Tom Gaskin 1

RIP Chris, I always enjoyed his magazine articles, and learnt a lot of about 'adding lightness' from his designs. Tom

About a dozen of us turned out to the Sussex club field for a post eleven am fly. The brisk Northerly breeze certainly demanded the wearing of plenty of layers! Tom

About a dozen Sussex RFC members turned out yesterday to enjoy a quite balmy day, coats were not needed until late afternoon. Predominately electric powered, with the one exception of a petrol powered glider tug. Tom

Thanks Martin, I've sent an email this afternoon Tom

Just been given a part-built Hawk 70 that has been hiding in the back of a late club members shed. Unfortunately it is missing control surfaces, cowling and u/c. I'm going to see if Mason's will sell me the parts or let me have the information that I need. Tom

Oh goodness - the ZA92! That was the first motor that my Dad bought me when I started to show interest in models. We could never get it to run reliably and it was never installed in a model. It finally got thrown away! Tom

Members of the Hanky Planky breeders & fanciers (Sussex RFC chapter) held the first round of our 'Winter Cup' today, followed by a grass cutting session.

Bind the receiver to an unused, standard model memory, with no mixing setup at this point. Check that all of the channels are doing what you expect via the Monitor function on the transmitter. Then plug a servo into each receiver outlet in turn and to see if the servo responds. If it does, then there is a programming/setup error in the original model memory, if the servo still does work in all of the outlets it's a receiver fault. Tom

Half a dozen of the Sussex club members were at the field today. I took along a WOT4 foamie and also an old Protec Unlimited 600 - this is a 'warm-liner' since I stuffed 400 Watts of outrunner in its nose (replacing the original 600 size brushed motor. Tom

Good weather in Sussex yesterday so Jake and I spent the afternoon aviating. Foam Wot 4, Skycruise 2400, 2 Unlimited 600's and Jake's 'Porky Planky' were all cast skywards, using all ten lipos that we took with us. Tom

Final fun-fly comp of the year, down here in Sussex saw eight of us compete over two rounds. Breezy, but nice and sunny! Tom

Until radio failure ended my one, it was my go-to model for hooligan flying 😀 I had an E2K pylon race setup on 4 cells in mine. Must get around to building another one! Tom

I have used the PVA & bandage method on many models without issue. In fact that was the preferred method listed in all of the Chris Foss kits (I haven't built one of his kits for donkeys ages so don't know if it is still current) Tom

Test flew the model on the left yesterday in quite breezy conditions down here on the south coast. Inspired by Ron Gray's KF2M winged version, it's a scaled-up Hanky Planky to one metre wingspan, allup weight of 533 grammes. My standard foam Planky alongside for comparison. Constructed from B&Q insulation foam by our club's youngest solo flyer, Jake, over his summer holiday. Tom

Hi, I have the NX8, that has a similar charge lead. Yes, just plug the lead into a phone charger and let it charge 😀 Tom

Hi Steve, I would look at an elite Power 46 on 4 cells. The motor is quite expensive so you could note down the specs (motor can length & diameter, rpm per volt (KV) operating voltage and then do an internet search for an equivalent. Length 55mm Diameter 50mm KV 670 Voltage 4 to 5 cell Lipo Tom

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