Tom Gaskin 1

When I was working in a model shop, way back in the seventies, that was marketed as ' Solarfilm Solvent' a hazardous material by today's standards, but excellent for, as you say trim work, and for removing the adhesive & pigment that sometimes oozed out of the joints. It was a sad day in the workshop when I finished my last bottle! Tom

Nigel, Your Lipo's will be fine. The recommended ones will give a slightly longer fight time. You may find that the CG may be a tad further back with your lighter batteries, but shouldn't be too bad. Tom

Having had OS70's in numerous models back in the dark days of my IC flying, my go-to electric equivalent is: AXI4120/14 (5055 660kv) 13x6 APC prop 70A esc 5S1P 4000 mAh LiPo This combination gave me the same performance as the 70 (about 1.1 hp) for 8 minutes of spirited flying. The AXI motor is rather expensive now, but you can get similar Chinese motors cheaper - search for 5055 660Kv motors. RCLIFE.CO.UK has some nice equivalents. Tom

With relatively small hands, I use a neckstrap and pinch - always have done. Tom

Plus one for the threaded rod route. No tubing involved, just nuts, washers and spring washers. Tom

When I was into I.C. I always used self tappers into composite engine mounts, up to an OS 70 surpass, with no operation issues at all. Larger engines or metal mounts would be nut & bolt territory. Tom

Trouble is that the vintage models are very good at what they do - but to get to 'B' flyability you will be modifying most of it's stability out of it... Take a look at the Frog Jackdaw. The plan is available on outer zone for download, is all built up like a Super 60, and can be built as a 3 function trainer/lazy floater or a 4 function aerobatic model - just build the two styles of wing. There is a thread on here on the re-furb of one. Tom

With sufficient cooling I can run my Giant Cod specials on 5S to get a brisker performance! Tom

That looks like the sort of motor that I was buying from Giant Cod, many years ago! My examples are 800kv, and run nicely on 4s, with a 10x6, or 12x4. Tom

If you have the room why not connect two packs in parallel? Double the capacity should help your performance. Tom

As Ron says, cocktail sticks and GG brown will fix it a treat. Drill a hole (or two) from the end of the elevator (last but one photo) deep enough to pass into the undamaged part by about 20mm - pin the elevator down so that it will stay square and true as the glue expands. Tom Ps: Sorry, my browser hadn't updated all of the replies when I posted!

If this flies as well as my Black Horse version you will be well pleased with it. Tom

We 'enjoyed' our first thermal comp (F5J-ish) today. The wind was on our declared limit (14mph) when we started, but by the time we had completed 4 rounds it was gusting 33mph! And yes, there were thermals to be had, whistling down wind past us. No models were damaged so after some celebratory coffee and cake we went home happy 😁 Tom

POR or Gorilla Glue - if no voids to fill I use the GG clear - it's non-foaming, and I used it to build my foam Hanky-Planky. Tom

Plus one for the Proxxon saw. I've had mine for 3 or 4 years now - always useful to have it in arm's reach. Tom

Plus 1 for Bill - his wings are excellent. Tom

BCM exhausts were the best that I found when I was running petrol powered helis - far quieter than the 'exhaust diverters' that came with the engines. Although since growing up I have completely cured the noise issue by going electric! 😉 Tom

Just got back from a very blustery session at the Sussex club field. Four of us braved the wind for the morning. I re-maidened my ancient foamy Wot4 but did not bother to get the Cougar 2000 out of the car. Battening down the hatches ready for fifty-mile an hour winds later this afternoon (and for the rest of the week if the forecast is to be believed) Tom

A glorious day here on the south coast. I counted sixteen cars at the field this afternoon. Kiwi, Mam'selle and Hanky-Panky all others an airing 😃 Tom

I second the bathroom cleaner & wet wipes approach as well. Used in conjunction with a soft detailing brush you can get into the 'pores' of the foam to make the model sparkle again. You could then give it a coat of Future floor sealant (something learnt from making plastic kits) to preserve the finish. Tom

Some fascinating discussions here and also memories of school trauma with the physics laws! I do think that we are getting bogged-down in the science though. The quick answer to the OP is 'yes you can'. In the days of brushed motors (last century) we did need all of the help we could get in order to get the blessed models to fly for any length of time! Nowadays we have so much more power and efficiency to call upon that the type of prop on your electric motor is not terribly important. Tom

Use them if you have the right size. E props are lighter as they don't have to put up with the power pulses of IC, certainly I use what I have in stock, whether IC or E. Tom

Jolly slow to launch this morning, all other sites I visited worked fine... Tom

On a lot of flat-plate wings used by Chris Golds he would also droop the leading edge to give a higher lift section. His 29" span Sea Vixen is one that springs to mind, with 32mm fans. Tom

A lovely day here on the south coast - wall to wall blue skies for the whole day. The batteries got a real caning 😀 Tom