andy watson

Sorry for being tardy on this, but there is a solution to the wiring that no one has mentioned- Ashlock connectors. Available from Fighter aces: **LINK** I have used these where the amount of toys in the wings has led to a mass of cables needing to be connected into the fuselage (or vice versa). These are fantastic little devices- no soldering- which in my book is a very good thing, but also total security of the connection with a mechanical lock of the 2 halves- so no danger of vibrations coming loose. I know that doesn't help you BEB, but as we know- these blogs are really for the people following!

Me please

I have never bothered looking anywhere other than flightline Danny. He does get very busy, so his lead times can stretch a bit, but Nigel is brilliant. Don't phone him unless you have an hour to kill talking about your model- he is the only person I know that gets as excited about your build as you do yourself! Can't recommend him highly enough.

I would give maskol a go then- it's about the best idea I can come up with

At least we now know what happens when electric fliers run out of IC fliers to argue with!

Dylan, Here's my problem with what you are describing- I can't see any way the paint can be bleeding under the tape!! Tamiya tape is pretty good stuff- especially on a smooth surface. I could understand more if you were working on solartex or another fabric textured covering, but I would guess not. Then you have sealed the tape with white (the base colour), again excellent practise. Finally if you are dry brushing then I can't see there is enough paint to wick under the tape anyway (which is what happens when the paint bleeds through)- especially if you are brushing away from the tape. If anything I would have expected to see a small gap between the tape and paint. But............maybe..... and it's probably a long shot......... you say you have thinned the black coat. If it has been thinned really thin could it manage to get through? Especially along panel lines etc? I am just thinking that heavily thinned black paint is sometimes used as a wash/weathering technique which can get into every nook and cranny of a model? My only suggestion is try painting the black on unthinned to maintain its thickness and so reduce its likelihood to be pulled along by capillary action..

I have a bottle in the workshop that I have never tried either! I would imagine (and the reason I bought it) that it would be much better on a textured covering like solartex than a tape which will always struggle to get into the dimples of the fabric and prevent bleeding. The latex like structure once its dried should come off cleanly- but as I said above- I haven't actually used it

The OP seems to have done everything most of us do, and is still struggling. I would advise trying a product called maskol. It's a liquid masking agent and so shouldn't allow any bleeding.

I'm pretty sure Timbo always used to recommend 20% lee way on escs. Personally I just stick an 80A/100A into everything since the weight and cost penalty is pretty much minimal.

World of tanks is a pretty good game- I have racked up close to 3k battles on there.......... I wonder what I could have achieved if I had spent that time productively!! It also links into their new (and less well known) game called world of warplanes- which would obviously be more down the avenues of interest for many on here- maybe we should get an RCM&E clan going!

Chris, Just to confirm what I think you have just said above. There would be no problem with me deciding at the last minute to sling a plane, a tent and a 3 year old into the back of the car and head down.

My default supplier.................. although they seem to sell so many little bits and pieces I really really need that that cheap packet of screws I need always seems to cost more than I meant!

I had a similar experience with Airtek. I had bought a charger, which went pop on turning on. I gave them a ring expecting them to ask me to send it back, some time for them to evaluate it, and them to post out a replacement to me. The end result would have been I couldn't get everything charged for the weekends flying. Not a bit of it- the replacement was in the post the same day and I returned the faulty one at my leisure. Excellent service I still remember and tell people about........... like now!

An often ignored little trainer I like is the jumper 25. Struggles to get off grass with the recommended 25, but put a 40 into it and it's a great little plane. Slightly smaller than the similar liiking arising star- but cheaper as well.

Our science club are busy putting together 10 indoor fliers, and so will be busy for a while, but I am thinking about their next project. I remember seeing a number of programmes where various people have bought weather balloons, filled them with Helium and released them. These balloons will rise rapidly to the edge of space, but also show wind conditions on the way up. They eventually burst and fall back to Earth many miles away. My idea.........and as usual I am miles out of my comfort zone here- is to do this, but the balloon (as per the TV) is carrying a box containing a camera and GPS tracking- allowing us to follow the balloon and retrieve the box. Ideally I would like the balloon to transmit live video feed and GPS data back so we can all watch it as it happens. The alternative would be that we get the video once we retrieve the box. The obvious worry is what if we lose the box- and hence the camera. Extra sensors such as temperature would be interesting too. Has anyone any experience of doing something like this, or the kind of equipment that would be suitable? Budget isn't as tight as you might expect for a school project- but if we could get everything back it would help!!

Well the obvious response from me is what happens next week when you do the same thing again- but this time without the steerable nose wheel?

Interesting snippet in the article: " And since most people will probably be leery about flying in an electric plane given the stories of electric cars randomly stopping, the Panthera comes equipped with a high-speed full airframe parachute system which will deliver it safetly back to Earth if there’s a problem." Whereas most of us are of the opinion that ic is temperamental and electric is the reliable one!

The link I posted for the HET typhoon 2W25 should (according to the test data on the site) turn a 4.1"*4.1" prop at 38k rpm on 4S for 568W, or probably better for me- a 4.7"*4.7" prop @ 34k rpm and 850W. It looks like edf motors are perfectly capable of running these small props. I do wonder what the performance will be like though? Very fast with little thrust or lots of thrust with low speed. I would guess the former since this use of tiny props seems to be used in racers, but I am thinking it would be at one end of the performance scale, or the other.

And I am hoping for about 4" diameter...........maybe 5 at a push!

What about: **LINK** Seems inrunners (which I think are best suited for me) are a bit few and far between above about 500W I think the number you are grasping for is that the tip of the prop stays subsonic.  I will check the maths but I think that becomes less of a problem as you reduce prop size. Edited By andy watson on 22/04/2013 23:45:38

Cheers Steve, I think I have looked at those motors before- but was a bit put off by the fact one is described as a Heli motor, the other (in the comments) better for cars.......... Why can't HK put some search parameters into their stock listings!!! I would like to get below 8" if possible........ I would do it at the expense of some power (must remember to build light.........)

OK, I am sort of planning my next build- just messing around with ideas more than anything really. It's going to be an electric Me163b Komet- about 50" span from the BT plans. Expected weight is in the 2kg region- maybe up to 2.5. By my reckoning that means I am looking at about 750W of performance. So far easy enough- especially as I know I want to try use 4S batteries as well. But as we all know the 163 has a tiny (non propulsion) prop on the front, and I can't power this (entirely) by rockets (yes, I have a plan). I think there is a definite loss on the flightlines when you see one of these with a big prop on the front. So my question is- how do I get 750W from a small prop? 4S or 8S batteries are best. And by small, I mean the smaller the better. I am thinking along pylon racer type lines- very high rpm.

Rob, you can have my 68" Vulcan and try explaining it always seems to look bigger in photos!

Sorry guys- remiss of me not to say thanks earlier! Turns out the wind stopped me flying. Current plan is to set the timer at 7 minutes and then see what the batteries are like after that. It sounds like they can go lower than I feared.

I hope someone is up late/early! I managed to drop my hack into a tree after a deadstick, so decided to replace it with an electric model. This is my first foray into electrics! I am running a 4S system which pulls 55A max. I doubt it will need to be on full throttle very often since I have about 750W for a 2 and a bit kg plane. Anyway, the batteries are 4S 4000mAh capacity- obviously 16.8V fully charged. By my reckoning if I fly WOT non stop then I will drain 4000mAh in about 4 1/2 minutes. However I also understand that LiPos should not be run to empty. My questions are: 1) How far should I discharge my packs? I have a watt meter & battery monitor to check cells, but I don't think it tells me capacity- just voltage (not under load). 2) Given I will be using the plane as a hack not prophanging/racing for the full flight, what would be a reasonable time setting to use for my initial flights (presumeably I can check the batteries at the end of the flight and modify the timings based on these results). Many thanks in advance Andy