Dave Bran

Wet, Wet, Wet.......... SIGH............ Good job I fly indoors most days............. 😁

Err, screws have adjustable tension........................especially with an O ring under, me no understandee.................

Road surfaces and pavements round here are so badly deteriorated and torn up they'd fall over and crash within seconds. Its as impractical in reality as the "local courier pick up points" are at "saving transport costs". Not when they notify you to collect and then when you arrive they either don't actually have it yet or have lost it, which continues for days (several times), or fail to provide the code to open the storage locker (twice, once involving a trip of 65 miles to collect having delayed its "guaranteed" collection date by four working days into not being at home)

I don't come here much these days, and many posts here are a reminder of why. I have a suggestion. Instead of all the hyperbole and trite done to death comments, lets pay attention to where the dangers actually are and do what we can to more publicly highlight them as a true priority for action and as side effect hopefully deflect the authorities and the media etc to address the REAL issues affecting aviation safety? Have a look at the last few Air Accident Investigation Branch reports, they make interesting reading. There's the 43 year old 6 seat twin GA aircraft that had one engine fail, then found it so severely down on power such that it could not fly level on the one left and to quote the report "landed in a field near Enfield", urban north London. I have the statement in speech marks as the plane is officially listed elsewhere as "destroyed" on that date. It was found to have been operated significantly beyond the manufacturers overhaul interval for the engines. NOW, you might expect that would generate at minimum a severe "don't do that" response from the AAIB if not the sort of reaction some here want for a drone incursion (not that such is acceptable)? And??? They have recommended that if taking engines beyond the recommended overhaul period, it would be a good idea if a periodic climb test was undertaken. Another example, a helicopter pilot out for a jolly spotted a stone structure on a mountain top in Wales so went for a close low level look (well under 120 metres). He crashed it. They site the tail gearbox as the issue. What, not his stupidity in flying ultra low at a mountain top location even a junior school boy would recognise as prone to violent turbulence causing systems overload and a pilots skills gap?? Look longer term........and its no better advised and/or "policed"........ here or in the USA. Guess how many pilots in the UK landed a GA with the wheels up last year? Drones are fast being forced to have electronic conspicuity, yet a "wheels up under "X" feet warning is not even recommended, let alone enforced. Forget the deaths by car accident comparison........... How many people are on average killed PER WEEK in the USA due to light aircraft accidents with little or nothing done, yet the FAA is hounding model aircraft flyers? (Clue, its not single figures) Don't whinge, DO someting positive.

Stable Door, Horse, Bolted, but for casual readers, the very first thing to do when receiving a new multirotor with Betaflight is to connect it via USB to Betaflight Configurator, go to CLI, type "dump", enter, and save the long text file with a sensible to remember file name, then again for "diff all" (shorter file) and also save that. These are your get out of jail cards for the default Flight Controller firmware settings. Is the RECEIVER binding? Or is the receiver binding (correct LED indication) but not talking to the Flight Controller? Its a HeliPal product, they have a website, any half decent manufacturer will have the above files available via their support. If they don't, it tells you lots about them and likely also the sellers of them!!!

Having been dealing with FrSky OpenTX/EdgeTX for many years now, I have the need to go back to a 10CG FASST Heli first time Set up, and I have clearly dumped all my previous Futaba info in the cranial trash can. Further, the manual reads like a Greek Play, reeking with portent, but entirely unintelligible. I'm trying to set up switched global rates, but they just do not become active. There's a gobbledegook line in the manual about separate rates in modes (Normal, IU1, IU2), but I don't need that and that does not seem to have any effect anyway. Clearly its me................... So how please?

Exactly my point, it'd be VERY temporary with our vandals. SO, it even comes with a free 12v battery, excellent news for the vandals, great thinking. I only hope to be a real test at least one of the four trial sites comes with the non-optional urban vandals built in, they might then realise what we are up against 24/7/365.

Sorry, forgot magic............ 😁

It better come with automatic machine gun backed exclusion zone protection or a daily replacement will be needed after the local cretins find out its there. After all, they brought scaffold poles and quite competently demolished a double brick and concrete rendered barbecue that more resembled a WWII pill-box. And every sign is promptly trashed no matter how robust. The trial better check if it'll still operate with used condoms strewn all over it as well. AND...........they REALLY enjoy burning things, too. They are not averse to arriving while people are on site, either. I jest not. Seems basically a idea worth persuing, but we are already a very long established site with fixed boundaries and are on permanent NOTAM, so the only need for this is due to lack of compliance/attention BY OTHERS. However, there was a fair bit of internet talk a couple of years back on ADSB adversely affecting model radio, (see XJET videos for one) and if this is true now, I hope the triallers are prepared for losses.

Reminds of a "Mustang" I built in less than a week of limited spare time in 1973/4, to fill a need for a warbird for a demo the following weekend. I took a "Mustunt" control line plan for the fuselage, some FAI Pylon Race foam wings and set to. Power was a "Profi40" two stroke. No time for ANY nicities, but luckily the local model shop had brown, green and sky blue Solarfilm in stock, so a RAF one it became. Decal roundels and white car numberplate lettering! Looked terrible on the ground, but in the air looked far better than the other far more accurate but to public deadly dull weathered ones that day. It actually got lots of favourable comments, much to my surprise (if not horror). I bet that "heap" in original form looked quite reasonable up there at flying height.................... 😊😆

Odd, my one turned out right on CG with no weighting and it has a two stroke 91 with aluminium flex plate rubber mounts and of course quite a heavy large prop up front.

1. I have run an at least once weekly often twice weekly after school RC club for approaching 20 years. (I'm 74) This includes sessions at school and at my local model flying club. I therefore promote and allow 11-18 year olds to get hands on experience of Fixed Wing, Helicopters, Hovercraft, and Freestyle Multicopters. Parents WILL happily do the taxi runs to and from the field or school, but as for sitting there bored for a couple of hours, well, no. The Friends of the School support bigger purchases to some degree financially, for example computerised timing gear for Car and now Hovercraft racing (these are converted from multicopters and built and maintained by boys in school workshops) . I do not charge for any sessions, and most of the field flying gear is being provided at my expense, or less from donations (often from modellers who have passed away). Recently a person in the USA sent me a donation of an FPV headset and parts at his expense inc shipping when he learned what I was doing!! I have in the last couple of years brought boys into the RC flying world initially by the Freestyle Multicopter (and FPV Multicopter) route, but their interest then ALWAYS widens into the other forms of RC flying once they see and experience it. (and that includes building balsa and correx free flight gliders, no less!!) SO, don't tell ME there's no interest, or that DRONES are killing the sport/hobby, been there, its not true! 2. IN the Multicopter world, from about halfway through the worst of the pandemic, components for individual purchase got so difficult and so expensive that home building became more expensive than buying from a PNP/BNF business getting the benefit of buying parts and building (say) a thousand or more at once. Also true for Helicopters, too. Its still that way and no sign of supply chains improving. ARTF fixed wing like the HK Bixler2, Wot4 Foam-E, etc are still cheaper and more durable than making from scratch, and yes, this is from direct long term experience. Does not mean that NO traditional modelling ever takes place, but you do have to enthuse, and weeks of workshop building is NOT the initial best route. 3. Stop whinging and stalling and GET INVOLVED, you probably all have Hangars of suitable stuff simply laying there you never use, so even if you are not prepared to actually stand up and donate your TIME, you could find someone interested and prepared to take it on and try.

Lets look at this another way. The amount of power transmitted is set by government body to a limit that seems arbitrarily set on a finger in the air "this errs heavily on the conservative so must be OK" basis, and so seems in reality not much more than based on guesswork. In recent years manufacturers of both 2.4GHz control radio and 5.8GHz video radio have pushed the available power upwards. There are now tiny transmitter devices capable of outputting FAR above the set level. Factors of eight times above or more are it seems near routine. Control power up to over 1W is now readily available against a UK level of 100mW, as is video power of 1.4W against a UK level of 25mW. One must assume that there ARE localities where this higher power is legal and therefore must NOT be causing issues, or it would be banned. Equally there has been a proliferation of additional uses added in bands that are not exclusive to model flying. Video Internet connected Door Bells as one example. The two factors are in theory not making it any easier, but is this so? Inevitably some will use what is available regardless of local rules. The question that seems largely unanswered/unproven is, what effect ACTUALLY is there to these rising levels. ARE the set levels sensible/practical, are they really needed to be that low. Be good to see some unbiased factually accurate data on real world UK interference levels. Anything out there that can be trusted?

Had experience of two new club members joining having been "sold" RadioLink by the local model shop with little regard for the outcome. Neither went well. First thing was one of them needed buddy tuition, and no-one else had one! Then the poor interface and unreliability resulted in both giving up. EVERY time they were on site we were forced to fight their ungainly poorly arranged system to get even simple trainers working half decently. That seems a pretty specific poor deal considering the poor interface and from those two sets at least, and from the small sample, the unreliability. Cuban8's comment "It's so easy for manufacturers to stuff their products to the gunnels with features and facilities that make great marketing opportunities, but simply clog up the works when it comes to clear and straightforward user friendliness. " Is very telling and very true of some sets. IMO its a false perception these bottom end sets are useful for non-techies. Now I'm spending far more time on FPV Freestyle Multirotors than Fixed Wing or Helicopters, its easier to be aware of the latest advances, and deal easily with the so called complexity, and I'm no spring chicken...... (or chicken!! ?). If I can do it......................... EdgeTXin a RadioMaster ELRS, and say goodbye to a lot of previous system's issues and limitations. And that's from experience that sees me still using Futaba, Spektrum, FlySky, FrSky and others on a daily basis, from direct Transmitters and from Multi-Module equipped Horus X12S. This does require a level of hands on some might balk at, though its quick and easy once learnt. YMMV

Well Done! A bit more adventurous than my printing for UAV's, but today I revived a couple of inherited TRex 450's that had broken or butchered tail stabiliser fin plates, horizontal and vertical. Previous owner had a habit of cutting the vertical fins short and fitting a big ugly wheel ?, then after landing poorly and breaking that in half, then "fixing" it by overlap gluing with copious epoxy. No wonder he needed nose weighting, which he glued in the fragile canopy that is only held on by a couple of grommets. Done in matching colour to the canopy, they are now lighter, stronger and look a lot less painful to the eyes............. Couple of months back I did similar to one of his 600's AND a 250, Yup, he certainly had a "house style" when it came to tail feathers.............. ?

A few here thinking fixed wing when it comes to current use of the High C rated packs I use, fair enough when not involved with Multi's. A freestyle Multirotor will likely be using very high current for very VERY short periods of time, as two seconds is an exceptionally long time to run a high power light weight 5" quad on near full throttle, one not used many times per flight. Also the pack is driving four ESCs and Motors, with the Flight Controller constantly varying the power to each at up to 8kHz.

I'm regarded by some in my club(s) as a complete vandal when it comes to flight batteries. I'm sure that if they sold after run oil for LiPos they'd be using it by the gallon! My history dates back to DEAC cells through to currently using very high C packs in freestyle multirotors. I fly several times every week, usually more days than not in any week, usually 3 hour sessions. Now while still flying FW and Heli's, flying said MRs in aggressive freestyle mostly, I'm running 160-200C 4S and 6S packs. I never use storage, don't deliberately cycle use of packs across the set. Don't "run in" packs. A flight session might see me come away with around 9-12 packs to charge. I usually charge that evening under close by observation while on computer. They might then be used next day, they might be left for several days while I fly different sized MRs, so using different sized packs. Might even be a fortnight. I won't go on, but generally do most things regarded by some as "bad" for pack life. Sub 850mAh packs get used down to 3.00v per cell. Above that capacity down to 3.4V per cell under load. SO why am I just getting to have to replace packs bought as long ago as 2017 and 2018??? (and makes that have disappeared) Answers on a postcard, please, to..................... Personally I have found there is more to the manufacturing quality than to anything else. Gens Ace? Rubbish....... Turnigy? Rubbish Good manufacturers come and go, and I'm no more going to tell you which ones I buy currently than give you my car or house keys, especially in these shortage limited times, but I doubt my extremely high current short flight duration usage would suit many of your differing purposes anyway. I will say I regularly test the waters with sample buys of many brands, find a good current producer/seller and concentrate solely on them. Seek and you will find.............. ?

Care needed, times shown in CAA NATS document are in UTC, not BST. Why they didn't put "(UTC)" after each time period rather than somewhat burying it in a later footnote (No15) needs to be put to them considering how many people will not be familiar with that standard.

Instantaneous........... even with the typo..............

Lest see how long this takes.......... 06:19 29/5/2022

SO, to bottom this out, I have been sent the wrong servos. (this despite asking for the tilt servo by model name and only stating what was written on the servo label) The correct servos (coded differently to original) are out of stock everywhere, indicative if not confirmation of a design fault. Some sites are showing possibly July. The original servos are simply far too fragile for tilt rotor use, and since the "engine" pod comes so close to the ground, especially on grass, and a true vertical take off is less likely than a very short forward move, the pod will often get drag loaded, and that is more than the puny plastic gears can handle. Are the new changed code servos any better, or the same? HH will not help. Major cosmetic changing (read ruining!) surgery would be required to fit a more suitable servo. I guess at this point I give up and it becomes another cupboard filler in case I can ever find suitable replacements.

Thanks Denis and Brian, Dear old HH support didn't note the servo error even though it was made clear. And the retailer tripped up. The original servo being clearly marked A380 would not lean you towards the "right" one, so can't really blame them. Have to see what the retailer wants to do about it!

Thanks Denis. The SPMA380 is 4mm deeper, its pretty much a std 9g size, the A380 fitted were considerably smaller in ALL dimensions, and mounted as drawing the SPMA380's puts the links 8mm further apart. There is not enough body clearance for that, even if you cut away all the impact moulded housing, ditch the clamps, etc, to get the servo into the wing, and anyway it would put the links way out of line. Not enough length to crank the links, and moving the torque rod control arm outboard is near impossible on a well glued in no maintanance intended assembly.

Finally received a reply after I sent another mail to HH USA with regard the wing tilt servos for the Osprey. Replacements advised being far too large to fit! I listed:- Code on Servos installed (A380) Code printed in online manual and supplied to me as advised by dealer (SPMA380) I asked for a photo of the model with SPMA380 fitted. As I had all the previous times. And then I get the below………………………. IS IT ME???????? ☹ Note: I could possibly have cut around and fitted metal gear 9g’s I already had, but bought their recommended (and expensive) replacements as the old ones were a non-standard size. No dimensions were offered in the sales info or manual. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Product Support Dave, What servo are you trying to install? There should be rally no issue with installing the servos on the V-22. Unfortunately with the model being discontinued we do not have one physically any longer. Thank You, -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I despair........................ ?

I was given one of these with a stripped motor pod tilt servo, marked A380. The unit was only too obviously clearly FAR too small and tiny for the loads involved. The dealer and online manual list the replacement as SPMA380. I bought two as advised and these are MUCH larger and fully metal geared. BUT............ They do not fit the plastic wing housing, nor the plastic clamp, nor, being larger when fitted flat bottom to bottom as they were, they are too wide and put the arms way out of line with the required link alignment. The dealer and HH have been contacted (twice in the case of HH Support) and both have chosen not to help! I have searched for a PICTURE of the fitment of these to gain some clue on how they DO fit without success. Can anyone please provide a picture of the tilt servos in place in the wing?