Scubajon

I can follow that argument if the wing is symetrical, but in the current model I'm building, a Lancaster with 96" wigspan, the wing cofiguration is of the "normal" shape.  Not sure I would want to try and fly that upside down!!  lol  And it would certainly require a lot of "up" elevator to maintain the inversion!

We all know that a wing has a longer surface area on top than on the underside to create lift.  But,why, when the model is inverted does it not have the opposite effect?

Hi, sorry, didn't mean to shout!  lol   I was half way through it before I realised and couldn't be bothered to retype it all!!  Hope it helps.  cheers  j

SUGGEST A FEW THINGS.  DON'T KNOW WHAT OS YOUR GOT BUT IF YOURS IS VISTA, GET RID OF IT, EITHER INSTALL XP PRO OR THE NEW WINDOWS 7.  BOTH ARE A LOT BETTER, MORE USER FRIENDLY THAN VISTA. ALL THE VISTA BUGS HAVE BEEN WEEDED OUT IN W7. SECONDLY, WHEN IT'S UP AND RUNNING OK "LEAVE IT ALONE"  IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT AS THEY SAY.  I FOUND THAT OUT THE HARD WAY AND LEARNED MY LESSON!   PERHAPS IT NEEDS A DEFRAG OR A CLEANUP.  EUSING FREE REGISTRY CLEANER IS QUITE GOOD BUT MAY NEED A COUPLE OF RUN THROUGHS TO SORT OUT THE REGISTRY...UNLIKE SOME OF THE OTHER FREEBEES IT ACTUALLY WORKS!  OTHER THAN THAT LEAVE IT ALONE OR CONSULT ONE OF THE EXPERTS WHO FREQUENT THIS SITE.  HOPE IT HELPS. CHEERS J

I just bought one from Screwfix.  It is a Titan `16" 85W.  Ideal for the aero modeller. It cost £49.99 and is very easy to set up.  Highly recommended.   But, just a word of warning for those who have never used one, the blade will follow the grain in thicker pieces of wood.  The blades on these machines are only about 1mm thick and 3mm wide and are easily broken or bent.  For ply up to 6mm they are fine but above that they can be tricky.  It is almost impossible to cut a straight line and a guide should be manufactured to clamp onto the bed when cutting straight lines.  Also, have a practice with a piece of off cut you don't want first.  Draw some lines, straight and curved and practice following them.  You will soon realise there's an art to using a scroll saw.  But they are invaluable and it's well worth the effort to get used to it.  hope this helps.

Hi Timbo and all Lancaster enthusiasts.  I saved all your last lot of advice etc Timbo and am already finding it very useful.  Have started building my Lanc...at last!  and have just today made 4 bulkheads for the fuselage.  I have to say mine seem a mite more complicated than the one in the above pics.  But one of my 1st purchases is a Scroll Saw and what a tool that is!  Couldn't do without it.  I have been talking to Steve (ex. Elation Models) and what a very helpful and knowledgable lad he is. Anyway, the result is that i have definitely decided to go elec motors.  My model is being made from RCM &E plans I bought from my local model shop about 10yrs ago as a retirement project.  it has an 84" wingspan and Steve has recommended 25's with 12"X8" 3 bladed props.  Based on the info you gave me a while ago that seems a very reasonable set up for this aircraft. (As I said to you before...Elecs motors weren't even a twinkle in my dads eye whenI last flew an RC model!)  I am taking my time and expect it to take about 12-18 months to build as I am not in a hurry.  Further up the page I noticed that someone had said they wanted theirs to look like the real thing with rivets and all, not a shiny sleek machine.  Me too.  Mine is going to be matt paint, a finish that will reflect the real thing.  Sleek and shiny is ok for jets and modern aircraft, bu the Lanc is an icon and it's design and finish should, in my opinion, reflect that.  It will never sound like the real thing whatever so that's another reason I plumped for elec motors.  As always, I very grateful for any info, advice etc.  Let you know more as I go along and need advice.  I shall keep an eye on those who are building one too.  Oh, just a bit of info for those who may not know....Haynes do a manual for the Lanc!  How about that!  lol  cheers  scubajon

Have noted all that thanks.  makes some sense to me, i remember ohms law from school.  will sort it out when the time comes.  i'm spinning with all this info today!  have noted all you've said so far and i'll get back to you when i've sorted it as far as i can go without advice and help.  thanks for all so far.    cheers  jon

Well, i thought so until i started delving into the wonderful world of elecs. about which i know exactly nowt!  lol   but with luck and following wind and you to guide me i'm sure we will pull through!  I did pick up on another point you made though.  you mentioned different grades of wire depending on the length.  Is there a set formula for working out the correct size? I didn't think it would matter much on the low voltage and the short distance.  does it make that much difference?  cheers  jon

Right, thanks.  At least i understood that bit!  wjen you mentioned cooling i was thinking i might be able to leave a cooling slot or something like it in the fuselage.  The only thing is, where!  I will have to build it 1st to see where the balance piont is. it's on the plans but in my experience that will only be approx.  cross that bridge as and when. i wasn't really thinking of this as a problem that was just a figure of speech.  i'm sure there will be loads of things to sort out and you're right. it will give me a lot of pleasure and satisfaction....i've been looking forward to it for about 5 yrs and it's only now i've got the chance to do it.  digiswitches sound ideal.  dont know which way to go yet about isolation switches or not as the case may be, another bridge to cross later!   Have built my new workbech for it in my, now empty, garage!  most tools acquired, shelving up and lighting fitted over the bench.  even got a radio on the top shelf!  lol 

I knew it was going to be a prob.  will have to discuss it with you when i get that far, although I will need to decide some things before i actually need them to make places for them in the aircraft.  I was thingking LiPo was the best idea but i'm not sure now!  BEC & UBEC?  Don't understand the bit about cooling the packs. What is the difference between isolation switches and digiswitches?  All this will have to be sorted out as I build the fuselage I know so I had better ask now or i will forget.  will print out all your answers and comments so i got a record when i need it!  Have copied and pasted all the previous posts we have had so i got continuity, hope you don't mind me doing that. With my memory what it is, i forget so easily these days!  now where was i?  Money is not an problem and i want to do the best i can cos this will most prob. be the last model i will build and i want to go out on a high!  lol  i estimate it will take between 1 & 2 yrs to build.

LOL  Nice one Timbo!  I guessed right for only two of them.  Thanks for that, it will help me considerably.  Do you know where or if I can get a wiring diagram for this project?  I have a good friend who is an electrician so I will get some advice there but if anyone has already built a multi engined model they may have a diagram that will suit my application.  Most of it will, no doubt, be basic and straightforward but as I said earlier a lot has changed since I last built one!     lmso    (laughing my socks off)  Hey....we could start an all new thread here...guess the meanings of the letters!!!  lol 

I was tempted to go elec because of all the complications of IC and now I've fouind I'm going down another road with something I know almost nothing about.;  Elecs were not even a twinkle in my dad's eye when I last made model planes!  I'm impressed with the glider bit though.  That must be some sight without motors!  Isn't it a bit heavy for gliding?  Unless it's only a small model of course.  I don't think I could make my 96" one a glider...it would take something to get it into the air!  lol  j 

Hi Timbo.  Thanks for the offer.  To be honest, that was one of the 1st things I thought about seeing as it will be almost silent!  I'm going to have a look around the web to see if I can download it somewhere.  As I said, the theory of elecs leaves me cold! There's not much I can't turn my hand to but I've never understood the theory side of it.   So most of the advice and help I'm going to need is advice on which motors and which batteries and which props  etc.  and I'm sure there will be quite a bit of other stuff too. Will look forward to working with you!  lol  I've seen quite a lot of 3 letter abbreviations in your replies to others questions.... like:  ESC, LVC, IMO,WOT,AUW & DPM.  These might as well be in chinese as apart from guessing at a couple they are acomplete mystery to  me!!  No doubt when the time comes all will be explained.  cheers  jon

Hi, Lancaster fans!    I am just starting out on a 96ins wingspan Lanc and have been thinking about going electric.  Don 't know any figures for it yet ie: weight etc. but the advice above has given me a guide and I'm very grateful for that.  WhenI last built a RC model things were very different!  Materials were different, building techniques (looking back) were really quite basic compared to today, and the thought of electric motors had never been heard of!  Like ED I had already decided to pair the outers and the inners, not only because the plans recommended it but for the same reason given my Timbo above too. At least I got that bit right!  I should be starting it within the next 2-3 weeks so you may see quite a bit from me for advice etc.  Hope nobody minds.  Apart from the complication of using IC, the Lanc would never sound like the real thing which is why I have been considering electric motors, but from what I've been reading here over the last few months it is, in itself quite a complicated field and not being any good at all with electrics with regard to working out the figures etc. advice is always welcome.  The practical side is not a problem but I don't know enouigh about elecs to work out the requirements.  Se you all later!!  lol 

Thanks everyone for your views.  Since I'm "getting on" a bit II'm with you Tony.  There's so much rush rush these days, it's a wonder any of them have time to breath!  Gemma, that's almost exactly the experience I have had many times and one reason i prefer to fly alone.  we all stick to the rules anyway so what does it really matter.  Thanks again eveyone who has commented.  sorry to break the previous chain of thought, won't do it again....promise!!  lol  cheers  j

Hi, I agree with most of your comments.  But as you say, we are all responsible for H&S and that is down to 99% common sense and I think probably 100% of the people who use this site are people with that amnount of common sense.  We wouldn't be here otherwise.  It's a bit like riding a bike, once you haver learnt how to do it you never forget and don't need someone to keep reminding you. But as I don't suffer fools gladly, or so I'm told!, a club environment and me  would probably end up in arguments!  However, I have studied the H&S and BMFA rules and I don't disagree with them in anyway, I just don't want anyone giving me their interpretation of them and expect me to abide by it.  I always stick to the rules as I'm sure everyone here does without needing to be told every time they fly. anyway, it was nice of you to reply and I look forward to others views too.  cheers  j

Marc, was interested to see your remark re: joining a club or not.  I have been looking at all the rules and regs that you have to adhere to when in a club, and while I know there must be some rules for flying, it seems to me that some of it goes way OTT.  To be honest if I had to put up with all that I would not be flying.  As much as I enjoy it, it would not be worth my patience to put up with it all.  Most of us a well aware of the dangers when flying and as you say, "don't need to be told or sing to someone else's say so"  I am not saying I'm right or wrong in this but how many here share that view?

I've only just found this blog so you've probably finished it by now and are flying!  LOL  I too have bought some plans for a Lanc with 98" wingspan and it too is, not quite but nearly, my 1st build.  I bought the plans some time ago ready for a retirement project and haven't built a flying model for nearly 50 yrs!  And haven' things changed since then!  New materials, modern methods of building, elec motors...the list is endless.  I haven't started it yet but hope to this year.  All this info is extremely valuable and I'm sure some of the questions will be repeated here when I finally get started!  My own thanks to everyone who has given you help and advice, I hope they are still as keen when I need help as I'm sure I will. The advice about different adhesives is particularly useful as there was only one glue when I last built a flying model!  I have not yet joined the local club as I'm not ready to start building anything yet, but I have seen some of their members flying across the fields when I've been taking my dogs for walks round the edge of some woods near me.  One flies a jet, and it really sounds like one!  Can't wait.  Hope they're as friendly as the group you've joined.  good luck.  cheers   

this is better than reading the jokes in the news papers!  haven't laughed so much in ages (don't look in a mirror very often either!)  keep it up lads........it's festive season

perhaps this time!  lol

This is almost back to basics.  What a prize!

third time lucky,  sorry folks but it's mine this time!  lol  i hope!

what a brill prize........i know it's mine!

it's my birthday this month, so I'll take that as a good omen................PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE! 

you're all out of luck, it's mine!  lol