Andrew Moore 7

Many, many thanks for the sites guys - I only actually was aware of one of them ! Going to have a good look around them all

Where do people buy decent gliders these days ? (been out of hobby for some time). Looking for circa 2M+ with composite body & wood veneer covered foam wings - assuming they are still made.

Apologies, its for my various electric models - aint got any fuel foamies

Sign vinyl sounds a great idea - saw some white duck tape but not sure it will be upto the job with fuel etc

Struggling to find a white tape suitable for the underside of foam wings to cover servo wires. Can find every colour other than white - dont really want the transluscent stuff. Any ideas ?

Thanks for the debate guys. We had a club meeting last night and most people agreed that the recent FRSky receivers, whilst being much less expensive than the equivalent Futabas, are good quality and have not let them down. Going to try one anyway and will give it a really good range check

Thanks for all the comment and help. I'm strictly a Futaba man but would like to try alternative RX's for some of my smaller, less loved, models as the price difference is huge and I've only heard good stuff about the FRSky receivers.

Thanks guys - wasn't aware of this

Do you mean these ? https://www.robotbirds.co.uk/default/frsky-v8fr-hitec-receiver-minima.html Are they reliable ? About half the price of the Futaba (non telemetry though, no issue)

Wasn't one on my Gangster of the late 70's

I use the Futaba T6K V2 transmitter (a current model) - are there any alternative receivers i can use as they are quite pricey (£43+) although good ? I've heard FRSKY receivers can be used although not sure if the work with my TX as its not a FAAST but uses T-FHSS & S-FHSS Any ideas

General but basic question (new to hobby):- I'm about to put a different IC engine in one of my models (OS 46 to OS 55). Do I have to worry about thrust angles ? I suppose what my question is really is are there some sort of down/right built into most models (Firewall ?) or all engine mounts ? I will be using a new radial engine mount as the OS 55 wont fit my existing mount. When I look at existing motor/mount it looks fairly straight with little or no down & right thrust already there. Do I need to be concerned ?

Does Duct tape stick to foam though ?

Wouldn't look so great on underside of a wing though

Some of the white tape used to hold servo wires on the underside of my wings is getting tatty and needs replacing. Cant seem to find any WHITE that will stick to foamies ;like the original stuff. Can someone point me in right directions ?

Lipo Storage Mode seems to be anywhere between 30-50% charge. What's the actual point of it ? Is it to prolong the life of the batteries by putting them in Storage Mode over say winter OR is it (as I suspect) a part-charge for shipping purposes from far east so the battery doesnt have a full charge ? I know many people who simply fully charge their Lipos up at start of Winter and leave them until they need them without any apparent problems. Others put them in Storage Mode presumably in an effort to prolong their life ?

1970's Gangster for me with an OS40, 2nd favourite my old Yamamoto trainer

Denis, are you suggesting I simply keep the OS 46, move it as far forward as I can on the mounts then add ballast to the engine mount ? No point say sticking a 75 or 90 in for the extra weight/power ? All advise gratefully accepted

many have covered all of the above and I've considered each - best way is still bigger/heavier engine as apparently the OS46 will be under-powered anyway. When I was testing the C of G (dry) this morning, it was 125mm (supposed to be 90-96mm). Even when I say a 3300 3S battery just in front of Firewall (engine is an OS46) the C of G came down to 100mm so would need alot of lead if keeping same engine.

Definitely gone off the idea, after reading all the C of G issues. Easier solution is to put a bigger and more powerful engine in. Think converting to electric in this case would be a nightmare 😀

Just acquired an unflown CMP Extra 33L 50" version with an OS 46 engine at a good price. Having read alot of forums about this particular model its very clear there are major C of G issues with the 50" version which I have when using a `small` OS46 engine as it is/will be way too tail-heavy. Just checked my C of G dry with a small battery pack and its 125mm and its supposed to be 90-96mm from front of leading edge of wing at fuselage. Dont want to go down route of adding loads of noseweight (would need alot), moving engine forward or big battery for receiver behind firewall. I would rather put a bigger (heavier) OS engine in so will help towards the C of G as well as power it much better as its apparently low powered on OS46 - can weight 3-3.5Kg depending on engine used. Ideally, I guess I'm on lookout for an OS 65-95 and even then may need to add noseweight. I'm told the larger version of this good looking plane does not suffer with same issue. I want to make it work but would appreciate your thoughts if you have one.

Model is an Extra 330 about 10 years old Fuel tank is right behind the Firewall so I guess I maybe able to sort the C of G, may even be able to put my battery or 2 x smaller batteries across fuselage rather than length ways

Thanks for the help so far guys, would anyone like to suggest a suitable motor and ESC combination to replace the OS46 above so I have enough power but not too much ? When switching from IC to electric, presumably my 4S or 5S battery would sit around where the fuel tank currently is ? Also, as IC engines are heavier, will I not end up putting loads of nose weight in if I dont have alot of space to move the battery back & front ? Very grateful for the answers so far on this thread - really helping

I'm looking to swap a reasonably aerobatic model with an OS46 in to electric. I have a spare motor & ESC knocking around that I hope will be big enough. I'm more concerned about things like thrust angles, downthrust, C of G etc. Could you give me some pointers ? Spare engine I have have is an E-Flite 1200 ? with 70amp ESC

Very little if any room for CofG movement on this model unless non-standard batteries etc