Bruce Collinson

Plus 1 for the Q7, well the platform anyway. The present wife’s Touareg is pretty cavernous with the seats folded, lively enough in sport box and came heavily loaded as there’s a new one later this year. Very good drivetrain. Previous one never missed a beat in 3 years; VAG build quality. Bit thirsty, I think. BTC

All, My DLE 20, good in most respects, settling down to a nice idle after 6 tanks, plenty of power, starts reliably, etc is too loud, 86 dB without cowl on its makers exhaust. I’m waiting for response from Just Engines about their in-House product (Duo?) but a clubmate tried one on his NGH and says it made no perceptible difference. I know about the inserts which are available for not much money to stuff into the exhaust outlets but the consensus seems to be that they add temperature via backpressure, cost some power and lose very little noise. They are not winking at me. Has anybody found a solution? Inverted mount. It’s a viable after-market silencer I’m looking for rather than helpful hints about larger props etc. Bruce Collinson

Second set of “maidens” today. Good news, nothing fell off. DLE 20 RE is loosening up, starts first time; economical, ample power. Bad news. 86 DB with stock exhaust. Can’t readily identify an obvious solution. Twitchy as hell at 15 cm. better at 14 cm. Spat came loose and had to be removed and I’ve taken the other one off too, pro tem. John, if you’ve time, consider a better method of fixing, unless you’re on tarmac. No cowl yet. Be careful with aerials on Spektrum, there’s a lot of metal and liquid at the front to mask them. Big step up from my Acrowot; still, it has to be done. BTC

I think I said, not convinced mine had any. Am contemplating fixing hardwood blocks to the firewall and fixing into those. You still at 15/16cm? Still happy? Now just seen yours 16.04. Interesting there's no side or down thrust. Would that be because of its size? BTC

Hoping for less wind tomorrow, although a pal's Revolver/Laser 70 maidened very prettily this afternoon. Tonight, going to attack it with a piece of string and hopefully nail the C of G, still minus cowl. I will keep you posted. Any sign of cowl hardpoints on yours? I can sense a mod coming on, particularly if I slide the engine forward a tad. BTC

See you tomorrow then! B

Forgot to say, but Shaun did; the bigger the better, they fly so much better, more stable, easier to see, less prone to gusts etc. Not convinced re trike u/c but I suppose it depends on the model and the runway. My recollection was that they're less forgiving in a heavy landing, likely to tear the firewall out whereas a taildragger will with luck shear its bolts.- Black Horse Sedona is possibly a good compromise between size and cost, if you can find one as I think they might be discontinued. "Ours" were both converted to taildragger.

Chris, Welcome back (I think I'm entitled to say that in the third year of my third modelling career). I benefit hugely from a very friendly club with a deep pool of knowledge and a genuine desire to pass on the collective wisdom. It also has a wicked sense of humour which is almost as important. Find one like this as a preliminary. There ought to be a club training structure and with luck a trainer and a spare Tx to buddy to. Then, you may be heavily influenced by the equipment you train on. Keep your hands in your pockets till then. I have reflected much in the two years since I flew solo and frankly I wouldn't go the same way as I did which was not dissimilar, an Apprentice with a Dx 5. The Tx has been relegated to a stimulator (sic) controller since a Dx 9 was acquired and I'm not certain I'd go that way again either as not all my crashes have been numb-thumbed. SAFE etc is probably good if you learn solo which I think is reckless, otherwise a tutor is quite likely to want it disabled. Have a good look before buying the trainer. I went to an electric Wot 4 which is huge fun and I think with hindsight I could have progressed to it straight from the 4-stroke primary trainer, for sure with a bit of buddying on cross-strip wind days. In that process, your preference between electric and i/c may crystallise and you might end up with a 4 channel charger, as I have, making all three previous ones redundant. You may also end up with slightly better LiPos on the basis that their C ratings are realistic . If you get addicted to this hobby you might invest in solid European radio gear at c. 4 times the price but pretty obviously the best; whether 4 times better is moot; how much do you value your labour in building/repairing planes? Try before you buy. decide what integrates with your likely tutor(s) and future flying pals. Which mode, e.g.? We're mostly M1 with a couple of heretics. If you get no such feedback, try the next club. They vary hugely. Best of luck! Let us know what you decide. BTC

More a relief when the Best Flier in the Club managed to land it. I suspect you’re right at 14 cm or so as although I hadn’t had access to a balance jig we all thought it was about 15 to 16. I will report back. BTC

Maidened mine today; tail heavy in flight even though we all thought it was at about 16 cm (thanks Terry) and a silencer bolt came adrift, terminating further experimentation. Batteries are on the move and a balancing jig is being borrowed. I was nicely into the battery relocation when the power went off....using an alloy engine mount from Just Engines with slots rather than holes so the entire engine can nudge forward a bit too. I hate ballast. Good news is, the DLE 20 fired up instantly and was tuned fairly quickly giving just over 8,000 rpm on a Xoar 16x8 which gave ample power. Bad news is, it’s noisy and will need a better exhaust. Am open to suggestions (rear exhaust). BTC

Doh... get it from McArthur Park nr York; big discount, still with protective outer wrapping; mandatory trip to the Bose shop and the Lindt store; even an excuse to swing off the A64 to Crossgates... buy more carpet dye..... BTC

Can't resist this. We have the model shops we deserve and if a majority of us buy kit online to save money then they will continue to disappear, in exactly the same way as milkmen, private filling stations and village pubs. Put your money where your mouths are. In my club there's a growing group who get an email from me every time I'm within a mile of East Leeds which because of my profession I usually am weekly and I collect anything within reason. It saves delivery, eases returns and makes e.g. fuel a realistic proposition. I enjoy the regular opprobrium heaped on me by the proprietor and his acolytes, the erroneous inclusions of Savox servos on my bill (but not in my bag), the very un-PC humour and the gossip. Fine, it doesn't add up to a massive amount, although it does add up. Moreover, the two big-ish planes I've bought latterly have both come from there, one matched to the lowest UK online price, the other within £5, in stock, no haggling that time and they set up a plane for me which they'd never handled. Exactly the same with fishing tackle, shooting kit and I imagine most hobbies. Use it or lose it. Its NLMFC pseudonym, the Precious Shop, is not entirely down to the League of Gentlemen. Although some of the staff......... Bruce T. Collinson

use a Radley handbag outer bag, they have no other worthwhile use once the contents are commissioned which, in my limited experience, makes a nano-second seem like paint drying; absorbent and with a tie noose (if things get really bad ... ) plus, statistically, late middle-aged males with accumulations of balsa, ply and film are very likely to have access to several, even though they may not know it. This incidentally is preventive, not remedial re. SD's carpet. Perhaps that's the answer Steve, get a Radley outer bag and give Mrs D the inner bag. That might Mollify her ............ And finally, apparently you can win a small charger for hints like this one! BTC

Now seems clear that Seagull continue to evolve the model; the tank formers resemble mine but appear to be glued in. I have replaced the tank, not because it isn't big enough for a DLE 20 but because there's ample room. You could cut them out and follow Gary. I haven't measured the chord but my colour scheme looks the same. Ran out of time on the 4th cowl screw last night, which will have to be moved in any event as the muffler cutout will take out the bottom of the cowl. BTC

I’ve smuggled a tachometer and a battery voltage monitor into mine, by fixing a shelf under the forward cross brace and cutting a hole in the canopy floor covered with clear plastic, so the meters are visible through the canopy. If I wasn’t so technophobic I’d post a picture. Last cowl screw going in. There appear to be no hard points whatsoever. Lots of cyano then...... BTC

Hi Gary, Latest issue, i cant find any cowl fixing points/pinpricks to start setting out the cowl fitting process. Were yours marked? Am wondering if i have a variant, or a Friday afternoon product! Also,I haven’t fitted the tail braces (nor the tail, till the cowl is finished) yet. Would you do them differently? I made up two carbon tube struts, adjustable by clevises, for the Mentor on the basis that they would work equally well in tension and compression and would leave the underside a little cleaner; the tail hasn’t failed yet! BTC

Gary, Now I've finished repairing an Acrowot (u/c plate) and a Wot 4 (2 bulkheads, wing retention tabs etc) and have flyable go-tos again, I can turn back to the Yak which has been at a standstill. May I ask, where's the c of g at the root? I might as well try for a good starting position the first time I fix the batteries etc. Thanks in anticipation. BTC

When I stopped bending the u/c on my primary trainer (well not mine strictly, hence ... ), an unidentifiable 90 fs 4 stroke plane affectionately known as "The Beast", I undertook to upgrade the u/c and obtained one fron Carbon Copy which was excellent in every respect.

Endorse what Kim has written, though haven't time to go right back in this thread. As a returnee after a 25 yr hiatus, I eventually dropped on my feet at a club right on my doorstep which nearly taught me to fly (initially with an Apprentice but they soon weaned me off it) after a near miss at another bigger club where I never flew anything. Maybe I wasn't assertive enough .... Sadly that small club lost its strip to a recalcitrant farmer (tautology?) and most members ported straight into another club and site within 3 miles. The point being, Club 1 had great MoD access plus anothe r2 sites but I never flew; Club 2 had a limit of 30 and I took to it, and them, like a duck to water; Club 3 has a great atmosphere and good facilities and does encourage newcomers. Someone has to step up to the plate with beginners. Some of us still have day jobs, mine's full time self employed; an ARTF takes me 2-6 weeks to assemble (more for the Yak if anyone's reading this) inbetween the buy/fly/crash/repair continuum; my only fully built-from-kit so far took 2 years and crashed on 3rd flight. I greatly admire those with the skillsets to build from scratch and envy them their time resources but I don't feel at all less entitled to my satisfaction by flying all ARTFs and a couple of foamies albeit a mixture of electric, glow and petrol. Don't be sniffy; do be encouraging; don't take it or you too seriously.

Can’t see Foam Tac mentioned anywhere. The club Guru recommends it and it works very well, e.g. Flyingwings Raven wings are still holding together after a clean break right through. On Amazon. BTC

John, There seems to be a big gap in the middle of the market for sensible petrol 2 Stoke silencers. I asked my man at W Wales who suggested trying the cheap plastic inserts but I gained no confidence that they would achieve much more than reducing the top end speed by a few hundred rpm. If I recall, he pointed me at Motors and Rotors for a genuine silencer. Mine is still being plumbed in and I keep getting interrupted (eg a gust of wind ripped the u/c plate off my Acrowot yesterday, so that’s today dealt with...at least I can watch the GP whilst mending...) so I don’t know how loud it will be. Luckily the philosophy at my club is no glow 2 strokes but petrol is nearly carte blanche so long as it’s not outrageous, on the basis that it’s at a lower pitch or frequency with lower rpms. Possibly the unspoken agenda is that we can pretend they’re chainsaws. Let me know how you fare. BTC

Endorse all of what Richard says. Foamies bounce. Wot anythings lose their u/c, if you’re lucky. Nylon bolts essential. ARTFs don’t bounce. Glassing the u/c plate helps but it’s very difficult to add onto an ARTF short of uncovering the film prior to open-heart surgery. There is a very sweet spot with a properly trimmed electric Wot 4. I fly one and an Acrowot and the difference is about 3 seconds of opportunity to break the buy/build/fly/crash/repair/replace continuum. BTC

What’s the engine going in? I had a notification from West Wales about 6 weeks ago, presumably as a recent customer. I deduced from the website that there were three strands to the business, models, military hardware and shooting. I formed the distinct impression that there wasn’t any margin in retailing models and there was a big stock clearance, hence the impression that they’re no longer trading. When will we learn? BTW, the jets were hopelessly out on mine, it would start and run to c. half speed but transition was hopeless and I gave up. Now reset to two full turns each to try again, when the weather deteriorates! Had similar issues with a (borrowed) Zenoah, went back to basic settings then tuned it from there and runs like clockwork. Funny things, Walbros. Hope the plug is sorted. BTC

John, CM-6, also numbered on box 5812. West Wales still apparently dealing in DLEs. All this is for a DLE 20 rear exhaust. BTC

Got it at home, will try to remember tonight although West Wales Models supplied mine and the fella (Mike?) was a mine of info on mufflers, oil, running in etc. He's since reduced his exposure to the modelling trade but I suspect still handles DLEs. BTC