Erfolg

Colin, it is a ordinary, wheeled Bosch, rotary. I now know that i am old, in that I have come to enjoy gardening, almost like weeding. I have been surprised that the garden responded so well, as for many months it has been to cold, windy or wet, with me being reluctant to spend above 15-20 minutes outside. Those who have corresponded with me on gardening matter know I have little knowledge with respect to plants. A couple times a year we are visited by one of my wives friends, who tells me what I am doing wrong or need to do. Last year I came close to killing a new apple tree, because I was not watering it and so on. I have just resigned from undertaking a local role on behalf of our area, because I am to old, and a sudden demise although will not be welcomed by me, for others it would have caused problems. This period of poor weather has concerned me, in that it is not conducive to getting non modellers thinking, I would like to obtain a model aircraft, as a consequence joining a club, leading to BMFA membership. There are consequences for the model retail trade. On that basis I am happy when lots are posting about being out flying. Would I be flying if my wife did not force me out of the house, prising my finger tips from the door frame. Plus I get to talk to other grumpies at the field.

It is 4 years since I did anything on the 335. Why, hmm, it was the exhaust stacks. The RBC plan does not show location or the detail necessary to produce them. I have allowed myself to become distracted on other new models, just now I had started building a He 162, designed a Douglas X3 all from Depron. I have become diapointed with the Depron I now have, finding it a pain and of poor quality (from a modelling perspective). So these went on the back burner. I then started to think about all the models I have not finished for a whole variety of reasons. I the case of the Dornier it was a lack of information of the real aircraft. I have seen the full size, when in Munich, of course I did not note the exhaust or take any pictures. It was the size of the thing, a rather, or is that a vey large fighter. More the size of the Hampden bomber (the one at Cosford). I now have a whole pile of books with details of aircraft in them. It seems that unlike a Spitfire the exhaust stacks do not stick out very much from the body. That there is an internal shroud or baffle that separate the pipes from the the rest of the internals. A external cover then seals the exhaust, with the pipes barely sticking out. I had assumed that pipes were round, but they transition into a rectangle. Eventually I sketched up what was wanted, only to realise that I did not now how to 3d design the things. Rather than seek perfection, I have drawn up as near as I can manage the items and then printed them. Installing them has not been a two minute job of sticking them on the outside. It is about letting the items in. My next job is the Fuel injection inlet. Yet again, a pretty much bulky item. Everything else will just have to wait.

I thought these pictures may be of passing interest. The first is of the clevis that failed on landing on Saturday. It is over 40 years old, the landing itself was pretty ordinary. The significant issue seems to be age. I recently (in the last 2 weeks) replaced the rudder plate type hinges, as I noted that one had failed (part of the preparation of the current flying). I thought, I have a pile of these left over from, the dark ages. I will just take out the pin, ease out the sheared plate, replace it with one half of an unused Kavan hinge. I found the old packet of hinges in the draw of one of those storage boxes that many of us have. Only to find that the unused assemblies were brittle, breaking on handling. All of these have gone in the bin. It is not the first time recently that I have found that many of the old plastic bits have deteriorated. The clevis seems to be a Micro Mold item, my remainder have also gone into the bin. It can be seen that the pin has sheared as has the limb that the pin was attached to. Unlike what environmentalist tell us, these polymers do not seem to have a life of thousands of years. Even when stored in a dark drawer, never having seen a solvent ESC, Environmental Stress Cracking) or even sunlight , photon Mer breakages. The picture is of the garden that convinced me that the weather was pretty much perfect for flying. Plus the help of whoever directed me to a Plant recognition App, has helped me a lot in weed (unwanted pant) eradication. I am often happier in the garden, than on a wind swept flying field, this time of year so it seems.

It is Wednesday, the other half has gone to play Golf, nine holes mind you, does not feel up to 18. In my case, I cannot decide, is the weather good enough, I remain concern with how rusty I feel, I note that the garden is pretty dry, the wind is light, so it seems, the weather forecast said it would be 8 mph again, as on Saturday. Once again I motor to our field, turn onto our track, suddenly I become aware of a large semi-detached house to my left. I glance across, a tractor, pulling a plough, with what appears to be a grain silo, is racing along by my side. OMG isn't farm equipment gargantuan today? Any way it further reinforces my conviction that the ground is drying out rapidly, on this clay soiled hill side. It is sand by the coast. Turning into our field, there are two vehicles there, a 4*4 and a small car. I have obviously upset some one, as the 4*4 leaves. Is it BO (remember the advert), do I use the wrong tooth paste, Have I said something, is it because I now self identify as a Giraffe, and rightly expect all address me with the wright pronoun, or is it adjective. I now watch a model in flight, that seems to be tossed about, the wind feels a lot higher than 8 mph. My wind gauge (anemometer, for the technical) tells me that it is peeking at 20 mph (being old, and not metricated), with a lower of about 12 mph. My colleague confirmed that it is bumpy. Another modeller arrives, we all agree it is very cold. I have come all this way, and I make the big decision I will fly, well, the once. The field is pretty firm now, although the cutting that were left on the field are enough to decide that it will not be a wheeled model, I am not convinced that it is glider weather, particularly with a northerly wind, which is 90 degrees to our runway, landing without going behind the flight line will be a problem. Which means it is my faithful Canard. Launching into wind, the model seems quite well behaved, turning cross wind, it is a different story, the model, rocks, then rolls, pitching up, followed by a down. Slowly I come to terms with what is happening, I need to apply much more power, I also note that down wind turns take a very large radius, plus a lot of pitch down. Into wind is very different, tight and pitch up. By the end of the 8 minutes, I have come close to mastering the vagaries of the truculent weather. Just a cross wind landing to make, I piled on the speed, ploughed through the wind shear, turbulence from adjacent trees, and make a forced like landing, much to my relief. The new arrival, now takes to the sky, with his gyro equipped model. The gyro seems to have some issues, the model less than steady. After an eternity the model lands. the modeller saying immediately, that was most unpleasant. My fingers have turned white and painful from the cold wind. I am going home. Yes, yes, this is the excuse that I was looking for, us Giraffes do not like the cold. It is time to go home, as Andy Pandy would say.

I am suspecting that all of our teams are similar, given the results

It is Friday night dinner, the better half has returned from Bowls, having won, receiving a £4 price. You are now a professional I quip. The reply is the green was reasonable not that heavy. Then, I see the weather forecast for tomorrow is light wind (8 mph), 0% rain. You should fly at your club field. I have now developed a standard flustered reply of, Oh, the track will be muddy and the field a marsh. Saturday morning arrives, i load the car with three models. I have been thinking about this moment for a little while. Although I now have a number of new models that need test flying, prudence indicates that the way to go is with models that I trust as dependable and predictable. That is now in the car, all the batteries were charged about a week ago. The drive to the field had little of note, other than the old roundabout, which had temporary traffic lights for about a fortnight, is now reopened. All that has changed, there is now a footpath around it, never seen a single pedestrian, out in the Lancashire wilds. The gate to the field is unlocked, I can see the guy in the light blue jacket in the long distance. The track itself is now completely dry. I turn into the field, wondering how many more of us will be here? Once again not a vehicle is to be seen, this gate is also locked. My spirts plummet, then rebound, there is no one to heckle. Hmm, which model to fly first, or at least try and fly. Not having flown since November, I am not confident,. I decide on my Canard, imaginatively named Ente. The hand launch goes without a hitch. I had decided that I would only fly circuits. I was a little surprised that I noted that the model was continuously flying with a wing wobble, very similar to my tailless models as they near the stall. Much of the circuit flying was concentrated on positioning the model for a landing, as the slight cross wind, hedge requires a bit of planning. Just as the 7 minute timer alarms, I am aware that I have very little power. I almost panic, deciding it matters little as there is just me here. The model landed, pretty much where I intended. Model Number 2 is now readied. The field having been mowed, the grass clipping are every where like Sea Weed on the beach. I am a little doubtful that this 40 year old model will cope with the drag from the grass. Full power is given, the full 500w pulled, the model lurches forward and tips on its nose, all three wheels festooned with grass. A second attempt is made, a little up to ease the nose and wheel up, the model accelerated away, I feed more and more up in, almost running out of space, with full up, the model staggers into the air. I have now learnt (the hard way) that That full up must be released, almost down instated, until the model is actually flying, rather than being semi-stalled. The rest of the flight is without hitch, other than the circuits are again about positioning for the landing. The third model selected was my 2m Sagitta (now electrified), again some 40 years old. It is last, as I have undertaken a modification to the all flying tailplane. Have I made a hash of it, or is the result adequate. The answer is at least adequate. The first time for many years it is much easier to control. I stayed quite low for some time, finding not one bit of lift, apparently in continuous sink. With time I gravitated to much higher altitude, and started to believe I was finding some Ok air. The higher altitude allowed me to look around for Gulls or perhaps a Buzzard. Yep, the Gulls were about, thermalling, upwind, so high no way would I be able to power up to them, or even be within 1000 feet of them. Then I started eking out some good air over the field, then a boomer, the model started climbing like a home bound angel. I was starting to worry, this could easily tun into panic, particularly when I could hear a light aircraft, somewhere near, I could not find it immediately. A decision was made I was coming down, I moved away from the thermal, expecting the model to start descending in sink. I had moved a good 1/4 of a mile away, it was not descending. These old model were not allowed airbrakes, just rudder elevator. There was nothing for it, put the nose down, descend in a highish speed dive. By now I had located the light aircraft, it was behind me at probably +600 feet. Non the less I continued the descent to landing. Picking the model up I found that the very old plastic clevis had sheared across itself, due to the forced landing (which in the day was standard practice, to avoid the wind tipping the model over etc). My timer indicated just over 30 minutes, in itself no great triumph with an electric motor. Yet for the first time out, was a feeling of, yes, there is life in the old dog yet. The clevis was a SLEC item, I have also just repaired (replaced) some Kavan plate hinges, which also had sheared. I think the issue is that these old plastic have finite life. The journey home was without incident.

Paul Snap! Being on the coast (I live almost on the beach), whereas our field is approx, 6 miles inland (10 miles by road) on a slight ridge overlooking the sea, it is almost always windy, from all directions. If the drone issue and consequent restrictions had been imposed, I could have flown of the beach, or sand dunes (except for the holiday and dog walkers). It is arguable that I could fly from the beach if I walked away about 1/2 a mile out, just outside the 5 mile radius of the local airfield and a aircraft manufacturer. I have been tempted to try this option, although it could be fraught with challenges, as I could just pop out for a short flight. Along with many others on this thread, I am being thwarted by the weather and a waterlogged field and farm track. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! And the wind still blows at +15-25, hailstone, rain showers and very cold, where is the Global warming?

Hmmm, I can see Daiseys (in English), see Iso Freight Containers, where are the roses and castle or is it town? I guess you are by the side of a river, the Rhine, perhaps the Amstel, these are the only rivers I know, as being in the Netherlands. Oh, to be well travelled, I did once take the Rhinegold from Rotterdam to Koln once, does it count, taxied for hours at Skipol (I thought is this how we are getting to Manchester, is the North sea a problem (is there a tunnel, I pondered). Any way, we seem to all be discussing the weather, what has passed, and what is coming😢. Here on the Fylde, the very strong winds, and tide, drove the waves right up to the sand dunes. As for our flying field, I have not gone near it now for two or more weeks, due to the wind and rain. Another good reason, is the last time I was there, the wheel arches of my car were pretty much filled with mud, it took a 120 mile round trip, in appalling rain, for it to be washed away. It did save me getting the hose pipe and jet wash out. The golf course (a links) next to me, had a number of golfers out on it this morning, although bitterly cold, and a strong northly wind. My wife's club still closed for play, as it is on clay, on a flood plane. I will provide further run downs on the weather🙄. In the meantime I am assembling and readying my and launch models, as I am guessing the grass will be rather long, and getting the mower, to do its thing, without leaving furrows could be a long time coming. 😢

One issue I have not as yet resolved, in my mind, is arming the model. Do you remove the wing, arm, then refit the wing? Or is arming completed another way?

I started having cold feet when I realised that a 4000 Lipo is required, then started thinking most if not all my similar sized models use 2200 Lipo. On a positive note the long nose with the 4000 Lipo should mean that no Pb (lead) will be required, what ever. Another issue going through my mind is finishing. I still prefer dope and tissue. Although I recently experience a problem with some tissue I purchased. From memory, it was eco friendly , being recycled paper. I found that the short staple length, compared to model span, resulted in unequal growth when wetted, that pre wetting, caused partial disintegration, on drying out on the model left patched, creases. You certainly need to be careful of where or from whom you by it. Now that Solar film has gone, the remaining branded products make even balsa sheet, seem to be low cost. Webbies is to far to go to see if they have any suitable matt grey or green Chinese/Vietnamese film. Although I have used (and still have considerable amount of ) light weight cloth, using either WBV or finishing Epoxy resin would push up the finished weight by to much, to be bearable. I have recently used laminating film, although I found that paint adhesion was not great, needs some form of surface etching to finish well. On this basis what did you use? I even looked in the hope that there was a big wing variant on the A10a.

Hmmm, I can see Daiseys (in English), see Iso Freight Containers, where are the roses and castle or is it town? I guess you are by the side of a river, the Rhine, perhaps the Amstel, these are the only rivers I know, as being in the Netherlands. Oh, to be well travelled, I did once take the Rhinegold from Rotterdam to Koln once, does it count, taxied for hours at Skipol (I thought is this how we are getting to Manchester, is the North sea a problem (is there a tunnel, I pondered). Any way, we seem to all be discussing the weather, what has passed, and what is coming😢. Here on the Fylde, the very strong winds, and tide, drove the waves right up to the sand dunes. As for our flying field, I have not gone near it now for two or more weeks, due to the wind and rain. Another good reason, is the last time I was there, the wheel arches of my car were pretty much filled with mud, it took a 120 mile round trip, in appalling rain, for it to be washed away. It did save me getting the hose pipe and jet wash out. The golf course (a links) next to me, had a number of golfers out on it this morning, although bitterly cold, and a strong northly wind. My wife's club still closed for play, as it is on clay, on a flood plane. I will provide further run downs on the weather🙄. In the meantime I am assembling and readying my and launch models, as I am guessing the grass will be rather long, and getting the mower, to do its thing, without leaving furrows could be a long time coming. 😢

I am now beginning to suspect that the wing loading is a trifle high @ 32 oz/ft^sq?

I am guessing not many have been built?

Has anyone altered the fan unit installation? Looking at the drawing and looking at some of the TN A10 threads, the fan unit installation appears not to be conducive for replacement or any maintenance.

I agree, that on pusher models the relationship between the propeller and flying surfaces has a major impact on the noise. I have Four models with pusher props, non are noisy, even my small Dornier 335, in all cases the prop is some distance away from the flying surfaces, makes a big difference. Yesterday the weather here was horrendous. I needed to go to Manchester, some 60 miles away. I was very, very, surprised that field after field on the journey, were partially flooded, in many cases with quite large lakes. I have never seen anything like it previously. One field my wife commented on, it was completely flooded, with just the rows of ploughed furrows to be seen. Driving was surprisingly easy, very few cars and trucks on the M6. Not that you could see them, as all was enveloped in spheres of spray. I was doing a steady 50 mph, probably 50% of the vehicles, including trucks were at the same speed. Of the remainder 25% were fractionally faster, whilst the remainder where in the +70-80 miles per hour, leaving a linear wall of spray. The better halves golf and bowls competitions have been postponed, on after another. Many of the golf courses have been closed here, although those on sand (links), generally remain open. Those open (the one I see from the bedrooms) is not often been played as the members are nesh, so it would seem. Much to my wife's annoyance her first match at this course has been put back. Enquiries with respect to my club (as a member, not by ownership) is open, although for hand launch models, waders, and being prepared to move the ducks and geese on, the Gulls just laugh at you. Ah, yes, a 4*4 is advised to actually get down to the club, the puddles on the various roads, can be navigated with a little care. I will have the start of a problem in a few weeks time, road works are scheduled to start at the end of this month, to last a a few months on four of the three roads out of this two horse town. Surprisingly our new link road although still on programme for completion, will now be delayed for 3 months, due to the rain. It was to open at the beginning of April. Only taking 4 years by the County Council, of a two year programme, whilst meeting the all programmed date for completion, costing almost exactly the same as the cost of a Motorway (including all bridge infrastructure etc.)per mile. Much to my surprise it is a standard two lane road. The question of how long will it take to get to the club field, will it be doable.

Hmm, yes, practice normally tells me nothing, so nothing has really changed. I am a little perplexed with respect to Lewis's comments re Vettel. I remember the reported qoute that Vettel would be joing Mercedes over his dead boy (if my memory, serves me well). If I understand the latest comments, re Russell, he seems to be trying to undermine him, suggesting that Mercedes would benefit from a younger driver (is Russel old?). Japan seems often to be a wet event, or is it a very wet race? Is it scheduled for rain on Sunday, or during the week end?

Can or do the small magnets commonly used to secure hatches, pose a potential issue to signals on 2.4 0r 35 rx aerials if they pass close to the magnets?

Spring will happen here in 2025, at present, how to describe it? I did go to the field on Saturday, the gate at the top of the track was open (unlocked), I am sure I saw somebody at the edge of the field in a blue jacket. My car either bumped or slid down the track, I was forced to drive through a marsh, where once there was a track, I just made it through to the other side. On turning into our field, I was confronted by a closed gate. A real disappointment, I got out of my car to open the gate, only to find that the gate now has a combination lock. Of course I do not know the combination of our new acquisition. So I cannot easily turn around in our car park. Nothing for it but to reverse, into the down going track, so I will be pointing back up the track. Hmm, my traction control cannot cope with the mud and wet grass, the wheels spinning. I do finally accomplish the almost impossible, accelerate the car back through the bog, where it squirms and wriggles, to just mud. It could be months before the tack dries out. Oh, for a 4*4, that destroyer of the environment, if not the whole world. Does anyone remember those hill climbs where someone would bounce up and down over the back wheels, is that an environmental solution?

Grumpy, Victoria had not come to the throne, from the questions the Grandkids raise!

Looking at the shell story, I stumbled across another interesting pieces in the same paper. The first is that used Ev vehicle depreciation was 12%, putting this into context IC fell by 9%, so not as bad as it first appeared. The second is Tesla, a whole page of poor performance of the manufacturer. Possibly the high point of Tesla fortunes has now passed. Although possibly a week back I read that BYD (i think it means "Beyond Your Dreams") sells a car for £18,000, in Japan. Does it brake even at this price? Hopefully price competition will reduce the new car costs (EVs) in the UK. You sense that the Chinese have European manufacturers and politicians worried, in that they are suggesting that China is subsidising their industry. That would not happen in Europe, no incentivisation, or grants are given at all? Although I realise that their issues in that engine plants, gearbox, differential plants, will possibly close before the investments made have been recouped or the machinery and other infrastructure reached the end of the viable life. Never mind any redundancy issues for the companies or governments. I suspect that their will be similar issues with respect to refineries, in that we will almost certainly require oil for some time for lubricants, polymers etc. Who will pay to reconfigure the cracking columns (towers) to alter the fractions produced. What impact will this have on costs to the public? As for Shell, I guess we the tax payer makes a contribution, or Shell posts the cost as being a loss, in its tax returns, maybe both? Getting new investment of any sort seems difficult for the UK, given that we seem to be seen as unreliable with respect to taxes and regulations. I still remain uncertain with respect to the real benefits from so much, I just know that in the dirty city I was brought up in, the Smog that you could cut with a knife, no vision beyond a few metres, that you coughed black gunge, that the Irwell, Medlock, Goyt, Mersey were all devoid of aquatic life (particularly fish), I never saw a Magpie, Buzzard etc, is now much, much better. Although I am not against further improvements.

A number of Nuclear Stations were located adjacent to significant eclectic power consumers, such as Aluminium smelter, or a large factory installations, (perhaps not obvious to all) etc They were and are connected to the grid. What is being proposed is a step change in numerous ways. Both the generation of power, and maintaining a balanced grid, has become an increasing issue. There have been fudges suggested to alleviate the issues, although they remain as they are. One concern is switching the green levy from electric bills (in there various forms) to other forms of funding. Personally, I believe that us electric users should be paying for what electric costs, no fudging. Why should anyone else pay for me, be it via the general tax system.

I watched the video of the Ev testing. It can be said it seems to reflect the findings of reports in newspapers, of others undertaking similar tests. What doe sit indicate to me, that the claimed ranges are all over estimated, by a margin. Enough for me to just about undertake my most frequent longer journey. The occasional (at the moment) trip, would require a charge, maybe two (for the return. One of my concerns, which I have frequently noted here, is the need for a significant re-enforcement of the UK (electric) distribution grid. This is coming with a very high financial cost, plus there will be distribution losses (as most points of generation are distant to points of consumption). A wind farm is being constructed just of shore to where I live, it requires a sub sea set of cables, any one who has seen them, will know, the cost of them (when I worked for BICC, we made them). Plus a significant distribution system. All of these costs we will have to pay, as part of the standing charge, even if government subsidies are available, we still pay. Unfortunately for some the situation is not recognised or even in denial. All comes at a cost, where a audit of the various aspects, may indicate what the various costs and benefits actually are. For me there is no magic easy solution. A reduction in the planet population may help, although apparently not a realistic goal, all is jam tomorrow.

Simon, even at the small size motors shown, which used to be almost given away, the method commonly used was often not as secure in the long term, as desirable. From memory the motors shown used two screws, biting into the mount to keep secure. I have known them to slacken of, not an ideal, engineered method. Although a simple method.

Simon, I am even less enthusiastic than you, when relying on a grub screw as a bite/friction method of securing, particularly something such as a motor. A couple of 12mm bolts is the thing, or is that overengineering?🙄

I have E mailed them, will see what the response is.