Jolly Roger

Hi Rich, I think the wing is swept back, which would explain the apparently rearward position of the CG as seen on the root rib. It’s probably around 25-30% of the mean chord. Rog

Dang you guys are good! Amazing detective work John 😇 I had an inkling it was an old RM plan but couldn’t find my old handbook.

Sorry Erfolg but I think you’re confusing radial forces and tangential forces, which is an easy thing to do. 🙂 You are absolutely correct that a body in circular motion requires a centripetal force. “Centripetal” means acting radially - towards the centre of the circle. But the forces needed to accelerate a prop act in a different direction - they are tangential to the circle. It is these tangential forces that are supplied by the torque of the motor, and once it is up to a constant speed, they only need to overcome the drag of the prop. So as Philip says, the mass of the prop is irrelevant to the motor except for when the prop is speeding up or slowing down. i hope this helps. Circular motion is one of the harder topics to grasp in A-level physics. ok, now I’m going to Google what a “Lomcevak” is… 😊

So sorry to hear this Matty. On the bright side, surviving scrapes like this can help us appreciate life like never before. I bet you will LOVE getting back in the air all over again! 🥰 Get well Matty.

A thought-provoking question - thanks Arthur. I have to admit, the way I fly is mostly a mood thing! And my mood is affected by lots of things, including the weather, the model I’m flying and who I’m with. Also possibly the Moon. Most days I just fly like an old granny (no judgement of old grannies intended ☺️) especially if it’s a floaty glider or a wafty big Cub. I’m happy watching them drift by, sun shining through the wings, wheels occasionally rumbling along the grass with a touch and go. All poetic stuff. Other times (mostly in a gale on the slope edge) my inner devil can awaken. I need to hear screaming wings cleaving the air. I try ambitious manoeuvres I’ve seen cool people do on YouTube. I want to be a bit scared. If I’m lucky I satisfy my thrill-seeking before I run out of altitude/skill. But as was said above, I always think “where is this plane heading if my Rx battery dies right now…”. Heavier and faster models carry scary, potentially lethal amounts of kinetic energy. 😬 As Frank Spencer said, “there are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots”

Agreed 100%. I loved my copy to bits. Literally 😍

I’ve enjoyed reading this thread, but I can’t say which is the best way to start flying RC aircraft. I guess it depends whether the RC aircraft you want to fly are powered or slope soarers. I flew RC slope for 25 years before trying powered off a field, and found the main challenges were 1. Learning rudder control on take off, 2. Using throttle not elevator to control height, and 3. Getting used to flights ending after 10-15mins 😆. I love both power and slope and find them really complementary. If the forecast says 10mph+ I walk up the hill. Anything less and I head for the field. Happy times 🙂

I never knew you could do that 😃 There’ll be no stopping me now… IMG_9771.mov

Just testing to see if you can upload video files directly… IMG_9771.mov

I’ve posted this before but for those that haven’t seen it I think it shows Whitestonecliffe quite well.

Agree 100% about SAS gliders. Great fliers and their Duralene fuselages are still unbreakable. Believe me, I’ve tried!

Thanks Rich. It is a lovely spot…some say the finest view in England. I couldn’t comment - I haven’t seen all the views in England yet 😉

30mph+ winds on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors, and today I have a model that can lap it up: my 40 year old SAS Cygnus. It’s proper aerial-bending weather! (What’s an aerial grandpa?) I’ve had an absolute hoot but my thumbs can’t handle any more cold so I’m heading home. I don’t know, all this talk of “hardy Northerners”…

That’s a decent turnout for midweek 😇

How true. It’s rare for a glider to have TOO MUCH lift! To be fair, it just needed a glider with more strength and more weight, and a pilot with more nerve.

I really enjoy having challenges in my modelling, but this one will have to wait for another day when it's a bit less breezy! 😉

I walked way back from the slope edge to avoid the savage rotor generated by the cliff, but even so the 6kg glider was tossed around like a sock on spin cycle. I was more than a bit happy when it levelled out just before touchdown...

Within a minute I had that "out-of-your-depth" feeling, with the glider disappearing upwards at an alarming rate. Even with brakes open it was still screaming higher and higher. I decided this was not a day for flying this model on this slope, so I had to get it down.

I should have known this was a bad plan when I was blown off my feet as I struggled to launch off the cliff edge, and I'm a heavy bloke. But I got it away in a lull between gusts and the glider went vertically up at a ridiculous rate.

I've had this big plan for a while. We live next to a cracking West-facing ridge and I reckon it should be possible to fly along a 10 mile stretch of it with an RC glider. I've flown most sections of it before, but never continuously end to end. Last Friday looked really promising with a 15mph wind forecast, bang on slope, so I set off up the hill with high hopes... ...until I arrived at the top to be shaken by 30mph winds, gusting 45mph. Mmmm. What to do? Launch would be tricky, but once away from the slope, there should be masses of lift? Perfect for an attempt at the 10 miles?

And would you believe I stumbled into a thermal with my sailplane? Enough to gain a 100m of height. And I thought “winter thermals” were just sensible undergarments made by Damart. Budumm tssss. 🤣

-3 degrees here in Thirsk, but worth it for the beautiful backdrop of the snow-dusted North Yorkshire Moors. My old Multiplex Gemini performed all manner of gyrations, occasionally under my control 😶

A chilly Tuesday afternoon didn’t stop Graham and me from enjoying Thirsk MFC’s facilities. This is my trusty old Hangar 9 80” Cub. I love braving the elements in Winter. It makes you appreciate those balmy Summer afternoons. 😎

Your Hunter looks amazing. I need to have a play with some 5mm foam sheet. 😉 As a tribute to dope, here's my Super Cub on finals at the Yorkshire Gliding Club. Given what I typed previously, I'm a little embarrassed it's an ARTF! 🤐

Yeah Phil, I’d never really thought of it like that…aeromodelling and RC flying are almost two distinct hobbies. Over the years I taught A-level physics I came across a handful of kids that flew RC. But none built models, not even from kits. They assembled ARTFs (or their dads did 😉). I used to feel sad that the new generation weren’t picking up the building skills that we love and refine. But I guess the bigger point is that their interests simply lie elsewhere, just as I felt none of my dad’s passion for steam trains. (Sorry dad). Each to their own. More than anything I’m glad I had the chance to explore the traditional aspects of model designing and building when I was a kid. This means I can get a nostalgic rush every time I pick up a sheet of balsa or catch a whiff of polyester resin.☺️