Christopher Wolfe

Fondest regards from down under

Looking good.

I was once asked to pick up my (maybe in the future) mother in law from the local airport and I remarked that it would be a waste of petrol as there was enough room to land a broomstick on the front lawn. Chris

Welcome to Oz Kim. Also a plus for plasterboard, I obtain mine from Bunnings). To cover it try using 'Gladbake' kitchen baking paper. I have used this for over 20 years and nothing will stick to it. I even mix epoxy on left over scraps and just peel it off when cured. Chris

NATO?

Plenty of decent balsa available down under. During last years lock-down the Australian Govt. gave many of us $250 to stimulate the local economy so off went my order to Balsa Central and a week later a big box arrived full of lovely balsa of the exact cut and density that I asked for. I did ask the company about shortages and they confirmed that some PNG plantations had been purchased by Chinese companies but there was no chance of that happening to them. I was also told that they shipped to a major UK distributor but due to the pandemic and shipping container shortages, coupled with huge container rental price rises people overseas were going to see higher prices The plantation in PNG is Australian owned by Auszac and provide jobs for the local population. I hope that your traditional builders manage to obtain some decent wood soon. Chris

Also, check that the prop is balanced and that the engine mount screws are tight. Vibration causes things to loosen so it could be a case of 'prevention is better than the cure'.

I used to check my tacho by pointing it at the TV. 300 was a good number as it meant that the tacho was working and so was the TV. * chris *

Just a linky to very cluey bloke and what he wrote about cooling of model engines Joe Supercool and principles of cooling large model engines chris

What a nice result E.D. As for 'cracked parts', my own example of a Boddo Mills cost me a whole $25 Au because the propeller driver had split on the first attempt mount a propeller. A chunk of 2024 T4 alloy, a lathe and a knurling tool soon fixed that. I did add a shim steel washer behind the prop driver as it is running as a pusher engine.

G'day E.D. You did a nice job machining the new crankcase from the solid, did you fit a bush or is the crankshaft running in the alloy? That crankshaft looks a real horror, it appears that CS only machined the running parts (saves money) but with your demonstrated talents I reckon that a new crankshaft would be within your capabilities. Regards - Chris

Here is an interesting video of a well abused engine having a bit of fun. Lazy Bee Chis

Mode 5?

I could not resist this one

Regarding storing LiPo batteries, I have found that a balance discharge to storage voltage and then placing them in the workshop fridge at about 4 degrees Centigrade preserves them such that many months later the pack voltage loss is hardly measurable. This makes sense to me as chemical activity is usually slowed down at reduced temperatures. The downside is that packs require to be removed from the fridge at least 24 hr before re-charging and use. 6S 5000mAh packs. Chris

I found this article quite useful for understanding cowlings and cooling. Cooling Large Model Engines I also fail to understand the 2-3 times intake area for an exit hole as heated air does not expand by 2 - 3 times. As Martin said above, a strategically positioned lip in a low pressure area is invaluable. Chris

The beaut thing about nylon filled plastic engine mounts is that in a sudden 'arrival' they (hopefully) give way before the engine lugs. Many vintage models used a Paxolin plate for the same reasons (and the ease of thrust-line adjustment and swapping engines) and indeed, my small model diesel engined models also use brass bolts to secure the engine as the bolts are cheaper to replace than the crankcase.

The inlet lip does affect turbine efficiency, thick and well rounded seems to be accepted practice. More info here NASA and inlets Chris

Just another Australian tv station full of ads for gambling apps and ambulance chasing lawyers. I assume that Lord Botham had his expenses well remunerated ?

More info. To quote Beefy himself Lord Botham said: “There is nothing more exciting in world sport than England and Australia battling for the Ashes. “I’m extremely excited to be spending the summer in Australia with Seven and watching England take back the Ashes.” Well, Sir Ian did indeed eat his own words Sir Ian Botham's response Enough said, it's only a game, so I'm back to the building board Best of the season to you all. Regards - Chris