Tom Foreman

Hi Eric, yep thats where my original broke all those years ago.

Hi Eric, I found a half finished Rivington Hawk at my parents which I must have started 15 years ago. Have managed to get a copy of the plan off Ebay and hope to complete it and have it flying again soon. This will be my second hawk, the first one expired 15 years ago when it cartwheeled in up the top of Parlick   Cheers for the design

If you want a cheap jet have a look at the Phase 3 EF16, although an F16 and not a Hawk, it will fly for 6 - 7 minutes on a 3s1p 2200 pack and you get a ESC, Motor & Fan in the kit, just needs two 8g servos to finish, about £90 for the kit, bargain really. I maidened mine last night and it fly's extremely well!

Try  a cellpro charger (one of these), they are nearly foolproof . Hope he has better luck next time.

Yes please otherwise I might just have to buy one

Well my TX checked out OK on Saturday morning, although the model shop owner seemed a bit grumpy, maybe because I didn't buy my radio from him! David, when you said The proprietor got a new, unsold 6EX 2.4 off the shelf and wanted to see how easy it would be in practice to make this happen so he proceeded to give the switch a good thrashing, repeatedly switching it on and off within 1/2 a second or less. The Tx then proceeded to operate with the test receiver so the proprietor had in doing so, uncoded the Tx. I couldn't quite believe what I'd seen but it was a salutary warning to me that I mustn't cycle the unit quickly Did the TX get a chance to double beep or not? I expect that this signifies a successful boot up sequence but obviously am not going to test the theory. I would be interested in your observations. Cheers Tom

Well Lancaster Model Shop can test my Radio out tomorrow, so fingers crossed and all that

Well apart from this issue, the Tx & Rx have performed flawlessly. The other day I was helping my mate range check an E-flite P38 using the old tech and it jittered and gliched all over the place. You just don't get this with the new tech. I'm sure once this issue is resolved all will be good again (I hope )

Punishment indeed!

Phil, what sort of charger is it? Some of the good balance chargers (FMA Cellpro) can sometimes rescue battery packs, although they will never be as good as new, you will still get some use out of them.

Hi David, in your update you suggest that sets purchased earlier in the year might be OK, does Ripmax have a Serial No. range of affected sets? I purchased mine back in September 2007, still as you say, testing is the only way to know for sure, I hope the model shop in Lancaster will be able to test my set for me soon.

Well I have an offending 6EX system, so I take it I am grounded until I can get it tested. B***er!

If you look on RC groups http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=387480&page=3 this guy (Mikadoman ) is running: motor : Typhoon micro 15/10 with an apc 9 x 6 e prop Esc is a Tornado 40amp connected to a flightpower 3s 2500mah If it is the same one from Overlander, I'm sure if you gave them a ring they could advise on a setup www.overlander.co.uk

Well my Gemini roars past on WOT, it echoes off the factories behind me, sure is a lot of prop noise!

No problems yet with my LiPo's have 3 off 2s1p & 3 off 3s1p, only started back in September so havn't used them that much probably only put about 20 cycles on 2 of the 2s1p's at the most. I do use a dedicated balance charger, which is virtually fool proof and my ESC's are LiPo compatible as well so I guess that helps. Cheers Tom

Hi Marcus, I too have been thinking of building a Tucano either the Nigel Hawes or the Cyril Carr one, how is your build going? If I decide to build the Cyril Carr one I will be using a 300W HiMax motor and add a rudder as well (not on plan). Did you manage to find a canopy, I'm tempted to try and contact Cyril and see if he will sell me a canopy. Cheers Tom 

Hi John, I just got a FMA Cell Pro 4S charger which balance charges through the balance plug of the LiPo. In the instructions it suggests a LiPo is at the end of its life when it will only accept 80% of its original capacity during charging (e.g. 2200mAh pack will only accept 1760 mAh). It also says that older or 'vintage' packs generally take longer to balance. It also recommends that LiPos should not be charged higher than 1C (e.g. a 2200mAh pack would charge at 2.2 Ah) when charging through the main power wires and not balanced charging. How long does it take to charge your battery pack and what is the overall pack capacity? This will give an idea of whether the charge rate is too high. Cheers, Tom

Thanks Aslan will add it to the list.  Managed to get another flight in tonight after work, perfect still conditions for the Easy Glider managed to find a little lift and then did some low level acrobatics to amuse myself. As usual the battery was still going after 30 mins of on/ off throttle but had to land as it was going dark. That's on a 400 brushed motor and a 2s 2200mAh LiPo. Maybe I should get a brushless motor to speed things up while I deliberate over the next model? Having a flying field 10 mins from my house is sure helping to get the practise in as well  Cheers  Tom

Thanks for the quick response, I guess its like riding a bike you never forget I think I'll probably go for the Gemini then, I was thinking of the tuned powerset as I wish I had got that for the Easy Glider!  Tom

Hi, I've been flying a Multiplex Easy Glider for the last three weeks after returning to the hobby after an 18 year lay off. I can now fly her reasonably well, loops, rolls, inverted, low level passes. I now yearn for somthing a little faster and was thinking of either another glider, the Cularis or try somthing completely different like the Gemini biplane. Any thoughts on either of these models as a 2nd model or any other suggestions out there.  Cheers, Tom Foreman

Have ordered a multiplex easy glider electric, so when I've mastered that (newbie) I hope to move up to somthing faster - count me in!

Ok I get the idea, better get saving

Thanks for the response Timbo, I am leaning towards Li-Po. With regards to the DX7 I take it you think the extra expense is worth it over the DX6. I read over at an American forum that the range was very good and you just got less features than the DX7. Is this not the case? Cheers

Hi I'm returning back to the sport after 18 years break (used to fly RC Slope Soarers when I was a lad!) and could do with some advice on electric flight. I have narrowed down my choices to a Multiplex Easy Glider Electric and a Spectrum DX6 Radio Set. Assuming that these will be OK for a beginner (not sure if the included servos wii fit the wing so will get some Nano servos as well). I am not sure about which battery + Charger + ESC / BEC combination to go for. I am swayed by either NiMH or LiPo, but would like some suggestions of both types of kit to look at. Any advice appreciated! The model comes with a geared 400 motor and suggests 7-8 cell NiMh or 1-2 Cell LiPo. I am aware of the incediary nature of LiPos but am always keen to try new tech! :o) Cheers Tom Foreman