Bruce Collinson

Turnbuckles also by Kavan, M 2.5, from LMS. Or mail order from Modelshop Leeds. BTC

Are will still at 147 mm c of g as per the wrong manual? Battery going in mine and would like it somewhere near before I relocate to the unheated man cave and recommission the Valerie...Victoria...what’s the name of that bird? Fed up with this weather, haven’t flown for a fortnight. There might have to be some retail therapy instead... BTC

Or, as I observed to Jeremy H only last week, It's probably in its bracket and reasonably straightforward for a YS pumped engine, around which it seems to me the whole of the front end had been designed, but for his ASP or my Laser 100 it needs lots of alterations. Ditto a DLE petroly, although at least the tank stays put. I can afford neither the fuel bills nor the depreciation of YS, let alone the price. Radio going in mine. Close run thing whose flies first ... BTW Peter how's the rear elevator linkage access hatch secured on yours? BTC

Didn’t see this first time round, wish I had but for reference there’s a bloke outside Rotherham who will replace original batteries inside the casing for sensible money. He did two of the three my Makita came with and it’s better than new as he was able to smuggle larger capacity cells in. I had already bought a new third cell. Yes it’s perfectly possible to diy but I made a bit of a mess getting the first one open. His was neat, everything fits like it did before. Ex modeller, I’m sure. Can’t recall precise details, advertises on web. BTC

Meant to say re the LiPo, my first ... or was it the second? Mrs. Watt 4 (must nave been of the female persuasion, seemed to have a mind of its own) had an arrival hard enough to Bugnerise the LiPo which was promptly quarantined against a minor thermonuclear eruption. After I got bored with that, I cycled it very warily, then charged it fully, then taped it up like a prop forward’s ears and use it regularly two years later. I think its the wing off that one that is about to emerge from the hangar post repair. Bummer to lose the AW too. I find it difficult to pick between the two for the first flight of the day but do find the AW more satisfying. Both electric, both with the U/c mods alluded to, reinforced plate, larger wheels (sheep on strip), absolutely nylon bolts, catastrophic cig lighter and crappy screwdriver always to hand in case the stubs stick. Still unsettled by Spektrum but about two thirds of the serious regular pilots at my club use it and I’m very tempted by Yeti but it’s awful dear. BTC

Shame it won't hold a 3S 2200 mah LiPo as these seem to be ubiquitous in so many sensible models, readily available from all the known suppliers. E.g I can use exactly the same batteries in my Multiplex Heron, tiddly Great Planes Sukhoi parkflier and the new Explorer F3A trainer. If the frame is tired and there's enough spare foam to go at, I wonder whether there's anything to lose by cutting out to squeeze a larger battery in, and ending up with a flight pack which will recycle very readily? Maybe up-spec the esc another 10 A on the same basis? Just a thought. BTC

+1 for Keith above, 4Max quad, as a similar post about a week ago (I didn’t start it). 4 quite dissimilar batteries, simultaneously; ac/dc ( to coin a phrase); UK supplier of repute, so the Chinese don’t get all of the margin. Best single bit of kit I have bought in 3 years since returning. BTC

PS reinforce the u/c plate before assembly. Far easier now than later. BTC

So in terms it’s brazing? I had a quick surf over lunch and found a lot of trade names Alu-Weld but not the product. I suspect lots of us will be checking this out. Where from.? BTC

That must be a relief and satisfying in equal measure; well done. Your identity is out of the bag now. How were the jets? B

Jonathan, You deserve credit for the thorough and frank investigation and conclusion, some of which lost me a bit, but much of which resonates. My current Wot 4 artf electric has survived for about 2 seasons, latterly with a Ripmax motor, Yeti ESC and Spektrum rx.. After the last surgery I replaced the rattly motor with a slightly larger Overlander which has yet to be flown; too cold. Never had a bad setup from 4Max so go for it. Rx; mine is a simplish one, 2 antennae, just ahead of the servos, behind the LiPo which is a 5A 4S so fairly hefty. Never had a glitch. If replacing it I would be very tempted by the new hidden antenna Spektrum upon which there's a post on here recently with generally positive hands-on reports, as opposed to the hands-off Spekky hysteria which breaks out regularly. Not a fan of New Power servos. Apart from anything else the servo arms are excessively thick. Got some Hyperion minis for a specific project, seem Ok but otherwise I'm keeping faith with Hitec and especially Savox which seem to me to be the optimum compromise of cost, performance and quality for anything I have built/assembled apart from combat wings and the like. Probably, those Futabas are every bit good enough for a Wotty. Based on 100-odd flights I'm with Martin but they do seem to be a bit sensitive to aerial orientation, rather than location, as far as I can determine. I am happier with a satellite especially if it will go in a wing eg. BTC

His is glow. My DLE if I recall started out at 2 turns each then closed in progressively. The Chinese copy Walbros don’t seem to be very consistent, but the out of the box settings were a mile out. Sorry. Washer unblocked.

Ooh err .... timing? You’re clearly writing from past experience but that wasn’t an issue with mine, once the jets were reset from fully closed. Might save time. Checking to see if Jeremy Harmer’s flew today, second attempt. Would have been fitting filter and rx had the present Mrs. C. not blocked the washing machine drain filter...again..............................😫

My legs needed one hole enlarging. I can readily foresee the current (I strongly suspect generic) two piece legs being swapped for a one piece composite u/c. There are already cracks in the paint on both faces. Had same issue with the Seagull Yak, and I didn’t even land it! I begin to wonder whether there might be a market for these ARTFs without any hardware, with a proportionate cost reduction, so the builder could specify and fit it to his own specification. BTC

Simon, Many thanks. I ought to have checked the forum posts first. Strictly entre nous, I found your user feedback a lot more penetrable than the technical dissections and I’ll look at the US forum directly. BTC

Gone quiet again. Gary, did you ever sort the wing warp out? Given up with the DLE, the new silencer was costing about 800 rpm. Passed it onto a club mate and a Saito 125 is waiting to go in. You fitted yours sideways, didn’t you, with silencer exiting below? Any other issues since the latter postings? BTC

Well they’re bored with Morris dancing ......

Peter, Mines 3.655 kg all in, dry, with a Laser 100. Does that sound about right? BTC

Best by far without resorting to the alchemy suggested above is Pollyfilla Advanced. It comes pre-mixed, tube or tub, it fills and smooths very well, has far less tendency to lift off than specialist lightweight fillers, dries quickly and sands easily (often not needed because it smooths so well) and it's cheap. BTC

How cold was it?

Saw you'd had issues. Letterboxes/delicate surgery came to mind. c. 9 lb from memory, can check it again now nearly everything's in it. BTC

Nifty, Flew mine in anger on Sunday, just with an Acrowot and a foamy, took it more to tinker with a 20cc petrol engined Yak but it worked very well indeed. Still to fit the furniture, cup holder, ashtray etc and working on the ideal location for the ice bucket. As was alluded, it’s as useful in the Mancave as at the strip. If you make another, I made my cradles in a Y pattern, tapered, and used amalgamating tape to hold the foam without creating hard edges. I found a dog restraint corkscrew with a swivel in a gratifyingly shiny chrome finish for not much money on Ebay as a ground anchor. The previous scepticism from certain club mates soon evaporated and I suspect they will soon be reproducing. BTC

Where do I begin? Too many distractions. My go-to Watt 4 needed surgery after a nasty gust tripped it up just before it was supposed to land and if anyone says I stalled it .... then a foam ARTF Explorer appeared, brilliant little F3A trainer with little wheels and spats, then I got an offer for the DLE 20 in my Yak so had to get hold of a Saito 125 to drop in, then faffed about removing the DLE, ignition etc, then had 4 good flights on Sunday ... etc. At the plumbing stage with the Infinity. Still. Shotgun needs a deep clean. Rocket glaring at me shouting “build me!”. P 47 winking at me for the second Laser 100. Had to put my time management course back, again. Probably, J Harmer’s will be airworthy well before mine and I can crib off him. It appears that nobody had the right manual for the actual plane but the earlier posts will be a very good starting point. Still regretting stripping out the DSM Excelsior after I crashed it as it would be mendable if I could get a decent image of the front fuselage. Then there’s the day job. What are you wrestling with? BTC

I’m with Bob, that Quad charger is arguably the most useful single purchase I have made in the three odd years since I returned. Also, I am finding that George’s branded LiPos have far less tendency to puffing up than certain other high profile brands and I strongly suspect that he is cautious with his labelling and other brands are optimistic. Club mates have tended to find the same. Five are due for delivery later! Interestingly I took a straw poll on Sunday whilst flying ( ok, in between flights) and the vast majority fully recharge at about 1C straight after flying. I suspect the majority intend to use them again within a week or two. Parallel boards ... the Quad can charge four different battery chemistries at once, and your i-Thing, from 240 or 12 v. Horses for courses. BTC

Or support a good UK business and buy from 4Max.