Dave Bran

So, lets assemble what we can from that incident. The road which was being altered and was lane restricted was subject to a low 60k limit. It's unlikely the woman driver was speeding? The car hit a barrier, no other vehicle involved, yet immolated completely, and the fire crew found it "difficult" to put out. Unsurprising when the batteries are buried underfloor. Since its unclear when out is really out, there is a strong probability that emergency services are going to be slow to clear away such incidents (after all if it was YOUR tow away lorry would YOU load it on and fan it down the road?) Deep joy...................

Teething Trouble...................... **LINK**

Posted by onetenor on 14/03/2018 21:30:06: I've problem with customs charge £12.10 for items charged at 2p. Try and get through to right person .No chance. Anyone ideas ? Customs charge is usually split, customs plus mail firms handling charge, is your charge BOTH? Is the 2p per item, surely not correct for the whole order? If genuinely being charged £12.10 for a single items true value 2p, just tell them to keep it!!

Posted by Nigel R on 13/03/2018 18:37:21: Percy, only your tense is wrong, they are happening right now. It's a stretch, but you might even say that they've already "happened" and we're now in the refinement stage. It "happened" a long LONG time ago. MOST of the first Buses were electric powered. Until recently I regularly drove a Petrol Electric Hybrid dating from March 1914. The issue is that people are blindly grasping the straw of electric traction for cars, and there is little or no "whole cycle" risk assessment being done. Manufacturers won't do this no more than will they prevent the spread of "crossover" vehicles that are too wide for most of our urban infrastructure and causing huge pollution increases, all they are interested in is selling product, pretty much ANY product (viz VW, etc). I'm not anti-electric, I AM against the uncontrolled spread of a claimed saviour technology that has not even remotely been full cycle assessed.

Posted by Don Fry on 13/03/2018 18:50:32: Why not an electric caravan, or any other trailer.Think about it, why not. The two units, tower and towee only have to talk to each other. Yes, quite, with advantages like self parking, etc.

All those in the comfortable rosy glow of buying electric and saving the planet, take note:- **LINK** And in particular the quote from it:- "Rare earth production is as bad as you can get in terms of environmental damage"

Posted by Percy Verance on 09/03/2018 18:44:57: Volvo have stated that all new models introduced from 2019 will have an electric motor....... While cars without electric motors will require starting handles.......................................

Posted by Nigel R on 12/03/2018 15:01:35: Maybe we should be hanging on to all those lipos when they get a bit puffy! And you'll only need a little over 7,100 cells worth of them to power a Tesla...........................

Why would it not? It's the same plane, just differing livery.

Posted by Brian Dorricott 1 on 09/03/2018 15:47:31: Had a go at launching the Bixler today while I won't win any prizes it goes fine from hand launch both left and right handed so no problems . Excellent!

Having flown a number of Bixlers 1-3 since they first appeared and owning two 2's currently, one of which is used primarily for student flying:- 1. Flaps are totally unnecessary, our field is tight, has mature trees, and the patch length is short with very short grass, but there are NO issues with landing smoothly and on spot at feet consistently. If you are "driving her down" you need to slow it up, I assume you have properly tested at height how slow it CAN go??!! 2. Just do not understand all this effort and paranoia over CG. Both my 2's fly perfectly well with a "normal" 2200mAH 3S (Nano-Tech, Zippy, Turnigy) inserted all way in nose (held in by a compressed lump of foam) and no other balancing effort at all. This is true for all orientations and aero, not just beginner circuits. It rolls acceptably axially, flies inverted with a little elevator, and stall turns well despite the tiny rudder. 3. Ballooning? Really? The 2's I have exhibit very little, far FAR less than an old RET control Mpx EasyStar. 4. Hand Launching in Mode 2. A simple slightly elevated lob with the left hand under Fus is all that is required, leaving in my case the right hand to hold the Tx (no strap) and operate the Ail/Ele stick thumb immediately. Throttle opened about 3/4 with chin or mouth, no more than that needed to climb out quite well snough to avoid close trees (!), all this with std supplied setup, no mods AT ALL. Full throttle after launch and ground clearance allows better than 45 degree climb out if really needed.

Posted by Peter Christy on 03/03/2018 10:41:26: This looks interesting: **LINK** And its British! -- Pete Nice!

Posted by Percy Verance on 03/03/2018 06:27:02: I'm not entirely sure why you suddenly feel the risk factor has increased enormously. Similar risks have been there for decades. No, totally untrue, we are fast moving towards a completely different risk, the chemical fire that most existing fire protection installations or readily available "user" first line protection is not suited to reliably deal with. Bring it closer to home, many of us have significant numbers of cell packs, but how many have the CORRECT extinguisher to deal with such a fire? Lots here about charge infrastructure for electric cars, little here about the differing safety requirements, hence my posts. Trotting out references to petrol risk only reinforces my question, as MOST of that long proven protection infrastructure is well known and well developed. I recently asked two people I know with electric cars, neither knew or had bothered to seek the means to limit the fire risk. I am NOT saying the risk is more than other fuels, as you seem to infer, but from my enquiries the difference in that risk IS NOT being adequately assessed and legislated for currently.

With regard my earlier comment on Emergency Services knowledge/instructions which failed to garner a reply .............. "Tesla's “85” kWh pack consists of 16 modules of 444 cells for 7,104 total cells" Now these may be very reliable, but when you are sitting on over 7000 of them, or charging them in your garage.................

When I first saw the thread title, I thought Avicraft had brought out a new plane.......................... Panic, Moronic, Frantic...........................Pedantic.........................................

Posted by Dave Hopkin on 02/03/2018 20:57:09: So if you want to see a grown man reduced to a so totally a seething rage by the misuse of English... MIsuse of English? Whatever...............................

On infrastructure, I was interested to see that on a recent airport car park visit, vulnerable looking free standing charge points had been installed without safety barriers right by the fire exit path. Have a look at the Tesla models and the sheer number of cells they carry underfloor. How prepared and well equipped are the emergency services to deal with this? How does having this sizeable chemical fire risk in your garage affect house insurance? Quite a few years ago now my business decided to carry out alternative fuel trials with otherwise identical Transits. I was in conversation with the initiators on site and explaining my concern at the vulnerability of the fuel point installations, which they were staunchly denying the risk of, when behind them a woman backed out of a parking bay straight into the CNG pump, lifting it out of the ground. I'd already caught them out by demo'ing that the fill nozzle was not properly safety interlocked and high pressure gas could be violently released with the nozzle NOT in the van's filler. It's commonplace to rile against H&S restrictions, but sometimes people really should stand back and look at the idiotic things they have initiated!!

Posted by Nightflyer on 28/02/2018 12:42:59: Perseverance, support and a love for the hobby can make things happen. Even if only one person takes up the hobby from each group it is still an achievement. Amen.................

Posted by Jonathan M on 28/02/2018 11:52:41: You're clearly an inspirational and engaged teacher, but also something of a rarity (in terms of your RC and aero-modelling interest) within education. Hi Jonathan, Ah, but here's the rub, I'm not and never have been a teacher, just a plain old ex-apprentice career engineer who decided the view over the parapet was worth the effort and pain climbing towards. It was my decision to use RC to engage kids in engineering, so the impetus came from outside the education field, but was aided by a Headmaster who listened and recognised the value of kids getting hands dirty and enthused through apparent "mere play". My only "education" background was that In my late 20's I was dragged into setting up apprentice training and then adult process control automation training for my national business. After 11 years at this front line I went back to hands on engineering, latterly being a "mechanic in a suit" for in the end a large slice of the country. I'm now all but 70, and still want to change things! Am I alone or rare? I really hope not! Endangered maybe!!

Do we have to go through this utter rubbish about times changing and no hope AGAIN?? The ONLY reason kids are not getting involved in aeromodelling is because most of those "adults" that do it now sit on their over large backsides and pontificate on the young and their parents rather than DOING SOMETHING, especially those most able to influence, the early or newly retired with both time and disposable income. I run a very successful after school engineering club using RC in all forms twice a week, I regularly have to turn kids away as there is only me to run it. Have done so now for over TEN YEARS. Average attendance 25 per session, ages from 11 through to left school and at University, but primarily 11 - 15. No fewer now than ten years ago, in fact the reverse. Start off INDOORS so no weather or travel issues, Quads, Helicopters and then Planes. Then move outdoors in the better weather. PLEASE get it into your heads guys, it has NOTHING AT ALL to do with parents, nor the kids lack of interest, but they do have to know about and experience it to get keen, 11 year old's learn by experiencing, not being told. It MUST be hands on and no waiting around or "being told" at the start. Micro Quads are ideal for starting an aeromodelling interest. I now have Year 9 kids building and enjoying FREE FLIGHT............ who'd have thought it?? TRY!! Have just offered the parents of two of my hardcore Year 9 helpers extra mentoring on engineering inc outdoor flying training, explaining costs, and they bit my arm off they were so keen. Don't just write here wringing hands, GO AND DO SOMETHING POSITIVE ABOUT IT!!

There's a Facebook Group.......................

They varied over time, but USB one end, Jack the other, small "box" sealed dongle in the middle,

Posted by Fun Flyer on 22/02/2018 09:03:48: Same here Lorenz, I didn't get them either. I don't know why. Edited By Fun Flyer on 22/02/2018 09:04:27 Probably because I got two...........................

Worst ARTF model, by a LOOOOONNNNNGGG way? Hobbyking Lancaster!

Posted by Cuban8 on 18/02/2018 17:17:08: CG as standard is about 10mm too far back, so fit the biggest battery as you can Model does bump around in a breeze so a stabilisation system would work well - I just put up with it and not having a rudder is a pity but one just manages without it. Neither in my experience at all, in fact my CG was slightly back from your stated point, and it was true neutral either way up. I kept it light, 2200mAh 4S. (and all u/c weight removed) Maybe I never flew mine slow enough to see any buffeting, even though our tree surrounded field is not the smoothest environment for light foam....................