Graham Bowers
-
Posts
563 -
Joined
-
Days Won
2
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Gallery
Calendar
Downloads
Posts posted by Graham Bowers
-
-
Possible alternative. I've not built one, I'm still making slow progress with a Gnat.
-
How does this LIDL specials thing work please? Not a shop I know. Are they likely to have a decent supply, or will it be like fighting for bog roll during corvid?
-
21 hours ago, Martin Harris - Moderator said:
Vicious stuff…its thorns will penetrate a tractor tyre or a boot sole without a second thought.
As well as that, it's much more likely to cause an infected wound than other thorns, so puncture injuries need to be treated with care and respect. I get up close and personal with it quite a bit in my voluntary work.
-
1
-
-
9 hours ago, David Davis 2 said:
Certainly the TX16s Mark II looks excellent value for money compared to Spektrum transmitters.
Is there anything I should be aware of before buying this transmitter?
I came from a Taranis, and before that a Multiplex P4000 and Cockpit Sx on 35 MHz. I bought a TX16S because of the multi mode capability. Many have trouble free service from their TX16S's and apart from the antenna articulation joint breaking, so have I.
I am, however, phasing it's retirement from my models due to a loss of confidence. I fly the odd foamy with it, but that's all. Shame, as I love OpenTx and it's capability. I still fly the aged Taranis however have moved to a European brand for my expensive stuff.
All we punters have is anecdotes, and here are the ones that led to my decision.
1) One of my clubmates crashed a couple of models. We were checking his transmitter in the clubhouse and I saw with my own eyes how the channel outputs failed to respond correctly to the inputs. He was advised by the supplier this was probably an issue with the ribbon cable connection. He obtained and installed a new ribbon cable and as far as I know it's been OK since.
2) I watched an expensive model of one of our better fliers on finals roll uncommanded into a tree and become a total loss. 3) Fair play to him, he put a foamy up straight away and it flew OK, however upon landing, experienced uncommanded full power on the electric motor and collided with another member's model. He was advised by the supplier it was probably one of a couple of things, however chose to retire it.
In a club of about 30, with a handful using the TX16S, those don't seem great odds.
When reading stories of problems in RCgroups, for example, or watching on YouTube, one never really knows whether the reporting is accurate, or whether the competency of the operators was the cause - as alluded earlier in this thread. One may read that anything can fail, and qualitatively, that's true. Quantitatively, the industry has data on warranty claims and parts sales however that data is denied to us punters. So taking in to account what I saw, I made my choice.
I didn't feel lucky enough.
-
1 hour ago, Jake Bullit said:
You`ll get bored very quickly if you`re a regular flier flying in your comfort zone.
Depends very much on the individual in my opinion. Some like it that way, some like to push the boundaries.
Personally, I tend to get bored when I stop learning new stuff. In modelling and other aspects of my life.
In context, "most" is only 51% in whole numbers ;-)
-
3
-
-
As far as I know it's a throwback to the pre-2.4 GHz days. The thinking being that transmitters closer to models than the one supposed to be in control could cause interference. Happy to be corrected. I've not seen transmitters being left in the pilot area when recovering a model from the strip for many a year - unless practicalities of model size were a factor.
-
3
-
-
5 minutes ago, Jolly Roger said:
Agreed 100%. I loved my copy to bits. Literally 😍
Saved here https://rclibrary.co.uk/download_title.asp?ID=1023
-
2
-
-
A pointless exercise in cemantics. I’ve read similar in a cycling context.
-
6
-
-
8 minutes ago, Martin Harris - Moderator said:
There’s a simple explanation for the apparent anomaly about hill soaring in stronger winds than a flat field flyer would find comfortable…
The earth and a myriad of bits attached to it, trees, buildings, buses, hedges etc. etc. gets in the way of the moving mass of air that we call wind and makes it tetchy as it scuffs across the ground and hits these obstructions, introducing tumbling air deflecting in various directions. The air approaching a typical slope has had a lovely smooth trip, way above the trials and tribulations of its lower layers and moves at a more or less constant speed and direction until it is deflected upwards by the slope. It doesn’t have time to get very grumpy until it’s realised that it’s past the top of the hill - at which time it can get very nasty indeed!
Fair point.
Think my slope models are more robust than my flat field models, too.
-
27 minutes ago, leccyflyer said:
Snip
My soaring club have a neat little visual aid, showing all the local slopes on a compass rose and the directions that work.
Snip
Mine too, although it must be said, I don't make the effort often enough. Flat fields are 12 mins or 30 mins away. Closest slope around 70 mins, Leek area. I tend to fly more slope when away from home, easy to take a Weasel ;-)
-
1
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, GrumpyGnome said:
Snip
I do find people who have flown gliders are often more controlled in their turns, and less scared of dead-sticks though!
Snip
Good observation, I hadn't joined the dots up on that. Some of my best landings are dead-stick!
-
1
-
-
For reasons I don't fully understand, I'm happy to launch from the top of a hill in to a wind that'd have me cowering at a flat field. And fully expect the landing to perhaps be little more than a controlled crash.
On a slope with smooth lift, good landing area and a light wind day, then a beginner friendly experience may be expected. However they are uncommon combinations of circumstances.
I do believe sloping makes for a better flat field flyer, however can't convince myself it's an "ideal entry". Unless that's all you've got ;-)
-
3
-
1
-
-
7 hours ago, leccyflyer said:
The thing is, programmes like The Repair Shop do show that people do also appreciate the intricacies and skills employed in making the restorations and repairs - the same as with other reality shows. Key to their success is that they include a lot of human interest and emotional content as well and across several topics in any one episode. It's that mix that the general viewers so enjoy, but that mix can include good technical detail as well. I just felt that this particular episode didn't really show very much at all and could have been done better.
I can state categorically that every general media item of which I had first hand knowledge has contained inaccuracies and omissions.
"Could have done better" is a fair appraisal of the programme. Sadly, however, seems to me to be the position of the bar. Which is why I watch almost no TV.
-
9 hours ago, leccyflyer said:
I found the programme to be a bit underwhelming and, as mentioned above, superficial. I'd be very surprised if Dave Phipps needs to learn how to put a receiver and replacement engine in an Astro Hog, plus a few drops of CA on the rudder. Probably no harm done, but it could have been done a lot better. It's a pity, because I like Jay Blades in his other programmes.
Yes. However, in context it's an entertainment programme.
We aeromodellers can spot all of the daft stuff, but are not the intended audience. If it places us in better light, and Dave Phipps didn't have to bite his lip too hard, than all to the good.
-
4
-
-
32 minutes ago, Don Fry said:
A trade secret, keep it safe. Criminals are liars. “I swear on my babies life, officer” They will say granny is a bully if it suits.
I blame cognitive dissonance 😉
-
1
-
-
Still have my slide rule, and used to use it in anger once upon a time. It was a gift from an Aunt, and I don't have the heart to part with it. Log tables long gone; still have both steam tables and statistical tables. First calculator was a Sinclair Cambridge, 4 function plus one memory as I recall.
-
5 minutes ago, leccyflyer said:
Perhaps if you just flicked through the BMFA Magazine before putting it in the bin, you would see that it certainly isn't just adverts and there is even a chance that you might see something interesting, maybe even something important and become better informed about the hobby.
I suspect there is some minor teasing going on 😉
-
I'd suggest working through a trimming process, if one has the inclination 😉
This is the one I use.
https://ita.bmfa.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Basic-Trimming-for-Aerobatics-27-07-2023-v1.pdf
-
58 minutes ago, Futura57 said:
Indeed, I won't be attending the new W&W model venue. I guess there will be new attendees now considering it within their travel range.
One of those is me.
-
19 minutes ago, toto said:
I'd agree John ( pending bye laws etc ) but what size / type of model do you think would be sensible for such a space ..... if flying were permitted.
Toto
That's an impossible question, as too many other factors, many of which have been listed in this thread. As you've correctly stated, it's all down to assessing and managing risk. However how much risk is tolerable and how is it assessed?
For models over 250g the rule is 30m. OK, reduced to 15m if a specific risk assessment and mitigations are in place - but do we really want to go there - I certainly don't.
Key is to have complete control of the model and adequate separation from other users.
I have a small park nearby, a couple of hundred metres away. Village hall grounds. 60m by 60m. I'll sneak a few flights in with a 50g guarded prop quad there, nothing bigger. I probably don't fly further than 15m away. If anybody else enters the space I pull in very close, within 5m, and usually land. The "anybody else" is normally accompanied by a child, a dog or both.
A larger country park is about 600m by 600m. When it's quiet, I'll fly a 1 m wingspan sub 1 Kg foamy, but way away from anybody else, and within 50m of myself. Sometimes a 500mm Nutball. When it's not quiet, I'll not fly there.
-
2
-
-
Pleased there is a happy ending. I’d say that mastering the nuances of these receivers is at the complex end of the modelling science. Not helped by sketchy instuctions.
-
I think my first action would be to contact the vendor. He has a very good reputation and is probably best placed to dig down to the required detail.
-
No, however it wouldn't be a bad idea and I often keep field notes, so wouldn't be hard to do.
-
1
-
-
31 minutes ago, leccyflyer said:
The AMA definition of a park flyer is that it's a small model suitable for flying in a park, weighing less than 2lbs and not capable of flight faster than 60mph.
BMFA handbook paragraph 14.2 (a) doesn't use numbers, however alludes Park Fly = Ultralight. < Riot is pretty foreseeable.
-
1
-
Seeing plane at distance?
in All Things Model Flying
Posted
One of my pals has red and green wingtip lights, leds. They definitely make orientatian easier. I know “ other tricks” are available, however the leds make for a more enjoyable flight in adverse lighting conditions.