Robin Colbourne
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Posts posted by Robin Colbourne
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Some interesting history of the Oliver Battleaxe here. I had heard of the Battleaxe but didn't recognise it. I certainly had no idea that Oliver engines were first produced for tethered cars.
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4 hours ago, Frank Day said:
But who made up those rules. I can smell the moth balls already!
People to whom the 1930s, 40s and 50s were as significant as the 1970s and 80s are to most of the contributors here.
For the Americans, the golden years were the 1930s when balsa wood and petrol engines first appeared in large quantities. Over here, power flying was banned in the war, so the mid to late 1940s and 50s were of greater importance.
The question is whether vintage should focus on the models or the participants? In car terms, the Ford Model T may be more significant to the development of the automobile, however a Mk1 Escort or Capri is more likely to evoke more memories for those with the time and money to buy and restore them now. -
I'm just wondering if it more years now from when some Ben Buckle kits were released, than from when the originals were released that Ben Buckle copied?
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23 hours ago, Stuart Quinn-Harvie 1 said:
I just picked up a kit fro one of these for a tenner, still in the box. The catch is someone has done a TERRIBLE job of starting it. The good news is that they didn't do much, and the glue they used appears to have slightly less sticking power than a post - it note. I will make a new servo tray and the two formers that go around it but other than that it's all pretty much ok. Wings are happily untampered with and it has instructions and decals /stickers and most of the parts including hardware.
I am torn between converting it to electric or using an Enya 40ss because that's what the one I had back in the day was fitted with. I remember it flying very well, and I landed it on my first flight ( which was supervised but not buddy lead connected ) and I liked the thing, but it got sold when circumstances led me away from the hobby until my return about 23 years ago.
It felt...settled, I think is the word I would use to describe it - the not-insignificant weight lent it energy which you had to account for and treat accordingly. I am looking forward to having another soon 🙂
Stuart, if its built with PVA glue, or possibly even cyano, chuck it in the bath overnight and it will re-kit itself. I had one just as you describe, and once all the bits were separated I was able to scrape the glue off, tidy up the tabs, holes and edges and it all went togeher as Precedent intended without a gap to be seen.
One tip. If you are using the supplied noseleg clamps, put some spacers, either washers or bits of lemonade or milk bottle under the saddle clamp pads. Otherwise they are pre-stressed and will break on the first 'firm' landing.-
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20 hours ago, Paul Marsh said:
WXE engines? The seller doesn't know, though as he reckons a re-badged SC (Sanye) model.
Paul, that looks a lot like a Chinese-made Magnum XL-40A to me. Maybe what you thought was an E is in fact an L? I imagine a distributor has had their own badge put on it, which is probably what was intended when making that flat area in the first place. Here's a Magnum XL40A for comparison.
Edit: Weston UK still show this make of Magnum (as opposed to the Taiwanese or British Magnums) on their website. Maybe the 'WXL or WXE' was a batch that they had labelled up specifically for them to sell?
By the way, if you Google 'Magnum XL', add 'engine' or 'motor', or you won't be getting what you expected... 😲
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14 hours ago, Paul Marsh said:
WXE engines? The seller doesn't know, though as he reckons a re-badged SC (Sanye) model.
Paul, that looks a lot like a Chinese-made Magnum XL-40A to me. Maybe what you thought was an E is in fact an L? I imagine a distributor has had their own badge put on it, which is probably what was intended when making that flat area in the first place. Here's a Magnum XL40A for comparison.
By the way, if you Google 'Magnum XL', add 'engine' or 'motor', or you won't be getting what you expected... 😲 -
I was recently trying to persuade a friend that he should be building aircraft tugs like that, and smaller ones for lighter aircraft. GIven that the average age of private pilots is fairly old, a lot struggle to get their aircraft out of the hangar without assistance, particularly where its onto grass or up an incline. You also have much better situational awareness if you can stand where you can see all the extremities of the aircraft, which is important, as it can get very expensive if you hit your own aircraft onto the hangar structure, or worse still, on someone else's aircraft.
I was aware of these tracked tugs being available in the US, but didn't realise that any had made it over here.
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I bought a Bossanova at our club auction earlier this month. It is going to need a fair bit of refurbishment though before it is airworthy.
In addition to geographical location, the difficulty is going to be finding one in good condition. They have very light construction, are designed for a type of flying (3D) that is likely to result in damage and they have been out of production for ten years or more.
I have read that the Bolero is pretty similar so you may be better off looking for one of them.
That one in the ebay listing, with the exception of the missing engine cowl, looks pretty good. You could try messaging the seller to see if you could send him a box to put it in, and take the risk that the courier doesn't destroy it, however ebay doesn't encourage stuff like that, and with Parcelforce you are looking at around £40 for delivery and Evri light & large via Interparcel around £30.
This is the manual for the Bolero: Ripmax Bolero Manual
Inwood Models in Huntingdon are having a big sell off of used models. They aren't on your doorstep, but are a lot closer to you than Lymington is
There is also 'A Plane Olde Bargain' in Lincolnshire who have a regular stock of similar models, such as this Hype which comes wth an engine & servos APOB 3D Hype -
11 minutes ago, High_Start said:
However, nothing beats sending a glider up the high start, the chute drifting down is a bonus.
I agree, Just the wind noise of the glider going up the line. There's something magical about it as the energy it is using is your own, as it was your muscles that stretched the bungee, unless of course you have a 'fetchermite' to do that for you! 😁
The bit I really like, is that in a decent wind, even though you think you've stretched the bungee as far as it will go, often when you release the glider, the wind stretches the bungee even further, so the glider goes back from the launchpoint as the full length of the bungee lifts the ground.-
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Thank you for posting these videos Ron, its a topic in which I am very interested.
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One of the problems with UAV operations, is that often the person manning the radio or answering the phone isn't as experienced or as knowledgeable of the regulations as they really need to be.
The fact that this NOTAM was 24 hours a day, seven days a week, suggests it wasn't a model flying operation but some sort of trial. It doesn't surprise me that it specifies model aircraft as well as UAVs , as its not unusual for pilots on UAV operations to fly a low value aircraft at the site , i.e. a model, to get some site awareness before operating the larger, more expensive and more complex UAV. -
Some food for thought here, plus a couple of plans Ornithopter.org
This is the R/C Pterodactyl that HobbyKing used to sell.
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31 minutes ago, john davidson 1 said:
Shelf life for poxy seems to infinite
Certainly in industry it is not unusual to make test pieces for peel and tensile strength to extend the life of epoxies reaching their use by date. It is also common for samples of mixed epoxy to be stored for future analysis in case there is any doubt about its quality.
Getting the mix ratio right is critical. Unlike polyester resins which have a catalytic reaction. two part epoxies rely on the adhesive mixing fully with the hardener. If one part uses up all of the other and there is surplus, that surplus will stay in liquid or jelly form, weakening the resin.
For the best bonds:- Weigh out the adhesive and hardener with an accurate balance.
- Warm the parts to be bonded so the mixed resin wets out (reduces in viscosity), rather than chilling on contact (If the material being bonded is porous, the cooling substrate will pull the epoxy in as it cools).
- Having applied the epoxy to the materials, gently warm it to further reduce the viscosity, which helps get any air trapped when mixing or spreading out.
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Once cured, do a post-cure for 12 hours at a higher temperature than the part will ever see in service. If this isn't done, there is a danger of the joint softening if warm and under load (e.g. near an exhaust or speed controller) and either failing completely or resetting in a stress-relieved form.
Geoff S, in answer to your original question, the time on the faster setting epoxies (e.g. 5, 20, 30 minute) seem to refer to how long the mix can be used for, whilst 24 hour epoxy seems to refer to stuff that is set hard in that time. Well, that is my experience anyway.
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Rollin Klingberg did some research on tip fins. His conclusion was that they should be inboard from the tip. I think this is the video in which he talks about fin position: Rollin Klingberg on flying wing fins
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A 3mm carbon tube would be my choice. With a metal pushrod there is a lot of momentum if the model stops suddenly and this is more likely to break servo arms and strip gears than a snake will. A 650mm 0.8mm steel wire weighs 25.8 grams (0.9oz). The same length in 3mm carbon tube is 3.9 grams. Of course you need to add the end fittings to the carbon, whereas you could have a 'Z' bend on the steel wire. If you used a 3mm carbon tube it has a 2mm bore, so you could epoxy a short length of studding into the ends to attach the clevises.
Hyperflight 3mm carbon fibre tube-
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18 hours ago, Nigel R said:
Short version, yes, when it comes to outlines and profiles, just scale everything equally in all the dimensions.
Material thickness is a different question.
Material thickness and choice are very definitely very important. A friend is building the Valueplanes 1/4 scale Miles Hawk. It is 2.48M (97") wingspan, yet seems to use materials of the size and weight, or even thicker, than a full-size wooden glider. Where the wing roots abut the fuselage, the fuselage has four laminations of liteply, making it about 10mm thick. My concern is that the thing has massive strength in places, yet potential weak points where, for instance, the longerons are cracked to go from parallel to tapering in towards the tail.
When scaling up, always remember, dimensions goe up linearly, areas are squared and volumes are cubed. Twice the size is eight times the volume. -
Hoochykins, have you had a look at the Pegasus Models range. They do the Fiesta which is a traditional wooden R/C trainer which could be either electric or engine powered, plus a whole range of other kits. If you read the reviews, someone has done an electric conversion and lists the exact set up that he used. He also said that it is the ideal electric trainer.
Pegasus Models Fiesta
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On 27/02/2024 at 08:45, Roy Thompson said:
Someone pick up a bargain yesterday on eBay. NIB SKYMAN 55” 3ch with a roll of film to go with it. The roll of film probably worth 1/4 of the price alone 😀
Thats the second Skyman in as many months to pop up. I was tempted but resisted the temptation to add this to my stock of kits, and if they had been the 4ch versions, I may have had a bid.
I wonder if we’ll see either of them crop up on here, I hope so.
Very nice find Roy! Was that the kit that 'A Plane Olde Bargain' was advertising recently?
Is this completed one on Ebay a Simple Skyman or Escort? It appears to have a strange hump behind the wing, or is the wing too far forward?
I spent ages searching "Galaxy Models Escort" on Google. Very interesting, but I didn't see any model aeroplanes... 🤪
Bowmans Simple Skyman or Galaxy Models Escort on Ebay
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We have a chap who brings along a Flyng Styro 'Chubby Lady' electric model to our club's summer evening flying sessions. It has a geared 280 brushed motor, flies remarkably well and has been doing so for many years. Whilst I understand the recommendations to move to brushless power here, 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'. By changing a model around a lot, and particularly with a newcomer doing it, there is the danger of inadvertently adding weaknesses in the structure and altering thrust lines. The Easy pigeon was a good flier as it was designed. For sure, once Hoochykins has some experience with flying, a brushless set up should improve performance and duration, however at this stage, a consistent performer which stays within the pilot's capabilities and remains in one piece is the primary requirement.
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Once the engine is run in, given that it is a very slow flying model with a thick wing, I would go larger on the diameter and finer on the pitch than those recommendations (8" pitch stated in instructions). Too coarse a pitch and you will have trouble getting the model down, as the residual thrust at idle will cause it to float and float. You still need plenty of ground clearance, as the undercarriage will flex a surprising amount and you don't want to break big props.
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That is such a nice fuselage that it seems a shame to butcher it. Why not put a motor on a pylon up above the wing, where the shaft and prop will be protected? You can then fly it as a pure glider still if the opportunity arises.
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13 minutes ago, Hoochykins said:
- Can I programme the Transmitter to do elevator on the right stick, rudder on the left stick and a flick switch to stick the motor on or off? (this might be a bit of a weird setup or normal)
- Is it worth getting the 10 channel FlySky transmitter or is that massive overkill? Not for this glider but future models, I suspect it is and 6 channel will be overkill.
Hoochykins, It is normal in Mode 2 to have your primary turning controls on the righthand stick. If you had ailerons, then these would be on the righthand stick with the elevator, with rudder and throttle on the left stick, As you don't have ailerons, the rudder would normally go on the righthand stick in place of the ailerons. You could put the rudder on the left stick nad just have elevator on the right, but I've not seen it done. Having a brushless motor on an on/off switch may be a violent for the speed controller, plus it is likely to use your battery up a lot faster than having a proportional throttle. From a beginners point of view, it will also mean everything happens much more suddenly, which is not ideal.
The 10 channel version of the FlySky FS-i6, the FS-i6X is to the best of my knowledge, simply a software upgrade to get the extra channels. Whether the FS-i6 gets i-bus & s-bus capability with the software upgrade, I don't know.
Six channels will be plenty for fixed wing flying in the short term. I would advise getting the FS-i6, and, once you can fly proficiently, you will have a far better idea of what extra features are worth having. In our club there seem to be a fliers, including experienced ones, spending far too much time flaffing about with overly complex transmitters. -
21 hours ago, Hoochykins said:
Okay so George is the guy, what's the best way to contact him? Email, Facebook etc?
Also, I don't think it's actually an SP600 as that's whats in the 1.8m models, the 1.7m models have a 540 type.
Hoochykins, it looks like you are aware that there area whole host of models that use the same fuselage as the Easy Pigeon (Green Sleeve, Seagull 2200, Bluebird & Albatross) . New spares can be hard to find, however if you set up searches on Ebay, Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree to alert you when any of the related models are offered for sale you should have a plentiful supply of spares should you need them. Where possible, have the search include 'search title and description' as they may be buried in a collection of models.
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I've been flying off and on for 48 years and I'm now using a FlySky FS-i6 transmitter with the FS-ia6B receiver. If you are using a separate battery pack for the receiver it tells you the voltage of that battery. Whilst you could invest in more expensive and complex transmitter at this stage, there is no real need.
I've taught several people with Easy Pigeons over the years, and if you start by putting a rubber band around the propeller blades and just doing straight glides into wind over long grass. Repeat over and over again, you will learn how to land it. Once you have mastered that, you can take the rubber band off and, if you have enough space do a littel bit of powered flight, still going straight and landing stright ahead.
Whilst the original brushed motor and controller are a bit antiquated, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. You may struggle to get an electronic speed controller that shuts off power to the motor at the right voltage. There are some on AliExpress, although most are designed for surface vehicles with forward and reverse.
Beware, the Easy Pigeon fuselage tends to break between the back corner of the underwing hole and the air outlets below the rear wing dowel.
If you can find a club, an instructor will save you a lot of heartache in the long run.-
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Can you identify this model?
in All Things Model Flying
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Its reminiscent of the VMAR Stiletto ARTF from the mid 1990s, however I can't find a picture of one anywhere. It is also similar to the Phil Kraft Kwik Fli series, although the Mk3 which is the only one I can find pictured has the rudder all the way to the bottom of the fuselage, as one would expect for a pattern model.