Bruce Collinson

My word that’s impressive and shiny. One frequently sees apologies for accidental double posts; one suspects that wasn’t accidental, and I attribute no criticism whatsoever. If I had one of those (not likely, no idea what it is) I’d post it twice too. No wonder a nylon wing bolt destructive test rig appeared so swiftly! BTC

T9’s premises are tantamount to a trade counter and my experience has been that if the items are in stock, you buy them in the old fashioned ananlogue way. It’s part of a small office and shed park about 400 yards off the main road and it’s first on the right, not at all prominent. If I remember correctly, the proprietor Richard is based in Geordieland and responds to his mobile number. BTC

There’s a diagram of a chicken hopper installation somewhere on this forum which my club mate Steve Dunne posted a couple of months back and knowing him he will spot this (hi Steve) and link it. Having said that, I recall it’s all to do with having the smaller tank correctly aligned with the carb where an adequate tank won’t fit and probably too complex for a simple capacity issue. Plan B, Mick Reeves’ website has some delightfully robust advice where tanks are concerned and you may want to take another look at, and a caliper to, coke bottles/ bean tins etc. Plan C; put two SLEC tanks in tandem, seal the outlets in the rear one and add two new tubes between them, one at the top and the other at the bottom. Wouldn’t they then perform as a single tank (Newtonian physics, liquids finding their own level etc)? BTC

One of my club mates turned up last Wednesday with a new OS AX, I think a 75, ostensibly to run and tune it in an airframe. It was just short of two hands to get over TDC. To cut a short story even shorter, it started with a reverse flick after about 6 odd tries, ran 2 tanks perfectly happily and flew a full tank an hour later. I believe the protocol is to get them hot ASAP then run rich for a tank, gradually leaning out. Whatever, it was very tight and it runs very well. Hope this gives you some comfort. Is it about tapered cylinders in ABC engines? BTC

It’s possible to make a neat, strong pushrod fitting with small dia c/f tube, by whipping the end with Kevlar thread as mentioned above to stop the carbon from splitting. Fishermen use Kevlar thread for fly tying. Then, cover the Kevlar with heatshrink to keep it in situ. Tap the inside of the tube, screw in clevises/ quicklink/ studding etc, cyano and connect up. Technically of course you can’t tap a thread in carbon fibre. Nevertheless, this works. I imagine the tap is roughening up the inside, but it will actually provide enough thread for the fitting to screw itself into the tube. I did this with a Maxford Mentor tail end which needed bracing. They act in compression as well as tension so only the top side is braced, they’re strong and it’s an elegant solution. Also light and cheap. I shall probably use this method for pushrodsin future as they’re slim too. BTC

Good flux too. Geoff Sleath commends bare tinned copper, aka BTC. You’ll have to google nominative determinism. I sign off with my monogram (see below). Has the (copper) penny dropped? Have I missed the thread for post-modernist irony? BTC

Wire you confused? Clue’s in the name, or at least the initials. BTC

Jon/Geoff, Nominative determinism notwithstanding, I don’t have any. BTC

Ah, Tim! Mine's a 72 but everything you write sounds ok, yours revs not much slower, mine too runs happily on Laser 5. Some of my Elders told me to run it on 10% nitro and I was also persuaded to fit a Saito plug. Neither was necessary. To be fair I have not yet run it in cold weather. BTC

Tim, All very useful. I'm definitely interested in this as a first venture into warbirds but it will be next spring at this rate. You were lucky with the weather, too windy here. Jon is quite consistent, get the tank right and a Laser will start and run. We're mass building a 25 yr old F3A patternship which I hope to fly with an ASP 91, otherwise my Laser 100 may have to go in though I was saving that for another patternship I bought recently. Too many projects ... BTC

Tim, It does indeed, thanks very much. It also illustrates the dummy radial engine and I deduce that this is an effective blanking duct for airflow over the head and exhaust. M3 inserts ordered, but from Fleabay as no stock elsewhere. It's seriously tempting as a first warbird but I've three other projects which are far from wrung out to dry first. Maybe Christmas ... btw well done for smuggling it ont o the kitchen table for the pics! With kind regards, BTC

Tim, This was the post I was looking for re the cowl fixings. If you can be bothered to send a close up pic I’d be most grateful. Your thread has got me seriously interested, I have recently bought a Laser 100 and like all modellers, I’ll have to attempt a warbird at some stage. I formed the impression from surfing that it is arguably the most benign warbird for a relative beginner, in terms of nosing over, tip stalling and general treachery. Would you agree? The modifications to the u/c, tank mounting etc are most helpful. Is it still flying well? Look forward to your reply! BTC

Tim Wrong post but I can't find the one I want. I recall reading a post of yours re cowl fixings; was it re a P 47? where you mentioned small nylon bolts/machine screws into threaded inserts into hardwood blocks, if my memory serves me. I visualise the nylon bolts being sacrificial in an arrival, or presumably you'd fit steel? Anything to add? I have to have a second go at a 20 cc Yak sometime and I'm keen to learn more. Thanks in anticipation, BTC

Or Foamtac, which has adherents. As it were. Now available via Amazon. BTC

Is it because there is cheating going on re C ratings? It’s well known that sellers of monofilament fishing line can be creative with their labelling, such that one seller’s 6 lb breaking strain might be labelled as 5lb by a competitor, whose 5 lb line would seem very strong and therefore better. We used to micrometer it to check. My limited (2 yr) experience of LiPos in our application is starting to make me think that there’s a similar issue in labelling, so one brand of 30 C will seem to run cooler than a competitor. Certainly, one UK retailed brand which I have found relatively satisfactory sells larger LiPos than a prominent UK competitor for the same volts and amps and they’re a lot less prone to heat and puffing up. Reverting to the monofilament anecdote, it was said that there were only three of four makers of angling grade nylon line and sellers merely packaged it. I wonder how many separate factories manufacture our LiPos? BTC

Interesting thread. I have 2 petrols, both running Rcexl ignition and a killswitch. They also have a slide switch on the ignition power supply. I set them up to operate on the throttle kill switch, which I habitually have on Spekky H, top right rear, not spring loaded. I learnt/was taught 2 years ago and the choice and location of the throttle kill switch was pretty well universal on the planes (glow) I was taught on. I wa lead to believe that throttling down by using the throttle trim was very much old hat. All the txs I was buddied to had the throttle kill on H. When setting up the first petrol, my elders and betters recommended combining the ignition kill function with the throttle kill. Tempting providence, I have yet to kill an engine accidentally, other than when terra firma has interfered with my flight pattern. Am I doing it wrong? I’m trying to identify circumstances where I would want one or other “live” in the air without the other. Choking and priming are with the slider off and turning ignition is the last act before starting. Reading the recent thread on slider rx switch failure at 5A has unsettled me slightly. One has a T9 magnetic switch, which is a fiddle. BTC

Nigel, Check the cross sectional drawings of the front fus. It may be a bit tight to smuggle any decent LiPo in there and still have clearance for cables to the ESC. Did I recall that Terry designed it with the thinnest feasible fuselage? BTC

Yes! Terry's a clubmate and a recent auction included three Excelsiors, two with YS pumpers (£45/gallon) and a smaller one with a NIB Saito 72, which I bought just for the engine. It flew an absolute treat until I crashed it. There are five Stephenson's Rockets about to be in production, wings awaited from ... Bill? undies backordered from Flobbyking; balsa pack en route, etc. It may be the start of a UKCAA sub-group at North Leeds! They're all intended for 4 strokes, probably 90s as far as I know, as we can't fly 2 strokes but if mine ends up a bit porky, there's a just run in Laser 100 standing by. Ought to suit your screaming pumpers then. Terry recently finished a big plane which I deduce is a more modern take on F3A and has a large, deep fus, slightly whale-like in profile, nicknamed "Flipper", which is electric but I'd have to check on the details. I'm pretty sure he doesn't read these ... let me know if you want Further and Better Particulars. BTC

Geoff, Beware of using a butane soldering iron on your film cut line, as mine spills heat out of the side and leaves scorch marks (I attribute them to 6s LiPos if anyone asks). I found a 20W iron with a fine tip and a steel ruler very effective although there's still a slightly crinkly edge which needs ironing back down. BTC

Good point, it's the relatively short fus which is making me wonder as the late Excelsior, current Infinity and imminent Anderson Rocket all have much longer fuselages. Maybe it's because they're between old and vintage and this isn't. Still winking at me, ASP 60, Saito 72 or same LiPos as the Acrowot ... ? Which reminds me, how does this compare with an ARTF Acrowot? BTC

I specced my electric ARTF Acrowot to fly on the same 4S 5A LiPos which fly my Wot 4 well enough and it was adequate bit not sparkly. An upgrade to 5S 4250 Mah has improved performance quite enough at the cost of 7-8 min flights instead of 8-10. Fortunately there was capacity in the ESC. Thanks for the warning! BTC

Or, if like me you have issues with buoying the burgeoning influence of the Chinese economy then go to 4Max and put yourself into George Worleys hands for a complete balanced suite of components including good wooden props. He probably has a setup on his good website for this plane. If I was less technophobic I would attempt a link for you. He has similarly equipped at least four planes for me. His branded LiPos are closer to their C rating than others, which may be why they’re slightly larger, but I haven’t succeeded in puffing one of his yet. Worth a little extra, surely? Electrickery is a bit confusing, isn’t it? Much quicker to fly, cleaner etc. BTW his 4 channel charger is the most useful single component I have bought in the 2 1/2 years since my addiction returned and I think the price has just been reduced. I have no connection other than as a customer! BTC

ARC, I’m sort of relieved to learn that I’m not the only one to total Wottys. First was loss of concentration/trying to fly and talk simultaneously, second was a first attempt at a slow roll with rudder and down elevator. Have subsequently achieved latter, not tidily, with my Acrowot. Coincidentally, my tail Wagginess re the Sea Eagle is partly due to the recent loss(battery failure) of an ancient Excelsior pattern ship which I really took to. So, Sea Eagle, F3A patternship or generic 3D in pretty clothes? It would obviously fly with any of the Watt 4 electrics, ASP 61 or possibly Saito 72 and it is winking at me. BTC

Hmm ... Christmas is coming, the LMS has one in stock; is it really an F3A type of plane? There might be a spare 61 somewhere, but C8 if yours is not massively overpowered on an ASP 61, might a Saito 72 actually suit it better? Usual Seagull C of G ambiguity then! Or, I've several 5A 4S LiPos for a Watt 4 and I probably have that motor from yours, ARC. 3D, or not 3D, that is the question! BTC

The Zenoah 20 and RCxl whatever in my big Mentor run on a 1s LiPo as part of a Toni Clarke package which came with the (borrowed) engine. The rx runs on a biggish NiMh. They’re totally separate and have been entirely satisfactory. The DLE 20 in my Seagull Yak has 2 2500 LiFes which are again completely separate and have been fine but with far fewer flights so far (silencer issues). Same ignition system. Isn’t it the case that most modern rxs and servos will run at over 6v, if you delve? Both have electronic kill switches which are cheap and comforting and carry monitor lamps which are helpful. BTC