Andy-H

Thanks again.

Thanks Leccy, that’s very helpful. TBH, I’m only 6 months into my 3d journey and thus far have only been using PLA and designing on Tinkercad. I’ll include some PETG in the next batch of filament I buy and have a go at printing a spinner in the manner you’ve suggested and see how it comes out. Current requirement is only for a sports model, though, so no big deal if I use a commercial unit.

Thanks - I think that tells me all I need to know ! I’ll stick with commercial spinners.

I rather like the idea of the pointy spinners that are a bit longer than those generally available so wondered about making my own. Is there anything I ought to be aware of when creating a bespoke spinner on a 3d printer ? Any words of wisdom (or caution) would be much appreciated. Many thanks.

Many thanks both. I’ve also found I already have an engine mount that fits as well as a fuel tank, both unused so looks like it’s all systems go !

Could I ask, by way of a sense-check, would an OS 48 four stroke be a reasonable fit in a UNO Wot ? A 40fs might be preferable but I don’t have one of those, whereas I do have a 48fs ! My old trusty UNO Wot originally had a 25FP years ago, then I converted it electric and I’m now thinking it might be fun to give it a new lease of life with a four stroke. Many thanks.

TBH, if you watch the SpektrumRC YouTube videos on setting up AS3X, you’ll see the various orientation options available. IIRC, the main caveat seems to be that it won’t work if the Rx is mounted across the fuselage.

Looking at a Wots Wot I’m building, which I believe shares the same firewall dimensions, the indent is 46/47mm from the top of the ply facing, and central on the horizontal plane.

If you take a close look at the firewall, it usually has a 1/16” ply facing which, if fitted the right way round, has a small indent in the middle, indicating the motor datum line.

And Happy Birthday from me too !

The covered airframe weighs 1.29kg, excluding any radio gear. In fairness, I covered it in solartex when originally I built it, . If it flys well, I might consider recovering with a lighter finish, but let’s see it back in the air first. Power setup recommended up as mentioned earlier.

Many thanks for the advice. I’ll perhaps start at 5’ and see how that works. I bought myself a 3d printer a couple of months ago, so I’ll see if I can print myself a replaceable motor mount to give the flexibility of printing others with a bit less or a bit more downthrust, depending on how it goes. It’ll be great to see it fly if this idea works. Good idea about mixing in elevator trim with the throttle - I’ve only just started playing around with mixing so will look that up. Rog, power setup recommended was a 3541-810 brushless motor with a 50A ESC, 12x8 folding prop and a 3S 2200 lipo. Thanks again. Andy

That’s in line with my initial thoughts, but then I noticed quite a few electric glider plans note a certain amount of downthrust. I just wondered why.

Some 40 years ago, I built a Miri 120 glider which apart from a couple of initial flights has sat in the loft ever since. I’d like to get it flying again. George at 4-Max has advised on an electric conversion setup, for self-launching, but I’m wondering about how much downthrust to use for the motor installation. With the tail plane and rear boom set broadly level, the main wing seems to have around 3’ positive incidence. I was thinking of something around 7’ downthrust and 3’ right thrust, based on looking at a few electric glider plans on Outerzone. Does that sound about right ? can’t imagine it’s hugely critical as it’s only for self-launching, but would be good to have some experienced advice before I start. Many thanks.

Just testing …..

Hi Clive. I have an old one of these in my shed, awaiting a healthy dose of TLC. I picked it up last year when a local modeller gave up the hobby due to health reasons and his family were clearing out his garage. I have some of the building manual with pictures but I don’t have any drawings, I’m afraid. Mine has the wrong spinner but the front of the cowl suggests a 50mm spinner might well have originally been fitted. The top of the rudder is missing on mine, above the fin, but I can give you a few measurements for the main part, if that’s of any help. Measured from the hinge line, the rudder is 80mm wide at its widest point, which is about 80mm from the bottom of the rudder. The rudder then gradually narrows to about 45mm at the top of the fin. As the top of my rudder is missing, I’m afraid you’ll have to guesstimate that bit. If you play around with a French curve, I’m sure you should be able to come up with something that’s about right. If by the large nose cone, you mean the cowl that forms the front of the fuselage and covers the engine, look up the eBay seller Steve1590 who makes & sells cowls that fit Chris Foss models. I’ve an idea he can also supply a front cowl for the d’Agostini Spitfire. I think his are a bit longer than the original but possibly better looking. Alternatively, I think Vortex-vacforms can supply cowls and cockpit canopies for this model. Hope this helps.

So I finally chickened out of building a Lion field pack in favour of buying a 50Ah 12v Lifepo4 battery, due to be delivered today. Before buying a suitable charger from the same company, I thought I would try out the chargers I already have, namely a ToolkitRC charger which has a setting for charging LiFe batteries (set the cell count for voltage) or alternatively, I have CTEK MXS 5.0 car battery charger which charges at 14.4v and then float charges at 13.6v. Any thoughts, advice or experience on charging this type of battery, and whether I should use a purpose built lifepo4 charger or something such as I’ve mentioned above ?

Thanks for the suggestion but the problem still persists. I suspect the charger’s USB socket has gone awry. Most of the updates though seem to relate to other countries so at least the unit still operates.

Both good practical suggestions, thank you. I have ordered a spot welder as mentioned above, which seemed less likely to cause heat damage.

Thanks all. Will mull it over - on the one hand a diy pack Li-ion pack would be cheaper & lighter, but with risks associated with soldering 30+ battles together. On the other, it would be simple to just buy a couple of 30ah Life batteries which are fairly small. Very interesting to hear others’ views on the subject.

I’ve been reading up on this forum about assembling a battery pack from li-ion cells for field charging, say 6S5P to give me 24v 30ah capacity or 6S8P for 40ah. I can understand why they are preferable and potentially safer than using big lipo packs. However, my concern is I believe e-bike batteries use this type of battery and there’s lots of press coverage about them catching fire. The alternative might be to use a couple of LiFePO4 leisure batteries, but they would be heavier. Is the difference that e-bike batteries tend to be fast charged, which is when problems can arise, whereas a battery pack for field charging use is likely to be slow charged ?

As it happens, this Spit was heading for a skip if I didn’t take it ……..

Thanks All. Interesting idea around separate treatments for the open and sheeted areas. I did think it might be worth installing independent servos for each aileron, but plenty of food for thought. Fortunately, although I don’t have the plan, I do have all of the magazines covering the build sequence, so I can see how it was put together. This will be one of my winter projects so once under way, I’ll post some pics. Thanks for your help and advice, much appreciated as ever.

I’ve recently been given an old model Spitfire by someone who has given up the hobby due to health reasons. It’s in need of a lot of TLC as the original covering (shiny iron on film ) is peeling badly so it really needs to be recovered. I’m also intending to convert to electric (from Leo 2 stroke motor) in the process. The model was built from a DeAgostini weekly magazine kit. Wings are built up with front & rear sheeting and open structure capped ribs in the middle. Rudder & tail surfaces are built up. Fuselage seems to be fully sheeted. Wingspan it’s c.56” This would be my first attempt at a warbird (my experience is mainly with building Mr Foss models) and I’m very taken with the Warbirds Replica approach but I think the open structures probably wouldn’t suit a brown paper solution. I would hate to spoil the model by duffing the finish so would really appreciate advice on ideas for replacing the original shiny film. Your thoughts & advice would be most welcome. Many thanks.

Thanks Both. E.D. - that sounds like a very practical solution, so much appreciated. Jon, it was your guidance that informed my understanding of tank location in the first place, so that’s very helpful. I’ll move the back tank into a position where I can set it the correct level.