DavidKP

Sorry if if this has been covered before but ...... I am building the Lindsay Todd 'Flycatcher' from the free plan and following the excellent build blog on here. At some point there is a suggestion that maybe a 4 bladed propellor would be better for the plane for performance and looks. So how do you calculate the size of a 4 blade prop that has the same thrust as a 2 bladed? Is there a web site or do you guys have some magic formula?

Should have said that we moved the LiPo about 5mm forward before the first flight so that 'Nico' was happy that the CofG was towards the front end of the range on the plan which is where he prefers it. But no it was never 'twitchy', it flew smoothly but just nose up. Anyway, I will add the washers as advised, and buy a couple of different propellors on Saturday morning and let's just hope that the weather is as good as today, 20 degrees and standing around in a short sleeved shirt in mid-October ..... just great

The weather was glorious today in Northern Switzerland, and after getting through the shopping with the wife I was able to get to the field with my new Chapter One build by 4 in the afternoon, would have been a bit sooner if I hadnt left the TX behind and had to go back for it. Anyway, the model was shown to the club expert Mode 2 flyer and he agreed to make the maiden flight. After 2 circuits he said he was having to hold in too much down elevator so brought it in to land. A few turns on the clevis and it was back in the air, flying nice and level on about half throttle, but every time he opened up the throttle it was climbing at an alarming rate. He landed it again and there was a discussion among the club pros, in Swiss German so I couldnt understand anything. At the end the recommendation was to add more downthrust, 2 degrees, by adding washers under the top mounting bolts, and changing to a 'slow flight' propeller, something with less pitch. The motor is an AXI 2814/16 which is rated 1035 RPM/V, the LiPo is a 3S 3800 MaH. The recommended propellor on the AXI site for a trainer aircraft is 9.5x5. I remember when I bought the motor in the local shop that I had written down that propellor size, but they didnt have any in stock, so the sales guy assured me that a 9x6 would be just as good, up on one measurement but down on the other. So I bought and fitted an APC 9x6 Elektro. The plane is built with the downthrust indicated on the plan, does it sound right considering the description that I have given that another washer added to the top bolts will help? And what would be your recommedations about changing the propellor size and/or pitch?

I am a slow builder so this has taken more than a year, Chapter One with aileron wings BUT First build for 45 years First build with electric power First build with ailerons First build with the iron-on covering, so dont look too hard at the engine bay sides or wing tips Will maiden this weekend if the weather is right

I have contact lenses for normal day wear, helps with the long distance vision and driving at night in particular. Then in the office I have to wear glasses on top for using the computer but I also have another pair of glasses recommended by the optician for working on the models when you tend to have things closer to your eyes than the computer screen on your desk. My workbench is a piece of wood on an old IKEA desk, some jobs are better done sitting down but some I like to stand at, so for that the plane comes up as well. Didnt want to spend all of that money on one those fancy adjustable plane stands, so I cut the appropriate shape into the top of two cardboard wine boxes and I find that having the plane up that height above the standard desk height is perfect for me. And I have a ready supply of replacement boxes for the next plane that I build

Sorry if this is a silly question but ..... I have the RCME model flying workshop special from 2015 and on page 107 there are instructions for reversing a motor shaft. I would like to do this to my Axi 2814/16 V2 motor to get the rotating shaft out of the area where all the wires from the ESC and LiPo are located. No problem to remove the circlip as shown in photo 2, but no sign of any grub screws as shown in photo 3. So put the motor over a hole in the workbench, bit of wood over the drive shaft and hit it gently, then not so gently, but no movement at all. So what could still be holding it in place that I havent seen. I tried the Axi web site but couldnt find anything

We celebrated 39 years this summer ...... some ups, some downs, but no regrets

Tom I am sorry but I do not see the difference between your definitions of a fake and a low cost copy Presumably if you bought a Porsche without an engine then it would be fake, but if it had an engine made by Hyundai then it would just be a low cost copy. Sorry

I had to pick up some things at the big Do-It-Yourself place yesterday, and being alone I could have a good look around. I passed by the 'offcuts' bin in the wood cutting area and there was a piece of MDF, 120cm by 40cm, 10mm thick, one side is faced with the usual white plastic finish, but the other side is covered with 6mm of cork. I have no idea what it was originally intended for but it makes a great building board, nice and heavy, absolutely flat, will never warp and the pins go in beautifully.

OK, so I know that it is not finished, but I could not resist taking some photos when I got all of the controls hinged up and the wing seating area more or less done. Still need to shape all of the control surfaces to the correct profile, fine tune the wing seating and give the whole thing a good sanding before I can start the covering. Weight as shown with motor and 4 servos installed is 780g, so with the ESC, 3S 3400MAH LiPo and the receiver that I am planning on that comes to 1110g before the covering and linkages. Is this in line with a completed all-up weight of 1250g?

Yes ...... it is too late now, the area in question now has the tailplane glued on top and piece of 5mm ply and tail skid underneath. I have read about these 'furry' hinges but have not seen them for sale in the shop, so I just followed the plan, it's only 3 years old so still up-to-date in my eyes. I will definately put in something as a pinning solution, losing the rudder in mid-air doesnt sound like fun.

I have read that when you use the mylar hinges it is recommended to drill a hole through and push in a cocktail stick, trim it off and add a drop of cyano. This makes sense when the hinge is going into nice big flat sheets of balsa. But the plan I am using has a rudder 18cm high, the top two hinges are going into the sheet tailfin, no problem, but the bottom hinge is going into the fuselage below the tailplaneand elevator. At that point it is only going into a 5mm thick cross sheet between the fuselage sides. So do you recommend that I still drill across the 25mm wide fuselage a few millimetres behind the cross sheet and push the cocktail stick stick through the gap? Or do you just rely on the glue?