Mark Lubbock

You only have to lok at the price 'proper' kits are fetching on Ebay to realise there is  a lot of  interest out there. I know some are for collectors, but the lack of builders kits available does push the desirability & therefore the price up. For me, the lack is not a problem as I build from plans & even design a few of my own & get great satisfaction from it. There is of course a place for the ARTF's, indeed I have some, but anyone reared on an exclusive diet of these are IMHO really missing out on what I regard as an essential part of aeromodelling-are we allowed to still use that word? Modelling is not necessarily meant to be easy, I well remember the many faliures & disappointments of the earlier days, but I really think you get out of any activity what you put in, probably multiplied. Welcome back traditional modelling (if it ever really went away?)

Drawings are on the way to you Frank & Steve. You're getting anothe set by accident Fred-sorry! Hope they are of use.

Hi Steve, let me know your email address or just send a  message to [email protected] & I will send you & Frank the drawings.   Frank, I suspect you can only get away with not balancing on the smaller sizes although many commercial diesels, DC, AM & Frog etc. used plain cranks, probably sacrificing balance for strength & getting away with it at the lower revs diesels tend to operate at. Anyway, no point in complicating a job, particularly a first attempt?

Hi Frank, Many thanks for your kind words, glad you are having a go. Have a look at posting no 4 on this thread, this covrs the balance question. I will send you the drawings, anyone else want some? It saves broadband usage if I  can bundle a few together.

Hi Fred, drawings on the way. Again, I have tried the stud method & it works well & saves some machining.

all the above is good advice-I still predominately use white PVA & the secret is to get close fitting joints, use the glue sparingly as this speeds setting time & saves weight & close fitting joints aid structural integrity. If you plan your build, you can be cracking on with another part as the glue sets on another.

It's in Smiths in Hereford, but I haven't had mine yet.

Hi, first of all, your model shop guy is talking a load of tosh!-engines run perfectly well anyway up! It's probably worthwhile running it in upright on the bench to get used to handling it & establishing the settings etc. The only thing to worry about with an inverted engine is to avoid flooding the cylinder with excess fuel, but as long as you are careful an inverted engine is easier to start as the fuel reaches the cylinder easier. Probably worth removing the plug for a first start of the day to check that the plug is not fouled with residual fuel/oil as this can shorten the plug life & make the initial start difficult. Try to keep the thrustlines close to the original & the top of the tank just above the carb level. Also, when flying, be prepared to use the throttle, the Matador is a fine flyer but modern glows are far more powerful than '50s diesels & vintage models can be a handful if overpowered. Hope this helps & see if you can get a hand with that all important first flight-where do you live? I'm sure someone on here is close & prepared to help? Best of luck

I suspect a metal prop would be fine if subject to similar use to full size. i.e If you damage a full size prop it is replaced, model props get bent on a regular basis & if straigtened would eventually be weakened & fail. Also it is very easy & cheap to mould props in plastic in our model size & they are pretty much proven unless abused.

Hi,   I fly Mode 1, I live in the Midlands Learnt in the Midlands Self taught.   I fly Mode 1 because that was the mode of the first 5 channel (Futaba 5lk 27mhz) & not because of any percieved advantages of either. I can fly other modes equally badly.   I can see this thread degenerating into a 'which is best/most realistic' etc. before too long!!   Cheers! Mark L

We are all quite clearly lucky to be alive!! Not because we should have killed ouselves, but I  think we are the last generation to have actually enjoyed ourselves?

I agree with Steve, give it scale, ie. no dihedral. You should have to balance rudder & aileron input to give a balanced turn & it is best to get into this habit than trying to avoid it. Rudder only, coupled to dihedral gives this automatically if designed correctly but is probably only correct for one given airspeed/flying weight but is perfectly adequate for most of us. When it comes to adding ailerons, unless you do a 'bank & yank'  pylon turn using the ailerons & elevator you will need to get used to some varying rudder input in the turns to give a nice scalish flight pattern & this is very satisfying when you get it right.

Wing section, rudder size, side area, wing loadings etc can all have an effect on control response, yaw/roll coupling etc. I suspect the Aeronca was suffering from an adverse yaw effect. On another tack re. unusual control responses, I fly a paramotor. This is a craft with extreme pendulum stability, with the weight (me + motor) well below the wing. It is possible with extreme, sustained turns for this pendulum effect to overcome the controls with predictable results! (no I haven't tried it-I probably wouldn't be here writing this if I had!) It is also a flying wing with a thick  undercambered section & is steered by pulling the trailing edge of the wing down on one side. This does not raise that wing to turn in the opposite direction like ailerons but turns towards the side pulled down. They are termed brakes but in aircraft/aileron terms this is extreme adverse yaw. They are used together to flare for landing. Another unusual effect, caused by the low thrustline is that increasing the power slows the craft down by increasing the angle of attack, drag & lift. All these unusual effects aren't a problem, as long as they are known & predictable & the craft is flown accordingly & I think this applies for both models & full size aircraft..  

As it is a scale model, I would find a 3 view drawing or photograph & give it a scale level of dihedral. Excess dihedral on an R/C model can lead to over stability & excessive rudder response & poor response on the ailerons. I would imagine anything more than an old OS 20FS would overpower this model but you always can use the throttle, much depends on the CofG position, a lot of scale models require noseweight, so a larger engine is better than adding lead. You can always reposition the radio, but beware of balancing a heavy engine with a rearward concentration of mass such as the battery as you can sometimes achieve a 'dumbell' effect. adversely affecting stability. Also use some aileron differential (upgoing more than downwards) as this type of model may suffer from adverse yaw (the downgoing aileron causing an unwanted yaw in the opposite direction due to drag) requiring a lot of use of the rudder to give a balanced turn.

Black Magic or the Mercury Aeronca Sedan (available from Replikit) would also be good

I bought one off Ebay a couple of weeks ago with box for a 'buy it now' for £40-bargain! spotted it just as it came on. This too didn't seem to have much compression, but it ran well & after a couple of runs compression improved & first flick starts were then the norm. Probably a bit of sticky oil on the valve seats. These little engines run like sewing machines. Regarding the Junior 60, should be OK for leisurely flying-I used to fly one with a 2.5 diesel. Failing  that, a lighter vintage model such as the Junior 60 or Simplex would be ideal. There was a free plan in RM a few years ago for an Aeronca C3 which was 6ft span & used this engine which aparrently had plenty of power.

Does the special come to subscribers? When you subscribe, it says 13 issues.

Hi again Tony,   From what you have described, I would be confused as well! This setup would give washin as you describe. It is normal to pack the TE up at the tip while building the wing or sometimes a change of section from root to tip can be used. Just a thought... some models intend the wing to be built flat on a board upside down, so the wing taper gives slight dihedral-if this is the case, you would pack the root up-worth a check of the plan?

Washout is a twist in the wing that reduces incidence towards the tip. The idea is to make the root stall before the tip, helping to prevent the wing dropping, for instance on a slow landing approach. This setup is ideal for trainer type aircraft, but was also a feature on many WW2 fighters. Of course washout becomes washin when inverted, so can be a problem on aerobatic types, but is a trade off between good low speed handling, manouverability, etc. Hope this helps.

All I can say regarding the 2.4gig radio, is that mine have performed faultlessley  without any mods at all. Incidentally, last Saturday, I flew the little jet style 'holiday build no 2' model in my avatar  GC radio equipped alongside my little green 'holiday build no1' model equipped with Futaba 7CAP. The GC radio was absolutely steady & glitch free while the Futaba (35Mhz) was constantly glitching the esc-no control loss, but food for thought?

My view is that if you don't like a club's rules, then don't join it. Before I moved house a few years back I was in a club with the 'A' rule (I already had my A) & the most dangerous (& obnoxious) flier was one of the examiners-you know the type, the rules apply to YOU but not ME etc. etc.. Getting a 'A' doesn't make a safe flier anymore than passing a driving test stops speeding etc. I now live away from a club, so tend to fly solo mostly & I do miss the club but I don't mis the politics. I don't necessarily agree with all the H&S police, but a club has to have certain rules, but common sense should prevail. As for starting an engine by hand-I have been operating engines for nearly 40 years, from diesels to large petrols & have never been hurt STARTING an engine. Once it is running the danger exists, no matter how you started it.

Hi Brian, I have built a number of small engines & I would use Tufnol as used for engine mounting plates/electrical equipment for your rear disc. It will not wear your backplate, is easy to work & is lighter (it will always be out of balance). Don't worry too much about the sealing-lap it to a good fit & let it spin freely- +ve crankcase pressure will ensure a good seal just when you need it, just like a reed valve. I know you have already done it, but for making the crankshaft, I always make & use use an eccentric collet-the journal is turned first & then put in the collet to turn the crankpin-saves all that out of balance with the large heavy blank. Hope this helpsgood luck with your build-looks good.

I've used online payments using credit cards & Paypal both for Ebay & other shopping for many years now & have never had any problems. Paypal is very convenient & arguably more secure. If you are worried at all, it is a good idea to take out a separate card, agree a lowish credit limit depending on what you think you will need & use this exclusively for your Paypal account-you will be protected by your credit limit & will quickly see anything untoward. Hope this helps.

I find a razor plane essential, also an A4/3 self healing cutting mat

Not sure where this is heading-I always thought the main advantage of electric flight is its quietness-we had a chap who fitted whistles to his large electric model & you couldn't hear your ic model when that was in the air, & the noise was (to me anyway) far more objectionable. Having said this, I have heard the large electric Spitfire of Al's with its sound system representing a Merlin & as Peter M says, makes your hair stand on end.