FiddleSticks

Thats; terrible news. Apologies I didn't know when i replied.

Unfortunately not! It's similar but has a weird swashplate that slides around instead of tilting. I did eventually track it down to some obscure brand that is still available in bulgaria brand new.. but no parts.

My local hobbycraft has stacks of foamboard for sale and yes I have bought some of it for making something at some point but even that is a different type of foam to the polystyrene type stuff out there - hence this question in the first place! They do also sell balsa but it's very expensive so I've been a bit put off buying that which is a shame as that is what the plan for the Top Cat uses (see my other thread here). I've waited some 25 years to get my hands on that plan lol and I want to build and own that plane one day..(trouble is i'm always drowning in vehicle repairs).

When my local club was using public grounds, yes I did - many years ago. I lived in a different town back then. The flying site was literally the size of 6 full size footie pitches (possibly more) and was a public site owned by the borough clowns-all. Part of the site was actually used by the local footie club who had their own building there but the site was open to all and even when the footie was in action you could turn up and fly. It was open 24/7 like many parks and so on my way home from college I'd frequently stop and get chatting to and watching the fellow members who were out flying. It was great! Obviously there wasn't the buzz of food stalls, spectators, music, displays etc but it was still great. That was a different town though. The town itself is a bit of a dump but the flying facilities there were superb in so many ways. I literally lived just a few hundred yards up from the flying site too so I could literally walk to / from it with my plane / helo in my hands and the rest of my gear in my back pack.. on a nice sunny day it was fab (winter was a bit dull though). Round here, the few clubs we have are all on private grounds so I can't plus they're miles out of town and although I drive, I am not driving miles on the off chance that someone might be flying only to get there and find it's empty. It's a bit disappointing really. Every now and then there are people talking about bringing new people into the hobby but in so many areas you can't just turn up and spectate - it's a little sad. I love the shows. Unfortunately there just aren't enough of them and I can't get to many of them as I typically work weekends which really does grind you down after years and years of it.

When my local club was using public grounds, yes I did - many years ago. I lived in a different town back then. Round here, it's all on private grounds so I can't. It's a bit disappointing really.

Not quite sure how that was intended to sound but i'll take it as humerous.. But you are right, I do kinda drool over some of the new 'foam' RC planes out there, they are wonderful creations though I still admire the larger traditional scale stuff with retracts etc. One day I might even own something like that..

Yet when you go flying, you'll no doubt watch someone else flying at some point while your aircraft is on the ground! Do you go to full size airshows? - Those slow moving larger aircraft... so much more boring than faster moving RC in my opinion.

See thats the thing, moons ago i saw a video of a guy that made RC aircraft and he was making parts out of a foam like car sponge - he even had a cutting tool that he'd made to cut through the stuff hence my question in the first pace (and even years ago before that, I saw in a couple of RCM&E editions people publishing photos of their use of foam(. Anyway.. at least it's now confirmed in my head.. polywhatever is classed as foam.. Thanks everyone!

I am genuinely unable to understand your point. I think model airshows are wonderful! There's so much action and fun for all. Even my missus enjoys our local (Southern Modelshow at Headcorn). She and I literally have no shared interests.. she's hard to please.. but she genuinely enjoys watching RC aircraft in action. As for me, I love the flying but also looking at the trade stands and bargains.

I have got to get this clear in my head!!! I always understood foam to be literally like that.. like a sponge you use to wash your car. A lot of newer RC planes are made from polystyrene and seem to also be known as 'foam'. So.. do we use sponge foam in RC and are polystyrene planes also known as 'foam' ? Thanks

Well they're advertising it on facebook for the last weekend in August but the site is still not open for selling tickets! Anyone know why? When I saw them on facebook advertising I was keen to get on and buy my tickets early but I can't. This is the one event of the year I REALLY look forward to the most.

Nope no flying in the last few months though we only have foam park flyers that are air worthy at present anyway but even those haven't gone up. I don't particularly like the cold a lot (worse since major surgery moons agoi - i struggle to retain heat) and I also don't like rain or wet sludgy ground. In short, I just can't be bothered! For years I suffered with mental health woes - depression, anxiety etc and every year I was in the same old rut - only programming to do and I was bored with it. Then we got into model railways.. that also became boring for me with lack of money / space (the current one is 8ft long, pinned against the backwall and has a section of track that is dead). Then we got the foamies and I think that pent up frustration is finally getting out as I've started to get into my programming again and I keep looking at the railway and thinking "something needs to be done with that". The problem I have with the railway at presentis that until i build a big folding stand with wheels to mount it on so that it can be "got out" or "put away", i can't fix that duff track at the back with a dodgy connection. I can't built the stand until I've got the van back on the road to fit the supplies into.. and i can't get that back on the road until the welding is done.. which is weather dependent. I'm not risking 50Amps of electrocution with wet ground! So as per usual, i'm kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place, however I've not forgotten about flying, I love this hobby and just wish I lived somewhere with nicer weather.

Kittens and 35MHz receiver aerials. Bought my first helicopter when i was 18, got it built up, radio installed.. left it in my room.. went in there a few hours later to find the little rascal up there chewing away on something having a lot of fun and looking incredibly pleased with himself. I then realised he'd found the aerial wire on my helicopter and had chewed in into multiple short lengths of around 5cm! I was at the time an electronics student however I didn't feel competent enough to replace a aerial having had lectures about wavelengths, aerial lengths etc and not a lot of it making any sense so I had to outsource the repair to a friend of mine who assured me he knew what he was doing. I suspect looking back he just took a length of wire and soldered it into place.. but at the time I didn't want the hassle of busting it myself. The cat lived until the ripe old age of 18 and I still miss him now. At his time of death I had literally had him half of my life.

Ear buds compact it yes but I have a pair of hobbyist tweezers and believe me when I say I've got this down to a fine art. If there's a blob of wax in there, i'll get it out. However, if it's more than 1-2cm deep, only micro suction will get that out. As said previously, I love micro suction. I may be odd for that but the previous times i've had it done I've literally felt wax get sucked out from far deeper than i thought possible - and it was a lot not a little. My ear canals felt amazing after that.

That's strange! What sort of vehicle do you drive? - Age, engine size etc please? I drive a 2002 Transit 2.4L 90hp. The car (which was on my partners policy but now on it's own) is a 1998 2.5L renault with 165HP. I wonder if the age of the vehicle makes any difference with DL? It's hard to work out how they calculate their prices and they're not keen to share either but they have told me several times that prices go up and down each day so you get a price one day that is completely different the next if you re-quote it again. Now I have a hunch that it may also be down to the call handlers discretion and how much commission they're prepared to lose - I could be wrong on that but it's a hunch.