Nigel Heather

All very valid points, but one thing that jumps out - why do you have 17 planes - as my wife will tell me when she catches me looking at another aeroplane “why do you need another aeroplane, you already have three” and you could easily swap that ‘three’ out for a ‘one’. The point I have been trying to make is that we like to collect planes, most of us have many more than we actually need, many of our purchases are made by the heart, if our brain had a say it would possibly stop them. In the last 10 years or so, the low prices have made those heart-driven purchases relatively easy. But these days with prices close to double it is a lot easier for the brain to step in and say “yes I know you want it, but you don’t need it and look at the price”. And I’m not saying that anyone is going to give up the hobby just saying that those impetuous impulse buys are going to be rarer. I’m also not disagreeing that the hobby in the 90s was more expensive, the issue is that the hobby has seen a step change with the price of ARTFs, kits and plan builds nearly doubling of a very short period. That won’t drive us out, but it might temper our spending and it might discourage new joiners. And that is bad news for the likes of Ripmax.

My Overlanders have performed and lasted well - over 4 years old now and no sign of puffing at all. But I've also heard of others that wouldn't touch them with a barge pole. Although I have no problems with overlander I didn't use them for my last purchase of 4S batteries because I found them about £10 dearer each than the equivalent competition.

Mine are from 2019, bought as two batches of two from Century UK. The numbers on mine are FBC8244*0684 FBC8244*0688 FBC8164*0320 FBC8164*0345 If I were to guess I'd say the number before the '*' identifies a production run and the number after the '*' is an incrementing sequence number Just give them the info they ask and if they give you any trouble raise it with Overlander. Cheers, Nigel

I agree, in fact I think it was more expensive then. But in my case that just reinforces my argument. Back then I operated one aircraft and flew it to death. With prices increasing I can see me myself reverting to that style. One big difference though, was in the 90s, building from plans was cheap. In fact kits and building materials were cheap, motors and electronics were expensive - it is the reverse these days.

From my perspective the problem is that the hobby is becoming too expensive. And it’s not just a UK thing, it’s the same when I look at AliExpress, Hobby King or Banggood. The big Asian names are now adding VAT and the free/cheap shipping is becoming less common. In fact sometimes the delivery costs are eye-watering. This is driving me out of the hobby it is just changing my spending pattern. Before COVID (which I believe is the main cause of the change), I’d see things that I wasn’t even aware of before and would find myself buying them because they looked interesting and were cheap. I’d see a plane for £140, really didn’t need it, but aI wanted it and £140 seemed like pocket money. Now the same plane is £250 I still go through the same emotions but the price is enough for my brain to kick in and say “you don’t need this”. As for building, I see plans or kits that I fancy, but then I start pricing up the prices of balsa, covering, wheels, wing joining kits etc needed to finish and realise that it is going to cost a small fortune. I’ve been to the Wings and Wheels show for the last two years and I noticed that it lacked the buzz at the trade stalls of years gone buy. No trade offers to speak of, no real crowds to push through, not many walking around carrying purchases. I think pricing may kill off the hobby, it won’t deter me, but it will change my attitude - I shall be more inclined to focus on what I have rather than buy new stuff. As an example, in 2019 I bought an AcroWot Foam-E for £150, in 2022 I felt it was getting a bit battered and tatty so looked to buy a replacement - but the price had risen to £250 which made me stop and think and decide that I’d stick with the one I have. The current cost of living crisis is only go to compound this situation.

Correct, used the wrong word.

Yes for a lot of the items, Ripmax act as the distributer so I guess it would be a fairly simple matter for a different company to take over the distribution. Of course with a big name out of play, there is less competition so distribution deals won't be so good so prices will go up.

And with Ripmax going into receivership you may need to buy fast while stocks last.

Trying to think who would buy them - Century UK maybe - all depends on how much debt they would have to take on.

One factor, in my experience - the less concerned you are about crashing the faster you will progress, the more concerned you are about crashing the slower you will progress. I’m in the latter category I’m afraid - have a lot of hours, can probably fly all sorts of manoeuvres, I can in the simulator, but when it comes to the real thing I bottle it and play it safe. I find myself hamstrung worrying about how much a crash will cost. This has particularly held me back learning helicopters.

Must admit I don't really understand why you have two high wing trainers - other than having a spare if you total the first one. I'd fly the death out of the Arising Star and if you don't crash it I reckon you could skip the Phoenix and go to the Tiger 60. BTW based on Real Flight only, the Tiger 60 seems to be a really nice aircraft - flies really nicely - would like one myself. Not sure about electric power - what batteries would it need - guessing it will need quite a powerful, expensive, heavy setup.

You could try misting it with well-diluted mayt white or light grey. By misting I mean a very light coat with an airbrush or spray gun. Another possible would be to use weathering pigment or even crushed pastels. Might need to roughen the surface a little with fine wet and dry. Then seal with a varnish. Could be part of an overall weathering.

It's a Weller PU-3D rated at 50 VA which I take to be 50 Watts. One thing I should add - I said that I was soldering these onto a current meter - I'm using XT60 because that I all I use, don't need anything bigger - but the current meter supports up to 150A so has silicon insulated wires to accommodate that - so the wires are quite chunky, thicker than anything that'd I'd normally use with XT60. Cheers, Nigel

Thanks. I had tinned the cups and used good old fashioned leaded solder. But plugging the mating connector in is a good idea - I'll try that. Cheers, Nigel

I've been trying (and failing to solder some XT60 connectors today. The job is to attach connectors to a watt/current meter - I have a decent soldering iron with the correct tip - I've have soldering for over 40 years but I am finding that before the heat is sufficient to melt the solder in the contact cup and the wire the housing is melting causing the terminal to move. I can't see that I'm doing anything wrong but I wonder whether it is the quality of the XT60 terminals - I'm aware that there are genuine ones and there are copies - not sure what I have or even how to tell - wondering whether the house is melting because it is not a genuine connector - I'd appreciate any advice. When I say that the housing is melting, I don't mean that it is completely distorting, just enough around the terminal for it to move and then it is misaligned when the plastic sets. Cheers, Nigel

For those that don’t know, you can type in mathematical or conversion questions in google and on most occasions it will answer them directly. for example if you type in ‘7 SWG diameter in mm’ it will come back with ‘7 Swg = 0.176” / 4.470mm’ The distinction here is that it comes back with an answer rather than just pointing you are websites that might have the answer to search through. Cheers, Nigel

I had been considering buying eCalc but then stumbled across the full list of supported motors and was somewhat surprised to find that out of the hundreds of supported motors the Tornado Thumper range is not included. This has always seemed to be quite a common and popular motor range in the UK so I’m puzzled why it isn’t included so wondering whether it is in there but under a different name?

Quite high capacity - was that needed for flight time or get useful weight up front.

Hi, I couldn't view that video - get a message saying that it couldn't be located. Incidentally, Warrington was the very first club I tried - would have been in the late 80s. I didn't last long there though, I joined because I had a friend who lived in Birchwood and we both worked nearby. But I lived in Cheadle and then Macclesfield and moved jobs so it became too much of a trek to make only to find there was no one that could buddy with me (I was still trying to learn to fly a Yamamoto at the time).

Thanks for the information. Out of interest when you electrified your Cambrian Bf109 did you go 3S or 4S?

These make a little more sense. It is a BF109 that I have gone for and both of these suggestions make more sense than a torque roll. But even so, why would either of those be a problem with EP but not IC.

To be fair, I don’t think I am over-thinking this. I had no intention of fitting a rudder - it was the manufacturer who advised that as I was going with EP I should fit a rudder because of the torque roll when launching. I didn’t understand why an EP would torque roll when an IC would not, nor did I understand how a rudder would help torque roll when hand launching - so I came here for a second opinion - how is that over-thinking. Cheers, Nigel

Hi, this question is something that got raised when discussing funfighters but I have posted here as it is a more general issue. I want to build an electric powered funfighter, they are usually just aileron and elevator, but for EP I was advised to add rudder because of the torque roll. So some questions: Why would torque roll be an issue for electric power but not IC power How would rudder help - these are hand launched - with undercarriage it should exhibit as turning to one side so you would correc5 with rudder but with a hand launch wouldn’t it roll, to be corrected with aileron And would you not address this with side and down thrust. Would someone explain what happens to me. Cheers, Nigel

Excellent, thank you, never knew they existed - will be fitting to all my electric models (well the ones that use spinners)

They look good in the air. I sometimes think I am focussing too much on how it looks on the ground. Another option is the Vintage Model Company (Spitfire, Hurricane and BF109). I think they would have been best for me but I couldn't look past that 'starved horse' look on the ground - too much vanity possibly because you don't notice it in the air - and they can be launched single-handed with an underarm throw.