Tim Kearsley

Anyone know where in the UK you can buy Dubro spinners? Cheers, Tim.

Hi Eric, Just noticed this thread.  I'm G4WFT, though only active on VHF/UHF (70 cm mostly).  It's nice to know there are a few of us interested in model flying too though! Cheers, Tim.

John, for what it's worth, I also have a Seagull Extra 300 fitted out with Hitec HS55 servos and Spektrum radio and have never had the slightest problem with interference. I appreciate you probably don't want to spend out money on new radio gear but I reckon you'd find 2.4 GHz equipment would eradicate your problem.  It's not just that it's so much higher in frequency, where there tends to be less interference anyway but the spread-spectrum technology makes interference virtually obsolete. If you want to stick to 35 MHz gear then Eric's suggestion of putting ferrite rings on the leads is sound as a first experiment.  Tim.

Thanks for the comments Kelvin.  Mounting a larger spinner is an interesting idea.  I just watched the Youtube video you linked to - that's a very lazy hand-launch the guy gives it, but it pulls away very well! Cheers, Tim.

Thanks again Scott.  Yes, I have strengthened the motor mount area, after reading a few opinions that the mount was prone to fall apart!  I filleted the joints with epoxy and I've epoxied a diagonal strip of ply up each side of the mount. Tim.

Thanks very much for the info Scott.  I thought it might be more troublesome to remove the spinner.  I was looking at the spinners that Graupner make, apparently specifically designed for electric power.  What I wasn't clear about however was whether you still need a separate prop adapter or whether the spinner is in effect a prop adapter as well? Tim.

Hi all, I'm close to completing the build of a Ripmax Spitfire - just fitted an MVVS 3,5/1200 motor and doing the final tidying up.  I don't like the look of the plastic spinner included in the kit, mainly because it seems to me that if you use a collet type prop adapter you need to dismantle the spinner assembly (and it's glued together) to remove the prop. I'm not experienced in using/fitting spinners as this is the first model I've made which uses one!  What are the options for an electric-power model and in particular what would be suitable for the Spit? Cheers, Tim.

Hi Chris, Well I've only tried the FlyCamOne V2 and it has some very good points and a few bad ones! Good points: Decent resolution - 640 X 480 on video and 1280 X 1024 for still images Uses a standard SD card to record on - up to 2GB cards are supported.  This will give you longer duration than you are likely to need on one flight - see the problem with cold weather in the bad points though! Light - only 37g Inexpensive - £45 Bad points: Many people have reported short video durations in cold weather.  I personally have found this, with the camera cutting off after about two minutes. Some have found poor synchronisation between audio and video and random colour shifts etc. Personally, I get the impression that the camera was put out before it has been truly "debugged".  I think if the odd niggles can be sorted out then it's a very economical answer to in-flight video.  You'll find several threads on here discussing the camera and there are plenty of video clips both here and on YouTube. Cheers, Tim.

There's only one thing I disagree with in Eric's excellent explanation - if you want to use water as an analogy for electricity then it's VOLTS which is the pressure and AMPS which is the rate of flow.  Use a big pipe (i.e. a low resistance) and you'll get a large rate of flow (lots of current - Amps).  Use a big head of water (lots of Volts) and likewise you'll get a large rate of flow.  Ohms law ties it all up nicely: Amps = Volts/Ohms, or Ohms = Volts/Amps, or Volts = Amps X Ohms. Cheers, Tim.

Hi Timbo, Sorry I managed to confuse things!  When I said "whole" tailplane I was trying to emphasise that it was the tailplane and not just the elevator.  It WAS just the right hand side which detached. Looking at the fracture, it appears that some of the balsa has broken, rather than it being just a glue joint which  failed.  I've read several reports of the thin elevator joiner failing, which is why I wondered about the CF reinforcement.  I take your point about the CG issue though Timbo. Tim.

Hi all, Had a bit of an odd thing happen on Saturday. We were flying my Seagull Extra 300 EP and about a minute into the flight the right hand side of the tailplane parted company with the rest of the model! I would emphasise here that we were doing NOTHING unusual - i.e. no high-G aerobatics or anything like that. Anyway, whatever the cause, it happened. We landed the plane OK and retrieved the tailplane section OK. My question: I'm still a raw beginner in the construction side of this hobby and I'm wondering how to effect a repair on this model. My initial thought is to drill a suitable hole in each of the mating balsa surfaces and splice in some CF rod. What do you think? I'd be very grateful for any other ideas from you more experienced builders out there. Many thanks, Tim. P.S. - By the way, it WAS the whole tailplane which detached, not just the elevator.  I know the Seagull Extra has a bit of a weak spot in the narrow elevator joiner.  This was the whole taiplane section! 

Good on yer Myron! Tim.

Crikey Tom, that's a bit severe!  I dread to think where you suggest putting the electrodes..... Cheers, Tim.

I use RealFlight 3.5 and I'm sure it has helped me no end in the very early days before I'd flown a real model at all.  One of the main problems though is that on the sim you have no depth perception, as in real life you have two eyes viewing the scene and can judge depth.  You still have two eyes with the sim of course, but you are looking at a flat screen!  Also, as Eric pointed out, if you keep "zoomed in" on the plane you lose track of where the ground is, whereas if you keep the ground in view all the time the model can rapidly get very small! Having said that, I still find a sim VERY useful for practising stick movements to achieve aerobatic maneouvres.  I personally think the trick with a sim is NOT to think that it doesn't matter if you crash but to be just as upset and hurt if you do crash as if you had just lost a real model! Cheers, Tim.

I can certainly confirm the Paul Daniels link - I have a book from 1989 which has a picture of David Boddington showing a rather youthful-looking Paul Daniels how to operate the transmitter! Cheers, Tim.

Myron, It's easy to tell us apart - Timbo is the clever one (and writes tutorials) wheras I'm a bit thick and very grumpy!! Cheers, Tim.

Chris, I wish you more success than I've had!!  I sent out a lot of letters a couple of months ago to local farmers, asking if they would allow me to use a field for flying electric models from.  I emphasised that I was a member of the BMFA and had insurance, that I ONLY flew electric and that I was asking ONLY for myself, not on behalf of a club.  In every case I sent an s.a.e.  In EVERY case, if I got an answer at all, it was negative.  In some cases they simply didn't bother to reply. I've been lucky in that I am probably going to take over a relationship with a local farmer from someone else but it was by sheer luck that I heard of this.  I personally would be VERY interested to hear how you get on and the very best of luck! Cheers, Tim.

The point is though Myron, as you obviously are not a fan of electric powered flight, why keep contributing criticisms to a forum entitled "Electric Flight"?!  Surely this wonderful hobby is big enough for all to enjoy and not to have to keep up this daft "yah-boo IC is better than electric", "get a proper engine", blah, blah, blah.  Why not just look at the bits of the forum that interest you and where you can make constructive, useful criticisms instead of griping all the time?  Or is it just that you enjoy being grumpy?! Cheers, Tim. P.S. - I envy you the camper-van.

Tom, I think the bulging is caused by gas pressure, the gas being the result of chemical reaction.  Unlike most other batteries, the outer casing of a LiPo is not rigid and, as you have witnessed, can flex. The ONLY thing to do with a bulging lipo is to dispose of it safely and QUICKLY. Cheers, Tim.

I absolutely agree Timbo - a superb article Andy.  I never realised there was so much to properly trimming a model! Tim.

Chris, Not had them all break off but had one go without undue force being applied. Cheers, Tim.

Dave, The only time I've used that switch is when I've been "binding" a new Rx.  In that instance the third lead has the bind plug connected. Cheers, Tim.

Once again, thanks for a very swift reply Timbo.  It puzzles me a bit just why the manufacturers put a switch in.  Like you, I am VERY careful and apply power at the last moment and remove it as soon as I retrieve the model after landing.  As an aside, what connectors do you use on battery/ESC Timbo?  I use Deans but find sometimes that they can be a pretty tight fit and hence quite difficult to prise apart, particularly if your hands are cold! Tim.

Hi all, I apolgise in advance if this is a really daft question! I've just purchased a DualSky 60A ESC for a model and it incorporates a switch.  Presumably this switch is only switching power to the Rx?  I'm a bit confused to be honest since I'm reasoning that the switch can't be switching power to the motor as surely a heavy current device would be needed (which this switch certainly isn't), but on the other hand isn't it dangerous to have a live motor with the Rx switched off? Can anyone explain the logic of a switch on the ESC? Many thanks, Tim.

Michael, I think the Met. Office are as much to blame as anyone with this concept of "wind-chill" and the confusion it can cause.  How many times have you heard the forecaster say that the temperature will be -1 degrees but with wind-chill it will feel like -10 degrees?!  Once you put figures to something like this then I think it's easy to think that the actual temperature is lower.  It isn't of course, as a thermometer will prove, but it does feel colder because the moving air is removing heat from your body much faster than if it was stationary. Anyway, as I said, I apologise if I've distracted an otherwise fascinating thread. Cheers, Tim.