Chris Walby

An unanswerable question as its just a personal view. Is the tank half full or half empty or just twice the size it needs to be....or what you are left with after a nice flight with your IC model? Was free flight dead after radio control came along, not from what I have seen.

IMO (as an Electrical Engineer) it was and now appears in the press to be a far greater issue shutting down and restarting all the infrastructure that Heathrow has and not the electrical infrastructure supplying the local area & Heathrow Airport. It is very clear in the electricity supply regulations that the onerous on the owner of the facility (Heathrow Airport etc) that they are not guaranteed a supply at all times and just because the supply tends to be very reliable does not mean that it should be taken for granted. Hospitals and Data Centres have very significant generator and uninterruptable power supplies infrastructure to mitigate such issues. Another factor may be the fatality through electrocution of a contractor at Heathrow and the successful prosecution by the HSE. I spoke with an engineer who was there and the smell or burning flesh is something he will never forget. Remember with High Voltage switching and maintenance you only ever make one mistake as it will be your last. Unique event...absolutely not. Live power cuts today...on a good day! And UKPN

Do as I say, not as I have done! Still learning by my mistakes! Paint the floor with a sealer, then put down that square castellated floor matting (great thermal, Ops just dropped something important and easy to rearrange). Lay it across the entire floor area and then its easy lift a section for say a bench feet etc. Paint the walls with a sealer No ceiling just board above the joists with a few access panels so you can put models/boxes up there without walking around up there. Ron's suggestion of a load bearing partition is a good option. Reduce drafts and limit the air volume (pointless heating the roof space while you freeze at ground level) that way when you need to heat the space it won't take long or use a lot of energy to do it. Sockets at high level or on the joists in every corned of the garage! Then an extension lead to the bench/shelf (flexibility is your friend). Heating, if you can't do a diesel heater then someone might have a better idea than me.....but don't use a propane heater....adds humidity and heat in equal quantities! Keep us updated on your progress....Me, well off to source some insulated roller doors so you have a head start!

JR, I think you are masking the ropy battery by the way you have tested it. From experience having overly discharged some packs they appear to recover, but they are nowhere near the same as a normal pack in performance. Firstly the battery capacity typically reduces and more importantly they just won't perform well under high load conditions. The likely point of voltage collapse is under high current load...probably when you are taking off with very few options to get your model back without a bin liner. Less likely is during flight as the battery will have warmed up a bit and the max current will have reduced (unless prop hanging is your thing). Give it a go, but I can't see the point of nursing a model around the sky when you can put another battery in and fly normally. Discharge it and recycle.

IMO measuring the voltage under load is a total waste of time as its dependent on the load applied. Its meaningless because you are looking at instantaneous (possibly delayed) voltage on a discharge profile that peaks on take off and during certain manoeuvres. OK if you have a very low power setup compared with the capacity of the battery it might sort of work, but its not very reliable for of determining remaining battery capacity. I have an eFlite EDF that gives a telemetry low battery voltage on take off if I go WOT for more than 5 seconds, absolutely nothing wrong with the batteries its just the 30C load that causes a bit of voltage sag. Back off the throttle and fly around for another 5 minutes and still land with reserve capacity in the battery with no more alarms. I think its far better to measure current/voltage (mAh) and determine the amount of battery capacity that is used. I know a few guys with big EDF's and gliders that use this to great effect in both maximising flight time and not over discharging the battery packs.

Don't forget to make three wheels...if you have a spare I'll never need to use it! As for the wheel material, I think if it tries to ground loop hub failure/tyre peeling off is more likely.

Why worrying, if you were blind or partially sighted you wouldn't want to accidently walk in to an active firearms range. 🙄

Oh no not again! Depending where you get the ESC's from ESC's in the nacelles and battery in the fuselage. Recommended by 4Max in my GTC, DC3 and, Ta154, Fockie Stick and BH Mossie, plus Freewing use the same set up in the P38, OV10 so its totally possible with stock ESC's. Although some will say you shouldn't do it...but how many electric twins have they got?

My Riot developed a very distinct bend in the fuselage and I contacted Century, their response was "could it be trimmed out in flight, if so leave it as there was a possibility of damaging the fuselage structure". Hot water works to a point, then its up to you if you want to break it and reset yourself.

Paul, Those retract look a long way forward? Here's one I broke earlier BH Mossie iirc 63 inch, looks like the retract plate is in line with the LE of the wing. From memory it leaves the wheel very tight at the back of the nacelle. Hope this helps and keep up the good work 🙂

So how does the logic go? Mix two different fuels, then retune the engine, then run out of your special brew and buy some new...then retune again Or carry on using the fuel you have until it runs out, then use the other lot after a retune then buy new and retune it again As Jon says why bother and risk a problem as its the same number or retunes + if you have a few engines I'll end up doing the retune a multiple times. I can see the logic if mixing the same fuel, but with either different nitro or oil percentages, IMO i have enough going on without retuning engines just for the fun of it (great when the prop and cowl have to come off every time.

So they are capable of producing FULL power while running in reverse?

This and the indoor 3D is actually a very big step forward (getting close to standard industrial motor speed controllers, but they are very expensive) regarding motor speed control! For Joe public its just a feature, but stopping a motor at full speed and then rotating it at full speed in the other direction is electronically quite difficult to do without toasting electrical components! PS Well that buggers up all the safety rules saying to restrain models...when they can exit backwards at full speed into the pits! Won't get that with IC !

Don't really need reverse thrust, but have toyed with the idea on my WooHoo twin. Some call it diner plating or spinning like a circular saw blade! Does make an interesting sound PS we have been tempted to fit a G meter in the wing tip to see what its really pulling 🤣

Can the Durafly Tundra V3 be fitted with floats? If so I understand that its very useful to be able to reverse out of the weeds etc. Don't bother unless you intend to fly off water. I would think of either button or switch, if accidently operating in flight will not end well for the motor/ESC or model! A few of the EDF guys use reverse thrust on landing, but it all seems a bit complicated to approach for landing, then dead stick, then land, then select reverse and then modulate reverse thrust to bring it to a rapid stop without whizzing backwards!

Hi Sonny With the size and weight of the model I would be inclined to either build it with fixed UC or hand launch to start with. Counter rotating props should make it easier to get away from the ground and by all means build it so that servoless retracts can be fitted at a later date. For me the number one target would be to build it to the advised weight. Specification DH.98 Mosquito Model type: Scale fighter-bomber Designed by: Robert J. Caso Wingspan: 36.5″ (927mm) Wing area: 1.8 sq. ft. (0.16sq. m) All-up weight: 2 lb 7oz (1.1kg) Wing loading: 22oz / sq. ft. (6.7kg / sq. m) C of G: 2.6″ (66mm) behind the l.e. at the wing mounting point Functions (servos): Aileron (1); elevator (1); rudder (1); flap (1); retracts (1); throttle (via ESC) Powertrain: Two Himax 2812-1080 brushless outrunners; two 8 x 6″ props with 38mm spinners; two 3s 1350mAh Li-Pos; two 18A ESCs Good luck and keep posting any questions you have. 🙂

A game all Laser owners can play! Spot the difference? Answers below PS And yes they are different images as one is a 150 and the other a 155 according to the Laser web site!

Very happy to get two photos in the magazine! A Peter Miller design Grumpy Tiger Cub and the Tigercat. Hopefully I'll have the Douglas Boston and a WR Bf110 sorted for this year. PS Spot the common theme?

IIRC the Carbon Cub has a geo fence function so don't forget to power the model on the strip and not the pits.. oh what fun as someone's came hacking back straight over the flight line fence and proceeded to circle the pits bench! Trainer button gives the pilot control and returns from WOT to TX throttle...great fun this technology!

If its a choice between do nothing or setting up the B25 then any scrolling around the menus in the TX is beneficial in my book + if the workshop has racking then siting the model on the top shelf with a blanket over it means its unlikely to get damaged. Unlikely but if something is wrong then its still under warranty rather than finding post warranty and trying to convince the seller you haven't been using it!

Great flying model, but would suggest removing and regluing the elevator control horn...mine was not fully glued and it spoilt my day. Repaired and many many flights. PS If operating off wet grass either dry the UC wheel wells or dry once home or the UC servos ply up and things go rusty!

My own fault, but try a model with two 360V Lasers in it...spare gallon in the van just in case it gets thirsty

I did read this at 6:00 am, but had dog walking and 3 flights at the flying field + a spot of time in the workshop before returning ti the warm! I would most strongly advise setting the TX and RX up outside of the model. Only takes a bit of scrap wood, hot glue gun and some old servos to knock something like this up! Its only hot glue so you can remove/add servos to mimic the model you are working on and an old NiMh pack to power the RX up. This coupled what the wiring in the model has to offer, like the B25 which has a sequencer/module for tidying up the wiring. If you forget or wrongly assign RX outputs you stand a good change of damaging something and then needing to repair it! Examples of learning the hard and expensive way include, but are not limited to: Powering up the RX and driving control surfaces beyond their intended limit or stalling the servo because the control surface is resting on something Powering the RX up with the TX flaps direction or end points not set correctly, another good way or damaging servos or stressing the ESC BEC! Powering up the RX with fail safes incorrectly set, thus driving control surfaces away from the intended position (as you have not set that up yet). Powering the RX up with UC or gear doors set incorrectly, might be lucky not breaking gear doors and stalling the retracts, but you might just burn the lot out I know its a bit laborious But set the RX up on the test rig and get the TX doing all the things you want it to do. The RX in the model without any other outputs connected (with props off) and set the throttle and throttle hold. Then test the throttle cut and ensure it works. Then go for the simple stuff like Ailerons, elevator and rudder one at a time. It will get more complicated as the B25 rudder has nose steering! Then sequentially move on to flaps, gear etc I apologise for sounding like a patronising old git, but I am trying to save a lot of head scratching or breaking something. Not sure with the B25, but Motion RC recommend a flap/elevator mix for the P38 and OV10 and again here I find it very useful setting it up on the test rig and then rechecking/setting it up on the model. OK you get to do its sort of twice, but its part of the learning curve and you might just spot a mistake! I had a model that had an additional elevator (switched) on the wing as well as elevators in the normal place! I did all the setting up with the model sitting upside down on the bench as it was easier to connect/disconnect the RX battery. Great as I got all that working a treat and off to the club for the noise test and maiden. We have a rule where the model is checked by another club member and during this he spotted the ailerons were reversed! Me being focussed on the throttle mix and additional elevator mix/switch and completely missed the obvious!

As my typo was pointed out Fly about for a couple of tank full without holding it at WOT for long period, so nice varied throttle setting

Experts will arrive shortly, but I would say its a new 155 so running in will be as per normal. Install in model with a prop sized as per web site on the smaller option Start, warm up, adjust but don't run it rich Fly about for a couple of tank full with holding it at WOT for long period, so nice varied throttle setting Done If its in your DR1 you won't want to be flying around at WOT anyway PS Low oil fuel and no castor