Dave S.

I flew a Wot four for years with an Irvine 53 in it - perfect match. I also had a Sig Four Star 40 for many years with a variety of engines, but the Saito .62 suited it best. Edited By Dave S. on 23/10/2020 08:37:45

I have the mag and plan but am temporarily without a scanner, if no one else can manage, I hope to be re-united with my scanner in a few weeks.    

Project STOL is still making slow but steady progress, I am afraid that major real-world events have recently drastically reduced my time and enthusiasm for building, but the wing is now at the stage where I need to add the laminated tips. I will upload a few pictures when I get that done.

What nonsense, Loof could never be a Finnish name   Dave not-a-Finn in Finland

Personally, I would not use micro servos in any model with an ic engine, they are not designed to take the vibration. I have seen people lose models because the micro servos they have fitted have failed on the first flight. The gears, and especially the feedback pots in micro servos, are VERY delicate.

Erflog, I always assumed that the aircraft was named after this chap: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysander    

Phil, Avant-Garde is the name of a helicopter produced by Robbe in the early 90s. Thought everyone knew that!

What worries me is what's going to happen if all the jokes have been used before the 1st of April.   Mind you, if we make a pig's ear of a kit, we might get a VAT refund! Most of my builds subtract value.

I wish I could remember the technique I used 10 years ago, just followed the instructions, I expect. I know it doesn't shrink as much as most films and therefore needs to be applied fairly neatly, you can't rely on wrinkles shrinking out. Plenty of overhang and don't let it slacken as you apply (but that's god for any film, of course).

I have a C/L wing I covered in red Fibafilm about 10 years ago that has been left in the shed most of the time since then, and here that means +30 in the summer, -30 in the winter, and it is as good as new, planning to use more (same roll!) for the STOL I am building now.

There are many reasons why people vote for something, especially when the vote is public. It may aspirational, may simply be done in order to send a signal of 'I am capable of building this', or, most likely, a significant proportion of the votes may be cast by people with only a very hazy idea of the difficulties involved in designing, building, and flying a particular prototype.   On the other hand, a less 'exciting' but more buildable model for the majority does not offer opportunities for exciting cover pictures, etc. with which to attract magazine purchasers. We all want to believe we can build and fly Spitfires, fast jets, etc, but fewer want to admit that something like a Beaver is more suited to their skills.

If it is such a popular aeroplane, then why haven't the ever-canny ARTF makers flooded the market with Lysanders? I am sure the plans will be interesting, and worth studying, but doubt that many will be completed and flown.  Some will, of course, but not many.

Terry, as I understood it, the final choice was Tony's, so I am sure that he took on the challenge willingly. It is certainly not my idea of a model for the average builder or flier, but the real intention is to have an interesting model to out in the cover to encourage people to buy the Special, rather than to flood the flying fields with Lysanders.   Peter, I guarantee that I'll buy the magazine despite the choice of plan (not the sort of model suited to my site or style).   

Roy, some things are better not known!

Well, I am certainly looking forward to receiving April's issue sometime in June or July, I received January and February this morning!

Hard to imagine a military UAV with a little plastic man in it so it looks 'more realistic'!

I'd start here, Hugh. I have some pictures in the older magazines, but they are buried a bit deep at te moment

I actually looked for something like that - think I'll pop up to my modelling room and paint a length of dowel white, l need it!   (Just checked  - it's not even slghtly hidden, how did I manage to miss it?)

Depends on the tx I am using, when I had a heavy tx I used  a neck strap and finger/thumb grip, but recently changed to a Futaba FF7 and find it easier to hand hold and use thumbs only, though I do use my nose or chin to open the throttle when I'm hand launching!

Thanks, David.

I am not sure if this just me (though I suspect not) but there seems to be a problem with the private messaging system on the forum ('My Messages'). I have received two messages and did not have any notification of their arrival, but eventually noticed the tiny number next to 'my messages' in the box on the left of the screen.    I replied to those messages, apologising for the lateness (well over a week, in one case) and can see that they have not been read, though I know the members have been active, so I suspect that they are unaware of the message's existence.   Can something be done to make the fact that you have a message waiting a bit more obvious, and/or provide e mail notification of the arrival of new messages?   Thanks Dave S

Don't worry, Alex, most of us have tried to apply sensible rules like that. They never work, either. It's easier to avoid accumulating too many of you fly only models you build, rather than ARFs (makes you fly better, too!) but in the end you stop breaking them and they build up anyway. I have only 4, but they are all over 5 years old.

Tim, there are plenty of cures for modellingitis, but they do suffer from two drawbacks - firstly they tend to cost more than modelling, and secondly, none of them actually work

If the plan seems simple, then it is probably not the one he won the scale World Championships with in 1976.

Well, I have to admire a man with ambition. I've been modelling for over 40 years and would certainly think twice before finally turning and walking away from a project of such complexity, especially if I couldn't fly yet. But they say that fortune favours the brave, so the 'good luck' is meant sincerely.    This is the Chipmunk that won the world scale championships back in the 70s, isn't it?