Michael Barclay

What was the question again?

Only 3 of us left then!

Something simple nicely executed is a joy to behold.

At 78 I thank my lucky stars for this hobby. Went flying yesterday on a cold, damp, dark, miserable day. Temp 5c. Ankle deep in mud, three seven minute flights, hands, and brain numb with cold. Back on building board today. Doesn't matter what you fly, just keep doing it.

Hopefully, CAA will put a one mile no-fly zone around the club field.

I heard about a woman who bought a large motor home and whilst driving down the highway switched on the cruise control and went in the back to make a coffee. Supposed to be a true story.

Pichler Super Board as I said is much tougher than white depron but fractionally heavier, so when you buy reduce the thickness by 1mm. I am almost out of white depron so am just using it on wings at the moment and Pichler on the rest of the model. Here is an example of my last build and as you can see you can't tell the difference.

I would just add that this stuff is so much tougher than Depron that you can step down one or two mm in thickness depending on application.

Tried the underfloor stuff and does not compare well with white Depron. Found this stuff which is better than white Depron and available in many thicknesses. Much tougher, super finish. easy to cut and glue using Uhu Por. Reasonable price. https://www.modelshopleeds.co.uk/catalog/index.php?cPath=136_911&page=1&sort=1a&action=view_product&products_id=80390

A3 V2 Flight Controller Stabilizer 3-Axis Gyro For RC Fixed Wing Plane RC. As others have said, use these. Fitted on all my planes, easy to set up. Y lead on ailerons, no problem. I like flying on windy days, but if it's blustery, I switch on. £15 on eBay and never had a problem.

Thanks, Simon. I will try it on a current build in progress. Mike.

I also make my own wheels and use neoprene for the tyres. I tried a few adhesives, but only superglue seem to work with neoprene, and I confess that I never thought of painting it. Can you tell me what paint you use, and will it stand up to hard use?

Thanks everyone for your replies, which generally are in accord with my thoughts on the matter, although I was perhaps having some doubts due to my being a tight Yorkshireman, and wondering if my thoughts were biased by not wishing to spend money!

I have been using Orange Full Range Receivers for five or six years now, and I must say they have been faultless. Unfortunately they seem to have been discontinued. ( Should have grabbed half a dozen whilst they were still being made, but we live and learn ). Now in the process of building another new model I am wondering how long one can use a receiver before it is perhaps beyond its reliable useful life, and I would be interested to know the experiences of others on this subject. Also as my receivers were purchased at different times I think it would have been a good idea to date mark them upon purchase as I have seven or eight of these but no idea which are fairly new and which are not so new.

I used to build and crash at the rate of about one a week, mostly flying Bat wing types which I could produce really fast from plans, balsa sheet, and doped tissue coverings. Great fun.

Maybe that's the way to get youngsters into the hobby. Much cheaper than RC, and I loved it as a kid. Planes easier to build. Really hands on feel when flying. Must try it again sometime.

I didn't know one existed, but I will have a look. Thanks.

This is a huge subject about which a great deal has been written. Once these resins have fully cured, it is not possible to get a chemical link. You can achieve a mechanical bond, but the strength of the bond will depend on the quality of the workmanship, the area of the mating surfaces, and stresses to which the joint will be subjected. As a rough example, if you were to thoroughly abrade two pieces of cured epoxy fibreglass, each with an area of a foot square, you should get a decent mechanical bond. If, on the other hand, you tried to join two pieces of carbon fibre tube end to end, then without some form of reinforcement the resulting joint would have little if any strength. I hope my rather crude example shows that the design of the joint is as important as the resin used. For practical purposes in model making, I would always use epoxy resin for bonding to epoxy or polyester surfaces, but the design of the joint needs thought.

Thanks for your replies. Will look at your suggestions.

I have a lifetime of using epoxies and polyester resins in full scale yacht construction. In the case you show the bond area and stress involved will let you get away with that, but technically speaking, epoxy will not make a successful chemical bond to itself.

Anyone know of a headcam with a lens which will not make my planes look as though they are flying in the next county?

Epoxy will bond to polyester but will not make a successful bond to itself.

My next build will possibly be the Grumman Duck, But it might be a while before I get on with it, as I am thinking of moving.

The 3 mm looks good and easier to bend for complex shapes but I wonder if the weight saving is lost on the extra framework needed to keep it rigid. I will get some and try it.