Bruce Collinson

Nobody has referred to the C word. Cataracts (sorry Don, don’t know the French word.). Hopefully, en France, they intervene a lot quicker than our sanctified NHS does. I don’t know the word for optometrist either but I’d start there. in my recent experience, a year ago, two new lenses made vision when flying a lot easier and NB Don, has had no discernible effect on my shotgunning vision. Plus I don’t need readers except for very close up, and can now see the car instruments without glasses.

Lots of the electrickery is beyond me, but a standard 4-Max ESC IN A 6S setup, so 80 Amps I think, would not operate E-flite retracts reliably and we ended up with a separate Rx battery, smallish 2S LiFe, which cured the problem.

Forthcoming BMFA auction stuffed with them.

My LMS stocks it.

For those wallowing in nostalgia's warm bath, another thread reminds me that the next auction has oodles of engines, amongst which there are bound to be favourites. Mine were DC Merlin and Spitfire, then a PAW 19D which frightened me to death (at 15). My first Laser 100 started the instant it was shown the starter.

Have a look at the next BMFA Auction catalogue. Dozens of traditional kits. It’s online now.

Res ipsa loquitur; it torx for itself.

Two threads emerge from these posts. I seriously considered a 4 hr round trip just to put faces on the many recurring names on this forum, but my only airworthy planes are either foreign or lack Lasers, or both. Then, life got in the way. Next year maybe ... First, it's clear how much work went into this by Ron and other volunteers and I suspect it could get bigger in future. The trade presence was clearly welcome and also might expand. If Manny could find a date closer to notional summer (if I recall, 2 days in July this year) then so much the better. Secondly, it seems that this was a first visit to National Centre for many participants, with many positive remarks. I recall a characteristically divided and parsimonious thread latterly, decrying the notional cost to BMFA members of this facility, used allegedly by a handful of elite insiders. I also recall reading that it is intended to be self-sufficient but the point is that it is an excellent flying site, maintained to a high standard (by volunteers), with progressively more facilities which are open to all of us and which deserve to be exploited, by all of us. I have flown there twice and it's superb, even in a horizontal-windsock wind, as there's negligible turbulence. Hopefully the event and de-briefing may encourage more sceptics to make the effort. On the point of self-sufficiency, the forthcoming two auctions are bigger than ever, chock full of fascinating lots and even with the modest commissions charged to sellers and buyers, these sales contribute to the overall running costs of Buckminster and deserve support. But I would say that, wouldn't I ...... BTC

BTW, a meter is some sort of gauge, probably handy in an electric car. The SI unit of distance is a metre, unless in His Majesty’s former colonies. And yes I do know how to spell “pedant” as I have read it often.

I used it on a Wot 4 ARTF and it developed severe leprosy. Most of it has now peeled off and it can come out in daylight again. i am a big fan of the Bristows and their products. Accepting that they do it for a living, they are in my view one of that group of UK suppliers and makers without whom we’d all be the poorer. I suspect that there was residual release agent left on the foam which I didn’t clean off sufficiently, but several club mates are now using bog standard water based polyurethane floor varnish to good effect and apparently without lots of sanding off before coating. Upto 3 coats, I’m told; proof against even the N Yorkshire sheep poo which doubles up as a very strong organic glue, albeit it needs 4 weeks to set fully. Ronseal is popular (other brands etc.)

9 mm ply still gets sold in 8’x4’ sheets I believe.

Or buy some from Modelfixings.

I’m wondering if this is the time to re-visit remote camera/alarm systems. My club has a large solar panel array, large leisure batteries and the capacity to charge lots of LiPos through the day. It is a little remote, but there are relatively few ways out onto trunk roads. As my club mate Nigel Sharp has noted (passim) we no longer cut our own grass (weekly in the prime growing season) at some cost in subscriptions, but membership is close to full largely because of car parking. when we investigated a defibrillator a few years back, it was deemed too dear and incapable of being left in a Portakabin over winter. Last year our retired GP suggested another look; the price had fallen, the LiOn batteries are said to be good for several years and do not need to be interfered with despite sub-zero temps. So, we bought one (and trained members in its use). When we last investigated remote alarms and cameras, the combined costs of the hardware and a sim card and contract were excessive. I pay £6/month for my iThing line. We have power. We have trees in which we could hide a camera and a single gate where we could theoretically put an infra red beam or motion detector. Apart from the minor issue of our camera view becoming available to our pals in China (my home system evidently is), I just wonder if the setup and running costs of such an installation are now achievable? The irony is that we don’t leave much in t’hut but clearly many clubs have a mower. Our solar array is fairly large but I bet it could be a lot smaller for just a camera and cellular line and with a discreet battery backup the alarm would presumably activate some time before the scallys could cut the power and the images would already be wherever they needed to be. We use Signal for chatter and logging in and I bet it could be configured to tell all members if the alarm went off (what they would then do is another matter but at least the Plods could be given a heads-up in real time). As will be self-evident, I lack the nerdiness fully to develop this concept but I know there are Forumites who could do. If they did and shared the developed concept, and hardware was identified and maybe even sourced in bulk, then probably the BMFA insurance premium would benefit and so would everyone’s subscription. Should any club mates read this (SD?) please note that this is not a first step to tabling it for the club to consider; there’s nothing much to nick , we need new deckchairs, and the array of spirit optics is higher on my radar. For vulnerable clubs, food for thought? BTC

Better to kick off about Spektrum vs the rest .........

A great sticking plaster for an environment which is imbalanced but not a substitute for a properly insulated, adequately heated and VENTILATED environment. See my caustic (but accurate) post above. The OP has an ideal opportunity to specify all three parameters which ought to minimise, if not eliminate, condensation. BTC