Frank Skilbeck

Went sloping yesterday Saturday and power today  

I've run a twin (Vega 50T) with a separate feed to each carb, i.e. twin clunks, I didn't tie them together and they never got tangled up, but this was on a fairly small tank (6oz)  As above I'd be wary of tying them together as this will have the effect of making them stiffer and hence they may not move around as freely. If you are running a larger tank then using a short piece of fuel tube with a straight length of brass tube would also stop them from getting tangled up if thats a concern.   

Posted by Tom Satinet on 10/03/2010 21:49:30: lol they are pretty boring.  I have probably flown my sas fusion 3 times in the last two years!   But if live near the big slopes in South Wales and want to try sloping when it's too windy for power, something that bounces and comes back for more has some appeal, but I'd hate it to be my only slope soarer.

Wildthing gets my vote for testing new slopes, chuck, crash, chuck again............... If going conventional a Chris Foss Middle Phase knocks spots off the Stargazer. Be warned though, you say just a glider for when it's too windy for power, before you know it you will have a fleet.....................

Isn't it also that the torque on analogue servo's drops off as it nears position whereas digital servos keep a fairly constant torque until the required position is achieved.

What about one of these http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=339259&C=Froogle&U=339259&T=Module but you might need the docking station to be able to record to it. If you could find one of the older Archos 560's that would probably be ideal, I have one and have a small adaptor which plugs into it and it can then record at upto 640 x 480 pixels and quality is pretty good. One on ebay here and travel adaptor here   They stopped making it because it didn't compete with the IPod.....  Cowon also made a similar unit which you could record to.

Yep my Easyglider is what I fly in light winds, but it's not as responsive as a mouldie, but as a back up for those no wind (i.e. fly the thermals) days it's worth having in the car. Other option would be a DLG type glider.

Can you turn the servo over so one faces towards the fuselage and one away, that way they will both move in the same direction. The E Flite Beaver has the servo's installed this way so you can operate them via a Y lead. The other alternative (short of getting a new Tx) is to buy a servo reverser which goes between the servo and Rx.

Posted by Andy Freeman on 27/02/2010 18:38:52: Would you look at the price!!!!!!!!!!   It doea include servos, motor and ESC, so if these are good quality then it's not too unreasonable. The video of it flying looks good.  http://www.servoshop.co.uk/index.php?pid=RIPACF020&area=Aircraft

Whacky, its the model you chuck off a new slope when you don't know what the conditions on that slope are or what the landing is like, because you know if you misjudge things, you just pick it up and chuck it off again.

Super video, and well done to the builder & pilot. Could be a good free plan for one of the specials.......................

Posted by whacky on 23/02/2010 00:06:04:   I tried to google the wildthing found some videos but no where to buy, any suggestions? Try here  And a couple more posts on Wildthings here Edited By Frank Skilbeck on 23/02/2010 18:57:51

Posted by Andy Gates on 15/02/2010 22:32:04:  Generally they are less responsive, slower to react to control inputs and need to be flown much further ahead than any power machine.  Mmm that depends on the glider, my Wildthing is much more responsive than some of my power planes and I've just ordered one of these http://vimeo.com/1047743Edited By Timbo - Administrator on 22/02/2010 23:30:36 Edited By Timbo - Administrator on 22/02/2010 23:32:54

Try again  

mmm, can't get my U Tube link to work. If you have power to the Rx then the LED should light up green, to switch it on you have to flick the switch on and then back off, the LED will change to red and it's recording, to stop do the same again. Does the LED light up when you plug it into your computer USB port?  Also have you tried a different channel?

Dave, it should work, the positive and negative rails on all Rx's are direct from the battery, so if the battery is fine then it should work. Does the LED go green when you turn it on? The other thing you might need to do is change the settings in your programming to make sure that the switch you use to switch it on and off (and change modes) is set in the correct direction and has full travel. I took mine down the field today with my Spektrum set and initially it didn't work, then I found I'd allocated the Gear switch to activate a mixer so the gear channel wasn't working, changed it back and it was fine. Video below     Edited By Frank Skilbeck on 21/02/2010 20:25:24 Edited By Frank Skilbeck on 21/02/2010 20:27:07

Sounds a lot like the original Spektrum DSM 1 technology, it says can use 256 channels, so it will probably look for a free channel before transmitting. But it's another wi-fi system and hence won't cause any noticable problems.  Same as why different makes of Tx don't interfer with each other

I have a Sigma charger and it asks you to put the battery capacity in and it will then cut off if the battery voltage is reached or at 110% of the entered mah, so if you entered 1000 mah it will cut off at 1100 mah. I suspect your charger has the same safeguard so if you enter 200 ma it thinkis you are trying to charge a 200 mah battery and as a dafeguard cuts out at 220 mah even if the pack is not upto voltage.   

Been flying my Alfa Mig this morning off the snow, take offs are even easier, just went a looooooooong way on landing

Vasili, joining the BMFA gives you automatic insurance and its the same price for everybody. If you are going to go it alone (i.e. without instruction) then something like a Multiplex Easy Star or Flyingwings V trainer  http://www.flyingwings.co.uk/store/product_info.php?products_id=443&osCsid=a993dca7488d8b1d46ace6ef381bf4fb or the Britflight Breeze  http://www.britflight.co.uk/products/breeze.html Could be good starting points if you are going the electric route. I'd check on the BMFA web site for clubs in your area and then pay them a visit before you buy anything though.

Yes, unfortunately the replacement ones they send out are typically the older design salvaged from broken sets, apparently the newer sets have an improved design, but they aren't stocked as a spare part. They sent me 2 last time so I have a spare.

I've had two go on my DX6i, quick phone call to Horizon and they've put a replacement in the post, real easy to change. You can buy cnc metal ones in the US if you want to bling your radio.

I've been flying my Mini Blade, initially with a 4 cell AAA pack and latterly with a 5 cell AAA pack. I changed from 4 cell to 5 cell, because a 5 cell would fit in and carrying extra electrons to lead was my preference and also the quicker servo's. I can confirm that the battery space in these models is very tight.  What Timbo says about a 5 cell pack delivering more amps is true because the voltage is higher so the servo motors will use this and take more amps, but you have more power so the servos move to their new position more quickly, so maybe the overall work done is the same. They will give you more voltage head room with a Spekky Rx, but to be honest if the voltage drops to 3.5v then the servos will be very sluggish anyway. Note I don't use a switch on mine preferring just to plug it in, ths way reducing the overall number of connections and any resistance across the switch.  No problems with this set up, but it is on 35 mhz

From what I read about this ESC from the manual (see below), it will only arm when it i) Sees a throttle signalii) senses that the throttles is set to 0%  Have you checked i) Throttle throw on Tx is set 0 to 100% ii) Trim is not set above 0%iii) Throttle direction is correct, not on Futaba the throttle channel needs to be reversed on most ESC's  I think the annoying beeping is because it is not seeing the throttle set a 0%. Below is excerpt from the manual  "If your ESC cannot sense any radio signal it will beep the motor (all types) and flash orange on the LED (26V+ types) continuously .Safe Power Up: If throttle is not at zero at startup, the ESC will not provide any power to the motor. The ESC will also stop the motor as a safety (fail safe) feature when the throttle signal is lost or corrupt for 3 seconds. If a signal is later regained the user will have throttle control again immediately. See troubleshooting section at end of manual if necessary." The above is pretty standard for most ESC's and I haven't had any problems with my (non-Hyperion) with my AR6200. The other thing to check is that the throttle channel on the Rx is OK by hooking up a servo to this channel. BTW you are safe to fly with the Rx and Sat LED flashing, this is just a warning to tell you that the Rx has had a brown out.  

Posted by TonyS on 14/02/2010 17:28:31: Meal in hotel restaurant with wine £148  That's 3 Parkzone Sukhoi's at the current discounted rates............................