anybody tell me if Light scale still exists, as obviosly the bias nowadays favors big models, which are not very transportable. And perhaps how to get into this area of modelling, presumably you will need at least a "B" Cert?

Yes, I see what you mean. I think I would modify the Tx to accept whatever plugs and sockets you can get. Good luck

Hi Derek, Did you try taking the charger lead to Maplin to see if they have a connector that will fit it? It doesn't have to mount exactly the same way on the Tx as the original? How much do Ripmax want to repair yours? Another alternative would be to just use a male and female mono mini jack connector and change the end of the charger lead for the male mini jack, and mount the female mini jack through the casing of the Tx. (It goes without saying that you must get the polarity right.

Way to go Shaun! What with iffy weather and only one mode II instructor in a about 50 Sq miles, My Wot4 is still to fly. How was the test?

Well the weather was horrid and I didn't get to fly..... oh well there's always another day. How is everyone else doing? fondled the sticks yet LOL

Hi Jonathan, no problem, It appears you can order the full pack, drawing, laser parts, and mouldings from Unitracts, however, I was unable to raise them on the phone to discuss this. Being impatient I contacted Bob Holman and ordered through him. I don't think Brian Taylor deals with anybody other than Bob Holman, even the Unitracts deal seems to be through Bob in the States. Bob did say that Brian was possibly winding down his production so he is unsure how long mouldings will be available. Unless anybody else knows differently??

Hi Keith, I like the look of the RCV engines and I love the concept of the SP engine, the fact that the prop turns at half crank speed so you can have a more scale prop and the torque will be massive. There are it seems issues around cooling which is hardly surprising, and I think you will definitely have to look at ducting cooling air over the engine fins. Getting air into the cowling will never be enough, you will have to force it across the fins with baffles I feel. The FW190 has a nice area to bring air around the spinner, but you will still have to encourage it across the engine and back out again. I have heard mixed comments on the power output, but most say it is not as powerful as other 90's. I think I would look at whether I want to fly at scale speeds or blast around the sky. I would dearly like to try one these as I think we should support such innovative technology, and whats more its British!

Hi Keith, this is also the problem with the Hurricane. The nose is very short, and you need to really build the aft section light to avoid too much lead in the front. Several plans extend the nose slightly to allow for this, but not as far as I can tell, Brian Taylor. The Unitracts site also does some cracking retracts systems for the BT drawings, so will probably be sourcing mine from there at some point. If you do get the BT drawings and laser parts from Bob Holman, Bob gets Brian to ship the cowling, canopy and spinners direct in the UK, to save shipping and customs. Let me know what you get, and we will need to see pictures of the build of course!

Hi Keith, I have just ordered the Brian Taylor Hurricane plans, the Taylor drawings (certainly for the "Hurri") do seem to be very accurate and I would expect the 190 to be as good. Mick Reeves does a nice 190 but it is a "D" unfortunately.

Hi Peter, it did seem a bit odd when I ordered the BT Hurricane a few weeks ago. If you order from the States you will stand a good chance of being hit by Customs, I will let you know how much I pay. I did notice Unitracts do sell BT plans and laser parts. It may be worth a look. I could not get an answer on their number so ordered from Bob Holman. http://www.unitracts.co.uk/scale_plans.html

Any identification marks on the part Derek? have you tried to match it via radio spares, or even Maplin, there may be something similar?

Hi mike, the engine runs quite sweetly at 1.5 turns I was just concerned that the manual said 2 - 2.5 turns. Fingers crossed on the big end. Cheers

Hi Jonathan and Keith, If you take a look at RCUniverse there are several guys building 190a try the following link it shows the progress of a 58" 190a. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3707553/anchors_3707553/mpage_1/key_fw190a/anchor/tm.htm#3707553 If you do a search on the 190a there are several hits.

Thanks Mike that is very interesting, I gave mine a bit more running today, JE suggest the needle should be around 2 - 2.5 turns. I am at 1.5 turns what sort of setting are you using? I had some vibration which ahs been cured by a more carefully balanced prop. I will have to listen out for the big end. I am using 20% castor in mine, just in case.

Sorry David, I found the page but it is for a different Tx, you could apply the same technique, if you want the challenge otherwise as David says transmitters are pretty cheap nowadays. http://www.mftech.de/buchsen_en.htm

I saw a site on the web that showed exactly how to add a buddy port to an old Futaba last week while researching something else, can I find it again now? no......sorry. I will keep looking. The secret is out there I've seen it LOL

Hi Geoff, ahh now I understand sorry about that. As Mike says you will have to lift each rib with a jig. In the past when I have built tapered wings such as the Hurricane, the ribs have been designed with lugs front and rear to hold them the correct height from the board, once the wing is complete the lugs can be removed and the bottom sheeted. I am surprised the designer didn't help you a bit by doing this. I guess no jig at the root, increasing with each rib to 3/4" at the tip rib will work. Then you can add the dihedral when you join the wing panel to the centre section. Good luck and let us know how you get on :)

Nick, on the JR, I just moved the ratchet and centreing spring across from the one stick on to the other. Could this be an option on this Tx?

Hi Geoff, I am not familiar with this model, but usually you would build the two wing panels flat, propping up the trailing edge towards the tip for wash-out perhaps. Once the panels were made you would then join the outer wing panel spars to the pinned down centre section spars with the tip of the wing panel propped up to achieve the required dihedral. The outer panels root rib would normally be omitted as it is actually the centre section outer rib. Forgive me if I have missed something strange about the design of this particular wing, and am teaching you to suck eggs, which is not my intention.

I was once thrust a Tx by an in-experienced modeller who had lost his power model in low cloud/fog/mist whatever. I throttled back fed in some up and left rudder. I then suggested everybody scour the sky for the spinning model as it emerged from the cloud base, it was way off where the owner thought it was. The spin recovery was thankfully swift, and I managed to get it down in one piece.

Hi John, I assume you are suggesting the tape is used on the pipework external to the tank not for the clunk feed inside the tank?