Bruce Collinson

If I had to do that, I’d try to get the local Dentmaster bloke to look at it as I understand they carry mandrels of all shapes and sizes. BTC

Halfords rattle can. No fuel. BTC

Just Engines sell alloy domed spinner nuts with virtually any mainstream thread you require and these have several advantages. Until I have finished with ground running and tuning, they are much easier to remove if the prop and/or the cowl has to come off compared with a spinner backplate etc. They grip in the cone of the starter very well. BTC

It’s going to be a bit of a pain. The elder statesmen will wade into this imminently but orthodox wisdom is that Saitos cannot be run safely on the low oil content of Laser 5 Low Oil. Plain Laser 5 will probably run it, 15% oil, and the Saito will probably spit most of the oil out via the exhaust anyway, but you’ll void any warranty if you don’t stick to Saito’s prescriptive fuel requirements. Might be something to do with the big end bearing construction. Most Saitos I have run and seen seem to prefer 10% nitro which as Jon is about to say is a waste of nitro in a Laser. Laser low oil is significantly cleaner. Swap the gallon container in the flight box for two half gallons instead. BTC

But if you weigh epoxy, or indeed any two part chemical, something cup shaped makes it much easier and far less likely to drip into the scales. I understand that +/- 10% proportions will adhere but beyond that the strength is significantly compromised and I query whether it is reliable to achieve these parameters by eye. BTC

Very. PM with details? Bruce.

Really useful informative info.

and talking of gluing, stirring sticks for 2 part adhesives can be obtained from your local filling station or CostalottaBucks coffee place, as can thin plastic gloves (not from aforesaid caffeine retailers) and I think it is the case that they pay about £1 a bag/box. I blagged one of each from my local PFS and they last for ages. Especially if you're from God's Own County and re-use the sticks by breaking the ends off. Cupcake cases are good for mixing epoxy in smaller quantities, plastic (are we allowed to use that word) disposable (ditto) cups for skinning epoxy/larger volumes. All cheap as chips.

and parking is tight unless the campsite is sacrificed, which would be counter productive.

And the Chinoise ball bearings will undoubtedly be made of pure unalloyed Cheesium ….

A set of JIS is useful but, allegedly, JIS have recently standardised so that a PH will fit. I think a Posi will not fit properly. Laser sell a set of 32 bits including PH1 which is a good fit in a random Savox 0255 which is to hand, for about a fiver. The other 30 will come in handy for something. Not Wera but ok for servos. B

Telescoping magnet, invaluable for retrieving small bits which slip. Tweezers. Decent scissors and a fine pair as well as 6”. Junior hacksaw. Cordless drill and sensible bits (a set of Dormer 1-6mm in 0.1 mm steps is expensive and very good value). Small dental pick. Dental mirror for looking inside structures. Assorted pliers; parallel jaw are good, needle nose and chunky. Mole wrench. Never throw toothbrushes away. Dial calliper. Z bend pliers. Multi meter. Spirit level. Good side cutters (you can get away with cheap pliers but not sidecuters). The list is endless but all of the above are in regular use as well as the obvious blades, abrasives, clamps etc noted above. it remains the case that you get what you pay for and with the very basics you will buy cheap only to buy twice. Many of the above are readily available cheaply and are perfectly adequate, tweezers, artery forceps, magnets, pliers, pick and mirror etc but the core tools, blades, spanners /sockets and particularly screwdrivers, will punish false economy. Ian Shaw at Modelfixings stocks good tools at sensible prices, Proxxon sets spring to mind. Wera for screwdrivers and hex/Allen keys. B

Hope this hasn’t already been cracked on here. The barman said, “we don’t serve time travellers here”. A time traveller walks into a bar. BTC

Or the cutoff from a threaded pushrod, if you’re in Yorkshire. I tend to keep anything over about 5” long for those odd jobs. Shorter bits go in the bin. I like Titebond, saw it in Mortens in Ilkley and it winked. Seems very good for where we would have used plain pva, as some evidently still do. Quite good natured, dries fairly fast and gives every impression that the timber will fail before the glue. The only gripe I have is that the cap is very tight fitting. It compliments runny Super Phatic well and I use a lot less cyano as a result. I bet that nice Mr. Bezos sells it and will deliver next day foc if you forget to cancel Prime (see posts passim). BTC

Super Phatic is good for improving suspect glued joints in ARTFs as it runs and wicks better than Aliphatic. Seems to behave a bit like medium cyano but perhaps less brittle. +1 for Titebond. BTC

I seem to remember that most British cars of the '60s had indicators on the R until what seemed like very good combination stalks on Triumphs became ubiquitous. Indicators/dipswitch/trip computer L, wipers and washers R seems to have been universal only since then. Also, apparently some fliers use the left stick for throttle. Allegedly .... BTC

Sick to death of it now. Almost wishing for a small earthquake to deflect the media onto something that matters. Talk about history repeating itself, his mother all over again. BTC

I recall being told by a master at school that part of the issue with the Starfighter was that the Germans fitted them with heavier radars but didn’t recalibrate the stall warning system. Also, allegedly, the Americans hangered theirs but the Germans left them parked outside. Being brought up in Bomber County, Lincolnshire, all of the numerous operational bases routinely put on open days and the tour de force was a scramble by 4 Vulcans. The ground shook. BTC

All the (excellent) CF planes seem to be prone to bounce on landing. Do as I do and buy a bag of 100 nylon bolts from the equally exemplary Ian Shaw at Modelfixings and replace as required. I think I went through 8 in the limbo comp at our fun fly. BTC

Jon, Glad to see you back. I hope you are all coping as well as can be expected, in all of the circumstances. B

I’ve a current Foam Wot 4 in construction and to my surprise, there is a steel tail weight built in, under a white plastic cover under the fus immediately in front of the tail wheel bracket. Can’t see it but the magnet picks it up. It is branded as a Foam E, New Mk. 2+. Good that Ripmax have responded. I did think it was a little optimistic asking Chris Foss to comment. If you engaged an architect to design a house and the builder made a horlicks of the construction, your beef wouldn’t be with the architect, would it? Isn’t the contractual trail to the retailer first, then the importer as the maker’s agent? My first one ripped the wings off due to a manufacturing fault, the wing pegs were moulded far too short, and the retailer replaced it after, no doubt, securing a credit from Ripmax. For a follow-on, there’s an Acrowot builder’s kit in next weekends BMFA auction and when I last checked it was about a third of retail even with modest buyer’s commission. If you build it, and it’s a great follow-on from a Wot 4, reinforce the u/c plate and ensure your chosen battery will clear the formers when inserted. Also the cowl, assuming the arrangement is the same as the ARTF. BTC

Carpark overflowing at NLMFC, decent cold westerly but wet underfoot. BTC

Nigel, Did you build it, and if so what did you instal at the front? I'm mildly interested in researching a 2 stroke, for more purity in UKCAA events. Have an eye on a HP 61 Gold Cup but know zero about them, other than they seemed to have been good in their day. BTC

To you too John. BTC

Oops, I misread the title; had my BMFA mag before Xmas, RCM&E I’m waiting for. BTC