Mark Lubbock

I have a Hannibal powered by one of the Champion 'Oldie' 28cc Mculloch engine as fitted to many strimmers. This engine is very quiet on a 20x6 prop & hauls the model about very well. Performance is slightly better with a 16x8 but still very quiet. Ignition is via the standard electronic 'magneto' system which has proved totally reliable for me-the only downside is that it cannot be handstarted but needs an electric starter to achieve a good spark-this was my first foray into petrol engines & has been an excellent experience-the total reliability, ease of operation, cheap fuel & clean running seem to be the main advantages. Hope this helps.

Get the SLEC one, mount it carefully & you won't look back-also useful for truing balsa sheets prior to joining. It will pay for itself the first model you build.

Hi Tom, I too have a go at engine building at times (ML Midge, Dragonfly etc-see AMI a few years back & Ron Chernich's website))& would like to see more of this sort of thing-it's not everybody's cup of tea though-perhaps start a dedicated thread?

My experience with ARTF's have in the main been fairly good, apart from the U/C mountings, they have been well up to the strains induced in flight. Unfortunately, this is obviously not always the case, but it is difficult to argue the point after a model has crashed-models have always crashed & it has always been 'someone else's' fault, interference etc., so it is difficult for any retailer to differentiate between a genuine faliure & someone trying it on. This is not to excuse shoddy manufacture or poor after sales service, but the only thing to do is to thoroughly inspect all aspects of a model & if suspect, return the model for a refund stating 'not fit for purpose' BEFORE you fly it & I don't agree with trying to make it good-this just masks the problem. If enough of this happens they will soon get the message. Please remember, under the Air Navigation Order, which applies to us all as pilots of models, it is up to US to ensure the flight can be safely made & this includes integrity of the airframe as well as the other things.

I think most servos are electronically compatable, but some manufacturers use different polarity & wire colours. As a user of both Fleet & Futaba radios, I have to be aware of the +ve & -ve wires being transposed-easily sorted by releasing the two wires from the servo plug (use a pin to release the barb)& swapping them over. I have also had some servos with orange, brown & red wires (JR colours?)-these are wired as Futaba with the Orange being the signal wire(white in Futaba)

Hi All, Glad to see i'm not alone! Mind you, I didn't think I would be somehow! What would the sellers do withous us? I do seem to have it bad though-purchases in the last 12 months include: 5 Replikit C/L & F/F kits when they sold their KK branded stuff at half price, Sportsman ARTF 60 size Spitfire, C.A.P. Zero, Ben Buckle Majestic Major & Red Zephyr, all off Ebay, Electric ARTF Mustang & Overlander Tucano from a swapmeet, More recently, West Wings Cub, Ben Buckle Mini Super, Super 60 & Elf Biplane all half price at Weston Park. I just couldn't resist them!!! & I still look at Ebay most days!! I haven't got on to the engines yet, but I am sure you get the picture-I still have NIB a Svenson 1/4 scale Stampe bought as fire stained salvage from Jim Davis's stock after the fire (anyone remember that?)in Birmingham back in the early 80s!

Has to be the David razor plane-I've had mine for years & don't know what i'd do do without it (I know, hack away with a stanley knife, ruining my work!). Close seconds would be my SLEC balsa stripper & a cheapo pillar drill from Screwfix.

I think the main reason for freewheelers on rubber models was not to reduce drag, but to avoid upsetting the trim on the glide. Those props were half the wingspan in some cases & the twist would act as a very warped flying surface. My KeilKraft Gypsy spun in when the freewheel stuck!

Having recently returned from the Weston Park Show with four new kits (they were a bargain dear!)to add to the already large amount of unbuilt models, engines, rc equipment etc. etc. I have & will probably never get round to completing, I wondered whether it is just me or do others suffer(?) from this affliction. I justify mine as being something to do when I retire (still a fair way off at 48)& maybe shorter of funds/richer in time. I think it all stems from many years ago (early 70's) when all my modelling (FF gliders, rubber & later C/L)was done on a shoestring, engines & kits were Christmas or birthday presents & nothing was wasted. I remember stripping & splicing wood from 10p balsa bargain packs (I think they are about £2.50 now) to make useful lengths for building. Perhaps I am just storing away in this time of relative plenty or am I just deluding myself & suffer from an illness with no cure?

Hi Colin-Success at last-well done! I think the confusion about the undercarriage on the Mini-Super stems from the plan you have is Dave Boddington's original taildragger design given as a free plan in AMI a few yers back. Apparently, Dave submitted this design to Keil Kraft, which they subsequently kitted but with tricycle undercarriage. It's still available fron Ben Buckle & I picked up a half price kit at Weston Park a couple of weeks back (another one to build-eventually!).

Hi Chis, I live just the other side of Leominster from Ludlow-Happy to meet up sometime if you like. My first really successful R/C model was a Galaxy Escort/OS .30, sister to the Bowmans Skyman. I taught myself to fly with this one in 1980 after many years C/L & FF, which I still indulge in today. Cheers Mark L

Hi, There is a built up Veron glider called the Vortex-it is 66" span & Replikit do a laser cut short kit for £25.95. Hope this helps

Hi Colin, Glad you got it airborne at last. Interestingly, you have used the 2408-21 motor, the same combination I use on my Veron Deacon which also weighs around 2lbs (this includes about 5oz lead in the nose to compensate for the removal of the 1.5cc twin diesel originally fitted). This flies excellently with the GWS 9x4.7 slow fli prop on a 1000mAh 2s lipo, so this may be worth a try. Duration is about 10-15mins with this prop, but I also use the same combination with 8x4 prop on my IFO, which flies for around 40mins (albeit mostly part throttle)on the same battery, giving a good indication of the relative power produced by the two props. I would estimate the larger prop almost doubles the power produced (easily checked with an ammeter as described earlier). Incidentally, Aldi have a multimeter with a useful 20A range in store for £5.99 at the moment.

Hi all, I have just bought a digital mutimeter from Aldi for the princley sum of £5.99. What is different about this meter is a very useful 20A current range as opposed to the usual 10A limit of most of these types, making it far more useful for measuring loads taken by smallish (typically 400 size) electric flight packages. At this price, you could buy two & get simutaneous readings of current & voltage (& therefore power) of a setup under test. I hope this is useful info for someone before they all sell out!!

Hi, I built a Mini Jazz from the free plan when it first came out-It is still flying & is one of my all time favourites. Being a cheapskate, I used part of a blue cider bottle (had to drink it first-hic!) for the canopy & buit up the cowl from bits of scrap balsa, so don't worry about these items, just build one & have the time of your life for next to no money! I powered mine with an OS 10FP, & this is fully aerobatic but not quite vertical, but a gallon of fuel lasts a lifetime.

I may be wrong, but I think the original was designed to fly on a 60 two stroke, so your Saito should be fine. Remember the flat twins, although lovely, do not produce the same power as the single cylinder equivalent. Also the Turbulent is designed to fly quite slowly, being faily lightly loaded-even the full size only used a Volkswagen engine!

Hi, For binding, I strip a length of 7 strand 2.5mm electrical cable & use the strands singly-I find they are strong & neat & also solder easily. Proper plumbers solders & fluxes can be obtained from any builders merchant such as Jewsons & also at most of the DIY chains. As Bob says, be careful about overheating, but you do need a large iron to solder large section wire. Hope this helps.

I agree with David, It's a shame the BMFA forum went that way, but anyone interested in our hobby looking at parts of that forum for the first time would go away thinking all we did was bicker with one another & find new & ingenious ways of preventing the enjoyment of our wonderful pastime. It did seem sometimes, the more the Moderator tried to control things, the worse it got! (stifling free speech etc. etc., the arguments went on) Forums are great places if used corectly & with good humour & intention-let's hope this one stays that way. Keep up the excellent work!!!

Fantastic Models, Dave Bishop, Barbecues, Beer, Hot weather, does it get any better? Sitting outside the beer tent until late on the Saturday night last year was the perfect end to a great day. Let's hope the weather is as good this year as the last-I will definitely be there.

Hi, Maybe there is a clue in that you do not fly a lot-How old is your fuel? I had a similar problem with two previously reliable OS engines-I was using the last bit of a gallon of fuel left from las season-I think water had been absorbed-changing to a new full gallon of fresh fuel solved the problem.

Hi Colin, I too find the IC-Electric confusing, & I am an Electrical engineer by trade. There are many variables with electric flight but this is the way I make (some) sense of it: .1 of a horsepower (about a 1-1.5cc diesel) is about 80Watts. Efficiency varies with prop size etc, but this is affects both IC & El to a degree. If you can, just measure the amps(A) taken by the motor & multiply by the voltage(V) (10Ax10v =100W for instance) You can see by this any motor giving(taking?) around 80-120W & operating reasonably efficiently will fly a model originally designed for an oldish 1.5-2.5cc engine such as your Mini-Super. Remember, if you increase the volts(cells), the revs will rise & also the current & doubling V will double A, quadrupling the power. Increasing prop size will increase current & therefore power up to the limits of your system. Interestingly, it is amps(driven by Volts) that limit your motor/speed controller, but remember it is power (the product of the two) that will fly your model. Sorry to ramble on so much, it is a big subject to simplify, but I hope this helps a little.

Hi, I too have that plan but intend to build it for IC one day. If I were you, I would forget the 400/600 motors & go for one of the cheap brushless 'bell' motors-they produce much more power than the 400 & are much more efficent & longer lasting. I use a BM2408/21 & 15a controller (about £15 the pair) & a 2s 1000 lipo, GWS 9x4.7 prop on a converted Veron Deacon (2lb's weight & 52" span) & get a short takeoff from grass, an excellent climb (better than with the 1.5cc diesel previously fitted) & about 20 mins of mixed full & half(ish) throttle flight. The same combo with 8" prop in my IFO will accelerate vertically until the controls flutter & fly for 40mins (it only needs the throttle open a fraction most of the time). If you keep the Mini Super under 2lb's(my Deacon is Solartex covered & carries 5oz of lead in the nose, so built from scratch for electric would only be about 1.5lb) it should fly excellently with the above setup. Best of luck with your project, hope this helps.

Hi Leslie, I would be happy to go up anytime the weather is OK (any excuse!). Evenings & most weekends are normally good. Send me a mail & I will send my no. back so we can get in touch. What do you fly, and how are you progressing?

Hi To Leslie, There is a club in Leominster, I believe it is run by the guy who has the model shop in Leominster, but I think he keeps it closed to new people who buy their gear from him-he wasn't very helpful to me as an experienced modeller when I moved here (Dinmore) from Halesowen a few years back. There is a club in Bromyard, however there is a loose band of fliers including myself who fly up at Westhope fairly regularly. Getin touch if you wish, I would be more than happy to help you get safely in the air if needed.

Hi, Not sure of which version you want, but Replikit (www.replikit.com) do a copy of the old Mercury kit (65"span) & I believe it is available as a plan only or a laser cut short kit for around £30. Try a replikit model-you won't be dissapointed & no, I have no connection with the firm, just a satisfied customer.