McG 6969

Hello Lucas, I will be following along as well. Planning to build a Depron/electric version together with Dave Hopkin - well, he's my 'teacher' in fact, I'm a total newcomer - who started his build blog 'Anyone else for a Depron Ballerina'. Welcome over there for a visit, of course. Cheers Chris Brussels, Belgium   Edited By McG 6969 on 18/12/2015 18:45:48

Hi Dave, Thank you for all your answers. Combining for both Lipo configurations sounds the way to go. Although in my case "sedately" could very probably not be 'slow' enough. So - if I understand correctly - one 'long' square plywood box becoming the motor mount (more forward by +/- 50 mm), battery compartment, servo tray & wing mount all together with the end of it at F6. At the lateral outside of that box, do you keep the lateral pieces of the formers in ply or do you glue some same shaped Depron to the box? I suppose the top hatch being between the new F1 & somewhere between F2 and F3? So, you are planning to have the 'dummy' aft-deck stringers as well... Side note: I was wondering that since the strength of the front 'box' taking the primary loads, do you really need the sides of the fuse in 6 mm. I think film laminated 3 mm should do the job. For the aft fuselage, I was imagining to prolonge the structure of the plybox with a carbon fiber flat strip (6 x 2 mm) - starting at F4 down to the fuselage tail & glued at th height of the lateral thrustline. The unterside of the fuselage could then remain in 6 mm for 'gravity arrivals'. Does this sound stupid? Are you planning to keep the center section servo & the bell cranks or doubling the servo's for the ailerons? I'm off for shopping this afternoon to complete my material list & the LotH allowed me a special budget for some workshop tools... yeaaahhh... Thanks again, Dave Happy pre-Xmas shopping to all Chris Brussels, Belgium

Hi Dave, 1/ Concerning the balsa sheets I have, I've been taking their weight: 6 mm (10 x 100 cm) = 66,4 gr. 3 mm (10 x 100 cm) = 34,8 gr. But as I have no references to compare with, could you give me an idea of what the weight of 'medium' would be? 2/ Are you going for 3S or 4S Lipo's? 3/ As for the Depron & electric conversion, I can imagine that the front formers (F1 to wing TE) will be modified & adapted. What about the aft-deck ones, are you keeping them as per plan and just replacing the stringers w/ 6mm Depron? 4/ Are you preparing some modifications drawings and/or parts (formers, battery box, spars, ...) before the build actually begins? As I told you, dragging a newbie... Happy preparing Chris Brussels, Belgium

Oops... vanished words in my previous post... One should read > ... at least if my new(bie) mentor - Dave Hopkin - manages to convince his LotH that there is 'ANOTHER ONE' coming soon.

I'm in for a Depron version... ... at least if my new(bie) mentor - Dave Hopkin - manages to convince his LotH that there is "ANOTHER ONE" coming soon. Happy signing up Chris Brussels, Belgium

Dave, The 'covered' aft-deck is not really a must of course but I think it should keep the original 'character' to Peter's model. I think your idea of an 'undersized' top box with some lightweight stringers (balsa?) is the way to go. Laminating film is opposite to covering as it stretches when warmed up. So you can warm it up and pull it with some tension over the item to cover. Not really suitable for built up control surfaces as to much 'tension' can result in some warping. The Soudal & V33 products are both PU based & I tested them both with success on Depron & EPS. No probs there. @ Peter > nice tip regarding the servo disc washers except that being a newbie I don't have any 'old' ones. Happy prepping Chris Brussels, Belgium

Hi Dave, Hi Geoff, Concerning the Depron: white > 2, 3, 6 & 9mm / density: 40gr/m³ grey > 3 & 6mm / density: also 40gr/m³ aero > 3 & 6mm / density: 33 & 28gr/m³ respectively (so about 20% lighter) The 'normal' white comes in a 0,7 x 1,0m format (0,7m2) while the 'grey' & 'aero' comes in 0,8 x 1,25m (1m2). So, that's helpful to make a visual difference between the white ones. As I couldn't find it in Belgium, I got my aero from Ebay/UK > Kudos Trading in Nottingham. @ Geoff > Are you going to build a Depron Ballerina as well? Hope this helps Happy Deproning Chris Brussels, Belgium   Edited By McG 6969 on 16/12/2015 08:34:21

Hi Dave, First, thank you for answering that fast. So, my 6mm Depron will not be 'Aero' as I can't find any, but 'normal' for the structural parts On the other hand, I would like to reproduce Peter's covered fuselage-aft top deck for 'aesthetic' reasons. Maybe some bamboo sticks w/ some laminating film over it? Sorry, you're the teacher after all. 3mm ply > check. 6mm balsa > check > I can cut some from the sheet I have, but I guess I will never know if it is the 'medium' kind. piano wire > check, even stainless steel if needed. wires & connectors > check, I have a lot of them. captive nuts / nylon bolts > check, but is 3mm (w/ steel bolts) OK for the motor mount? I also have 5mm for the wing fixation. UHU Por > check Gorilla glue > not available in Belgium, but I have some correspondent glue from a Belgian industrial manufacturer called Soudal. Ronseal > not available locally neither, but a 'hard wood varnish' w/ equal PU properties is available here (branded V33). So, nearly there, I suppose. Thank you again for your assistance. Cheers Chris Brussels, Belgium

Hello Dave, There is no LMS in a close area around here in Belgium (or they are extremely expensive in relation w/ the lack of competitors). I'm trying to find what I need in local art- or craft stores and getting the electro parts from Hobbyking or Asian online stores. Probably I forgot to tell you that I'm a total newbie as well & this will be my first ever build! So, concerning the material list for your Depron Ballerina, could you give me some idea of what I should need? I already have 3 & 6mm Depron / 3mm White Depron Aero (from UK!) / 3mm ply (birch, poplar & samba) / 3mm liteply / 6mm ply (poplar) / dowels 3, 6 & 8mm / and some basic assortment of balsa (not very much though). What else do you think I should need? I hope that you will go on with your build even as it does not seem that everyone is pushing the door to have a Depron-version build. And if we are the 2 only ones, I'm afraid you might end up having to drag a newbie along. Cheers Chris Brussels, Belgium

Humm... so I should add some trouser clips & a pair of braces to my material list then...

@ Peter > Thank you again for mailing me your .pdf's. @ Dave > Thank you for your proposal to send me a RCME magazine but as Peter sent me the plan drawings, I don't think I still need it (except maybe if there is also a build article included? - but then just a scan of those pages would do, I guess). @ Geoff > Thanks also for your help, but I hope I won't need Ms Ashby's assistance for this now. Up to the copy shop & the material list next then. ... and of course, trying to understand the plans. Chris Brussels, Belgium

Hello Dave, Thank you for your reply. I've been following this forum & some build blogs since more than a year now. So, I know a little about the Depron gurus around here (been recently following Mr Electriflier's Mosquito from the genesis). If would be great if you can get a December issue & have it posted to Belgium (.pdf is ok also though). Thanks again Chris Brussels, Belgium

Mr Hopkin, Dear Dave, I'm subscribing anyway to this build (sooo much to learn). But if you're going the Depron way & projecting to have a 'full' build blog, I'm intended to follow you by trying to build a foamie Ballerina. As it would be my first ever build, I would need quite a bit of support... even knowing that it should be 'cheaper' to crash. The only point is I cannot obtain the RCME December magazine in Belgium (no distribution agent here), so does anyone could mail me the plans as .pdf, allowing me to print them at a local print store? Thank you in advance for your assistance Chris Brussels, Belgium   ps: ... Y espero que esto no  tiene mala pinta... Edited By McG 6969 on 14/12/2015 19:00:21 Edited By McG 6969 on 14/12/2015 19:01:25

Hello to all, I'll second BEB on his reply. I'm a total newbie myself (RC, modelling, IC, EP, EPP, ESC, Gorilla stuff, PVA, GF, CF, TMA, AUW, BRU Airport & a lot more acronyms to master ...). But if you tell people what they 'have' to do - ie. motor A, combined w/ ESC B & prop C -, obviously they 'll not be learning a lot, just 'copycatting' what as been said (ordered?). No learning phase there, I'm afraid. Explaining W/lb, max current, KV, prop pitch & so on, seems to be the right approach in a learning curve. One's knowledge 'll only improve if he/she understands how & why things are happening. Since more than one year I'm daily visiting this forum as we don't have this kind of 'wealth' in the country. And some members here are really dedicated to 'help' the newcomers. Great pedagogy, thanks to them. So, I'm buying a Wattmeter right away... Chris Brussels, Belgium ps: ... the easiest way to calculate the lateral offset of your motor mount is to use the sine of the thrust angle...

1/ Werewolf 2/ Dragon Dancer 3/ Harlequin Chris Brussels, Belgium

Hi Geoff, You're totally right. Buying some balsa sheet & re-cutting the bits wouldn't be that hard (but then, how many of them parts are in the same condition?). Also, the u/c seems to be quite unusable (out of scale!)... and that ali one seems totally 'off' as you wrote. I must admit though, if I could find a (belgian) Stampe SV -4B at the same conditions (& €,-), I would buy it right away... Happy hesitating Chris Brussels, Belgium

Hi to all, I wanted to order the HK Moth from the EU warehouse, being quite a bit cheaper than the same one from Banggood. After looking at the comments, I (unfortunately) decided to pass on this one. There seems to be some basic problems w/ that airplane - i.e. some labeling engraving has been 'overdone' and cutted through the wood in the middle of some parts & other pieces are unusable as the laser software went a bit 'mad' and cutted something like a centimeter into some formers. Please have a look at the comments from 'Robbie' (in the EU warehouse). He also posted some 'great' pics in the Files-tag. Happy Tigering Chris Brussels, Belgium

Hello Simon, I checked with some Profili Ci/Cd graphs & it seems that your '6°= zero lift' is not what I found. The graphs are reporting a good lift between 5 & 9° but then it decreases brutally w/ nearly no lift and stall at 10,5°. Btw, on the Clark Y, the difference between your flat bottom (B) and the chord line (A) is exactly 2,5°. Setting your main wings at the chord line (A = 0° pitch) & the stab at +2° will kill your 'decalage' (= longitudinal dyhedral) and will tend to make your bird quite unstable in his (her) longitudinal behaviour. I would set the main wing at B (2,5° pitch) and keeping the stab to 0° as well (here with an 'easy' shim- adjustment possibility). This seems to be the most common solution for slow monoplane trainers (ex. the Super 60). At least your 'decalage' is still around 2,5°. I have no experience at all w/ triplanes but you could set the main wings at slighly different angles as Erfolg pointed out for most biplanes (+/- 1 - 2° difference). Happy calculating Chris Brussels, Belgium

Hello Donald, Great your problem is solved then. And even greater that your colours will be BAF w/ the training canopy. Didn't know that canopy was included in the kit though. I hope that you will be making a thread when you start to build it. Should be subscribing at the second. Happy building Chris Brussels, Belgium

Hello Donald, I don't know exactly what you are looking for concerning the Svenson 1:4 Stampe. Is it the building plans you are missing? What I have is a 7 pages .pdf (3,5 Mb) showing large scale drawings. Info found on the document says > Stampe SV4 B 1:4 / Svenson Models Belgium / wingspan: 2096 / designed by Marcel Engelbert. There is also information provided concerning overlapping lines to be cut away, so I presume the 7 pages should 'tile' together. Of course if that is what you are looking for, let me know & I'll email the .pdf to you. I have never build any RC model so far, but I promised myself to build an SV4 when in future possession of the necessary skills. When I was a boy, I was offered my first flight ever in a Stampe by the Belgian Air Force. I'll never forget that orange/ fluo red training scheme with the pinguin... Hoping to be able to help Happy research Chris Brussels, Belgium

I'll second Cymaz' comment... it's a 'old recolored picture' of a real one, for sure. Exceptional & dedicated skills at all levels of modeling & splendid crafting. Bravo, Monsieur. Chris Brussels, Belgium ps > I only witnessed 'control line' flying way back in time, but please Mr Fenton, NO control line with this ship...

Thx for the answer, Mr Electriflier. I can imagine you both had already a deco scheme in mind. But anyway, it could bring some other Mossie builders to some 'un-classical' idea. Still following, and... happy decorating. Chris Brussels, Belgium

Hello Sir, I’ve been silently subscribing to your build since you started building your splendid Mosquito. If you haven’t yet decided on the decoration/markings of your model, I was thinking of suggesting you this ‘Red Sea Shark’ version. The Red Sea Sharks (French: Coke en stock) is the nineteenth volume of The Adventures of Tintin, the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The original comic is from 1958 and reprinted over and over again since. The "Coke" referred to in the original French title is a code name used by the villainous antagonists of the story for African slaves. The Mosquito is flown by a Khemedi Col. Achmed and mistakenly destroys two of his own armoured cars half way the story. The comic is about modern slavery and the Khemedi state is behind this trade. As you can expect, Tintin, Capt. Haddock & Szut (a Khemedi pilot discovering in time he joined the wrong people) save hundreds of people from slavery. This Mossie version has been build up by some Belgian & French modelists at a small scale (Airfix or Revell 1/72) but no trace of some bigger models on the net. Most of them even didn’t bother about including the Arabic registration… but almost all replicated the ‘in square’ (instead of the ‘inline) position of the 20mm nose guns. I thought this colour scheme could be rather unique as far as both you & your ‘McGyver’-partner like it too, of course. Just being a thought, here.     … and please, go on showing us the way it should be done.   Happy building   Chris Brussels, Belgium   Edited By McG 6969 on 08/10/2015 12:17:23 Edited By McG 6969 on 08/10/2015 12:17:57

... well, just tried to sign... ... but 'those crazy enough to drive on the wrong side of the road' are not counted in, sorry. Chris Brussels, Belgium

Just saw your post, Mr Fenton. That really must have been a very scary moment. Thankfully you and your family are well. Chris Brussels, Belgium