Futura57

The video looks like harmless fun to me. Horizontal visibility is plenty and it's easy to moderate ones altitude to skim under the cloudbase. I've flown in worse conditions, though these days I like the extra security of some bright LEDs to gain an extra few metres if I need them. Happy New Year peeps. 20241227_102122.mp4

The bravery of our pilots chokes me up every time I watch B of B. I wonder what they would think of the country now that they saved. 😪 I salute them.

No they ain't, they're Heinkels 🤣 Who the hell's he trying to kid. You can teach a monkey to land better than that Good afternoon, my a*s. Come on, put yer hands up 🤪 (sanitised version) I love it

I've never been one for keeping a diary. Despite trying, I've never got beyond January. In the last 12 months or so I've kept a mental note of the number of flights of one particular model. My original Top Quark prototype is still un-crashed! I gave up keeping a tally after exceeding 250 flights in the Autumn. I'm joining a second club in 2025, which is a 45 minute drive from home in the opposite direction to the 30 minute drive to Epsom Downs Race Course. The new club will cost me £180 for the first year, which includes a joining fee and a gate key. Expensive compared to £10 at Epsom. My intention is to initially purchase a large model over 7.5kg and possibly move on to turbine jets. To justify all this i intend to start keeping a log of club visits and model flights to see if the new club is cost effective. In the end it will come down to how welcoming the new club is and whether it's worth making the effort beyond 2025.

Flight time of the Mig can be stretched to 4 mins if you are prepared to shutdown the fans on every downward part of a manoeuvre, but it completely spoils the jet illusion. Our club received a complaint just a few days ago that someone was illegally flying a gas turbine model at Epsom Downs. Turns out they had seen the afterburner LEDs of this Mig, which otherwise sounds very convincing. A pair of Admiral 6s 6000 lipos is £250, which is a lot for 3 minutes of power. The owner has two ammo boxes containing a dozen! Almost cheaper to buy a proper turbine model.

Yes, it is the Freewing Mig, but not mine. It flies very well, though only for a little over 3 mins on a couple of 6S 6000 lipos. My fellow member has just bought the Phantom too.

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I just took a punt on the half hour drive to Epsom Downs for a few flights. There were a few other optimists standing in the fog, but it didn't clear so we all went home after an hour with no breakages.

I wouldn't say I suffer with it. However, from time to time, maybe half a dozen times a year, I do suddenly hear a very noticeable high pitched tone for about half hour or so. It can be brought on by a cough or sneeze. I am wondering, is this how it starts? A little occasional episode which gets longer and more frequent?

Ouch! I've knocked a Stanley knife off my workbench before. My impulsive reaction was to catch it 🙄 Ouch!

Dogs. Dogs. Dogs. And small children. Our club flying site is Epsom Downs Race Course, and so is a public space. We get a lot of people coming to look at the models and asking questions, which is a very rewarding side to the hobby. We offer a free buddy flight and have acquired a few new members via their continued interest. Unfortunately we are also a magnet for dogs, mostly off a lead, when they shouldn't be. The owners insist their animals are well behaved, etc, until they walk between and over the models, sometimes damaging them. They are often not apologetic and simply walk off. I've had the wings of a small foamie separated from its fuselage in a way that wasn't intended. A friend had his rudder servo stripped earlier this year. Over the years I've had my sandwiches taken from my bag and my bag and flight box urinated on. I now carry dog repellant with me in the form of a large super soaker water pistol and a compressed air powered fog horn. They seem to have the desired effect. Although one dog owner was abusive as he approached me while I was standing guard around a friend's model while he was flying another. The barrel was pointed down and the safety was on 😉 Small children running around the models and jumping over them is also an issue sometimes. Many a time I have saved a model being trampled on by intervening when a spectator, gawping up at the flying models, unconsciously walks backwards. It's a jungle out there.

As featured in RCM&E Jan 2025 letters 😉

Neat. Typical combined weight of the green and yellow bits?

That's top of my list on my next outing. Not something I think to do very often, but should 👍 No problem. I was specifically after Assan's recommendation for their receivers, but still can't find any. Hey ho.

Thanks Guys. Mutually orthogonal is what I thought, and is how I've configured my Assan receivers for about 20 years with no issues. It's just that nowhere in the operating instructions for my Assan JR tx module and various receivers does it explicitly say. I was seeking validation here, just in case I'd been wrong all these years. I also ask because I recently had two incidents of loss of signal / control for a second or two, which came very close to trashing my Strange Quark prototype model. There are 3 possible causes which immediately come to mind, starting with the fact I had previously changed the following: A - I had just started using a high voltage GNB 4S 4500 mAh lipo to get better thrust and duration. This came with a XT90 connector which required me to solder up an adapter to use temporarily with my XT60 equipped ESC. You see, I wanted to continue usingy my existing lipos too. This adapter passed the wiggle stress test, but you never know. B - I changed the timing on my Turnigy Plush32 80A ESC, which mandates the use of a programming card. Again, I did this to try to squeeze a little more performance which, in the end, was fruitless. Anyway, this ESC is new, and about 20 flights old. Peak current draw on my 70mm EDF unit is 73A. Probably 50 to 60A for most of the flight time. In order to access the ESC throttle / programming lead I had to remove the receiver from under the battery tray and unplug it. C - Reinstalling the receiver is fiddly, with the foam packing, tight space and trying to keep the antenna mutually orthogonal. It was evident after my two scares that the two antenna were folded back like like rabbits ears. Clearly I hadn't checked properly during reinstallation. So, my top three suspicions are: 1 - Loss of rx signal due to folded antenna. 2 - A dodgy battery connection to the ESC via the XT adapter. 3 - Failing BEC on ESC. After some Googling, I can't help but have my suspicions. But here's the rub. The EDF did not throttle back at all to idle / off. This failsafe condition was set, and tested OK after the two scares! I have now lost all confidence in the setup, and don't want to risk the model. My plan is to replace the Turnigy ESC with a new HobbyWing 80A SkyWalker ESC I have, go back to my XT60 equipped lipos, and install the receiver antenna properly. If it all checks out for a few flights, then solder an XT90 to the ESC and commit to my new HV lipos. What would you do? P.s. I'm not sure I understand Phil Green's HaHa on my O/P

I'm trying to find out how I should orient the two short antenna on a X8R6 receiver for best range. I haven't yet found anything online and I've had no response to emails sent to [email protected] and [email protected] Does anyone know if they should be parallel or at right angles? Thanks. http://www.assan.cn/main/product_24Ghz_miniall_en.html

@Wilson H I hope you track down the Kavalier plan. It's a great flyer. I had two back in the 1970s. It was my first low winger. I have a picture in one of my albums. If my memory servers me correctly there was a plan offered for sale on the BMFA Classifieds earlier this year. Consider placing a wanted ad there in case it is still lurking.

Just about sums me up too 🙄

I didn't know this. Surely, though, once the stove temperature is up and the wood is burning efficiently, fresh logs are placed on top, so will burn from the bottom upwards! I've always loaded my log burners with; paper & card at the bottom, then kindling wood above, then small logs on top of that. That's how the installer showed me. I light the paper at the bottom and before you know it there are strong flames, and any initial smoke is immediately purged up the chimney and the window stays clear. It takes 20 to 30 minutes to get the stove to 450 - 500 C, during which another couple of medium sized logs are required and the air throughput can be reduced to its minimum. Thereafter, larger logs are added as required and it ticks along nicely. Works for me.

Looks a bit tail heavy 🤔

+2 for log burners. I have a 'L' shaped bungalow with a log burner very nearly at each end. 5kW and 8.5kW. I use them to properly heat the place, not for burny flamy effect. When both are going full chat I can run around in my smalls 🤣 but then it becomes a little bit more expensive than the gas central heating. Mostly we manage with a bit of both. Removing draughts was the number one problem when I moved in 11 years ago. This meant replacing pucker leaded glass windows with expensive double glazed units. I also laid 150mm loft insulation and spent a fortune on thick curtains.

I think that's what they call a test bed Simon 🙄 You sure don't make things easy for yourself. But hey, I get it, pushing boundaries and tackling those off piste projects is what gives you great satisfaction from the hobby. I admire your perseverance and have no doubt you will get the pancake to fly.

Looks like you have an infestation of giant stick insects 🤣 I look forward to seeing it finished.

Good luck. Judging by the wind outside right now, anything will fly this weekend. Already maidened are my step ladder and garden table 😱

It's difficult to fly and take pictures at the same time. Plus there's a bit of over-steer on takeoff, almost as though there is some toe-in 🤣