David Davis 2

The number on my BE2e is on the fuselage, below the tailplane.

PS. In my view a Laser 75 would be too big and powerful for a Southerner Major. My Big Guff is a foot bigger in the wingspan, has a fully sheeted fuselage and weighs eight pounds. It is powered by a Laser 62 and it cruises about at half throttle. An OS 48 Surpass would fly it I'm sure. Diacov/Diatex is an option if you want an iron-on material but it's quite pricey and only available in an unbleached linen colour.

Thank you for all of the replies gentlemen, you've convinced me to go for tissue over doculam on both models. I've already got several metres of doculam but I've only used it on test panels so far and I've used it with cellulose dope as the adhesive. What are the pros and cons of using WBPU varnish and cellulose dope? Bear in mind that both models will be using i/c engines.

Have you seen any of the videos?

The prototype was originally flown on a Micron 19 two stroke glow. With such an engine you'd have a nice basic trainer. Maybe even a 15 would power it. I expect that the model would weigh 3-3.5lbs so an electric set up producing 225-275 watts should fly it nicely. In La Coupe we over-power the models enormously. The maximum sized two stroke is a 35, the maximum sized four stroke is a 56 and the maximum power permitted for an electric motor is a whopping 825 watts! They have tightened up on the rules concerning electric motors in recent years. Currently the maximum sized battery permitted is a 6000mAh 4S and propellers are limited to a maximum of 13 inches in diameter. I am currently running an OS 52 Surpass but I've just bought a Laser 50 which I plan to use next year. It will not be as competitive as the OS and it's much heavier so I'll have to build an new aeroplane with a shorter nose but it will be fine to have a British engine in a Baron with British markings flown by a British pilot! There's another Englishman who plans to fly in the competition next year with a Baron powered by a Merco 35!

I must admit that my head has been turned but it's a more complicated build than the Dr1. At the moment my work benches are occupied by Frans' Radio Queen and the Galaxy Mystic. Once they and the Auster are out of the way I should start on the Dr1.

Despite having three models in build, two to repair and five unopened kits on my shelf I find the prospect of buying and building a Dancing Wings Albatros DIII rather alluring. They did paint those DIIIs in such pretty colours didn't they! The model has an 1800mm wingspan, weighs five kilogrammes, and the recommended engine size is 20-30cc. This seems like overkill to me. Has anybody built one of these models? Does anybody think that a 90 four stroke would power it?

Shame you never got to see the Cessna in the air DD, you made a fine job of it.

The weather forecast down south looks like Gotterdamerung this weekend. Consequently the organisers have postponed the event to some unspecified date in September.

I have been promised a beautifully built standard Baron wing which I could fit to the Ukrainian Baron, which crashed last week, and use that as a test bed for the Laser. The existing owner has built another wing with ailerons for his Baron. I have modified both of my Barons by using basswood for the longerons and of course my OS 52 FS Surpass is heavier than the OS 35 AX which is the engine of choice for those who hope to win La Coupe Des Barons. Of course, the use of basswood for the longerons makes the model heavier than standard. That said, the Ukrainian Baron went in last week and broke the wing but the fuselage survived and the British one crashed from height during last year's competition with the same result. I fear that the extra weight of the Laser may make the Baron a poor flyer in which case I'll stick with the OS. Sopwith Pup anyone?

I have been practicing every day this week and now have the engine and model sorted out. I have tried various props ranging from a 12x6 to a 10x8 but I can't say that I've noticed much difference in the performance of the model. Essentially there are two slow speed and two high speed events in La Coupe Des Barons and I was hoping that a change of propeller would make a discernible difference but that does not seem to be the case so I'll stick with a 12x6 or 11x7. I'm very impressed by the OS 52 FS Surpass. After fiddling about with push-rod lengths, carburettor adjustments and transmitter settings I now have a very slow tick over, excellent transition and plenty of revs at WOT, mind you, I am using 16% nitro fuel. I have also mixed in some down elevator at 75%-100% WOT. If anything there's a little too much because I have to hold in a little up elevator at maximum speed but I find this a bit easier than pushing in down elevator, the Baron has a Clark Y wing section remember. However, it nearly caught me out on the first take off after I'd set the elevator-throttle mix. I took off, moved the elevator stick to the neutral position and pushed the throttle stick to its maximum position. Suddenly the nose dipped! The model had not attained maximum speed of course and suddenly it was getting a down elevator signal! Oh how we laughed but I held it, throttled back a bit and the model climbed away. I'm really looking forward to this year's Coupe. I have a busy day in prospect because I am singing in and compering an Open Mic night this evening. So far there are eight acts that want to perform. I may fit a new cowling to the Baron and give it a test flight tomorrow but I don't think I'll go flying today. PS. Jonathan Harper has advised me that the new larger silencers are less restrictive than the old silencers fitted to the Laser 50s and 75s. That's good! I hate noisy engines.

Maybe the title on the box is a printing error. Images of the BE2a and the Be12a below for clarification.

Good morning Pete and welcome from me too. If you join a club they frequently have a club trainer with linked transmitters, a so-called buddy box system, which you could use to learn the basics of r/c flight before transitioning on to your Ranger.

Dunno. I won't be doing much inverted flying in La Coupe!

We have a club mower which stays in the chairman's private garage. When we need to cut the grass an email is sent out asking for volunteers to cut the grass with their own mowers. Usually 4-6 members turn up and with the club's mower as well, the job gets done in less than two hours. Everybody leaves with full petrol tanks.

+ 1 for the Astro Hog. Or how about an Uproar? Stick built, symmetrical wing section, finished runner up in the European Aerobatic Championships in 1959. The plan is available on The Outerzone. There are three different versions: https://outerzone.co.uk/search/results.asp?keyword=Uproar. There is also a short-kit of the Uproar by Belair Models now being marketed by SLEC: https://www.belairdigital.co.uk/detail.asp?id=1029. My Uproar is pictured below. Then there are Chris Olsen's low wing designs, the Uplift and the Upset: https://outerzone.co.uk/search/results.asp?keyword=Chris+Olsen

Hang on a minute chaps! Ernie referred to the Fokker EIII in his original post. The Fokker EIII was a shoulder wing monoplane with wing warping which dominated the air from early 1916 to the late summer of that year. It was not an outstanding aircraft but it was the first aeroplane to be armed with a machine gun capable of firing through the propeller arc, consequently it was very effective particularly against slower reconnaissance aircraft. Now I know that all threads drift but this one has gone on to discuss the paintwork on much later Fokker fighters. As far as I'm aware, the EIII was simply covered in natural linen then given several coats of clear dope to seal the fabric, so you may use your new airbrush Ernie!

The interesting thing about the switch that failed in the Boomerang was that it was not a conventional switch. It took the form of a mini jack plug and socket. You removed the plug from the socket just before flight and reconnected it after the flight. I bought two of them from a model shop in Waterloo of all places but I've thrown the second one away and replaced it with an expensive electronic switch. The problem with the electronic switch is that there's no charging lead or socket so you have to disconnect the battery from the switch to charge it up!

I took the Boomerang to the flying field last week with my trainee Frans. I had replaced my beloved Enya 50 with an OS 46 AX which I had bought at a car boot sale for just a few Euros. It didn't have a silencer but I found one that fitted from among my souvenirs. I test flew the model and landed it. Then we bound the transmitters together and attempted to fly it but we had no response to control inputs. Back in my workshop we discovered that the switch had failed. It's a good job that it failed on the ground and not in mid air.

I'm not an engineer but I don't think so.

We took the Boomerang to the flying field yesterday as the weather was so fine. I had fitted an OS46 AX which I had picked up for a song from a car boot sale sans silencer but I had never flown the model with this engine before. I had fitted a silencer from amongst my souvenirs and started the engine. The model flew well, the OS providing ample power. Having landed the model we bound the two transmitters together and found that model did not respond to control inputs. After faffing about for a while we gave up, I had one practice flight with the Baron and then we returned to my workshop where we found out that the switch had failed. It's a good job that it failed on the ground and not in mid flight.

We are going to repair the Radio Queen.

Good day gentlemen. For the past three years I have been trying to teach my Belgian friend Frans how to fly. We have been using three aircraft: two vintage models, a Junior 60 and a Radio Queen both electric powered and the club's Seagull Boomerang powered by an OS46AX. Three weeks ago I thought I had succeeded when Frans soloed the Radio Queen for the first time. Since then he has flown the Radio Queen three times and crashed it twice on take-off. I think that the first crash was caused by him trying to haul the model off the ground with inadequate speed. It stalled and was extensively damaged. Yesterday we had three flights with the model. I test-flew it to check that all was well after the repairs and apart from a few adjustments of trim the model flew splendidly. We then rebound the receiver to Frans's transmitter because he is Mode 1 and I am Mode 2. He managed to take off but when in the air he seemed to use inputs which were too coarse as the model was zooming about the sky in an uncontrolled manner. I talked him into reducing power and then he managed to fly the thing normally once things had calmed down and he affected a good landing. On the next take-off the model veered off to the left and ended up in a tree. We were able to retrieve it with a bamboo pole in the undercarriage but at the last minute it slipped free of the pole and crashed to the ground causing more extensive damage. Learning to fly is not a linear process but it appears that Frans is going backwards and losing confidence. When I was learning I cannot recall having a problem with taking off. You pushed the stick forward watched the model accelerate, waited for the tail to start flying, a little more speed, then a dab of up elevator if necessary and it's airborne but I had a free flight and control-line background so had some understanding of basic aerodynamics something which modern beginners do not have. We plan to meet up on Saturday and fly the Boomerang. The weather forecast is good but the club is holding an EGM In the morning so we may expect a fair turnout. Non-flying pilots sit out in nice weather about thirty metres from the runway. If one of Frans's take-offs goes pear shaped I fear that someone could be injured. So what's the solution? Back to the buddy box? Another instructor? I have been a club-level instructor for over twenty-five years but I am at my wit's end in this situation.

I may well try running my OS 52FS Surpass on the new low oil Laser fuel. If it goes off bang, I have a spares engine damaged in a crash which I could use for internal parts. It might give me an edge in La Coupe Des Barons! They're planning on having all of the four strokes compete in the same group this year, the sound of up to ten four strokes in the air at the same time could be very pleasant. However, I'll continue to run my old Lasers on 15% oil mix. The new low oil fuel certainly generates less oil residue. I use it with a Laser 70 in an Acrowot and a Laser 80 in a large Kadet Senior ARTF clone.

There are now no beginners at my club but the last two, who must have had their first flights four years ago both said, "It's not as easy as it looks is it!" And that was when there was no wind with a very stable model. It's just like riding a bike. Once you've learned you never forget.