Chris Walby

Attached to the other end of my retract. Either male & female plugs or extension leads don't mind, just need half a dozen. Ps the look like a normal servo plug, but two wires only Thanks in advance

Probably wrong, but I thought higher nitro allowed a wider state of tune (more tolerant of miss tune) and produces more power (in the right conditions!). I was told when purchasing a model with a Super tigre G30 to use no nitro as they don't like it (model came with 2 gallons!). I now look like an fuel depot as I have an ASP that runs 10% nitro, fuel with no nitro, and both Laser normal and low oil....TBH I'll be glad to ditch the non Laser engines and just move to the low oil.... PS - I bought a model with one of those pesky petrol engines, TBH I'll never run it and just stick a Laser in it, so that makes an empty can that will not get filled!

Artto, I think you are over thinking this. Clean and dry matting surface with a little silicone sealer will be more than sufficient IMHO These are close fitting machined surfaces They are not under any significant pressure They are staggered and not just a flange so less likely to leak anyway At worst the oil will leak out so I doubt anything will get in!

Only my opinion and I am sure others will have something to say! Learn on a high wing trainer, so don't really need stabilisation (especially as we are coming out of winter). I have used stabilisation if its above 10 constant gusting +20 mph with the buddy lead as it just takes the unpredictable bouncing about out for the trainee. Other club trainers would probably not be there or fly, but I like to keep a consistent training program and not encourage fair weather fliers! Safe, has its place and for me hand launching difficult models (2.7kg SU47) is a great boon, but what I would say is in practice there are two things to consider You have to be very practiced to recognise you have lost control and more importantly able to find the assigned button to press...before the ground meets the model Flying in safe is really weird as you have to hold the stick over to maintain say a set bank angle, now you might be able to unlearn this with a trainer, but it will be really hard with something more sporty! IMO the best way to learn is with an instructor and a buddy system, it should be the cheapest and maximise flying time as opposed to repair time! Lastly I am a great believer in flying different models to gain experience, but in the early days of flying one model is best until you have gained reasonable experience (take off circuit and land) before trying something else. Looking forward to your assembly of the ARTF...you may find later on the term ARTF is interpreted in a very different way by some manufacturers!

John, IIRC some people are are staying off site or just turning up for the day. Its what ever suits you really. It will take me an hour and a half to get there and with two dogs its only fair they get a walk and watch me put the tent up. Only my advice, but if in doubt contact Manny and book your pitch, IIRC you don't pay a deposit and it just helps them work out if one man and his dogs are due or lots of caravans! The Beer and Warbirds meeting last year had the camping field full and they had helpers on the entrance to assist with getting people/vehicles in the right place. Check out the BMFA Buckminster camping web page for rules and guidance, but other than that I can't think of any special rules, apart from it does not have to be a Laser to fly on the other days....oorr I had better go an wash my mouth out with castor...

Just an idea, if wingspan and fuselage size are an issue how about a biplane or triplane? Lots of drag for the engine to pull against, nice big cowl to get the radial in and some super low speed passes to listen to as you mooch about. ☺️ Ok my DR1 wings are a pain, but I didn't build it that way and in fact 10 screws and that's it assembled is hardly a lot of faff.

Thanks for the update Jon, I'll have my two collies (no opposable thumbs, but quick learners) so we only need you and the boss and that makes 5! The rest will be a bonus. On the tuning demo good idea, but only if you have time as you have enough going on anyway. PS As I am special needs (tuning a twin) gets my vote and I can supply my FT if that helps.

Just in case people are still firming up plans, as opposed to me running around trying to get models ready for this and Model Air! I asked Mannny yesterday (BMFA Buckminster) about camping and flying and I am sure he won't mind me posting his reply if it saves him having not to repeat himself. The Tuesday and Wednesday is an Achievement Scheme Committee hosted Fly-in, so attendance is open to all, could also be useful if you have any attendees who fancy a go at an A or B Cert. There’s nothing booked for the Thursday so its just an open flying day. The Saturday is practice day for the pylon racing on the Sunday but it is actually designated as open flying so everyone has to take their turn and all disciplines mix in together. Sunday is pylon racing so no other RC activity. So, in summary, pilots attending your event can arrive early to camp and fly and could actually fly from Tuesday through to Saturday, camping is no problem for pretty much any number of nights even when there is other activity taking place (the only time we close the campsite is when we hold larger student/educational events). If the weather looks ok I think I'll head up Wednesday afternoon, fly Thursday, Friday and Saturday and head home Sunday...even with that lot I doubt I will wear any Lasers out! Hope that helps

Best of luck with the build good to see you using SLEC (pass my regards on to Chris, Tina and the team). SLEC have assisted me a number of times with drawings to short and full kits over the years and their service is absolutely top notch. PS - don't forget to ask Chris to add all the notches, holes etc that help later on with your hardware installation, much easier Chris doing it on the screen/laser cutter than later on!

Links don't work for me 😞

I have to disagree as its just a cop out to generalise. I was clear to say what other manufacturers recommend or not. All of the models I listed benefit from ESC's being located in the nacelles for cooling and ease of installation. Can't be bothered to argue, go use ESC's with long motor leads and separate RX battery, bye

Ashbrook, I kept throttles separate for my GTC as I wanted to practice spin recovery techniques. Having said that you don't need to do that then just Y lead them together, but remember if no separate UBEC is used leave one red wire off an ESC on one. Really can't the point of a separate battery for RX and servos, just another point of failure 9connector), another battery that needs to be checked and probably another switch to fail at some point. Some people use differential throttle for taxing assistance, all I can say that in flight differential throttle can produce a very odd yaw effect (as one motor tries to over come the vertical stabilizer) and at worse will induce a spin! The WooHoo uses 100% mix rudder to throttle and it produces a superb dinner plating spin, but its spin recover only takes a few feet!

Planning on being there both days, hope the weather is ok and then the DR1 will get an outing + Dual Ace and FW 190. Possibly the cub if the FT200 gets fitted For a chat I should be easy to spot with a red baseball cap and a slightly pained expression!

Unfortunately there is a divided opinion regarding location of ESC's in relation to battery and motors. Some manufacturers state ESC to battery leads should not be lengthened or that additional capacitors need to be added Other Suppliers/manufacturers (including 4max) say the problem was designed out years ago and its not an issue, if in doubt contact George and discuss your application. My TN DC3, Grumpy Tiger Cub, WooHoo and Focke Stick all have extended ESC leads (ok by George) and have not and any failures. George sometimes recommends the use of a UBEC and the ESC red wires removed as it removes issues with ESC power up problems

Horses for courses springs to mind. My son had a PZ Artizan (foam, mid wing aerobatic) model which had detachable wings. Thing is it fitted in the car so the wings never came off although the servo leads and extension had keepers on. One day it all checked out and then mid flight it went berserk, I don't think I would have got it down let alone without any damage. On inspection the servo lead to Y plug was causing the servo to travel from one extreme to the other and most places in between. Unplugged it and plugged it back together and never had a repeat of the problem. Less connections the better and if you do need connections the connectors made specifically for the job may be the best option.

Flew all Sunday morning, well between the banter, coffee, and cake there was some flying. then this evening after work for a pleasant hour or so. The GTC is performing extremely well although the rudder - yaw, pitch coupling takes a bit of getting used to. Its ability to bunt as well as its loop is almost too much fun! The CanDoo is just weirdly different and don't get me wrong its not hard to fly. Perhaps because it has no rudders or its tendency to yaw into tight turns just just reminds you to keep in front of it! I have upped the throws and it responds well to some stick bashing without and signs of bad behaviour. This evenings models of choice! and a photo of the field just for good measure

If you are starting out with electric or really can't be that fussed or don't have time then give George at 4Max a call. George can normally use his wealth of knowledge with in my case sometime very little actual information come you with something spot on! Example, Call to George with the following information, its a delta plank ply kit like a zaggie sort of, but a twin, like to use a 3S2200 lipo, probably about 2 1/2 lbs and needs to go like a bat out of hell. George specified the props, motors, and ESC's (oh and UBEC). Result it flies a treat! Now if you then want to reverse engineer the set up and work out why George selected the components then you can in the safe knowledge that it won't cost you any more or cause any magic smoke in the process! Alternatively pick an ARTF of the same size/type and copy that + stick it through one of the on line calculators to confirm their design. I tend to work backwards! What prop diameter suits the model? What batteries do I already have (can series or parallel packs if necessary) and use This sends me down a path of motor size and prop speed (motor KV and lipo combo) which determines the current and thus the ECS size (amps and cell count) IMO its a bit pointless picking a motor and then finding the prop you need won't fit the model....been there done that! Picked up a 370KV motor IIRC only rated to 4S...popped it in my Hurricane and the only way to get enough wind was a three blade prop with a frightful pitch. It did fly, but only at one speed!

Its a competitive industry for manufacturers in the hobby plus perhaps they are responding to changes with the model owners. Firstly they have to build to a cost/performance formula and with the advent of electric the stress and strain of being shaken apart by IC is not necessarily a consideration. I have seen some models where the manufacturer does not specify an IC set-up and when you look at the construction its clear it would not withstand the rigors of IC installation. My point is it allows the manufacturer to select materials that save them cost and still allows perfectly adequate resilience. The problem you might find is that there is not enough wood for pin type hinges and fitting them might weaken the wing structure. The other thing might be the general skill level of modellers has reduced over the years as less and less people build and just assemble ARTF. How difficult is it to screw up a CA hinge compared with a pin hinge by joe public?

Gets my vote, firstly it has a pilot and secondly a nice colour scheme, thirdly looks a peach to fly!

1/4 of a tank full and a vertical climb would cause it to lean out (that's a long way for the carbs to suck!), might restart of the downward travel, but unlikely. I thought this is why Jon recommends the tank height as explained, roll inverted and the worst is it runs a bit rich but less likely to dead stick on you. With my 180 in a Yak I ignored Jon's advice to fit a single tank and went for two side by side, ran great for quite a few flights. Then one day I was enjoying repetitive bunts and after the third it quit. Put a single tank in and its no problem so should have just followed Jon's advice in the first place 😉

Nice build Ron...is it me or is that tank a bit high?

I like the idea of option 1 with 5 x 10 slots, that way if I miss a particular slot it will only be a hour or so before it cycles back around again + people can pace themselves if they have two models with adjacent slots e.g Slow scale/vintage Large - Tiger moths/chipmunks etc around 1/4 scale approx. - DR1 Sport - everything you got, no size limits. - Dual Ace A bit of the sublime to the ridicules if I fly them back to back! Other than that I am not to fussed what we do really so will go with the flow ☺️

Nice weather so flew Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Perhaps best not to repeat it from an expense point of view, but there was some good flying to be had. Friday, Laser 70 powered Seagull Mosquito had one engine stick on WOT (servo failure). For a reason I can't comprehend the entire field grass is cut very short so not a lot I could do with something that glides like a manhole cover and has a very unpredictable tendency to spin. So rather than crash somewhere in the countryside I tried a fast landing in the field. Sods law and as I touched the ground to stop the errant engine, I broke the prop on the other and it yawed/lifted its wing so in it went to stop any other risk to persons. Needless to say when we collected the wings and multi part fuz from different locations its not good news. Saturday was uneventful with the combined flying of the FW190's as the highlight (for me!) Sunday was going ok with a couple of flights of the Yak and GTC, until the second flight of the P38 when the control horn oN the elevator pulled out. Needless to say its arrival with the hawthorn hedge did prevent it hitting the ground at the expense of shredding the foam from the from half of the model. PS the mossie is in the naught corner until I can bring myself to investigate why the servo failed, but it does not look visually mechanical.

Now just saying hypothetically a friend of my, well actually his mate has a an Acrowot XL that needs an engine. So what would be the best one to fit in the nice uncut cowl?

You can if you want, but Laser engines quote RECOMMENDED PROPS 12×7-8 13×6-7 14×4-5 So IMO 13x6 will be ok and it sounds like the engine is matched nicely to the model...no point just tootling around at 1/4 throttle trying to get it to die on you. Warm it up and then give it a right good thrashing...if its not fast enough pop a 13x7 on it and report back... just check the Ugly Stick manual for WOT power dives is ok!