Hannes Koekemoer

Hello all I am a 16-year old from South Africa. I have just found this thread and find this discussion very interesting. The petrol engines appeal greatly to me because of the prospect of having to drive 100 miles for a decent hobby shop to buy very expensive (imported) glow fuel. The larger problem for me though, is the initial cost of getting into petrol or glow. I could only afford to build 2 balsawood electric models from plans up until now over a 2 year span, no ARTF's for me! (I rather dislike them). It almost saddens me to hear about the decreasing interest in petrol or glow powered models, because I love the sheer presence of them and all of the internally moving parts working perfectly to deliver useful power brings joy to me. I would however not be able to afford such a model anytime soon, so I have started to get into machining to try and build my own engines. At present I have 2 working stirling engines and 3 steam engine and am slowly working my way up to an ic-engine. I realise that I am probably one of the few of my type (future 'rivet counters' in the younger generation, but I will always go against the flow and continue my perfectionist ways. I just thought it would be good to know that petrol and glow engines and traditional balsa models still appeal to at least some of us young modellers.

I think it would be interesting to see the nationality of all the readers on the forum.

Hi Glyn, I also tried to fit a 1/4'' square strip, but after I saw that it would not be big enough, decided to make my leading edge from 1/2'' x 3/8" or bigger and planed it down. As for getting the 1/4 off, all I can think of is trying to plane it down a little and try to sand it flush with the false leading edge using a sanding block. Hannes. Edited By Hannes Koekemoer on 23/06/2015 19:39:00

Thank you! The maiden will hopefully happen within a few months (almost time for exams). I will also see if I can find someone to help me trim it as it will be the first balsa model I will fly. But, until then it will be time to hit the books for a few weeks.

Finally done! All I have to do now is the maiden. Here follows a few pictures, as you can see I loved Jim's colour scheme and decided to cover mine in almost the same way. It looks about the same (minus two windows, a different (removable) cowl and a little different landing gear.)

I am finally able to continue again! I had to stop for 2 months because of part shotages and the nearest hobby shop is 100 miles away. After our vacation (thankfully close to a hobby shop) I now have everything I need to finish my Jocasta Hopefully it will be up and flying within the next month.

I think I have just found another error on the plan. While I was measuring from the plan to buy the balsa wood, I noticed that the wingspan was actually 69" on my plan and the fuselage was 46", will this make any difference to the flight performance or integrity? I find this a little strange. Hannes

If caster oil varnish is the problem, the best I can think of is to use thinners or acetone to try and dissolve the varnish, but to me it sounds more likely that the alloy was punched to tighten the fit as the Engine Doctor states.

Thanks Andre I am actually from South Africa, but my name does originate from that area, and I could understand you too as my home language is Afrikaans which is very close to the same language. I think I will start with the wood too, but will probably cut them out myself (I like working with wood), then probably the heat shrink plastic. The next one for me would probably be the motor, esc and receiver (I already have servos and a 3S lipo, but only 2200mAh so I will buy a bigger one later) (P.S. In Afrikaans it would be: Ek woon in Wes Vlaanderen in Belgie. (Almost the same) Hannes   Edited By Hannes Koekemoer on 28/12/2014 10:17:55

Hi all, and merry Christmas! The time has almost arrived when we will be near a hobby shop (hooray!) and I was wondering what parts I should buy first as my budget is too small at the moment to buy everything in one go. What do you suggest?

Thanks Jim I will probably get started as soon as I have saved up enough pocket money to afford everything (maybe christmas then) and when we go on vacation near a hobby shop as hobby shops are few and far between here in South Africa.