Bruce Collinson

No air pressure getting into tank as it's screened from the propwash? I give in. BTC

Masher, Please post the results as I have one too and its cowl is a little the worse for wear. Lovely flier. BTC

replaced a 30 yr old one with a Prolux digital. Heaps easier. Plus one for baby socks (see parallel thread) and meths. BTC

Thanks JD8, that is what I meant to write. Might well have been a Brian Winch article that put me onto it. BTC

Certificate. BTC

didn't we used to be advised to use transmission oil for long strage? Believe I still have some from my second modelling career thirty years ago. BTC

Cannot fathom a dog owner risking any sort of injury to a pet by exposing it to our models. Utterly selfish and irresponsible. Unfortunately, there are too many such owners about, probably uninsured, never their/the dog's fault (same thing). I would attribute it to Darwinism but I like dogs, most of all our 3. BTC

Sorry Jeff, wasn’t ignoring you. Been busy. Glad you found him. He’s a proper bloke. Hoping to test the small Excelsior tomorrow. B

Maybe worth remembering with a big plane on a Valerie rig that it’s possible to sling the cords under the fus, where they are less likely to slip off or stick in the aileron gap etc although from recollection the cord then needs to be in one piece. It goes under the front, winds around the fulcrum then goes under the back. Kinks might be an issue depending on the cord. I found some “soft rope” on a curious website which I mistook for the folks who taught me to drive, BSDM or similar. Takes some beating. if I grasp the physics correctly, as long as everything swings freely then with the model level, the dangly bit (clunk weight works well) will inevitably find the c of g. Caravanners mini spirit levels are handy too, £1 each. oo err ... 3rd para might be capable of misinterpretation ... BTC

It's possible not everyone knows this, I didn't until I was told, but to keep all such materials airtight, invert the tin after closing so it forms a seal. + 1 Clearcote although I sometimes cheat and use Hard as Nails on leccy stuff. BTC

Jeff, Rocket designer, Terry Anderson, is a clubmate who previously competed at national level in F3A and still flies UKCAA flyins with Pick 5 and 7 comps. So do I and my burning ambition is to finish ahead of last in Pick 5. Happened once, Buckminster last year. Field of 1 unfortunately. It was he who proclaimed the smaller Excelsior a better flier, I would not be able to make that distinction at my level of flying. Terry does slow and 8 point rolls at 30’. Including with my Excelsior. I suspect that if properly trimmed there is a gnat’s whisker between them and they all seem to fly as if on rails, one reason why I like them. inadvertent para break there. Comparing several DSM planes with close cousins with built up wings, a Suprafly and a Curare eg, the latter float on for ages on landing and are less able to fly big patterns, but then neither will my Saphir, veneered foam on 8 S electickery. Deluxe after run oil, surely? Interesting that there’s a current thread on their Balsaloc equivalent for sticking loose film and trim where someone evidently had a poor outcome. All I can say is that everything of theirs has performed Ronseal for me. Two Excelsiors currently in the hangar having engine refits, Yamada 140 with perished vibration mounts and a Saito with plug problems of my own doing. Incidentally, Peter Vidgeon who advertises on the BMFA site did a repair to the plug threads, checked the valves and bench ran the Saito in 2 days and wanted £35 inc post back. I cannot recommend him too highly. BTC

Jeff, There are half a dozen Rockets at my club following a semi-mass build before lockdown and the designer being a member. Mine awaits paint. They fly very well. Bill Manley did a batch of wings and tails and probably has the templates still (Bill Kits). You must have a lot more free time than I have to contemplate built up wings. Interestingly, the said designer, El Tel, had a go with my repaired small Excelsior .. 166?.. last weekend and with a little tweaking, proclaimed it to be a better flier than his Rocket. Flies on a Saito 100, as indeed do the Rockets, mostly. We don't fly 2 stroke glows. BTC

Nobody mentioned Air Tek; closer then MSL, surely? BTC

Pollyfilla Advanced. Pre-mixed, light, goes on easily and finishes quickly, fast drying, sands very easily, takes next coating/film/glass readily. Expensive, not just as readily available as some other Polycell products, not needed to buy for 2 yrs so cannot swear that the gremlins haven't "improved" the recipie. Infinitely superior to specific lightweight model filler. BTC

Jeff, No maiden yet? Do tell all as and when, as it seems that the (not so) Smartmove may be a little way away. Incidentally the link you posted re foamwings.co.uk doesn't seem to be active, did I see new ownership, website under construction? Have you found out how to remove the wires from the retracts and beef them up? Apologies if I missed that, I'm away from home and only intermittently surfing. Peter, Candidly, my misgivings about spindly servo leads and JR plugs are twofold; firstly I have had to splice a couple of rx packs which are on the bench for servo tester use but mainly, my attempts at crimping were less than satisfactory so it's sour grapes. BTC

PS am contemplating chopping in a dearly loved M 140i for an M2; how long before a hedge appears in the mirror?

Peter, was in haste, written re servos not motors. I’m a returnee with a 25 yr hiatus and the quantum leaps in radios were astonishing, until I re-learnt the oldest lesson in the world, you get what you pay for. I might be wrong but I subscribe to your point on £3,000+ in the air, not quite in my case but nudging 4 figures, and cannot reconcile the trend to buying knocked off gear from China. I’ve crashed a few, mostly Wot 4s, but have yet to break a servo so I gravitate to Savox on the basis they will almost certainly survive whatever slings and arrows I throw at them and remain in stock for the next project. BTW I’m re-reading your tome for the third time. the most perplexing thing is that we still connect our choice of digital HV servos to our redundancy Rx batteries and our 2.4 rxs using the same spindly under-engineered Futaba/JR plugs and sockets. Wrong forum perhaps, but we have what seems to be a Spekky “hole of death” at our site where there are banjos in the background every time something inexplicably piles in, including my late kitbuilt Wotty. Convinced it was to do with rx aerial arrangement; hypothetical now as am on Jeti, best move I have made in 5 years. Whatever. I’m not sure the Excelsior is as sensitive to C of G as we seem to assume, with its huge moment arm (?) = long fus which would surely allow at least a flight and a landing with it out of the range we have apparently agreed. I’m not arguing that it would be trimmed. My smaller one (160? Was well used when I acquired it by selling it to myself in a late modellers auction, only bought it for the NIB Saito it came with, which was marginal) flew really straight to the point where I was slow rolling it, after a fashion, as soon as it was trimmed. I think we did a rudimentary check on the c of g and left it. N. Leeds had a resurgence of Anderson’s Rocket before lockdown, mainly because its designer is a member, and now a similar thing may be about to happen with the big Excelsior as four of us are occasional UKCAA participants and a Rocket was lost last week. Bill Manley has made two pairs of wings, just the fus to replicate, then decide on power plant. An OS 120 pumper is being debated, but £600 .... BTC

In haste, my instincts would be, these are 25+ yr old planes, that was what people used back in the day. I'm sure there are loads of them still in regular use; Mk 2 Escorts spring to mind; prefer my BMW but the Ford will get from A to B. BTC

Now heard back from Darth who says 200mm back from l/e at fus; "it looks quite a long way back compared to "normal" models". I'm pretty sure that this is an optical illusion caused by the swept back l/e and the straight t/e and it seems to fit with what you've written above. It also appears right compared with my smaller Excelsior and a Saphir although I can't recall the precise dimension of the latter, but it flies right. 200-210 is clearly safe for your maiden, all other things being equal. If communicating with Geoff Hodgson, we can find homes for new DSM models. I have a pair of Excelsior wings from Bill Manley, waiting for a fus builder to volunteer ... New alloy spinner still needs Dremel work which is disappointing as the display version didn't but I'm loath to quibble. Now deciding whether or not to rip out the existing closed loop cables for safety, whilst changing servo and new alloy arm plus clevises. All postponed whilst on hols, with regular flights out of Brize Norton to distract me. Not my flights, obviously. BTC

Think I might have broken something here, the foregoing reply is a week old but stopped me sending a fresh one. Excelsior is a 188, with a YS 120 so I'm saving up for fuel for it whilst I rip out 3003s and 148s and put Savoxs in; await spinner with APS size hub cutouts so I can try to start it. Post facto, UKCAA Huddersfield wast postponed to this Sunday, I'm away and will no longer have to suffer the ignominy of coming third in Pick 5. Out of 3. Elvington was gusty and showery but did manage some essential retail therapy including more LiFe Rx batteries. Some very good LMA flights too but sparsely attended. Is the u/c answer to acquire some proper 10g piano wire (not cheesium) and identify which of your clubmates owns and operates a proper bending jig, then wait? That's what I'm hoping for, once I find out how to remove the existing wire legs. Pal/tutor Nigel/Darth has at least one 188 and I have asked him for c of g as his is trimmed for UKCAA schedules so it ought to be right; flies on rails (until he intervenes...). Will post when I hear from him. BTC

Jeff, Batteries; the uber-electronic guru at my club replaced his fleet, took out MiMhs and installed LiFes, I recall for this exact reason, no cliff edge and the local Jeti retailer told me exactly the same (Jeti use Li-Ion, without balance leads, for both Tx and Rx). Balance lead extensions are cheap as chips, Component Shop or indeed the local Precious Shop, MS Leeds. 4 Max replacement wires; they do not appear to be handed so good luck with those. I asked George why not and he said not to worry about it, he has a plane which pre-dates 4 Max and the retracts need to be straightened after every flight ... quod erat demonstrandum, as they say in Leeds ... even I can make an adequate 90 deg axle bend in 4 mm wire, use a large engineer's vice and a hammer. Not sure it solves the symmetry issue though. I will find out if I ever get the wires out of the Saphir. Weather looks dire so might be going to look at the Exelsior tomorrow. We might be comparing notes! Three of us were doing LMA Elvington tomorrow and UKCAAHuddersfield Sunday but tomorrow is Bohemian Rhapsody weather (thunderbolts and lightning .. etc) so might be Elvington sun instead. BTC

Jeff, Batteries; the uber-electronic guru at my club replaced his fleet, took out MiMhs and installed LiFes, I recall for this exact reason, no cliff edge and the local Jeti retailer told me exactly the same (Jeti use Li-Ion, without balance leads, for both Tx and Rx). Balance lead extensions are cheap as chips, Component Shop or indeed the local Precious Shop, MS Leeds. 4 Max replacement wires; they do not appear to be handed so good luck with those. I asked George why not and he said not to worry about it, he has a plane which pre-dates 4 Max and the retracts need to be straightened after every flight ... quod erat demonstrandum, as they say in Leeds ... even I can make an adequate 90 deg axle bend in 4 mm wire, use a large engineer's vice and a hammer. Not sure it solves the symmetry issue though. I will find out if I ever get the wires out of the Saphir. Weather looks dire so might be going to look at the Exelsior tomorrow. We might be comparing notes! Three of us were doing LMA Elvington tomorrow and UKCAAHuddersfield Sunday but tomorrow is Bohemian Rhapsody weather (thunderbolts and lightning .. etc) so might be Elvington sun instead. BTC

Blimey those oleos look cheap enough, saves your problem with axles and hub thicknesses ... oh you just solved it ... even if they are straight from the PR of C. Might have to compromise my principles for my DSM Saphir which has electric retracts which will NOT stay straight, especially as the wires aren't handed so one unloads the coil spring and one compresses it (they came with the model, which flies really pleasantly). Tell all when the wires come out Jeff as I couldn't fathom that either, having removed grub screws. Batteries; also sorted out, once you get a charger (I have a GT Quad from 4-Max, all chemistry, mains or 12v input, charges 4 at once, but you will hedge at the price) but my clear recollection from multiple sources was that the over-arching advantage of LiFe over NiMh is that LiFe gives you fair warning when it's getting low and NiMh falls off a cliff with little or no warning. I suspect LiFe has slightly higher power density, hasn't it Martin, Peter and Nigel? Just bought two, 2A, from Component Shop, for so little money I can't recall the exact amount; a lot smaller than the NiMh which was supposed to be in my Acrowot but wasn't when I went to charge it ... Waiting for news re an Excelsior 188 and keeping all crossed!¬ BTC

Lucky bunny, finding one of those. Will watch progress with interest. BTC

Excellent servos, worth the bit extra as you'll be able to re-cycle them, thus saving hundreds of penguins. Also not Chinese. BTC