Jonathan M

Thanks Denis, but couldn't find that one available here. But contacted Simstick who confirmed that their Simlead for £9.99 works fine on its own so ordered one, due to arrive today. PC is my son's Lenovo Miix 10" tablet/keyboard combo, so Clearview or any other simulator too tiny to see properly, but I've got it connected by HDMI to a 32" screen TV which is great with my office wheelie-chair in front of it. Next job is will be to find and download a model that approximates to my Acrowot IC. I'd probably - eventually - want to go for Phoenix or RealFlight, but suspect the RAM, processing-speed and graphic capability of the Lenovo mightn't be up to the job?

Denis - or anyone?! - please point me in the right direction for a suitable generic USB interface cable to plug into the back of a Spektrum TX, which will simply work? Everything out there seems to be specific to Phoenix or RealFlight or whatever, and I don't want to order something which will give me the same calibration problems as I've experienced with the Ikarus one. Losing the will and all that...

Clearview's calibration window is a bit cleverer than the generic Windows one - at least it knows I've got a RC transmitter rather than a game-controller. But, despite calibration, I remain with the same problem of stick-travel being clipped to varying degrees in various axes. I suspect the issue might lie with the Ikarus USB interface, which is optimised for their Aerofly simulator on my Mac. Best try to find one that is designed for PCs. Cheers Jon PS I've paid for the full version anyway, just over £30, and will play with it further to explore its ability to simulate an IC-powered classic aerobatic model or similar... once I've tried a replacement USB interface! Edited By Jonathan M on 06/03/2017 19:22:59

Aha! Sounds like the PC doing exactly that Denis. Picasim is fully RC controller compatible. Have downloaded Clearview trail and will give it a go after work this evening, and see if I can get the PC's calibrator to work/upgrade. Indeed, if Clearview does what I need (which is to practice basic IC aerobatics with sufficiently clear visuals and realistic physics, and never mind titting about with plastic electric bombers or the suchlike) then I'll buy the full version.

Hi Denis What you've described is exactly what I've done. The simulator software allows me to then allocate a control to each stick input, i.e. roll, pitch, yaw and throttle, and calibrate each stick to its full range. This works fine when carefully and properly done, except that the full range for the pitch stick is already achieved when its only half-way up from neutral - any more physical movement makes no change whatsoever. The only way to deal with this is to first pre-calibrate the TX then go back to the simulator calibration. The problem is that the PC's standard controller calibration software assumes I'm using some completely different (gameboy type?) controller to a standard RC transmitter. It tells me to "move the x-axis control then press a button [to confirm], the y-axis control then press a button [to confirm], the z-axis etc". So I move each stick methodically both ways (up/down then left/right) in turn until the utterly confusing graphic on the calibration screen registers a change or indicates a range of some sort. But then there are no "buttons" to press to confirm each range - flipping any given switch on the TX doesn't count as pressing a button. So the whole exercise is pointless. Its like ordering off a Chinese takeaway menu in a Tandoori restaurant!

Is there an alternative to using the bizarre and very old-fashioned calibration software on PCs? Trying to properly calibrate my old DX6i to use on a PC, but the Windows built-in calibration software seems to assume that I've got a kiddie's game-controller. There is no clear correlation between moving the TX sticks and the x-y-z axis displayed on the calibration software, and I can't set any proper full range - with the result, for e.g., that full down elevator is hit on the simulator with the TX stick only half-way up from neutral! I'm using Picasim and have easily and correctly allocated and calibrated the sticks on that software etc. (I don't have any such problems using the same TX and Ikarus USB adaptor with Aerofly on my Mac.) Any pointers? Cheers Jon

Posted by Tom Sharp 2 on 04/03/2017 00:23:39: The pilot can't remember anything about the crash. Maybe he had a blackout like the Glasgow refuse truck driver. I came off a skateboard aged 14 and, bare-headed, was knocked out and remained unconscious for a short while - a few minutes I believe. I had zero recollection at the time of the events surrounding the accident and four decades on I still don't know.

My woman's boss is an alcoholic, whose business is teetering on the edge of bankrupcy. She comes into the office mid-morning and offers my woman a sherry or a glass of red. My woman refuses. She then goes off to find another employee to see if she would join her, but they now refuse. She ignores her teenage daughter (who is one ripe candidate for future dysfunction). The business used to be worth millions, now the boss goes to her parents to borrow money to pay her unpaid tax bills, but they now refuse. She constantly flies off to New York or some fancy boutique hotel in the Orkneys to get pissed with friends. The place is a mess, bottles hidden everywhere. My woman suggested she go for a medical, and boss reports back that her liver is completely healthy. But my woman then finds out from a mutual friend that the boss has fessed up that her liver is in fact on the point of collapse. One might say that this is sad, but I don't care. She's a stupid person. Even - at a great remove - I know the broad factors behind her issues, but she herself refuses to address the problem. Her selfishness has a massive impact on everyone's life, including mine - because of the demands placed on my woman.'s working life. When she dies prematurely or the business folds - whichever comes first - my woman will find another job.

Good man!

Percy, my view is that as long as the throttle servo is reliable and doesn't randomly bounce around at any given control input, then it surely matters little how lightening-fast or powerful it is. Unlike the wide range of airflow forces on say an elevator, there's no resistance (apart from a tiny bit of linkage friction) being fed back to the throttle servo from the carb. EDIT:  £7.25 from Pheonix (I've given the 4.8v sadistics only, the range is 4.8-6.0v) Ripmax New Power XL-09HMB Servo Weight: 11g  Torque (4.8v): 3.0kg Speed (4.8v): 0.12 secs 60deg  Gear Type: Metal  Dimensions: 23.2 x 12 x 24.8mm  Bearings: Ballrace   Edited By Jonathan M on 26/02/2017 07:55:00

Goth Kudos! Jon

Try Derek Knight at **LINK** I got my adaptor from him last year. I can't recall if it was the last of his old stock or if he's going to be making more; for fuller detail see **LINK** He's been a bit ill recently but is on the mend. There's certainly still a small (maybe very small) number of active CO2 scale enthusiasts. This is extraordinary:

Cheers guys for these pointers and tips. My aim is to keep the AUW/loading of the small DB Cirrus Moth as low as possible for scale-like flight... only flying on those mythical calm summer days! The actual build hasn't yet started, but I'm having lots of fun doing my research and assembling a some ideas to up the realism in a few key areas. I'll have a chat during the week with Just Engines and Mike Reeves (from whom I'm also very tempted to buy a Gangster Lite!) and take it from there. Jon Edited By Jonathan M on 25/02/2017 19:08:26

Good points Percy. I'm not fussed by a reduction in power as the 30fs is at the upper end of the size range for this model, and I'm interested more in slow flight than wrecking the illusion by thrashing it around. But wouldn't want to induce engine problems for the long term!

Interesting...! Here's a pic from 1925 Flight magazine (see http://aviadejavu.ru/Site/Crafts/Craft21706-3.htm#picsen ) which shows a very early Moth with straight u/c, also with exhaust on the original starboard side and no top cowling over the engine.

How feasible is it to adapt an OS 30 four-stroke's exhaust/muffler to achieve a long pipe run aft of the cockpit in a scale model, a 48" span Gipsy Moth, like this (bigger version in an ARTF model)? What piping would I use and from where, how would it be joined, could I keep the muffler at the engine end of the run (so the pressure tube can connect directly back to the fuel tank), and can I do right-angle bends to get the pipe to exit the cowling on the other side of the engine exhaust port to satisfy scale fidelity? Jon

As I understand it, G-EBLV is an early Moth, which had the full horizontal axle arrangement. Edited By Jonathan M on 25/02/2017 11:31:21

Cheers for all that detail Goth Its really useful to see photos of a completed build, as the plans are a bit fuzzy and the instructions fairly sparse, so its a bit hard to visualise things before starting. (I'm also following the current build thread on the 40 sized version as the two sizes share very similar construction.) Thanks for the steer on the New Power servos. Looks like like at least 4/5ths of the spec of the Hitech alternatives for up to 1/3 of cost. I've never been one to risk spoiling the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar, but we're not exactly looking to push these units as hard as one would do in a high-performance aerobatic model. Re the u/c, I see a pair of white nylon saddle-clamps are included in my kit, so this is what they're for! Jon PS  I'm definitely going to do nylon bolts rather than dowels and rubber-bands for the lower wing, which will also allow me to cut back the wing-roots at the trailing-edge as per the full-size:   Edited By Jonathan M on 25/02/2017 11:12:08

Posted by Jon Harper - Laser Engines on 24/02/2017 22:44:03: Engines go rich in flight on account of them unloading. Within reason the increase in rpm is not enough to force them lean. There are exceptions, but for most sport/scale flying the engine will go slightly rich. This was very apparent when testing the latest version of our petrol prototype. One the ground it was fine, in the air it went rich and after leaning out it was still possible to make it go rich in a dive at a certain throttle setting. Most cases of 'it went lean in flight' are actually cases of overheating due to poor cowl design. Incorrect fuel tank placement also plays its part in this as people set the needle a bit rich and this covers the effect I described earlier. While the problem has been solved its not the correct solution and it wastes fuel during the early part of the flight Great explanations Jon - increases my own understanding. So, here's a question: with the model on the ground and secured by restraint into the earth, a tail-dragger's fuel-tank will be lower than it will be in level flight, so would it be sensible to chock the tail up to get the whole model level with the datum-line for fine-tuning the needle(s)? Posted by Engine Doctor on 23/02/2017 10:14:28: Now for the most important part of keeping you engine in good condition. When you have finished running it for the day , empty your tank and run the engine dry then give it a dose of oil to protect the bearings. Do this preferably when its still warm by opening the throttle and filling the carb with  two stroke oil and flipping engine over a dozen or so times to distribute the oil around the engine internals. I currently use two stroke oil but various after run oils are available. Any fuel or methanol left in an engine will cause bearings to rust and shorten the engines life. Good luck and happy landings. This would be part of my cleaning and packing up routine after flying my Acrowot, but the cowl-design makes it impossible to get the oil-bottle (even with a tubing extension) anywhere near the carb's air-intake! Methinks I need to hack away an opening somewhere...

Although I'll be building the smaller 20E kit, I'm following this thread as "first time DB Sport&Scale builder", as there seems to be much in common in the two sizes. For example, I had the same confusion over how the U/C fixes and swivels, etc. Posted by Dwain Dibley. on 24/02/2017 19:05:04: I know I sound quite negative re the kit, whereas in actuality its a really nice build, so don't be put off. I am just trying to be constructive in a bid to iron out any niggles that a first time builder might stall on. Also these plans have been copied and recopied over time, and even the moisture in the atmosphere can grow them. Without being too negative myself, I've spent much time studying the plan and instructions and agree that these can be improved. Although the lasered parts are top notch, my plan is really blurry and quite faint which makes it hard to understand. It doesn't help that components are given big numbers in a single sequence (e.g. 201, 202 etc) rather than broken down into sub-assemblies (i.e. R1, R2, F1, F2 etc). With the instructions lacking on a great many details, it all then becomes a bit of a guessing-game. But hey-ho, that's the challenge and the fun of it! Well done DD for your clear and well-illustrated explanations - and hope I'm not trampling on your blog. Posted by Geoff Sleath on 25/02/2017 00:46:57: Posted by Percy Verance on 24/02/2017 22:02:26: There was also a mod in one of the mags a few years back showing how you left out the wing leading edge sheeting and replaced it with riblets as per full size, although most builders would probably be happy enough with the standard spec...... Not sure about the Cirrus Moth (my kit is in the loft with its drawings) but the Tiggie doesn't have l/e sheeting but has the scale riblets (2 between each full rib). I'll certainly be building my Cirrus like that. Its a judgement call for me as to how much alteration for scale to do. Studying drawings of the full-size Moth its clear that this is something of a stand-off scale design, with speedy building and robustness as its primary aims. I'll stick with the sheeting on mine, but will add rigging (being 48" it can fit in the back of the car) and a Barbie Doll!

Thanks for this, Goth, really useful.  One of my aims is to reduce weight where feasible to get as low as possible a wing-loading for 'realistic' flying speeds. So a couple more questions or so: Did you in the end use individual wing servos, and what size? (I'm wondering about micro-sized but fairly powerful Hi-Tech HS-85MG servos for rudder, elevator and ailerons, with a cheaper HS-81 for throttle.) Where did you put the battery and RX? Roughly how much extra nose-weight did you need? The Moth has quite a long tail-moment so I'm thinking of reducing the weight of the sheeted fuselage sides aft of the cockpit by cutting sizable rectangular holes (with rounded corners) between former-stations, and other lightening solutions. Both bigger model sizes employ an open rear framework, so this should be strong enough. I assume the rear u/c struts are held in position in the underwing grooves by the main rubber bands, while the front rotates a bit? Going to install the 30 Surpass upright. I know the model is only stand-off scale, but it'd be fun to try installing a (tuned) exhaust pipe running past the aft cockpit as per the full-size. Also fancy a bit of decorative inter-plane rigging.  Blue/silver colour and markings as per the Shuttleworth one, as all the others seem to have the later u/c design and/or smaller wheels - which won't suit our rural patch! I'll certainly do a build-blog (or blog-lite) once I start in due course. Cheers, Jon   Edited By Jonathan M on 24/02/2017 15:11:34

Posted by Gothiquity on 23/02/2017 16:42:13: She flys like a dream on the ASP30FS, just bumbles round the sky very scale like , no aerobatics at all, but that suits me fine, FS sounds great too. [...] Must admit it has a brilliant presence in the sky and handles like a much larger aeroplane than it is. Handles wind ok up to 15MPH , could probably handle more but the pilot cant [...] All in all i can highly recommend this plane, its fairly sedate but it doesn't bite either. The club I fly at are all pretty impressed with it , even when im flying it. Makes a nice change from all the foamie RTF stuff. Also as a bonus i leave it fully setup, so no messing around with taking the wings off. Nice to hear it all worked out and flies as you describe - and no worries at all about the longx4 delay! Just what I'm after for lazy summer afternoons. I did think about buying the next size up for easier vis in the sky etc, but really encouraged now by your report! Particularly like the idea of getting it the car fully assembled and rigged. Post some piccies when you've got a chance, and good luck with the decorating, house move and future projects! Cheers Jon PS Did you rubber-band on the (lower) wings as per the plan or use some other method of fixing?

Posted by Piers Bowlan on 23/02/2017 16:00:59: Which one Jon? Any more left? It was 18mths ago Piers, so the chances are slim - PM sent.