Owdlad

I'm sorry but the mods should remove this thread as it ( in my opinion) shines a very poor light on the rest of 'us' responsible modellers

If you regard your lipo packs as a gallon of fuel.... ie 10% @ £20 per gal and on average you get 20 flights per gallon + cost of replacement glow plugs at £5 each. The costs soon add up over time. On a decent lipo pack you can get well in excess of 100+ cycles..... so effectively in the long term electric is more cost effective. Basically when:- 1) using ic.......the costs per flight increase because of consumables 2) using electric......the costs per flight decrease

Equally there is pros and cons for both methods of propulsion so you will not get a definataive answer. In terms of safety please don't assume that electric doesn't bite........because it can! with its bite bieng far more dangerous than ic.............oh dear I've just opened up another can of worms

Glad you mentioned that you torque the plug up. Is it around 7-9 lb ft ? I believe the problem is to do with expansion as Aluminium expands roughly twice as much as Steal. Have you tried to re-torque the plugs up at operating temperature ?

Nay lad tha wint get mi guin am too wise to be baited mun. Reading Cadel Evans autobiography something simular happened the year before he won the tour. He fell off on a downhill section and if memory serves me right he'd broken his collar bone. He got back on his bike (stern faced & expressionless ) without moving his lips he told his team manager he'd broken his collar bone. He didn't want the TV cameras pick up by lip reading his problem so that his oponents could attack. He finished the stage but the next day he retired from the tour I certainly hope that this isn't the case with Froome Edited By Owdlad on 23/07/2016 01:09:12

Trying to be constructive, so can you please clarify the problem 1. Is it the plug that's coming loose? 2. Or is it the plug cap that's detaching from the plug

I think froome is injured more than he's letting on

Posted by Martin Harris on 20/07/2016 The difference between the grounding of a full size aircraft with a known engine weakness and a model is that operated correctly, there is little probable danger to human life and limb - a model of this size will always be flown/demonstrated under controlled conditions - not over people - and it is primarily the unmanned model that is at risk in the case of an engine failure. Edited By Martin Harris on 20/07/2016 11:20:54 Martin I'm sorry but correct me if I'm wrong....... A few years ago, didn't a spectator at a model show in the south of England get hit by an out of control radio controlled model aeroplane and died through injuries sustained. I have no doubt that Robbies model was in tip top condition an well maintained by those concerned....but something did go wrong. The question I ask is simply was it preventable? We all know the cause, it's finding a solution to prevent another occurrence that is the hardest part of the equation.

Robbie. First of all my sincere apologies if I come across as though I'm having a go at you. This is not my intention at all and you have my utmost sympathy for loosing such a magnificent flying machine in which a great deal of time and investment is involved with such a model. Did the model crash because of lack of piloting skill.......No Nervousness.......is a good thing as it keeps you on your toes and prevents taking things for granted The key issue of an investigation is not to find blame, quiet the oposite. Its to put measures in place to prevent such occurrences from happening. You say the power plant regularly spits plugs.......... This is the problem........ If this happened on a full size the plane would be grounded until a fix is found. Your model was at 68% scale, to me that is on the boundaries of full size aviation. Under your own admission the power plant on the model spits plugs...... You flew the model with a known issue without preventative measures in place with the resulting engine failure and crash.......I'm sorry as harsh as it sounds, but that is pilot error (without prejudice) and the crash was preventable. The key issue is to learn from this and put measures in place to prevent such an occurance from happening on the replacement model. Kind regards ......Owdlad

The key issue is that lessons must learned

Posted by ChrisB on 18/07/2016 21:35:50: Posted by Barryorbik on 18/07/2016 20:55:53: Terrible to see such a lovely aircraft destroyed but does anyone know the cause? and does it really say 'skip' on the aircraft piece being carried to the trailer in the still photograph at the end of the video. The cause was a spark plug coming loose and the engine dying. Great shame, but its one of the pitfalls of the hobby unfortunately...those that have and those that will. Robbie will have another monster aerobatic plane in the air soon enough!   I bare no ill will towards the pilot.....infact the oposite as it's gut wrenching when this sort of thing happens. The key issue is that lessons are learned so as to prevent it from happening again. This is why an accident & investigation should be carried out. Let me stress! this type of investigation is in the intrests of safety and not to oportion blame it is to find out the root cause and act upon it, put measures in place to prevent such occurrences. Let's not forget that this model was bordering on full size (68%), where all sorts of rules and regs apply Edited By Owdlad on 19/07/2016 22:59:33

The pilot looks nervous............flying in front of paying spectators effects your mindset and it can effect your performance for good or bad. Reason for the crash........ loose spark plug causing the engine to die. I'm sorry but that's pilot error due to lack of effective maintenance. Flying a 60+% scale monster with a 400cc motor up front in front of 1000s of spectators all reliant on a radio signal is a recipe for disaster and proper safety measures should be in place Before every flight a thorough pre-flight maintenance check should be carried out.....every last nut & bolt should be checked over including the engine. Spark plugs don't suddenly become loose. I will stand by what I say......pilot error... let's hope that people learn lessons from his miss fortune. I hope the LMA are conducting an accident investigation to prevent such occurrence from happening again and don't brush this crash under the carpet which I suspect will happen.

Ive been asked to forward this recorded video last weekend of son of Sam in hooligan mode giving his Magic a workout.....Enjoy https://youtu.be/Cwy7ptNZMr8 Owdlad

Great minds think alike Percy. I have recently started using flight modes ie landing, launch aerobat modes. For example. When landing mode is selected it inhibits all the dual rates and leaves you with a set suitable maximum control throw deflections & expo which is determined by a series of test flights. I've found the key benefit is that you don't have to worry if all your rate switches are on or off during landing or take off etc when you've enough on your mind in getting the model down in 1 piece

Re: Expo. I use Expo just to take the sensitivity out around neutral on the gimbals so you don't get interaction and swear by using this function. The problem arises when too much Expo is 'dialed in', then you get past a point on the sticks when all the movement comes in at once.! Maybe this is Sams problem

Re: acro wot flicking in. Smacks of too much control throws which is generally a common problem throughout the flying fraternity. Its suprising how little movement is required; but modelers know better

On reflexion I think yesterday stage to Mont Ventoux was inevitable due to moving the finishing line down the mountain because of the high 60 mph wind and the concerns over safety. All the spectators up there had to be dispersed further down the mountain with the resulting caotic scenes we all witnessed. I also believe yesterdays events have had an effect on the whole classification as the key players were loosing time on the yellow jersey. Todays race of truth I believe will make up for yesterday, mindst? Looking forward to the worlds greatest free sporting event Owdlad

Update on the progress of Lightning. Since Sam inicial flight of Lightning at the first ukcaa bash at Skegness this year he hasn't been able to fly because of a serious injury. Yesterday July 13th Sam felt it was time to give Lightning a flight as he has recovered sufficently to stand un-aided without support for short periods of time. So, on a typical summers day on top of the hills overlooking Holmfirth he asked me to come along and help him out by bieng his pit man. Naturally I jumped at the chance and decided to video blowing off the cob webs of his Lightning and his fingers Sams flight looked better in real time as this video clip doesn't do full justice, but nevertheless I hope you enjoy  https://youtu.be/-E2wet0645U Owdlad  Edited By Owdlad on 14/07/2016 17:57:48 Edited By Owdlad on 14/07/2016 17:59:10

Politics & Religion should be bared from this forum.... ...it causes the blood pressure to rise and creates too much I'll feeling towards each other. Excellent weather forcast for today..... can't wait to go flying this morning.... ..then settle in front of the TV this aft for the TdF......then a 10 mile TT this evening  I've a feeling today's going to be gone in a blink of an eye  Owdlad   Edited By Owdlad on 13/07/2016 04:55:41

Posted by Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 11/07/2016 18:56:43: Cycling? Mmmmm. Motor bikes without engines,..... Sorry but I see them a bit like I see gliders, alcohol-free beer and decafinated coffee - i.e something that was fun until someone took the good bit out! BEB (very tongue in cheek!) BEB For the past few years technology has allowed hidden electric motors into the frames of race bikes leading to riders bieng banned. Bikes now have to be tested for such dispicable technology and are also monitored during the race.

I think this thread is a tongue in cheek dig at cyclists by the author

Looking forward to todays stage [9] now Froome has the maliot jaune Quintana may come out to play on today's mountain top finish

Posted by Dave Hopkin on 09/07/2016 14:24:22: Without getting into a for or against EU argument - surely the point of political leaders is lead? If either or both parties had as you suggest "sat on the fence" then in my view they would both be selling out any principals they have and being grossly negligent in their responsibilities to the country...... I respect what you say and I suspect that people forget that the referendum was an In/Out vote and had nothing to do with party politics. Once you stand up and recommend to the people you represent to vote in favour of acceptance and the vote goes the oposite way, how can you then go to the negotiating table to negotiate what the people want when you have shown your hand? What Cameron & Corbyn should have done is presented the facts but stopped short of recomending to vote one way or the other. In doing so we wouldn't have the political turmoil we have now with the knock on effect of the uncertainty in the stock market

Posted by John Privett on 09/07/2016 11:38:54: As for taxes 'post-Brexit' - who knows! Even the pro-Brexit people seem to have absolutely no clue how to actually implement the decision they've dropped on us. I think it will take many years to sort out the mess. The result of the democratic vote was to pull away from Europe and get back the countrys sovereignty. Blame the government for not having an Brexit plan and not the Brexit campaigners. The mess we have is simply self inflicted by the Conservative & Labour parties, they both recommended to remain. Once you stand up and recommend an issue and that recommendation is rejected, then you have lost credibility and must stand down. Both parties should have sat on tne fence and said that they would abide by the decision of the people. Both parties would have retained credibility and wouldn't be in the position they are now.

Charles de Gaul was instrumental in blocking the UK from joining the common market and he famously quoted "given the choice of bieng part of Europe or an island, the Anglo saxons will always choose the freadom of the seas" How right he was