Trevor Crook

Tim, I would have agreed with you about the different battery technology used in tablets up to a few months ago. Then my Nexus 7 stopped taking charge, so I opened it up and found a familiar looking silver, soft object! It measured 3.7V so I unplugged it and patched one of my LiPo chargers into it and it charged up perfectly at 1A. Following advice on line I bought a new micro usb socket and harness and it now charges again. I accept your point though that these devices have sophisticated battery management circuits/software. Back to the DX8, does anyone know whether it has similar protection? Most important for me, when set to the LiPo technology, will it switch off after sounding the low battery warning for a while, thereby saving the battery?

David, if you did want to stick with NiMh then Overlander can supply an appropriate Eneloop pack. These have very low self discharge, I've been using one for a couple of years and it's great. The reason I was reluctant to go the LiPo route is I was nervous as to what would happen if I left the tranny on in the shed. I know it sounds a warning, but does it then switch off? I wouldn't worry about charging a LiPo in situ, though - I do it all the time with my phone, tablet etc.

Yes, I went to a Saturday evening event some years ago. There was only a light breeze but it was too much for them to fly the really old stuff. Still a great evening, though. Arrive late afternoon with a picnic, wander round the museum then watch the display. If they can fly the Edwardian aircraft, treat it as a bonus.

I would think you'd be ok with a major brand such a Sandisk. Can't imagine you'd need a high speed version. My DX8 came supplied with one, but I don't know the make.

Yes, mine's got a Spektrum AR600. The short aerial fits across the fuselage width, the long one lies down the fuselage towards the tail. I lost a wingtip lens in my crash, and made a new one with a piece of scrap acetate from some packaging. I shaped it by pulling it around a shaped wooden mould while blasting it with a heat gun. If you aren't fitting lights, you could put lightweight filler on the tips, and paint it. The landing light lense can be scrap acetate, bent round and glued on.

That's a good video. I got my 110 into the shed to do some measurements. The c of g is 75mm back from the l.e. at the root - aft of the recommended range! This could be why it's a bit prone to tipstall. I normally err on the nose heavy side, but I guess I was trying to solve the nose over issue. The rear end of the lipo is in line with the wing l.e. at the root, and there would be room to move it forward. I'll leave mine where it is - it's not vicious once flying. I reduced the wiring by soldering together everything I could, rather than using connectors, as there isn't much room in the fus. One small scale niggle - I cut off one exhaust stub per set as Daimler Benz made engines with 12 cylinders, not 14! I also added an aerial mast and rear gun. Have fun with the rest of the build, and feel free to ask any further questions.

Erfolg I have put some washers under the rear U/C mount, which helps a bit. You can't fiddle too much because it will affect correct operation of the doors. It's been a while since I took the model out, so I can't remember exact details of the battery position, but it certainly wasn't pushed right forward. I'll try to do some c of g measurements for you this evening. I use Dynamic 2200 3s packs, which are quite light. I don't know what you are looking for in terms of duration, but these give ample performance, and if flown around in a reasonably scale manner at least 10 minutes should be acheivable. Although I suffered tip stall on take-off, all the approaches and landings have been stress free, treating the model with a bit of respect, of course. Like many scale electrics, it's best to bring it in with a bit of power applied.

Wow, I'm glad I bought the complete item! The fitted bell motors have more than enough power, and having all the servos fitted makes life easier. It flies quite well, although surprisingly is prone to nosing over. Watch out for tip stalling though. I tried a scale-like half throttle take-off and it flicked in. Quite easy to repair, prop blades broke but shaft stayed straight. Luckily I had some spares. I'd say it's quite a good effort, but doesn't handle as nicely as the other Durafly models I've experienced. I've got the Trojan and Vampire, and my son has the Spitfire 24, Skyraider and Vampire, all of which are excellent. Anyone know why HK haven't had Durafly in stock for ages?

Went flying this afternoon. 2 degrees, murky, and wet underfoot. Got cold, but glad I went as I hadn't flown for weeks. Nice calm conditions, managed 4 flights with my Attila, Magician and little Flying Styro Zero. I went home with the mist closing in and the car heater full on. Myself and the two other brave souls at the field agreed that we were glad to be flying electric and not having to mess about with fuel!

Parkzone Artizan? If your radio is not Spektrum it's available as plug and play for £150. Should fly well and be a good step on from the Wot 4.

James, the picture shows a 4-stroke. Has it been run recently? If it's been sitting around, especially if castor fuel has been used, the valves can stick and not close properly. You can tell this by it having no compression. If compression is present, remove the plug and put a bit of fuel down the hole. Flick the prop to eject excess fuel, then replace the plug and see if it fires. If it starts but doesn't run, and the needle is open, you have a fuel blockage. If you get totally fed up, my Attila flies nicely on 350W of cheap electric power. I ditched glow properly - no starter, batteries or other support gear any more, so I couldn't start an engine if I was given one!

I'll be interested in the final figures - both clubs I'm in are around 70-30 in favour of electric.

Phil, Derek and his business partner Ernie Strutt sold the business as they wanted to retire. Unfortunately the new owner was unable to continue with the investment you rightly say was required. Sadly Derek, who was one of the small band of British R/C pioneers in the 1960s, passed away soon after the sale. Happily, Ernie, who is my father-in-law, is still with us. The last Fleet sets (the Omega models) were "computer" radios, albeit with a multiple LED interface rather than a screen, which would have been too expensive. They were well featured, with 10 model memories when Futaba only offered 4 (at about twice the price!). The software was written by a clever chap called Mark Agate, who has contributed to this forum from time to time. I still have an Omega set, although I fly mostly on 2.4 these days. I won't part with it though. As well as the personal connection, its branding is a happy reminder of my entry to this great hobby, when the likes of Skyleader, Sprengbrook, Flight Link, RCS, Macgregor etc. were the sets you saw at the field, with not a far-eastern set in sight!

Barrie, re. your iPad, I'm sorry but I'm an Android user so I can't help, but I'm sure someone on here can. Failing that, ask a passing teenager!

Martin, I suspect it may be when people input from a phone or tablet with predictive text turned on. If you don't read it through after typing all sorts of odd words appear. It drove me mad on mine so I've turned it off.

My son and I have had Radjets for a couple of years - great fun for the money. Soon after getting them, I tried to find out if they did the curious tumble my Funjet used to do if you pointed it vertical and cut the power. Well, whereas the Funjet would perform a couple of tumbles then recover nose-down, the Radjet went end-over-end all the way to the deck! My lad then tried with his, but from a greater height, with the same result. He had time to try various control and throttle combinations to no avail. Neither suffered more than mild bending of the foam, which we eased out by hand. Both models seem a bit nose heavy, so this was unexpected. We avoid that part of the flight envelope now, but I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who's feeling brave!

Congrats, Lee - a relief to get a successful maiden in with any new model, let alone the masterpiece you have produced. Well done.

One excuse for using pushers is if you've got a noise sensitive site. Although pusher props close to trailing edges tend to buzz a bit, I would expect 4 fans to be noticably noisier. Is this the case, Tony?

Chris, yes, that's how I thought it hooked up. Don't know if all tv's usb sockets are wired for power, though. Colin, the £18 offer ends tomorrow, its the free music offer that goes on till the end of September. Hence, I've ordered one on line and will collect it from the store on Friday.

Colin, I've been considering a Chromecast for a while, will probably pop into Currys on Saturday. A couple of questions - what device are you using for your internet connection? I'd use one of my Android tablets. Also, does the Chromecast power itself from your TV's USB socket or do you have to use the power supply. (I know the Chromecast is not a USB stick as it plugs into the HDMI input, but I believe the power lead has a USB connector) Thanks

One of the clubs I fly with brought in a club rule a few years ago that 2.4G sets must use Tx's (or modules) and Rx's from the same manufacturer, the only exception being JR and Spektrum on DSM2. This was brought about by several issues with earlier "compatible" receivers. Over-cautious? Possibly, but in the scheme of things the extra cost of buying a manufacturer's own Rx is not that great. If I understand correctly, some of those posting are suggesting that Spektrum (and Futaba and others for that matter) should seek out all makes of "compatible" receivers and make sure they all work with all of their transmitters. This does not sound reasonable.

I think you've made the right call on the u/c. As long as it looks roughly right when it's down, you will hardly notice it when it is up. Getting the dihedral angle right will improve the overall look much more.

I also look forward to seeing this project progress. I've recently bought the Dynam Hurricane, about the same size as the Parkzone one. It flies really well on 4s, and is a pretty fair scale effort. The six-port exhausts are wrong and have been replaced by hand carved balsa ones, and Dynam have unfortunately slotted the wings to allow flaps to be cut out - on the upper surface! I've yet to sort that one. The Spitfire needs a lot more work, which you look like you've captured in your list. Are you going to modify the u/c so it retracts away from the l/e? That looks the biggest challenge, and I wouldn't blame you if you leave it as it is. Good luck, and post plenty of photos please!

I think the effect is to do with the "cheat" ducts underneath sucking the nose down at full throttle. I only notice it as a transient effect on mine, so I've dialed in a 2s "servo slow" on the throttle on my Dx8. Spools up and down more gradually, so de-stresses everything, but is still quick enough to respond when I need it.

Looking at the flag at the end of the second video, there seems to be a crosswind blowing it towards the crowd line too, which can't have helped.