Jonathan M

I couldn't see from the article what is the wingspan of the Maricardo (which looks at first sight not dissimilar to the Gangster), so a quick search threw up a 2010 review in the mag by Alex Whittaker: **LINK** from which the following data is stated: Wingspan: 56'' Wing area: 600 sq. in. All-up weight: Originally 5.5 – 6 lb, but less with modern equipment Rec’d engine range: .35 – .40 two-stroke My next autumn project (after my current two indoor scale models are complete for November competition) will be to build the Gangster 63 Lite (OS 35AX) If Mick Reeves can post to the US, then might the OP be interested in this fast-building kit option?

For my fiftieth the Woman bought me a half hour in a Tiger Moth, I chipped in some extra and made it a full hour. It had been a very long time since I was in the front seat of a Chippie as an air cadet, but - exactly as you describe - even basic RC flying skills certainly transfer. For ordinary flying (no aerobatics on the old bird), it was just very gentle 'forefinger-and-thumb' style tweaks on the control column. Great fun. Not sure I'll ever go down the PPL route though... not enough time for my modest free flight scale ambitions, let alone all the RC!

For my Acrowot balsa ARTF, for which I didn't purchase the IC package, I used a pair of Radio Active T-Mounts, which I think are exactly what Ripmax supply. The airframe already has captive nuts pre-mounted into the rear of the firewall which fits this. Ripmax (and various UK retailers) do them, see: **LINK** so you should be able to find something similar from a more local supplier. I just fitted a nice aluminium spinner to suit my 70 FS, so just find one to suit your own engine. Any standard fuel-tank will fit, although bear in the mind that you might need to find a way to fix and support it inside the tank-bay, as the next former along is a bit too far aft for it to reach!

Can't go far wrong with an Acrowot ARTF, but don't assume its manufactured completely perfectly, particularly check the wing incidence - mine came out at -1deg and needed a couple of mm of up elevator as basic trim until I realised this and packed down the TE with some ply to achieve the correct +0.5deg! Mine's great with an ASP 70 (wot David Ashby reckoned in his Youtube review) with a wide enough range of speed/power available, and I fitted very slightly larger wheels to cope with our patch. PS - having said that, it would be great to have a shortlist of other ARTF contenders.... Edited By Jonathan M on 08/09/2017 10:37:18

Its very feasible (from the OP's original description) that his problem-pupil has lived with undiagnosed ADHD all his life? For people with this condition, everything is 'in their face', so to speak, all the time. Forgetfulness, distraction and the confusion it gives rise to can be very frustrating - especially to 'normal' people around them. At home their parents learn to manage them, in a marriage their partner will keep things in order. They're often very bright and learn to mask or work around their condition, not always successfully. I recognise it readily these days as my son has it (and benefits hugely from appropriate medication), my ex-wife has it (knows but won't acknowledge it, blames everyone else, and loses half her stuff in her hoard of chaos), and her own father has it (and can no longer manage as his own wife who kept things together for six decades is now in a care home). Other issues? Its much harder to learn new kinetic skills at an older age than a young one; confidence might be lacking (due to issue above or other stuff?); some people are naturals, other are just duffers; etc. But don't forget that the interest is there - and for many people the social connections the hobby provides can be just as important. Solution? Buy him a rubber-powered free-flight kit!

Sexy and interesting!

I used a snake on the elevator and secured it well at either end and in the middle to eliminate flex, but this involved opening holes in the rear fuselage and then re-covering them. To tighten the slack on the rudder, instead of replacing the whole caboodle, see if you can ease off the crimped brass or aluminium tubes at the servo end and re-crimp (or replace them, plus some thin CA inside) once you've got the right tension in the wires. Or just move the servo forward a few mm's? Assuming your CG was spot on, I wouldn't mount a servo at the tail, unless you want to add lead at the nose.

PS One important thing to check before doing anything else is the wing-incidence. If your initial flights show a need for consistent up-elevator trim then, assuming correct CG, you might have a manufacturing fault as I did of negative incidence! I solved this -1deg incidence by packing up the TE to produce the correct +0.5deg, and the AW now flies much better as a sports aerobatic.

In my experience, the AW doesn't need any aileron differential at all. I started with an aileron-rudder mix on a switch as I had when learning on my high-wing trainer, but then realised two things: (1) low-wing aerobatic planes don't seem to suffer adverse yaw to the same degree as high-wing trainer types, and the AW turns perfectly well on aileron and elevator. (2) More importantly, I needed to learn to use the rudder independently anyway so that, for e.g., I could feed in rudder in turns only as necessary, use rudder to fly and take-off/land in crosswinds, perform axial rolls correctly including opposite rudder, etc. The only mix I now play with is slight down flapperons for short landings in low wind conditions, with a very little bit of elevator mix to control things.

Good progress Nigel - and very instructive too!

Good anecdote ED I fitted a new diesel inboard to my wee old boat six years ago. I service it myself fully, including oil and oil-filter changes each year. Engine hours are now about 450, so that's an average of 75 hours a year (most of the time on passage is spent under sail if possible). That's very little useage in car terms, equivalent of driving for an hour a day for about ten days, but the acids etc in the oil still do damage if its not changed annually. Although I've now got a courtesy hire car, I'm feeling a bit rubbish still, so won't go look at anything until next week.

The reason I had the Acrowot and accompanying gear in the back was because I was driving back from a three-hour RC aerobatics lesson with Colin Chapman in the Midlands. There is only minor damage to the fin/rudder which is easily fixed. I had the fuselage secured down, nose-backwards with a bungee, and the flight-box etc was also secure in the back.

Guys, that's all brilliant advice, thanks! How much a car has been actually driven is easily estimated by the state of the driver's side. In the past my worst experiences have been with cars that have been 'stood' and higher-mileage examples (125k plus), even so-called 'long-life' makes like the older Merc estates, which failed much earlier than they should have and got very expensive when they did. The best older car I've ever had was my 2002 Honda CRV 2.0 petrol, the very mount which is now in the knacker's yard. I bought it at 60k aged 10 in very good condition from a retired farmer, and put another 60k on it over 5 years, and my only major expense was a new front brake disk! While it lacked the long boot-space of an estate, its got good airy capacity and a versatile cavity in the back. I like its upright sitting position (weak lower-back), good head-room (I'm tallish), and the slightly higher poise of a small AWD (better vision and less night-time glare on my local country roads). Petrol is fine for me despite its 28mpg average (I've loathed diesel ever since I was a cyclist in London and a motorcyclist everywhere else). Which is why I want to replace it with exactly the same model of a similar age!

Having totalled my car yesterday (whilst travelling at 30-35mph on an A road, an ultra-sudden obstacle in the form of a SUV shot out almost immediately in front of me - big bang, airbag inflation, write-off job, other guy's insurance paying out and funding the hire car), going to look at an identical make/model/year vehicle to my own now-dead 2002 120k car, but with a claimed 40k on the clock!? Is it feasible, firstly that a 15 year old car can only have averaged 2,700 miles per year over three owners, and secondly for a modern digital odometer to be tampered with, either during its life or just before sale? Cheers Jon PS yes, I'm fine, thanks - safety belt, airbag, head-support all worked correctly. PPS the Acrowot needs a minor repair to the fin!

Posted by Tony Kenny on 11/06/2017 16:51:26: I'd like to build something that's different to the models I have already, so maybe a low wing, or scale, or a larger glider, 2.5m or above. Not sure if I want to work with wood, carbon or foam. Having only a passing understanding of the difference between them all, I'm not sure which way to go or which kits to have a look at. My plan after building from a kit would be to build from a plan the following year and then learn to design my own plane after that. You've got a wide range of interests/types/ambitions, which is fine but best to start at the beginning, gain basic experience of building, of different technologies (e.g. veneered foam-core wing versus built-up wing), and of radio and mechanical installations. For good progress, I'd recommend doing this with non-scale stuff to begin with, going for kits of well-established designs for which there'll be plenty of online build-blogs to help guide you through the process. The Acrowot is a great step on from an A-Cert trainer. As I didn't have any other power model to fly at the time, I went for the ARTF version rather than building the kit version with its veneered foam-core wing. I've been enjoying the model hugely (70 four-stroke but both the ARTF and the original kit can be done electric) and am currently working towards my B-Cert with it. My next power model to be made is a Gangster 63 Lite, fully built-up wing. Not yet started the build, but the kit contents are excellent and the laser-parts appear to almost click together! The other kit waiting patiently 'in the wings' is a Chris Foss Middle Phase with (veneered foam-core) aileron wing for good old-fashioned general purpose slope work. At 60" (about 1.5m) this might be smaller than your 2.5m requirement; but if you really want to head for the larger size of things, then consider buying a moulded ship and learn how to install the radio etc in that. I reckon that by the time I have both these kits under my belt, I'll have the experience and confidence to start building from plans.  I already do this for FF rubber scale; there are obviously transferrable skills, but plans- or scratch-building for larger size RC has its own techniques and demands. Good luck Jon Edited By Jonathan M on 14/06/2017 00:05:26

Well done Monz on your KS 1st and impressive placings in other classes. The article however was broad, and focussed on general interest and what could be photographed on a square on astro-turf - ie Peanut and Pistachio! - rather than the players and larger models. Lots more photos and videos of the action here: **LINK** Jon Edited By Jonathan M on 04/06/2017 19:36:11

I know this will probably mean little to the majority of RC forumites... but I was really chuffed to see Alex Whittaker's six-page coverage of the BMFA Indoor FF Scale Nats in this month's RCM&E. Although I was due to compete in the Kit Scale category for a second year running (albeit campaigning with last year's subject as my new one wasn't quite ready), I became unwell that weekend and had to cry off altogether. The beauty of KS is that, while the intimidating master-works of the top Open class entrants can be admired and even aspired to, us ordinary mortals can still expect to achieve a competition-level model just by building a standard balsa and tissue model from a kit or a plan (of something that was originally available as a kit). Anyone else involved - or interested - in this sort of free flight scale stuff, indoors or out?

On the other hand... they were flying long before us!

Thanks for that heads-up Peter. At this stage I'm more interested in understanding the basic low-tech principles and just want to be able to play with a pencil, but I've parked the link to Compufoil for possible later use. Jon

Thanks for posting that Gordon. I always wondered how it was done! Are there any resources to help (a beginner to designing) decide which aerofoil to choose for any given RC or FF application?