Andy-H

I have only just seen this - thanks. Hadn’t heard about these gadgets so I’ll try one.

The Magnatilla plan is available again on EBay so for the sake of a tenner, I’ve ordered a copy. Alongside my mk2 puppeteer plans, I ought to be able to put something together, particularly if I can buy a ready cut rib set. At the same time, Four strokes in the 48/52ish range seem to crop up quite frequently and are a notable margin less expensive that larger engines so it’s probably a good plane & motor combination to start with. Building a Magnatilla wing would also give me some useful experience for when I get round to building the Puppeteer.

Thank you - well spotted !

Thanks both, that looks to be line with my own findings. Having checked the plans in the puppeteer kit with an image I’ve found for the Magnatilla, extrapolating dimensions from one to t’other shows they are broadly similar. Should be fairly straightforward to scratch build something workable.

Does anyone have both a Flair Puppeteer and a Magnatilla ? If so, do the main fuselage dimensions appear to be broadly similar ? They both use same dia cowl, and the fuselages are balsa covered at the front and built up at the rear. I’m kicking ideas around for a four stroke project. I ask as a laser cut rib set for the Magnatilla (mk 2 version) I can be bought through eBay. From the info I’ve found, it looks as though Flair used a similar construction approach for both models and they have a similar wingspan. Although Magnatilla mk 2 plans don’t seem to be available anywhere, I have an untouched Puppeteer Mk 2 kit and am wondering if I could use the Puppeteer plans as a proxy template to build a Magnatilla wing and use the fuselage parts as a template for the main components, adapted to take account of the different wing location. An EBay vendor does offer plans for the Magnatilla, but they are for the mk 1 which is smaller. Also, out of stock. Many thanks.

Thanks Jon. You are absolutely right. I could easily fall into the trap of buying cheap, then buying twice ! Point about old Lasers noted. My mind is set on a modern engine with the rounded rocker cover. If I have to wait for the right motor to turn up and it costs a bit more, so be it. Same principle with other makes, go for a good one. I know what you mean about the videos, though. TBH, I’m only interested in the nuts and bolts aspect, to see how they are put together. If you know how they work, you can fix em if they go wrong. A bit like kit building, when it crashes, you can repair it.

Thanks - that was a very helpful question as it’s made me think about what I’m trying to achieve. I have an old Acrowot fuselage looking for something to do, so first step will probably be to adapt that for a four stroke and find a suitable new or lightly used engine. I guess that needs a 65/70 size. Further down the line, I am taken with the idea of an Astro Hog so I would hope the 65/70 engine might go in there afterwards. Either pick up a second hand model or build from a plan this winter, possibly to 90% of original size to give a span c.65” which I would think ideal for a 65/70. Full size might need an 80. I saw a guy flying a Hog at Chobham Common many years ago, doing big sky aerobatics and I’ve hankered after one ever since. Have only recently returned to the hobby so one step at a time. Later on, I will look for something a bit more used to tinker with, really to understand how these engines are put together. YouTube is a very helpful resource.

By way of context, I’m planning on buying a couple used motors to take apart, clean up and reassemble. Just to get a better idea of how they work. Hence asking about gaskets and thanks for the ideas, Paul. Then, I came across a thread elsewhere on this forum talking about Lasers using low oil fuel whist other makes needing a higher oil content, which caused me to wonder whether Lasers generated less oily exhaust residue, so many thanks Jon for your advice. I’ll probably look for a couple of engines that are either as new or lightly used to put to use in an airframe. No fixed ideas just yet, all depends on what comes up.

Me again. Can I ask what folk do for replacement gaskets if a four stroke motor needs striping & cleaning ? I’m assuming old gaskets are likely to tear during disassembly. Are spares available or is there a DIY way of making new ones ? Also, I’ve seen reference to using a low-oil fuel with Laser engines. Does that mean Laser engines are less messy than other brands or am I misinterpreting this ?

Same here, but it was worth asking……. BTW was using the original cable plus tried several others. I think the usb socket (or associated internal gubbins) is faulty Thanks all.

The error message shuts down the usb port on the pc which means the device isn’t recognised and doesn’t show in File Explorer. My understanding is firmware updates usually rectify glitches rather adding new features which why I thought it worth trying to update.

I suspect something has gone awry with the main board of my lipo charger, but worth floating this issue in case anyone might know of a solution. I have several Toolkitrc chargers, one of which is an M6DAC which can be ac or dc powered. Firmware updates are undertaken via on board USB-C socket to a pc port using a fairly standard usb cable. Whilst this worked when first bought in 2022 (so now out of warranty) it updated without any problem. However, when I tried to do so recently, the pc gives a current surge error message. Same thing trying with a different pc. Interestingly, when I plug it into a usb hub which has an independent power supply, the power light on the hub goes out, even when the hub isn’t connected to the pc. Have also tried several different cables. No solutions shown on YouTube or through Googling so I guess there’s a hardware problem associated with the on board usb port. It is charging and discharging properly but I just can’t update the software. No issues updating my other chargers. Anyone else had a similar issue and any suggested solutions ? Many thanks.

Thanks all - understood.

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Thanks again. As regards fuel, Jon suggested above using fuel with 5% nitro & 15% fully synthetic oil content. Is this a stock off the shelf product or would it need to be specially ordered ? I called SMC with a general enquiry and they suggested Duraglow 5% or 10% but that seems to have 6% castor oil content which I’m keen to avoid.