John Minchell

Mike, the crease is 165 mm along the taper from the open (inlet) end and dia from the exhaust header is 21mm. The dent at the exit end of the pipe is 46mm in from the rear end and its only 14mm dia. So can't get a curved mandrel in big enough or strong enough to do the job.

Thanks for the replies chaps. John M

Anyone got a clever way to remove dents from tuned pipes when you can't get to the inside with a tool? And the pipes are the expensive Krumscheid tuned expansion chambers so I don't want to start cutting them open as my aluminium welding is well out of practice? TIA John M

On the subject of wearing headphones or ear buds on the flight line take a look at bone conduction headsets, loads available and "Shokz" being a popular maker. They leave the ears uncovered and work better in my case than conventional headphones. I now use them Bluetooth connected for hands free phone in the car, as well as flying GPS competition gliders. Removes all issues with hearing landings called or shouted warnings from others while you are flying. John M

Not sacrilege at all, you can't buy NiCads any more and the ones I used to have are long gone. Just don't want to waste anything that could be used. I still have 2 Shulze Chameleons which also do NiMh and LiPo's so they do get used. Thanks for the idea Rich, but the fully adjustable power supply would be better for that (its what I already use for a hot wire bow). JM

Anyone got any good ideas how to re-purpose an old NiCad charger? Or remove parts to use in, or to make something else. Seems a shame to chuck it out when there might be a use for it, or some of the bits. Its a Robbe Power Peak Infinity, 1 to 30 cells and 5 amp capable. Any ideas gratefully received. Thanks John M

Thanks chaps, will cut the hinges. Am already using a hairdryer to warm up the solarfilm but thanks for the comment - always good to get confirmation I'm doing it right!

Well I am now in "refurbish" mode for this model. Have started stripping off the solarfilm and it is a real time consuming job picking off the film then using packing tape to stick to and then lift off the glue and old colour residue left behind. Taking forever. What is the group wisdom and best practice on control surfaces? It is a real belly ache trying to get the stuck down film from between the bevelled off hinge lines. The model has flat kavan type hinges and they are drilled and pegged with cocktail sticks then sanded flush before filming. Is it best to cut these out to be able to strip and recover then cut new hinge slots and insert all new hinges? Or leave them in and struggle. Anyone got any bright ideas before I slit my wrists with frustration? John M

Been ill so sorry for the delay in replying. Not my model, but he says the CG is as per instructions and is ok. However he is one of the best pilots I know and can fly anything and very well too.

Or more likely it wouldn't be the CAA unless something went wrong. For instance, just after the law changed and I wanted a 400ft height limit exemption certificate for an aero tow. The Drone team at the CAA did not know that the law had changed and the Notam office number was answered and said to apply for the Notam fill in the form on the CAA website (which they had taken down from the website - which was why I was calling them) and they then said I would have to Google for it - so I did, with the chap still on the phone, I said it was the old form on Google with 7kg and 20kg model weights, instead of the new 7.5kg and 25kg weights which changed on January 1st, but he said don't worry about it as its a model it doesn't matter. So the CAA know even less about the law as it petains to models and what is required than we do. Also a very well respected test pilot I know well says the CAA are there to make money out of flying and airspace and never ever think that there is any other reason for their existance.

JT, All the same I would be inclined if it were mine, to put a Graupner Cam, Aeronaught or other quality prop or even splash out on an RFM for peace of mind. Up to you of course.

Nice Centi Phase David, but I am really interested in the tail less swept flying wing in the same picture - any details please? You can PM me so as not to hijack the thread onto a different topic. Thanks John M

John do not fly this model with the original white folding propellor blades, even the revised ones can snap across the root pivot point. Pal of mine had it happen and the out of balance forces ripped the motor out of the firewall actually shearing the aluminium mounting and the ply bulkhead. Twisted up all the 3 wires up to the ESC and pulled that forward out of its velcro mounting in the time it took him to close the throttle. Luckily the bec wire was still attached to the Rx and he could land as a glider. The canopy was popped off 1/2 a mile away when it happened due to the twisting of the fuselage. Took us half the day to find it in the next field. Also it took FMS 5 months to replace his damaged fuselage and I advised him on some quality prop blades which are carbon and will not shear across the pivot holes. HTH John M

I have a Tx manual for the radio (as per above title) free to a good home. I acquired it in a kit box and do not use Futaba radios. Be a shame to recycle it in the paper trash if someone needs one. Drop me a PM or an email to j.minchell (at) btinternet.com. John M

The other thing to consider is your eyes. I've just changed back from varifocals to distance lenses with a bifocal segment to read the tranny telemetry. Also ditched the grey or green sunglasses and gone to brown tint polaroids and I swear I can see the model 50% further away (gliders and a long way up and distance downwind). They are pin sharp now and I do not have the "tunnel vision" aspect of the varifocals of a small "sweet spot in focus " and everywhere else in peripheral vision is blurred. Worth an eye test for. John M

Try Mike Ridley at Model Radio Workshop. An excellent chap and UK service engineer for most radios. He does a range of servo slow add ons. All made in the UK by him as well https://modelradioworkshop.co.uk/shop/servo-control-devices/servo-slow/

Thanks for the replys gents - much appreciated. I've also spoken to the importers and to Frank who was a great help. So I can't use the SPC port to power the servos OK. I can Y lead any two servos with the Graupner battery backer output feeds one and two and then feed into any channel socket on the RX. Best solution is to leave the choke servo on a flylead and set it for the first start of the day with an external battery and a servo tester then disconnect it for flight. I do not have to only use ch9/batt as the only battery input. Use all 9 servo sockets one for each servo, but Y lead the two backer feeds to the two flap servos, as they will pull the most current. I can use any of the 9 channel sockets to input the power. That will get it flying this weekend.

Fettling a model for a good mate but there are 10 servos and only 9 channels on the RX. It's a large glider tug and has a choke servo on a ZDZ 95cc petrol engine, so we can do without that. Servos are 2x elevator, 2x flap, 2x ailerons, a tow release, a throttle and rudder. All well and good till we get to the battery input which shares the same as channel 9. So first question is can I Y lead one servo (say tow release) and the battery into channel 9 port in the RX. Second question is where does the second battery feed go (from a Graupner twin battery backer device) as Y lead on the battery feed (after the backer unit) defeats the safety of having twin feeds into the RX and there is no free port left on the RX. Can I use the data port or not? Or do I Y lead another servo channel (1 to 8 ) with second battery feed into any other port on the RX? Third question, can I Y lead the flap servos (25kg each) so drawing a fair amount of current when deployed 90 degrees for every landing. Will the RX pc board handle high current at 6 volts when both flaps are down for each landing through one channel? TIA for any help. And no, "choose another radio" is not a option for him! John M

I have high regard for George's advice and also his products especially the LiPo's he sells. However I had a 20 amp stand alone UBEC which failed internally and instead of only allowing 6 volts through (or whatever the jumper was set at voltage) it passed the whole 24volts of a 6S LiPo through to the receiver and servos. In a Thermix XXXL 5meter glider it took out a £250 Multiplex dual Pro receiver and 10 quality servos all burnt out, which was a little expensive to say the least. I will still use 4Max motors Esc's and batteries but no longer trust any brand of UBEC - so always carry a separate Rx and servo battery from the motor power battery. Just my 2 pence worth. John M

You can if you're on hands free with an earpiece!

Either that or grind up some 1/4 or 1/3 scale size zig zag blades for my pinking shears, that would be easier I think. Only need a blade jig like the ones used for sharpening chainsaw blades but attached to a drill bit sharpening grinder attachment. I'll have a play.

Was wondering if pinked edge tapes could be cut on a vinyl cutter like a Silouette Cameo and how that could be done . IE. how to hold down the solartex or diacov whilst cutting it?

Scale Me Down still exists - see their FB page here https://www.facebook.com/scalemedown/

Erfolg If your first sentence was tongue in cheek, then I will have a chuckle. If you were serious in thinking that cheating would not happen at a WC, then I am afraid you are completely wrong. I was there as one of the two UK team managers for the scale F4C and F4H teams. We encountered a model not built by the entrant/pilot and two instances of blatant use of GPS positioning for the start and end of each manoeuvre which is also against the rules. Another adding/removing wire skids (to protect his wing tips in an untidy landing) when you are only allowed to remove the pilot and flying prop for a scale one between static and flying judging. I could go on......................... John M

The issue of "is it ethical" to admit the source of either design, cad drawing and then the final production (3D printing, cnc machining, laser cutting etc) is only relevant for a competition. For a scale model just for general flying it's all irrelevant. The "tidying up of the rules" is needed because people have different idea of what is the important part. Is having the idea and spending the time designing/drawing in cad the difficult bit, or using someone else's design files to print on your own or a commercial company 3D printer etc etc. The only clear way to do this is design it yourself, do the drawing yourself and buy a 3D printer or 3 axis mill or whatever and make the part yourself. Then it is not needed to declare it. BUT it is all based upon trusting that the competitior is honest with the declaration. Having seen some blatant cheating in Switzerland at the 2018 Scale World Championships, I fear that any rules decided upon will be not enough to deter the cheats. However I don't think it will be too much of a problem domestically. John M