EvilC57

When I was a child in the early 60s I remember we went on holiday to Ireland via Fishguard in my dad’s Morris 1100. My parents made up a small bed for my little brother on the rear shelf, so he could sleep on the long journey. How far down the road do you think you’d get now before you got stopped!

I’ll second that. The only models I don’t use a restraint for are small (70mm and less) EDFs, which I usually power up on my lap sitting in my chair in the pits.

I use two Bat-Safe boxes here in the UK, although only for charging. I store my lipos in ammunition boxes with the seals removed. They're on metal trolleys in the garage, I don't keep anything too flammable in the vicinity, there is a smoke alarm mounted on the roof nearby, and a powder extiguisher not too far away as well - you can't be too careful! I'll echo KenC's comment above in that from YT videos I've seen, they're much better at containing a lipo fire than the supposedly fire proof lipo storage bags you can get.

I’ve used them for years. I’ve found the trick is to use a marker pen to put a small mark on the wire exactly where you want the first bend to be (e.g. adjacent to the hole in the servo arm), then make sure you have the pliers the right way around before performing the bends.

I’ve just had the same issue. Try clearing your cookies.

Yes I’m always well aware of this when using the rubber band & pliers method. But it’s always done under controlled conditions when I’m on my own in my modelling shed with no distractions to cause any issues. It’s worked for me for many years without incident. And I obviously remove the connector from the pliers the moment the joint has cooled.

Yep, I was taught in tech college nearly 50 years ago, never carry the molten solder to the joint on the iron. Set the joint up so that you can hold the iron with one hand and feed the solder into the joint being made with the other hand. Incidentally, before some smart Alec makes the observation that the cable polarity in my post above is incorrect. It was a quick lash up just done for the photo!

You should always do this (not just with XT60s). I also hold the connector still on the bench by supporting it in a pair of pliers acting as a clamp, by using a rubber band around the handles to hold them closed (see pic).

I’ve always used Weller TCP series soldering irons. After a 45 year career in the electronics industry I’ve found them to be the only ones consistently reliable, although I admit they are expensive. As far as I know the tips are nickel coated and last well, but certainly not forever.

It was Velcro last time I heard that joke!

So did I. However I went to Specsavers yesterday for an overdue eye test, where having examined my eyes, the young ophthalmologist said she could see very slight yellowing in both eyes, which is the very start of cataracts. She said though, that the time from initial observations to actually being bad enough to need an operation can be anything from 5 to 20 years. I am 66. She also suggested UV filtered lenses on my new distance glasses. So if there’s any truth in the theory, hopefully they’ll help slow down future degradation. Or it was an extra £15 for nothing.

Another vote for 123-3D here. Just used them for a couple of rolls of ColorFabb LW-PLA and a roll of TPU. Quicker service and much better communication than iDig3D. Turns out they’re part of CartridgePeople.com who are a well established office supplies company.

I beg to differ. There was a time when I would have agreed with you about the high pitched scream from the older 3 & 4 bladed fans, but modern multi-bladed fans emit more of a quiet whoosh than a scream. My exposed 12-blade 70mm FMS EDF has recently drawn comment from fellow flyers on just how quiet it is in flight.

I know that a powder extinguisher will put out a lipo fire. Don’t ask me how I know!

Gaoneng 1550mAh 4S lipos for me. You have to update the ESC though from 30 to 40A. Several have done the 4S update in our club, and they go like stink!

As the chap who taught me to fly over 20 years ago once said to me, when flying inverted you have to remember that down is up and up is expensive! He also taught me as I think others have said above, to move or straighten your thumb behind the stick slightly when the model is inverted, so that you can only really push it away from you (which you may have to do to maintain level flight anyway). Works for me, don’t know about others.

Another vote here for the ISDT FD100. Or the FD200 if your discharge current requirements are greater, up to 25A compared with only 6A for the FD100.

Not to mention the fact that despite the law and the penalties (in the unlikely event they’re caught), they’ve probably got a hand held phone glued to their ear as well. I’ve never understood the need, I thought all modern cars had Bluetooth built in. Rant over 🤐.

I’d like to think that part of the reason we fly model aeroplanes, particularly fast jets & EDFs, is the thrill and the slight edge of danger they bring, rather in the way people ride fast motorbikes. As Jon says above, we have to do what we can to minimise that risk though. You would think that sitting on a nice peaceful riverbank fishing would be a safe pursuit. A quick Google search says otherwise: RoSPA Figures show that between 2012 and 2016, 1,029 people died in accidental drownings in the UK’s inland waters. Out of those, 91 were anglers, made up of 46 dying by drowning at sea and 45 in freshwater. Obviously I appreciate that a lot more people go fishing than fly models, but as far as I know there’s no campaign to ban fishing on health & safety grounds.

Sounds like a lack of communication on the field. https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1776686/man-dies-collision-model-airplane-spain

I’ve never had any problem with buying online, sounds like you’ve been unlucky. Although I try and stick to established ’bricks & mortar’ shops with a decent website, and preferably those like Leeds Model Shop who show how many of each item they have in stock. Or Wheelspin Models who at least show whether items are in, out or shadow stock.

Think of it this way David. If a peice of metal were to fall across the battery connector (or any power supply source), would it be able to short out the battery. The general convention is that it's considered a less likely occurance if the actual connector pins are female rather than male - even though with XT60 and similar connectors the outer shell moulding is the 'male' part. And with higher voltage connectors, would you be able to stick your fingers across the live pins.

Or have never stepped on one of these…

I've been having a look at what can be done to reinforce the area, and it seems to me that increasing the gyroid infill from the suggested 6% to around 10% in the affected section of the fuselage, and adding a couple of 5mm x 1 mm CF strips either side should be more than adequate. In the screenshots below: Pale blue is the hatch Pale green is the existing PLA reinforcing strip (which proved to be inadequate!) Grey shows the additional CF strips The red slice shows the approximate area of the previous structural failure.