Geoff Copping

Just a word on the side of bi-focals. I do shooting, shotgun as well as rifle with telescopic and night sight, as well as model flying and playing in a band, where I need to look up at the audience then straight back down to music sheet. For the shooting I need rapid transition from near to far and back and I pretty much forget I'm wearing them. I use flip-ups for bright conditions because, in woodland for example, the transition between light and dark can be slow. I never notice any discernible distortion between distance and reading. When I got my first pair, when I needed them for distance as well as reading, then I found there was no need to get used to them. They were crystal clear straight away at all distances. I'm not dismissing varifocals, just saying that bifocals work for me.

Posted by David Ashby - Moderator on 08/01/2021 21:01:46: Spot the face. Mrs A took this in the Lake District last summer. Just a nice view but we immediately made out the face in the top right hand section formed by the clouds. Can you see it? A moment later, the clouds shifted and it was gone. I can see the face of Jesus Edited By David Ashby - Moderator on 08/01/2021 21:02:12

Renewal for my club as of today (not for too long I hope) CAA registration (airspace tax)

I use BT Cloud and I had a dialogue box open up to say it needed to update. I clicked to install the update and my Avast AV immediately blocked it and quarantined the file saying it was infected with IDP.Generic Trojan, which can nick all your vitals. This is on a Win10 laptop. In searching for info on it it seem a lot of people have had their machines trashed by this and I've had to delete BT Cloud from my laptop so I would say to everyone to make you have good AV installed. Apparently AVG catches it as well as Avast.

And when I tried to sell a boxed set on there I got a stern email saying my listing had been removed because selling knives was not allowed

I can recommend any of the Art Hobby gliders from T9 Hobbysports. Fantastic fliers although there is some building to do they are worth it. Don't worry if it says 'out of stock', they're made to order so they will be ordered then sent in a couple of weeks. I have the Odyssey 2.7m pure glider which I launch on bungee but it's very versatile and an electric version is available.

My wife played a cracker this afternoon. She got a phone call regarding the recent road accident she'd been in. Without missing a beat my wife replied "0h yes!! That one, it's too traumatic, I don't want to talk about it but thanks for your concern!!" and then rang off.

I have a 2.7m Art Hobby Odyssey full-house glider and I use 8mm cloth covered rubber bungee to launch it using 35m of bungee and 100m of 90lb monofil. It is quite a rapid start and, with marginal wind, it can run out of steam but it still gives enough height to pick out some lift. With a bit of breeze then it's fine because it kites up especially if I weave it with the rudder to keep tension as it goes up. Once it goes over the top of the climb I put it into a shallow dive then 'ping-off' to gain even more height. I also used to use it for a Bird of Time quite happily, so long as too much up wasn't held in because the original only had a centre join of 2 x 6mm rods which used to increase the dihedral by the end of the climb. I have had the red 9mm silicone bungee in the past and I found that it started to break quite often after some time in use, even though stored in the dark, and ended up knotting it together so I stick with 'roof-rack' bungee now. It's not too expensive if bought off the reel from ship's chandlers or sailing clubs.

I have an Art Hobby Odyssey glider which is produced in eastern europe and has quite a large aspect ratio so it is a very thin section at the tips which would definitely be difficult to replicate as a built up version. Also, the wing is laminated with Black Poplar. Just three coats of sanding sealer and there's no need to glass it. A very strong efficient wing that suffers homesickness when not in the sky. I know Black Poplar is light and strong because I also have a rifle that has a stock made from it.

Posted by Stefano Lodi on 01/10/2020 18:56:43: Hello, I am a beginner and I am searching for my first transmitter. The Multiplex Cockpit SX9 is among the ones I like the most. I would like to ask you three questions. 1. Would you recommend it to a beginner? 2. Being familiar with computer programming, I considered buying an Open-TX based transmitter, because apparently they have a higher performance/price ratio. Should I realise that I don't like RC flying after all, I would probably waste less money. I have two concerns, though. The first is that to fully exploit their potential, I fear I should spend a significant number of hours programming, and I would rather spend more time learning to fly than sitting at a keyboard. The second one is about the possibility that some kind of malfunction might occur in flight due to wrong patches, or wrong modifications by me. That said, the question is, again, would you recommend such devices to a beginner? 3. Finally, how good an investment is a Multiplex transmitter now, in terms of support and value over time? I have a Cockpit SX9 and I bought it a couple of years ago when I got back into the hobby. It has performed faultlessly, has all the features I am ever likely to want. I fly full house gliders, sport aerobatic and funfly planes. It is very easy to programme and takes next to no time to set up a new model. However, the receivers are quite expensive and the supply is variable at the moment so I would check this out before you commit. Only MPX rx's can be used with it. Because of this, I didn't want to put £35 + receivers into Lidl rc conversions so I bought a secondhand RadioLink AT10 which can use cheaper rx's. At the slope today a chap was flying a Pike all moulded glider and it was being guided superbly by a RadioMaster TX16. The pilot said it was very easy to programme and has a multi-protocol module so could be used with most receivers. It's much cheaper than a Cockpit SX9. It depends what models you will be flying whether it will be worth the expense of MPX receivers. Personally I love my cockpit SX9 and have complete faith in it and wouldn't want to trust my £300 glider to a cheapo receiver but, as I've said, I wouldn't want to put a 7ch DR rx in a Lidl glider.

Posted by Frank Skilbeck on 30/09/2020 13:44:30: A couple of members at our club have got motion detectors at home which set off their phones, so you will be flying with them and hear a message "motion detected", don't worry they say it will just be the wife going into the garden. I often fly on the slope with my phone in my pocket, never had any issues with programmable radios from Futaba, Spektrum, Multiplex and Jeti, while using Blackberry and Sony Android mobile phones. BTW if your transmitter is somehow getting hot then it would need power to do this, so you would probably see the battery volts/remaining mins dropping off too. Be interesting to see what phone was causing the interference too. Not sure what Multiplex Tx Brian was using, but if it was a Royal Pro/Sx or Profi you can reverse the aileron input in the aileron mixer if you enter the aileron mixer menu, highlight the aileron input and then push the Rev/Clr button, but that would take a few deliberate button pushes to get there. But it would be one thing to check on the radio in question, if the aileron input has gone from +100% to -100% that could be the cause. Otherwise if it has dual ailerons you'd have to reverse both aileron servo simultaneously. It was a Samsung Galaxy J5. I have sometimes forgotten to take my phone out of my pocket and this is the first time I've ever experienced any interference over many years. I've no idea what caused it but, now I know it can happen, I will not chance it if I can help it. As we used to say in my sky-diving days " If there's a million to one chance that something can happen then one day it will"!!

I've been wondering about the chances of starting a moorland fire during the hot dry summers we get now.

Posted by Geoff S on 29/09/2020 10:20:27: Had the memory of the transmitter been affected? ie were the controls still set up properly for the glider? It's certainly sensible to carry your mobile when out on the hill in a remote spot (although we managed without them for years - in my case I was often cycling miles from home incommunicado but now I feel vulnerable without my phone with me ). However it's a good idea to separate it and your transmitter as much as possible. Are you sure the hot transmitter and the proximity to your phone are connected? Could it simply have been hot for some other reason? eg in sunlight or switched on and covered by a jacket? Geoff Hi Geoff, I had 2 models with me and they both passed a thorough check . As for the heat, I did wonder if it was sunlight but it subsided quickly when I turned it off and didn't recur when I turned it back on again, even though it was still in sunlight. It coud have just been coincidence because I can't think what may have caused it, I've certainly never noticed any heating of the Tx before.

I know this is an old thread but I think it is relevant. Now, I must state that I aren't n elektrishun nor a tefelone enjinear so I've no idea on the causes and I'm just relating an experience I had yesterday. I was slope soaring with a buddy. No, my buddy wasn't soaring along the slope while I controlled him, he was flying his model and I was flying mine. Anyway, I had just set my glider and tx down next to my rucksack while I had a coffee break. I had switched off the glider but hadn't yet switched off the tx. The tx is a Multiplex Cockpit SX9, I've long been a fan of Multiplex and have never had a problem. I suddenly heard a strange whooshing sound, similar to the sound an all-moulded glider makes when it is being flown fast across the face of the slope. However, my buddy was flying a converted Lidl so I new it wasn't that. I then realised the sound was coming from my Tx!! I then realised that my phone was ringing in my rucksack. As soon as I answered the phone then the rushing sound stopped but, while I spoke on the phone I picked the transmitter up to turn it off and I found the right hand side of my transmitter was quite hot. It has always been my practice to leave my phone in my rucksack at the slope, or in my car at the club field rather than in my trouser pocket just in case. That was my first experience of mobile interference but it has convinced me that mobile phones and transmitters should not be in close proximity, certainly not Mpx SX anyway .

Nice to see Cliff, thanks Cliff. Bird of Time was my first, and favourite, thermal soarer. That conversion means that it can be flown as pure glider or electric, I assume the Cof G is the same?

Don't drink, don't smoke, don't......................well, at my age I've got to do something to keep my mind active.

Welcome back, I too am a returnee. I gaveup because I got fed up with needing black bin-bags. However, I kept catching myself watching thermalling Gulls so it was only a matter of time. Touch wood, there's been no disasters so far this time a couple of years back in, but I've been amazed at how far the hobby has progressed, especially with electric foamies and no need for numbered clothes pegs. I hope you can recapture the magic, as I have done. (so far)

What I can tell you is, on the full size, that inside the cowling is a duct which channelled the cooling air in between and around the cylinders instead of letting it blow straight through, so the air enters the cowling on the port side, travels between the cylinders and heads then exits through the bottom rear of the cowling. You may want to install a baffle to direct the air around the cylinder and head and have an exit port at the rear because the starboard side of your cowling is completely enclosed.

For CG, I put lead in the screw holes that retain the tail. One other thing is that the catch for the battery hatch needs a bit of velcro on it because it can get blown undone.

I fly my Acro Wot foam e using 4-Max 3s 2200 40C's and it flies beautifully.

Posted by Luther Oswalt on 04/07/2020 19:05:35: David, What engine did the Auster use? Leo The Aiglet used the DeHavilland Gipsy Major inverted inline 4cyl aircooled.

BoT was my first ever thermal soarer and, although I don't have one now, it's my favourite soarer. MMM, perhaps I should check my piggy-bank?

Also, it also depends how much you enjoy repairing. More than once I've flown successfully in challenging wind and then landed but, before I could get my hands on the model, the wind picked it up, turned it over and damaged it. Another time I'd had a good old time sloping with a Bird of Time glider at Borough Hill. This hill has a lip all around the edge. I got too close to the edge on landing and, before I could react, the roll-over turned it over and slammed it into the ground causing severe damage. So there's lots to think about.

I've recently bought and flown a Acro-Wot foam-e to take my B test with. It flew great straight out of the box and I think it is very stable. It stays straight and level but I do have to fly it and tell it where I want it to go, which it does accurately. On rates it's gentle but full rates are great fun and on 2200 3s it does everything I want. I did follow suggestions from other threads to replace the prop with a more rigid APC. In my limited experience I think it would make a good trainer for a capable student but will also see him through years of fun. A very experienced pilot in my club has one and he's had it ages and flown it nearly to death and still loves it. It's been glued back together loads of times but still going strong. Little tip, if he gets one, put a bit of velcro on the battery hatch catch, it can come undone. Edited By Geoff Copping on 18/06/2020 09:02:14

I cut my teeth aircraft engineering at Cranfield College of Aeronautics in the 60's where they used Auster Aiglets as trainers. They were powered by Gypsy Majors 4 cyl inverted inline. The red colour is the dope that was used to shrink the Irish linen before painting. Had my first experience of aerobatics in one of them when the instructors would go up for a weather check. The Cranfield ones were silver with blue flashing. Just googled Auster Aiglet Cranfield College and all four of them came up. Edited By Geoff Copping on 11/06/2020 10:11:19