Nigel R

Still talking batteries, don't think it's been derailed Kim. We've highlighted a key point, batteries can and do degrade over time, and with age become weaker and weaker, to the extent even that a regular charging regime cannot even fill them up. Reinforces the point - the RX battery is a critical component - check its health regularly. It is easily done nowadays with our hobby multi-chargers, they can run a discharge/charge cycle in an hour or thereabouts, and most of all - tell you how much went back in, the key indicator of cell health.

Top marks Nick. Some dedication on show with those rivets. U/C is a work of art.

Hence the quotation marks! They should be ok for a time... But I think we all in agreement, the occasional cleaning cycle is helpful. That said, standard servo connectors are rated for very few cycles of connection/disconnection, IIRC. Buyer beware, etc.

I'd recommend you don't put two nimhs in parallel - the chemistry / characteristics are not properly suitable for it. If you need the capacity / current capability, use a good sub-C pack, or move over to a lithium pack of some sort. Specifically on the Centurian, a slow flying thing like that, large though it is at 14lb, isn't likely to put huge demands on the servos... how many servos does it use on loaded flight controls? It only has rudder/elevator IIRC.

Don't, unless you have a failover device for handling two batteries. Parallel connection of batteries gives you (essentially) one single battery with a higher chance of some failure occuring.

TBH it sounds like it is not tuned. Get the top end peaked, don't run it slobbering rich, then turn attention to the idle needle. Look to check it with at least 30s of idle followed by a quick clean transition to full throttle. As others have noted, glow plug and fuel system (pinholes, debris) can all create similar effects. What manufacturer / engine? Not all carbs are created equal. Sometimes a "perfect" tune is not obtainable and a compromise must be made.

You make a good point Phil. Extension leads and servo plugs are "ok" when left in place, but for e.g. ailerons that are regularly connected and disconnected, there are better things around. I quite like MPX connectors, but of course they need soldering.

Welcome aboard 😀

Matty, just checking in, hope you're doing ok.

Spray type Switch Cleaner or Contact Cleaner would be all I'd use here. As you've stated ED this kind of thing (extension cable issues) is down to very slow reactions between dissimilar metals and/or oxidisation. Nothing for it other than to unplug, spray clean, plug, re-test. Similar net effect can result from dirty feedback pot inside the servo as well (apologies for teaching any grandmas to suck eggs there). Within the last couple of months I had an (admittedly old and well loved) Hitec servo that was suffering from that - open case, squirt of cleaner, close up case, and it was back to normal. Whilst you can get conductive grease, I'm not sure I'd want to try and apply it on a servo plug! It's more for electricals working in environments where moisture is a concern.

save money - buy a real turbine! 😀

ok I get it now - sorry

80% of drivers think they are above average. A lot of drivers overestimating themselves out there. I'm all for things that make humans less likely to make mistakes.

Sudden price increase? Comparing like for like - I have been using Weston 5% for a few years. The 5% Weston is just under £20/gal. It was £15/gal about 6 years ago? (please correct that if I'm wrong). Seems about 33% over the 2018/2019 to 2024 period. Almost every consumer good is at least 20% more expensive since 2018/2019... (And have any of us tried buying food lately!? Daylight robbery.) Notes: Weston do imp. gallons, Optifuel sell in 5L bottles. Weston 10% is £22 for a gallon, so for 5L for a direct comparison to Optifuel 12 would work out at about £24.50. Another couple of %nitro would probably make Weston charge another pound. Say £25.50 Optimix 12% is £31.50 from: https://www.rcworld.co.uk/acatalog/Glow-Fuel.html In the end, a direct comparison seems to be have it at about 20% between the brand-I-should-not-have-named, and a "top" brand. Lastly, SMC seem to have very similar pricing to Weston. i.e. other choices are out there. I don't know, I mentioned our food bill, this has doubled since 2018. We're not buying different stuff or even more stuff. General inflation seems pretty steep of late.

One of your high Nitro ducted fans Paul? Almost 1/6 of that bottle per go, I make it a little under €6.

My biggest glow in regular service is a 15cc size four stroke in an Aeromaster - seems to get through only 6oz per 10+ minute flight, so not very much different to that Irvine 53. My maths has that at about a wopping £1 per flight. Pretty much as Brian says.

Doesn't it park itself?

So it's just like every other component on a car, engineered to last 5 years exactly? I blame Colin Chapman... although he only offered a one race guarantee.

You may find that the car manufacturers have taken the extra stop/start cycles into account...

If only he'd pressed the button to disable it. "A tool is only as good as the hands that wield it." Still, I doubt it actually prevented him from parking, so I'd say it's neither here nor there.

I've had good results with Hobbywing ESCs. (exactly like Shaun's linked for you)

There's pros and cons to UBECs. Personally - I've never used a separate RX battery on an electric airframe. There are other opinions, etc.

Well that's certainly a large pile of FUD.

That sounds faulty, TBH. I've never needed to "do" anything to get mine to restart. It starts as soon as I (start) releasing the brake. And it starts very quickly, quickly enough that by the time I'm bringing the clutch back up its started and running ready to simply pull away. Sure, you can beat it by putting the car in gear first, and being as quick as you can with brake and clutch, but why would I want to, driving like that isn't very compatible with being in traffic...

Such as when the car detects an empty road ahead? This is already a thing.