Simon Lumsdon 1

Thanks all and thanks Martin, some great points here. I can certainly fly my Panics nose into the sky along the field and get the point being made. One observation is our field orientation means the plan is usually point towards the pilot on landing so dont get that side perspective, maybe i should bring the model closer in and practise a more nose up approach. I think i generally let models sink/glide in which means a fast landing and running out of room. Starting to realise i need to fly them in, will try some nose up slow passes perhaps

Thanks Brian, i know how to use throttle for height but think i am too scared of stalling to use the elevator for speed, need to practise this

Just maidened an old Mustang ARTF (jamara spirt of America) with a 90 asp fs which flew beautifully, not overpowered but really steady and enjoyable. BUT my landings were dreadful, i tried to wheel it in but it ended up pitching down and breaking the ridiculously weak undercarriage. I can do a nice slow approach over the field boundary but dont seem to be able to judge the elevator control to land her horizontal, seems to touch down slightly nose down at which point it digs in? CG and wheel position is fine, its pilot error. Most of my landings take half the strip to get the height/position right, then a good landing but run the danger of running out of room. What am i doing wrong? Need some advice on landings pls many thanks simon

Thanks JD, yes that all makes sense, i always reinforce firewalls and glass the fuel tank area. Am planning an os fs 26 which should be plenty power wise. havent tried rhino tape, is that like duct tape?

Have just picked one of these off ebay and want to convert to IC power, thinking os 26 fs. Q. Does anyone have any experience of this model and any advice on switching to ic power. Will the airframe be strong enough i also notice cowl is plastic and might melt from heat from an fs engine? many thanks simon

I will go for OS 52 FS and OS 40 F boring but bulletproof

Agree with above comments, i use silencer extension pipes and they do work well, modern synthetic fuels are less messy and a quick spray from a bottle of water ans washing up liquid and a quick wipe down is all you need

Hello, need some advice pls Have a large quite flimsy GF cowl for a large old Mustang ARTF kit which i had to cut along the underside to fit, feels like it needs another layer of GF to stiffen it up somewhat i have various cloth weights and z poxy finishing resin, brushes and some experience question is how to glass out the inside of the cowl without spoiling the outside and getting the cloth evenly spread? My first thought is to brush expoy onto inside of cowl and then lay pieces of cloth into cowl but experience warns me this will end up a sticky mess all advice welcomed thanks simon

I built a garden workshop earlier this summer and had similar questions about construction which felt quite daunting. Ended up building it all myself and really enjoyed the experience. Base, concrete base, DPM and then a 4x2 frame laud flat, 50mm celutex foam inlaid and 18mm ply floor with the DPM wrapped round Walls, 4x2 frames, 50mm insulation, 12mm ply on outside, wrapped in membrane, then 1” battens and clad in shiplap, inside 9mm ply lining Roof, 4x2 rafters, 50mm insulation, 18mm ply roof coating in bitumen paint and good roofing felt, 9mm ply lining on internal ceiling. Purchased 2 wooden kit windows and a B&Q door and frame. Probably overbuilt but everyone has been very complementary and it hasnt leaked yet.

Dont overthink it, this engine should just run. Prime the engine by placing finger over exhaust (assuming you are using a pressurised tank) or carb and flip prop a few times, this should draw fuel into engine easily. Make sure glow plug is on a separate battery to electric starter assuming you are using one and its charged. First guess its the plug. Try again and good luck.

Well a few thoughts come to mind 1) the gap should be between .04 and .1mm so perhaps open the gaps up a tad just in case this is affecting compression 2) find a piece of rubber tuning that will fit over the needle valve snugly, this should prevent air leaking in and the needle moving 3) try a different plug, they wear out! This engine should fire on the button (needle valve wound out three turns as a starting point) so something is wrong Prop sounds fine Good luck

+1 on comment RE OS FP 40, very docile engine, reasonably powerful, easy starter and no bearings to worry about either 🙂

I have an SC 61A and had lots of trouble getting a reliable idle (spend time getting the low speed needle right) and it still doesnt like a quick throttle up, i suspect the large intake bore is the reason, lots of power but poor throttle up? Last time out i was contemplating adding some expo to the servo, once at 1/4 throttle its almost full power, very on off. I will have to give this a go since otherwise its a fine engine and once adjusted has been worth the effort

Completely agree with John, similar to cycling mag reviews, you need to read carefully for one questioning comment hidden in the detail which essentially says the product isnt any good

Interesting, reassembled engine last night, now all nice and smooth. Noticed the crank has a hole and feed into the back of the helical gear, i assume to lubricate it past the shielded bearing (which they make a big thing of in that ad, mentioned in first column also). Agree with your point on stainless bearings, will try that next time. Need to ensure i run engine dry at end of the day and use after run oil each time.