Martin Harris - Moderator

Best protection against damage from hydraulic locks is to turn the prop over by hand immediately prior to applying the glow and starter. I can't say that I've noticed much tendency toward them with 4 strokes and it's inverted 2 strokes that seem to suffer worst as they definitely have no way of getting fuel out other than turning the whole model on its side and winding the engine backwards (exhaust port down)  A 4 stroke usually has an inch or more of inlet tract above the carb and even if it's inverted fuel can only enter if the engine is positioned on a part of the induction stroke during fuelling so there's a much smaller chance of it happening.  When drawing fuel in, I usually just open the throttle and (assuming a pressurised tank) put my finger on the exhaust outlet until I either see fuel at the carb, dripping from the carb or the engine feels wet, which gives a lot more feel than a specified time with a starter. Of course, with a 4 stroke there's a hole which opens at regular intervals to let excessive fuel into the exhaust port.  P.S. Re. the nuts, I don't think it makes any difference and it's probably just that we're all used to the "normal" OS and clones arrangement. TT just seem to have redesigned the system slightly.Edited By Martin Harris on 09/09/2011 15:31:50

Silly BEB - you know it's really a Tiger Moth...

I don't see why you couldn't try it but it's really designed for anti-vibration with small amplitude movements and I doubt it would make very much difference. The prop should stay on if everything's tight.   If you have a competent assistant you could get them to connect the glow while the engine is being spun over which would lessen the tendency for it to kick back until thing's adjusted correctly.Edited By Martin Harris on 07/09/2011 20:10:43

Well, I suppose if you can call those Fokkers Messerschmitts then, to be Frank, I suppose it's OK

Just a quick word of warning - your test set up looks a little awkward if that's where you're running the engine although the camera may have foreshortened things. Please make sure that you can access everything easily and without having to reach over any part of the running engine. Bob Moore's thread may make useful reading...Edited By Martin Harris on 07/09/2011 16:54:34

The boffins at every other manufacturer agree with TT's I'm afraid. It's a case of whether you'd prefer to loosen the prop when starting or when it's in the air! The normal torque reaction will tend to tighten the prop when it is being driven by the engine.  What is probably happening is that the engine is attempting to kick back when reaching compression, jarring the nut undone. The first thing is to get that nut tight - and I've yet to meet a modeller who has stripped the threads on a decent quality crankshaft by leaning on a normal spanner. Don't try using the sort of thing you find on some plug spanners - just use a standard spanner of the correct size and lean on it until your eyes bulge. Then do the same with the lock nut...the APC should withstand the pressure easily.  If you still get kickbacks then you need to reduce that tendency - the first thing I'd try would be a larger prop - the 10 x 5 seems rather small to me (I'd be looking at a 12 x 6 or 11 x 7 as a starting point) - which will provide some more inertia. You might also try reducing the glow if you're using a power panel to retard the ignition point slightly.     Edited By Martin Harris on 07/09/2011 15:22:53

I suggested that it would be a good idea to buy a small shed to put the garden tools etc. in as it wasn't fair that my good lady should have to brave the organised chaos which is my workshop with its various noxious substances and smells...some modelling related!  She knows the real reasons but went along with my ever so thoughtful idea, letting me think that I thought that she was fooled although knowing that I knew that she wasn't...

I've recently used Glosstex for the first time and I'm quite pleased with the results.    Pros It gives a very good representation of painted fabric without the hassle of actually painting it - and no chance of runs/orange peel . Relatively easy to apply* and no complicated and messy setting up, preparation/multiple processes.  Cons? Cost (but don't underestimate how much it costs to do a proper job over plain covering with car paint or aerosols)  Weight (but don't underestimate how much weight painting fabric will add)  Matching of Solarlac paints (in my case anyway) leaves a bit to be desired  *Paint finish can be marked by too much heat from the iron.

...but taken the opportunity to preach your ecological message at the same time!   Sorry, but you cannot possibly say that my perception is deluded simply because you yourself seem unwilling to accept my personal feelings on the subject. I would be deluded if I gave an engine or a machine a true soul (without inverted commas whether written or implied) or felt it had a consciousness but I can quite legitimately claim that operating one gives me tactile and perceptive pleasure (and occasional pain!)   I'm sorry that you are unable to share these simple pleasures but I fully accept your right to go through life with an iron grip on reality.   I don't know if BEB has any attraction to the stage - I thought he was a good old fashioned engineer and the two rarely seem to co-incide but perhaps you know him better than I do? However, even though my last dalliance with the boards was a nativity play at infants school, I certainly understand his concept of empathy with machinery.Edited By Martin Harris on 07/09/2011 01:09:40

It's what makes a club not just a field to fly at. At mine, the banter is continuous except when someone needs help (or consolation) and then it stops (for a minute or two!) I think it's fair to say that those who get the brunt of it are generally the most respected and popular!

Does it have an option to set the nominal voltage for Lithium cells to 3.3v or a LiFe setting? If not, then no.

Posted by Doug Ireland on 05/09/2011 20:29:40: I'm surprised this survey has gone on for so long. Reading through most of the posts it seems that most modellers are "sneaking" their purchases past their significant "others". If I had to do that then I'd pack it in!  It's all part of the game...  I know that she knows that I know that she knows that new models keep appearing at regular intervals and she knows that I know that she knows that the occasional costs mentioned are probably the tip of the iceberg. On the other side of the coin is that she knows that I know that she knows that I have a pretty good idea of what goes out on clothes and sundry expenses for the house and family that I certainly wouldn't see as necessities.  And she has the bonus of knowing that I'm unlikely to be getting up to anything less innocent than some banter amongst the boys and the odd expedition to the woods to retrieve someone's lost model! Edited By Martin Harris on 06/09/2011 13:58:48

Surely sound and soul are subjective, Pat - I know and you know that most ic model engines don't sound much like the full size to most experienced ears (although the ASP160 twin in my Cub was widely commented on for its realism at the weekend) but you really can't say that some people don't perceive the sound and particularly the "soul" aspect differently to you. Simply put, I get more pleasure flying or observing an ic powered scale model than the equivalent electric one. "That", in the words of a well reported football manager, "is a fact" and is what I and many others refer to as "soul".Edited By Martin Harris on 06/09/2011 12:58:29

And it's your absolute right to choose whatever suits you. What annoys me is one sided statements that some people make asserting that their choice is the only logical one for everyone else. Edited By Martin Harris on 06/09/2011 12:08:46

Simon - no similarities except the ability to make me extremely happy, frustrated, get growled at or purred at, get the silent treatment if mistreated, find lovely to look at and handle... Am I talking about an engine or my lady wife? The last time I checked she had several human characteristics!  

Perverse as it might be, there is a certain satisfaction in fine tuning an engine to run reliably and sweetly which I don't get from simply connecting a battery and switching on. On the other hand, the flying is much the same and it's only scale models which seem to me to lack something without a "fire breather" on the front.

I bought a rather nice *l*ctr*c Extra at our club's Open Day last Sunday. I'll bet most of the perpetrators use it very much tongue in cheek and succumb to the odd expedition to the spark side - even if our true love affair is with the sumptuous mechanical movement of metal against metal, copiously lubricated by sensuously slippery oil while being pulsated by the regular expansion of hot gases admitted and released by beautifully regulated mechanical controls via valves and/or ports....  I'm going to lie down quietly for a few minutes! Edited By Martin Harris on 06/09/2011 11:32:02

Posted by zim_flyer on 05/09/2011 22:51:27: thanks a lot Martin, giantcod.co.uk looks really good. And yep, Swansea in Wales visiting family out here.   Just seen the additional bit - thanks , will look into buying a new radio system, although ive fitted most servos already , would i need to change them seeing as the plugs/connectors are different to modern radio systems...?   thanks again @import url(/CuteEditor_Files/public_forums.css); @import url(http://www.modelflying.co.uk/CuteEditor_Files/Style/SyntaxHighlighter.css); @import url(/CuteEditor_Files/public_forums.css); @import url(http://www.modelflying.co.uk/CuteEditor_Files/Style/SyntaxHighlighter.css); @import url(/CuteEditor_Files/public_forums.css); TBH you'd probably be better off replacing the servos as well - the days of a set of (normal) servos costing half a week's wages are long gone. I don't know anything about Simprop other than the name but I believe the company is still trading so you might try contacting them for specific info about servo compatibility - most systems have used the same positive pulse width modulation for many years.   From your description I assumed you were referring to the black insulation but John makes a good point about black wire corrosion - especially if the batteries have been left connected. Any sign of the conductor having turned black and/or crumbly is very bad news and this corrosion can spread into switches and PCB tracks over time.   And apologies from me Peter - I was a bit slow posting this and duplicated a lot of yours!Edited By Martin Harris on 05/09/2011 23:41:31

What I meant was cut ready made extension leads in half and use the flying leads. I don't know if you've seen the bit I added to the previous post but the wiring sounds rather suspect.   Thinner cables would have more resistance, not less so it's either for lightness unless they're high spec braided insulation cables. I was actually thinking about servo leads rather than battery connectors but the comments about the fragile nature of soldered connections subject to movement and vibration still apply.   Have a squint at www.giantcod.co.uk but if you want to look for electrical connectors for power, Maplin have a wide range (Swansea in Wales, I assume?)

Is 60 MHz legal where you fly? Please don't even think about using it if you're in the UK...   You could consider LiFe cells but without info from the manufacturer I couldn't possibly say whether they would be too high a voltage for the receiver although they would be my choice for the transmitter if they will fit (3 in series).   You're probably best off with Eneloop NiMH cells for the airborne pack or use LiPos with a regulator (I'm a little cautious about the added potential for faults using one - many would say over-cautious).   One thing I'd avoid if at all possible is soldering plugs to the wires as they will tend to fail with movement or vibration - crimp them if possible or solder connectors on commercial extention leads to the wires, well supported with heatshrink covering the joint areas.   BUT   Why do you want to use this radio?  2.4 MHz systems from Giant Cod/Hobby King etc. are cheap as chips and likely to be infinitely more reliable than your rather ancient eqipment - and far cheaper than losing a model!Edited By Martin Harris on 05/09/2011 22:18:35

I have cured just this problem with an Irvine 46 by installing the front bearing using bearing fit to prevent air leaking past it.   One other thing to check is that the casing hasn't split underneath.

Posted by Devon Flyer on 03/09/2011 16:18:44: Posted by Martin Harris on 03/09/2011 10:30:28:   With regard to your earlier statement, DF, that "A deliberate act of crashing into another plane would be considered negligent in a court of law." what grounds could they quote if the likely consequences of that act were considered properly before the event? Probably the same grounds they could use if you deliberately drove your car into another one, fully realising that by doing so you could cause the other driver to lose control. If the other driver then ran someone over, whose fault would it be?     Sorry but I don't see the relevence of that argument. If I were participating in a Demolition Derby with a stock car (do they still do that?) I wouldn't expect to see a flashing blue light in my mirror and get a ticket for dangerous driving. Spectators have been killed or injured on many occasions at motor races and by and large the organisers and participants have been absolved from blame for the consequences of their accidents due to demonstrating that they have taken reasonable precautions and motor racing has been allowed to continue at most venues.

And the point to argue (heaven forbid) in the event of a prosecution would be that you were being neither reckless nor negligent and that an incident occurred outside what could have been reasonably foreseen.   As an example, Article 98 of the ANO Para 2 (a) states (in regard to > 7 kg models where legal controls are more rigidly enforced) "unless the person in charge of the aircraft has reasonably satisfied themselves that the flight can be safely made".   Although the wording of the act does suggest that endangerment of any aircraft is an offence, I'd imagine that should the CAA bring a prosecution as the result of a willing participant's model being dented by another in a combat session they would be sent packing by the judge for bringing a frivolous case to court.  If they did so because members of the public were being hazarded due to a negligent or reckless approach to organisation that might be a different matter.   With regard to your earlier statement, DF, that "A deliberate act of crashing into another plane would be considered negligent in a court of law." what grounds could they quote if the likely consequences of that act were considered properly before the event? Edited By Martin Harris on 03/09/2011 10:51:06

Never having experienced slope combat I can only imagine the scenario but I have done a fair bit of 1/12 scale WW2 combat where safety rules include separation distances from any observers and hard hats for all participants and officials although mid-airs are a consequence of small misjudgements and not deliberate but fairly common.   If necessary precautions have been taken to exclude forseeable danger to passers by and participants then surely the act isn't reckless or negligent but deliberate and calculated and therefore legal.Edited By Martin Harris on 03/09/2011 01:22:36

Posted by Simon B on 02/09/2011 23:19:38: Yeah. I'm looking for a wing only and this one looks in good nick, so i'm willing to take a chance I think. Never seen someone try and convert one of these to stinky power though...   How could you say such a thing Simon - ISTR that the greatly lamented Lord Boddington did just that - after all, real models have living, breathing engines. Electric motors are fine for toys and foamy playthings of course...   Where's the emoticon for a tin helmet!   I doubt there's anything untoward here - the seller specialises in model cars and trains and probably picked this up in a job lot.  He appears to be local to me and it hasn't come from my club as far as I know.   Edited By Martin Harris on 02/09/2011 23:56:34