Nigel Heather

Sunday at 10:13

1 hour ago, Outrunner said:

Why would a 2 stroke engine make the model more suitable for windy weather flying than say a 4 stroke or an electric motor given the same power output?

It wouldn't and I wasn't deliberately excluding 4-stroke. It is more about power to weight ratio and price.

In my experience heavier aircraft deal with wind and gusts better but that needs a more powerful power train to maintain the power to weight ratio.

So if I take a traditional built 40 size trainer with 60" wingspan, what would the equivalent electric power train be, it certainly wouldn't be the ubiquitous 3S 2200, more like a 5S system - which is much more expensive.

Many foamies I have seen tend to target the 3S 2200 market which means smaller lighter models which are more likely to get buffeted by the wind.

All I am saying that for the same budget, same power to weight, IC gets you a bigger plane.

Sunday at 07:17

Is model flying in ‘windy’ weather a phenomenon brought on by modern electric foam models?

When I first got into model RC aircraft in the late 1980s, you typically started with a 40 sized two stroke powered trainer that had a 60” wingspan. It would be typically built from a kit using balsa and ply for the fuselage, fin and tailplane and veneered foam wings which were joined with an epoxy soaked fibreglass bandage. On top of the 40 stroke metal lump up front, it had a fuel tank and full sized servos, receiver and RX battery. The result was that we started with a trainer that was heavier and more powerful than the foamies that we fly today. And the follow on aircraft would be similar build, either with smaller wingspan or you would go up to a 60 engine.

I remember that it had to be pretty windy before I would think “it’s windy” and consider not flying. By comparison I find that much slighter winds these days has the guys at the club claiming “it’s a bit windy”.

I think the reason is that heavier, bigger, more power aircraft are less likely to be pushed around or buffeted by the wind.

Some with helicopters by the way, fly a 450 and it is squirrely, gets pushed around and impacted by even the slightest changes in wind than compared with a 600.

So maybe, the answer is, if we want an RC aircraft that are more suitable for windy weather then you should go back to glow powered traditional builds. For example if you want an intermediate aircraft, how about building a Wot 4 classic kit and sticking a 55 two stroke on the front. If you don’t fancy building then similar second hand models can often be seen on the BMFA Classified at very low prices.

Saturday at 12:08

22 hours ago, Don Fry said:

Zorba, I think you are describing acrylic or Perspex (same stuff) sheet in Europe. Usually minimum thickness is 1 mm. it would do what you describe the American product doing. I assume you mean the USA

It’s not acrylic or Perspex, it is this stuff

http://www.rcfoam.com/rc-hobby-tools-/pattern-cutting-templates/rcfoam---cool-tools-p-1001.html

No idea where you can get it nor what alternatives can be used though.

It possibly is similar to acrylic but this is 0.25mm thick, plenty of places selling that but in smaller sheets, not sure whether it would snap when scored though.

Saturday at 09:52

1 hour ago, Ace said:

+1 for a bandsaw with a tilting table as ED.

Changed my blade for a 1/4 x 14/16 tpi (std 6-8 tpi !) which I find leaves a clean cut without leaving a fuzz on balsa. Still cuts birch ply quickly. When cutting strip I attach a 1m length of straight planned wood to the fence so feed is absolutely straight as is the follow through. For triangle stock you need to start with an oblong which allows for the blade width which is near as dam it 1/16th. Even cuts trailing edge which I also use as wing rib packers when building which is great for building in washout when placed at an angle. As there is no gauge on the fence I have a selection of accurate Beech lengths that I use to space the blade/fence, this ensures consistency. A quick check in a piece of scrap - adjust as required and away you go.

Chinese for £60 - can't compete. Entry Proxxon - bandsaw out performs for me. Fancy Proxxon at £400 ish (£300 form Germany + import now?) - definitely a bandsaw. Not mine but something like this. That all said if space is at a premium you can't really hump/store a bandsaw under the bench.

How big/heavy is that bandsaw. I don't have a permanent workshop so what attracted me by the mini table saw was being able to store it away in a draw or cupboard when I don't need it and that it does need much table space on the rare occasions when I would need to use it.

Saturday at 09:33

36 minutes ago, Ron Gray said:

I must admit that I paid closer to £300 for mine and from memory it came from Germany.

Was that a few years ago before the hyper inflation and when we were still in the EU.

Best I have seen is £420, but also seen Microlux/Micromart model that looks very similar for £325.

Moot though as both out of my league for the use I would get out of it.

Saturday at 08:20

Good tip for velcro. I have a roll of self-adhesive velcro, must be a few years old and I notice that over time in storage the backing paper has detached and the adhesive dried up. So POR will save the expense of replacing.

BTW, I will use velcro for the battery but this is building a little platform for the battery because in the Rukus the space is limited and ESC, RX and Battery are all expected to occupy the same area. Strangely, the manual which covers assembly in minute detail totally skips over how you are supposed to arrange the battery ESC and RX.

Friday at 23:08

I experimented today. Stuck two pieces of light ply to a scrap piece of foam, one using the contact method and one using the traditional glue method.

As you said the one with the contact method adhered instantly with no wiggle room and was solid from the moment that the two parts made contact. The one using the traditional method could be slid around for quite a while, and took a lot longer for the glue to cure, I'd say a couple of hours at least, but once it had cured it was as solid as the contact method.

So in my finding, the contact method is a lot quicker and allows you to conform the parts to any curves without any pinning, but the grab is instant and does allow any wriggle room. The traditional glue method, allows repositioning, takes much longer to cure and would need pinning to conform to any non-flat shape, but once cured seems just as secure. Guessing the longer cure time is because glue is open to the air.

Friday at 08:55

Out of curiosity, anyone know the science behind contact adhesive.

For example I watched a guide on how to use POR to glue a foam former to a foam fuselage side. The suggestion was to apply POR to the edge of the former, offer it up to the fuselage side and then immediately separate the two parts. I guess this was to allow POR to be precisely applied to the fuselage. Then after 10 minutes of drying, offer up the two parts for the final fixing.

So what is the science? Why is letting the glue dry before joining more superior than just leaving the parts together in the first place and letting the glue cure with them in-situ?

I always imagined that you used contact adhesive when you wanted an instant bond - for example if you were applying foam sheet over a curved turtle deck and you want the foam to conform to the curve and stay put without having to use tape and pins to hold it down.

Cheers,

Nigel

Friday at 08:42

The Proxxon FET looks interesting but the price makes it a no-go for me, I simply don't have the needs to justify that sort of expense. Must admit I was quite shocked by the price, I was expecting to see something like £200 and even then I'd have to think about it, but £420, that's Bosch or DeWalt territory. Interesting as it looks, I simply can't justify that sort of money for the limited use I would get out of it.

April 25

53 minutes ago, Eric Robson said:

Nigel.Don't use the Uhu as a contact adhesive unless you can garrantee getting the position right first time,

For a job like that I usually coat the ply, put it in position, making sure it can't move and leave it overnight.

Thanks for the advice - I never realised that you could use UHU POR as a contact adhesive - have always just used as a traditional glue.

April 25

Thanks for all the advice.

I need to glue light ply plates inside the foam fuselage. The position is important as they have slots that a ply floor for the battery to slide into. Using gorilla glue sounds a bit risky as it would be difficult to hold the plates securely in position whilst the glue cures. So going to go with UHU POR.

Cheers,

Nigel

April 25

54 minutes ago, Ron Gray said:

I’ve had my KS230 for a few years now and it is a really good machine however I wanted something a bit bigger do bought the FET about 2 years ago. That is the only one I use now!

Can imagine how a bigger saw handles thicker wood better, but how does it deal with smaller stuff and balsa?

April 25

10 minutes ago, Ron Gray said:

Out of the two I would use POR. However my first choice would be Gorilla Glue Brown.

I have some Gorilla glue to, bought for DIY rather than modelling, it is brown but not sure it is the specific one you mean. It is quite runny and expands when it cures - is that the one you mean.

April 24

Just watched a YouTube video of the Proxxon KS 230, little underwhelmed to be honest.

April 24

Building a battery tray for my Max Flight Ruckus which involves gluing some light ply to the foam - I have UHU POR and two part epoxy - would one be more suitable than the other?

April 24

I stand corrected about the Proxxon - still can't comment on how good it is but it does have a toothed belt, and the Magicrose maybe a clone.

April 24

From my research I’m not convinced the Proxxon is very different to the Chinese no-name.

Seen videos of several models showing the inner workings and they are all similar, a motor driving a belt to the saw. This belt means that they can skip on the protection circuitry because when the torque required is too much the belt slips.

Amazon reviews have videos of the Proxxon and the Chinese no-names struggling with thicker materials - in the videos you can see the blade stop but hear the motor still spinning - so the belt must be slipping.

The Proxxon has a built in power supply so can be run direct from the mains - this makes the Proxxon wider, but the saw and bed look identical to the no-name models.

In fact, Amazon sell the Magicrose Electrical Mini Bench that looks identical to the Proxxon but selling for £60.

April 24

Has anyone tried a mini table saw.

I’ve seen 12V ones on Amazon and eBay for around the £50-60 mark, lots of different makes but clearly all no-name Far-East stuff, and very similar, probably all the same but with different cosmetic styling. Reviews are so mixed it is difficult to tell whether they are great or rubbish.

At that price it is very attractive but I wouldn’t mind paying a little more for a more reputable product.

But every time I search all I find is these same Far East products or for bigger ones for doing full size woodworking.

February 7

On 06/02/2024 at 00:40, Andy Stephenson said:

What should the JustGo portal entry look like if the CAA Fliyer ID is valid because mine expires on Feb17th but it just shows as below.

There's a whole lot that just isn't clear about the portal.

Does this only show if renewing through the BMFA or should they pick up this information from the CAA if renewed directly with them?

This is what mine looked like to. Andy got the BMFA admins to correct it. I assume that there was a glitch when I renewed and the database didn’t get correctly updated - but the admins were able to rectify it quickly.

January 30

41 minutes ago, leccyflyer said:

Toolstation medium CA for me too on those jobs where foam safe doesn't cut the mustard. Agree completely with the clogging tips - mine needs re-piercing with a needle every single time it is used. Thankfully that isn't very often. Excellent value for money though at just a couple of quid for the small bottle.

I’ve never managed to solve tip clogging, no matter how careful I have been. Best results I’ve found is to stand the bottle upright after use, let the glue settle for a while and then gently squeeze so that it blows air (and presumably, tiny bits of CA), then wipe the spout and put the top on. By no means perfect, but I find that I have a better chance of finding the spout unclogged on next use. But it is not a miracle cure, you will also find the tip clogs on occasions and then it I out with the needed.

January 30

Thanks for the ToolStation recommendation - I will check that out.

Just had a look, they do two viscosities

20g Medium - £2.08

20g Thick - £2.58

50g Medium - £3.88

50g Thick - £4.88

This is where I usually get drawn into buying the bigger bottles, but from my personal experiences I’m going to stick to the small bottles.

They don’t do thin or wicking versions but something I have read, but never tried, is that you can thin CA with acetone or cellulose thinners. Not sure I would risk that on an important airframe but if I wanted a small amount of fast setting thin CA on something not too critical I’d be prepared to experiment.

January 29

After years of thinking I was buying the best then having to replace it when more than half full I've finally got fed up of paying big bucks for Zap.

Just wondering what you guys recommend - I think the key for me is to buy smaller bottles as I don't use that much.

Cheers,

Nigel

January 29

I have both a specific model gun and a heat stripping gun. I actually got the model one first and then the paint stripping one later when I needed to, errr, strip paint.

Personally, although the paint stripping one would probably do the job I prefer the model one because it is smaller and lighter - in fact if it broke I would probably replace it rather than use the paint stripper.

January 29

I can confirm that - all displaying correctly now.

January 27

6 hours ago, Andy Symons - BMFA said:

Just checked as I hadn't seen any earlier contact from you which would have ended up in my inbox on this matter. Found an email in the membership inbox junk folder sent Friday ay 22.36. Not received a screenshot email though.

The matter is in hand though and should be resolved fairly quickly.

There is something wrong with your emails.

I sent on Thursday 25th Jan at 18:50 - you say that has never been received

I sent on Thursday 25th Jan at 22:36 - you say that went into your SPAM folder

I sent the requested screenshot on 27th Jan at 09:26 - you say that you haven't received that

Sounds like you have got some systems issues, databases not being updated and emails going missing.

Since your email system is clearly broken, here is the screenshot

Normally I would see details of the registration such as the expiry date. But the portal is not populated which makes it look like I am not registered with the CAA. I know I am, it just isn't being displayed on the BMFA Portal.

Cheers,

Nigel

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