toto

So ..... here we are again ..... Friday .... the weather has been favourable for most of the week with some lovely blue skies .... albeit with a degree of light wind. Battery charging duties are complete with my tranny's being done last night and Lipo's the night before. A quick look over my Supercub and all is good. Wind forward to Saturday morning ..... what are we going to get ? So far all is good. I have a date for eleven o'clock at the East Fortune flying field with my mentor, Cub and no less than eight suitable battery packs ....... the big question is ..... how many will I get to use. Circuits, circles, figure eights, aborted approaches, landings ........ the big question is ....... Will I be able to improve enough to enable a questimate as to how far I am to achieving my first attempt at a solo flight. ..... Its that challenge and mindset that forges me on and provides the target / goal I need to make me try to push myself and improve ..... we all need a goal. Stay tuned in for my field report on my success or failure. Hope you all have a great flying weekend. Toto

I did think of that. Just need some carbon rod. I'll look into it...... still a very weak joint ... given the position. Toto

I decided to go out into the shed and have another look at the Beaver damage. Took the damaged half of the horiontal stabilisor off .... leaving the undamaged half on .... here is where it broke off. Couldn't have been in a more awkward place. right beside the plastic slotty inny bit. and here it is again.... I took the hairy hinges out that I had previously tried to fit in order to start again..... and again .... its a mess ..... i need to bridge that split with something to strengthen the join ..... and once thats done ..... refit some new hinges in the fresh area along both edges avoiding the previous hinge slots. the red tape marks the spot for the new hinges to be slotted into the wing. Thats where I am for now ....... nothing to lose by trying the repair. If its not good then I will await the new part to come toto

Hi grumpy, apologies missed your post there. I may try my mentor and see what he thinks. just a little bit reluctant to hit him with any more really. His time on flying is already a big commitment I feel. toto

I have managed to source a horizontal stabilisor from Hobbyland and they have taken my order based on UK shipping with no issue. lets see if this one makes it through and how long it takes. hopefully not just pouring good money after bad. I just want to have the model airworthy again. fingers crossed. toto

Which is fine if you are confident enough to do the fix. I made a bit of a dogs dinner of trying before and whilst still having the original parts, suspect it's beyond repair. .... at least by me anyway. Cheers Toto

The Beaver is a lovely big model and flys off 6s's. Nice weight so does not get pushed around in the wind so much. I still maintain the horizontal stabilisor was flawed as it gave up a few feet in the air prior to landing. Not much point chasing FMS or the dealer on it though as the spares just aren't available in the UK. I have replacement dubro wheels for it as the stock items are brick hard and the undercarriage is as soft as cheese and always bends no matter how good the landing. The inflatables will help with that but I'm not wasting time fitting them until I am sure that she will be able to fly again. FMS need a good stiff kicking in my opinion...... maybe a Scottish attitude problem though. Toto

Repairs ..... hmmmmm ..... Resist I shall try ..... Still awaiting the release of a horizontal stabilisor for an other wise perfect FMS Beaver ...... that's nearly a year now ..... not impressed with the FMS spares availability at all. .... so far a waste of nearly £ 500.00 I still live and hope. Toto

Fair ..... and probably sensible suggestion. My Otter is in the way at the moment though so maybe just a case of dismantling the wings and placing on an available rack space. Keep the supercub on the stand instead. Can't speak highly enough of the supercub ..... especially for beginners ....... in my opinion. Never gave space enough real though when I was in accumulating mode. Still ..... plenty replacement models when one inevitably bites the dust. They'll all keep. Toto

Hi Nigel, It maybe depends on where you buy it. I dare say they will be getting cloned as well. I usually buy from Axminster tools who are a dealer for Proxxon from memory. I have the table saw, pillar drill and foam cutter. As well as a blow torch and mini hand saw. All have been pretty good. Like most other brands you have to watch the " fences " as they are maybe not 100% stable but in my opinion ...... better than most. Expensive but pretty good. Toto

It's also been about space as well. Just not enough to have several projects on the go at any one time. Maybe a good thing in my case or there would be more models than I am actually ready to fly. Sort of keeps a semi sensible lid on things. Must admit though, I am more than happy to stand by my supercub at the moment whilst I learn. A great model. Toto

So ........ as I concentrate on my flying .... a couple of projects have taken a back seat as there is no realistic opportunity to use them. But ..... they have not been forgotten. first up ...... the Twin Otter built ... initial testing and some settings in the TX ...... will require a full update to test settings and exchange between my NX8 and NX6 for buddying. Not likely to happen until I have attained solo ..... and flew the hell out of my current trainer ...... the PA 18 supercub .... ( great model ). Next up ....... My Tiger 3 from Phoenix models ..... I had issues with this getting the control rods to align without severe stress ( in terms of routing between servo and control surface ) So butchered it ( rightly or wrongly ) in order to improve the lineage. and ..... so I need to revisit this and install the rods etc and get it working smoothly with the stress before recovering it. I have oracover stuff of the correct colours to do that. lately, I have not had the time or inclination to do either ..... but now the lighter nights are coming in I am getting my enthusiasm back to do both. So these projects shall be revived in their respective build ( ahem ) assembly posts. Spring summer is here. toto

And still worth the post. We all seem to experience different situations and I'm glad to hear all. thanks for the post. toto

In the shed ..... Batteries on charge ..... 4 no ... John Smiths in hand ..... 2 no ... Toto ..... 1 no ...

Another for Proxxon ..... Great tools. Toto