Bruce Collinson

NB the plug and socket are not servo-type Futaba/JR. I fell for that too. BTC

Have we had this golden oldie? Sergeant Major; "Private Smith, I didn't see you at camouflage training this morning!" Smith; "Thanks very much Sgt Major!"

A.) Get hold of one of Ron Gray's foam cradles, a lot beefier than the standard blue ones and customisable re the size and shape of the cutout B.) A dog tether corkscrew and 5' of paracord is effective for tethering a workmate C.) There was a thread a few years back re adapting a standard B&Q trestle frame by adding two U-shaped cradles, foam covered, cut from 10/12mm ply and simply bolted to the telescopic uprights; then add a tray to sit between the crosspieces to hold all the precious things. Easily restrained as per the Workmate; height adjustable; folds flat; I was so impressed I made two, one for the field and one for the mancave. A pair of flat elastic hook-ended straps will keep the model restrained in gusts D.) For running up at home, use a standard restraint? BTC

Or shorten a modelling pin with a round head and glue it in, giving a spot-on position and scarcely discernible but easy to pick up “blind” and realistic for using two fingers to balance. BTC

6mm neoprene sheet will also soften any landing impacts too. BTC

Try Pyramid Models, they will be able to make them. BTC

I recall seeing lots of tubes on Graham Buckley’s (Bucks Composites) stand at Elvington . UK supplied too. BTC

Modelfixings, bag of 100. Always break before the u/c plate and generally extract ok. Also, 6mm neoprene sheet between the u/c and the fus seems to afford more break resistance. BTC

ARTF flies fine on 4S, it's possible to smuggle a 5000 LiPo in with minor fettling of the bulkhead. 4000-4500 fit more easily. U/C plate remains an enduring saga. Ideally, spend some time glassclothing it internally, or even externally, before fitting the battery box and consider nylon u/c bolts if you're no better at landings than I am. BTC

We’re 60 and pay a professional contractor I think £60 per cut. We had the price checked earlier in the year and it is a competitive rate as we are slightly remote. The previous club/site had its own ride-on operated by one member who enjoyed mowing. BTW, I may want a ride on for home so if anyone trips over a good used John Deere or Kubota or Husquvarna within striking distance of Leeds/Harrogate I’d be pleased to hear of it. Bruce.

Council will almost certainly have a “Traveller” (dreadful euphemism) liaison officer. Camp on his case and get all the ward councillors on board too as they may have some clout with the council officers. Talk to BMFA, they may well have some experience here. Unfortunately, the industry standard remedies, including muckspreaders as above, turning up with a JCB and starting to dig a trench across the gate mouth, having a whip round locally to bung them enough to get shot, are highly unlikely to be viable where a local authority is concerned. A standard trick is to cut off the lock in the dead of night, then when the convoy pitches up the next day, they have a defence to charges of forcing entry. Very best of luck and perhaps keep us posted as these episodes tend to recur. BTC

There’s some useful YouTube’s from the Australian agent too (I did NOT put that superfluous apostrophe in there!) which are similar to the US ones and I have found very helpful for some relatively basic but nevertheless well hidden functions. More succinct than Harry C’s. BTC

Yes the "hewn from a solid billet" aluminium cased versions can be a bit chilly on the hands at the back end but a small heat mat and a powerbank in the Tx case solve that problem for me. All four Yetis at our club are the aluminium type. Aren't the electronics identical in the DS12? I hope so, bombproof. Congrats on the decision, you'll never regret it. +1 for John McNamara, who's fairly local to me. BTC

That and the i-Thing charger are excellent examples of Darwinian principles. BTC

Cost of rxs is an issue, especially if you run a big fleet. It does require a long view to be taken, but ultimately if a £2000 investment keeps a plane safe which represents the thick end of £1000 in the air then I regard it as cost effective. BTC

Started with Spekkie as most of the club used it. Failed once, new Wass it called board fitted; slight loss of confidence as mine wasn’t the only one. Bit the bullet with Yeti and agree that some functions can be a bit daunting but it looks, feels and behaves as if utterly bomb proof. No regrets. BTC.

I'd use what you use for joining wings, likely much heavier than 24 gm finishing mat. It's the front joint which needs reinforcement as the impact on the u/c exerts a lot of rotational stress on it, twisting it backwards. Ultimately it becomes a problem of how far around the weak point do you spread the load, adding weight and potentially pulling the fus apart rather than just pulling the u/c plate off. That's probably when to fit nylon bolts! BTC

Because in the minds of the public sector wonks who make these decisions, rip up roads to instal empty bike lanes, operate forty different parking apps, instal parking ticket machines which take for ever to spit out a ticket, put cameras in bus lanes, etc, we are all about to use public transport or ride a bike. So it serves all right. Innit? BTC (not from Tunbridge Wells).

We move the pilot box position depending on wind direction and therefore takeoff/landing direction, with a consensus first thing if it's cross strip, two boxes mown and marked out and a marker post to confirm which is in use. The boxes are c. 30m upwind from the downwind strip edge so most of the takeoff can be from at least in front and a touchdown level with the box usually results in a happy ending. Likewise, windsock(s) are located according to wind direction. The key remains audible communication within the box. BTC

Both mine have suffered u/c plate failure and reinforcement with triangular stock then glassing seems to be the way forward, although access is poor. Nylon bolts (by the hundred from Ian Shaw) is Plan B. I even had a plate pull out on takeoff last winter as it must have hit something unpleasant on the strip. If your clubmates' wife was in awe of two rolls with this, she'll be quivering if you get/got the Aerostar commissioned! BTC

I'd belatedly make a distinction between tethering whilst installing and connecting a battery (anything small or with a hatch underneath (like my Acrowot) cannot realistically be tethered) and tethering after the model is live, as opposed to relying on a second protocol, arming switch, throttle cut etc. The latter satisfies the pilot; the former reassures the other pilots. There's nothing worse than watching someone operating or flying and feeling twitchy about it and it seems to happen more often with electrics, at least on the ground. Therefore I think we are in agreement. BTC

Minded to agree with Ron. We do have younger members, from teenage through 20s and 30s, but the steadiest influx of new members is semi or fully retired but active returners and touch wood, for several years they have kept us full. BTC

No need, other than for the benefit of all the other members who can clearly see that the model is safely restrained. It reminds me of an episode thirty five years ago when one elderly gun on a shoot entered the gun bus with his shotgun unbroken. Amazing how fast you can get out of the side windows of a Transit van. When taken aside for a chat about basic safety, his defence was "I always unload first". Ours was, how the hell are we supposed to be able to know that? A broken gun is a safe gun. A tethered model is fundamentally safe and visibly so, irrespective of Tx throttle cuts (mine is on a toggle switch), arming plugs or indeed whether or not it contains a battery at all. NLMFC is producing proper metal restraints for purchase by the surprisingly large number of members who appear to lack them. It is also tightening the protocol on pilot box etiquette (see Geoff S's thread) after an episode of failed communication between two pilots, coincidentally at around the time the recent fatality was publicised. In any wind or with ic planes nearby, if the pilots are out of the box then somebody will fail to hear somebody else, and therein lies a potential accident. The dividing line between safety and nanny state-ism is a fine one. BTC

XT 90?

Toto, Savox arm screws, I’m sure Ian Shaw at Modelfixings has supplied these, or I believe a set of parts, all the arms, screws, grommets and liners ought to be available separately from the servo. Try Modelshop Leeds. at your stage of assembling, the assortment boxes of hex bolts, nuts and washers ( did I see no washers on your engine bolts.) in M3 and M4 which Ian sells saved me ages looking for the right bits and pieces. Nylons included of course, now you’ve bought them. BTC