Andy Stephenson

There's nothing basically wrong with HS81s that twitch only on switch-on, providing they don't continue to after the sticks are moved. It's entirely a power-up issue.

HS 81 servos don't play well Futaba receivers at switch-on. I find they jitter until I move the sticks, then they are perfectly OK. It's something in the way the servo perceives the power-up and control pulse at the same time. I have noticed this going back to 35MHz PCM receivers but never had a problem flying those servos. A.

Given pitch has a roughly linear relation to the volume of air moved and the area of sweep of a prop is proportional the square of the diameter, the rule of thumb I use is 1 on diameter is worth 2 on pitch for the same shaft load at the motor/engine. A.

I have used Sundeala glued to a piece of 19mm thick MDF which keeps it flat enough. The stuff is expensive enough but the best alternative to this is a 2' x 4' suspended ceiling tile which appears to be the same as Sundeala. I don't know how expensive they are because it was given to me by a builder friend. If you can buy them singly I bet they are cheaper though.

Journos are all arts educated and therefore no nothing about science or engineering and the correct units the physical world in measured in.

I have just just surfed all the iron-on covering materials on HK, all but a few of the least attractive colours are in stock. The website is not the quickest but I am not experiencing the slow speeds some are complaining about. I use a Firefox on a desktop PC. I have had an "alert me" request on some colours of film hanging around for months and still nothing yet. HK could at least stock a few of the staple modelling products then they could generate some turnover. I would buy for stock like most who build models not available in ARTF form. I used to use Profilm but the price is now astronomic, other available films are inferior and what looks like the HK films on AliExpress etc are only available in limited colours. If this goes on for much longer I will be exploring alternative perhaps even traditional finishing techniques. A.

I read somewhere there will be a phone app available to check CAA numbers, which seems to mean that you would be required to carry some sort of ID. A.

Jon, This was on a 150 and I only reamed the deposits by hand and no metal was removed as a result of my taking this advice. I also I believe this was only a partial solution but the best that could be achieved mechanically. Andy.

this will mostly work but you end up drilling through the baffle as well so you end up with more noise. the best bet is to never let it get all grotty in the first place by not using any castor Jon, Neil was not suggesting that the drill went any further in than would ream out the coke in the tail pipe, certainly not through any metal inside the silencer. This was a while ago before he changed to recommending synthetic fuels, although the some still have a small proportion of castor and create carbon deposits. Andy.

Don, You are absolutely correct about using a tail skid, I have built several Panics and none of them ever needed a steerable tail wheel although just take it easy if taking off on tarmac they tend to skitter a bit. Use some toe-in on the main wheels to stabilise the take-off run. Andy.

The Winterton special is a very early Panic, you can tell by the centre flap and the tapered ailerons on the top wing. You can't see in the picture but if the bottom wing has dihedral it's probably one of the first Avicraft kits which had an engine suggestion of .45 size. A.

Phone calls purporting from both Visa and Mastercard are surely a scam, whoever heard of both those companies working together.

I use the rule of thumb that 1 on diameter = 2 on pitch when it comes to prop load at normal RPM. There are significant differences between makes, for instance I find APC props to be more efficient than Master Airscrew, the black ones with the white tips. Graupner props which are a similar to MA props are nearly as good as APC so you can't tell just bu looking at the shape. A.

Posted by trebor on 14/12/2017 18:23:24: I'll start this off then ! Can you take the end of the silencer to clean the inside out or is it pressed in ? Ps Thanks for the advise earlier and I'll post a picture of the engines after I've finished cleaning I forgot the worst bits the silencers Trebor, When I asked Neil Tidy how to clean a Laser silencer, he said to put a 3/8" drill down the tail pipe and drill out the crud. Andy.

Anthony, I found the same thin when I tried Flair Spectrum clear which was supposed to be fuel-proof. I think the only fully fuel-proof clear would be a two part one like this... https://www.carcolourservices.co.uk/product/pro2kclear-500ml-2k-clear-lacquer/ Has anyone had experience of this? Andy.

David, That looks like a really nice finish you've got there. Many thanks, I'll look out for the all-purpose type in my local DIYs. Andy.

David, Which type of Rust-Oleum paint do you use as a quick search reveals a number of different ones. Thanks, Andy.

I have an almost perfect set of Angel wings that were rescued from a fuz write-off if any one is interested, no reasonable offer refused. Blue colour scheme. Andy.

Posted by Broken Prop on 22/11/2019 08:41:06: ... The 'Perikns Panic' uses the same parts as the originals... Pete Are you sure about this as the original Panic was an all slab-sided fully sheeted fuz with foam wings.

In the early days there was the G48 and the G63. The G48 disappeared and was replaced by the G52. Later I remember seeing adverts for a range of them including G42 G52 G63 and G75. I don't remember a G40 could this be one that was cut down. I think there might even have been a G38 but I'm not sure. A.

Generally teenagers these days don't engage with mainstream media so and as a result will be blissfully unaware of any new regs. It will be interesting to see if there is any policing of the regs having an effect on the teenage drone pilots out there.

Here's a clue...

Finished, can any one recognise the colour scheme?

I have used a short piece of silicone fuel tube of a suitable diameter to substitute for an O ring. It must have worked so well, some years later, i don't know which engine it was used on. A.

If you want a Panic kit give Avicraft a call and see what they can do for you. The Newmans are friendly and helpful. They may have some parts they can put together for you. Andy,