steve too

Tell me that you don't understand open book tests without telling me that you don't understand open book tests.

I read it when it came out. The question is "would it happen under the current regulatory regime?". If the answer is no (and I am pretty sure that it is), then you are not making an argument against the current rules.

The 4th July 2019 incident?. If so, before the current system came into force. Lots of lessons learnt from it.

You don't need a cheat sheet. You have the drone code open in one tab and the test in another.

236k operators. That is c. £2.5M in fees. The CAA's total income is c. £180M. Our fees pay for a few quangocrats and some computer systems, but that is about it.

The CAA have just removed an exemption that they never should have granted. There is no way that an old A or B means that somebody understands the current regulations.

An HGV test would take more than 15 minutes while I have a cup of coffee on a non-flying day. The BMFA made something simple complicated. They should not have got involved with competency.

Firstly, for day use, I wouldn't bother with less than 1W. Component shop do some 1W and 3W LEDs and drivers. If you are up to programming Arduinos, you can get programmable WS2812 LED strips and clusters.

It's simple. If you are going to fly models, do the CAA competency test and get a Flyer ID. Yes, you might not need it below 250g, but it's only once every 5 years and you are sorted.

The vast majority of registered operators and remote pilots are not members of the traditional modelling associations. (CAP 3035)

Are the CAA going to change the authorisation? Because the 2025 one dated 13th December doesn't say that.

Abide by the article 16 authorisation or fly in the open category. There is a new article 16 authorisation every year.

I thank my testing regime.

Can you get a decent 3/4G mobile phone connection?

There are two arguments for this, neither is very good. 1) You have a retract servo/electric retracts that don't timeout. In this case as better solution is a bigger main battery and telemetry (or just looking at the battery voltage before and after every flight). 2) You use 2.4GHz and you want the bind/hold position for the retracts to be up (this may be mainly a DSM2 issue). In this case you can simply switch the power to the retracts.

I have never had a NiNH cell fail before I retired it. I have had a LiFe cell fail, luckily it was one of a redundant pair.

DHL = Drop them, Hide them and Lose them.

I find the flat discharge curve of the A123/LiFe to be a pain. It is nice to be able to get a decent read on the state of charge from the voltage.

If it needs nose weight (and it probably will), I would stick a 3000 ish mAh 4S NiMH pack up front and power everything from it. If it doesn't need the weight, then I would fit a 2S LiFe pack (assuming that everything will handle 7V).

The charging circuit is in the DX9, the Spektrum packs for it have built in balance boards. I made a 3000 ish mAh Li-Ion pack for my DX9. When it drops to c. 7.5V, I take the cover off and balance charge it.

The fanciest glow starter that I ever saw was an RCATS. A clubmate with more money than sense had one. For the stick aficionados, there is the Start Com Premium for £58. Somewhere, I have a South Herts onboard glow, that does monitor the plug, that I never got around to using. I am tempted to see if I can use it as a starter.

My XL4015 is set at 1.25V and cannot be fiddled with at the field. My D cell produces 1.2V unless it is hot off charge. My onboard sub C a bit less as I lose c. 0.1V over the opto switch. All start the glow.

IIRC, the business with XL4015 regulator and indicator module started a few years ago when somebody wasn't happy with glow sticks and wanted indication... When the sub C battery for my stick died, I didn't replace it. Regulator or D cell for me.

Ships from the rebel North American colonies... Indeed. It is worth having voltage indication on the LiPo and checking it from time to time.

Something like a 10-20C 3000 mAh 3S then. Or buy three tagged lithium ion cells around that size and make a pack (check the discharge, some Li-Ion cells are low discharge) PS HK have this https://hobbyking.com/turnigy-5000mah-3s-20c-lipo-pack-w-xt-90.html .