toto Posted February 3 Author Share Posted February 3 Many thanks for the birthday wishes and all the well meaning suggestions. As Leccyflyer has suggested, I am happy sticking with the route that I am on at the moment. Its been a bit of a journey so far but I am happy to say that I am lucky enough to have settled a bit with a great instructor who has the skills, knowledge, patience and willingness in abundance so don't want to go making things any more complicated. I have bought a couple of powered gliders but don't want to go introducing them as it means another site, another instructor and trying to balance available time between the available resources and available time .... given weather etc. I appreciate where the wisdom comes in with the gliders etc with regards to potential extra stick time and possibly the ability to go it alone for even more time but I'll just keep my faith in the resource I have at the moment. Things will get on track again shortly and I feel that I am on the crux of speeding up my progress towards flying solo .... if a bit rough...... I am lucky that I have a few suitable high wing, foam trainer type models to play with in order to keep me busy and my interest up as well whilst I wait for the weather to settle and training to progress again. Thanks again for all the support. Toto 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leccyflyer Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 Happy Birthday Sir - hope that you have a great day. Try not to worry too much about the weather -after all it's winter and you are in rather unforgiving Northern climes, it will soon be spring, the days will be longer and the weather at least a little kinder and you'll be able to get those much needed flying hours in. I suspect, given your descriptions of your sessions so far, that you'll progress reasonably quickly and see the benefits of building those hours. You thorough approach and stickability will bear fruit soon enough. 🙂 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted February 3 Author Share Posted February 3 Thank you chaps, Great day so far. Started off with a lonnnnnnnggggggg lie in. Even Lulu did not bother me this morning. SWMBO must have had her on a barking ban. Loads of cards and goodies even at my age .... Had a good night in the shed last night. Very productive. I tore it apart in order to rearrange things and make some space. I have a few more brackets ordered online for my model wall. They should be here next week at some point. I'm out tonight for a beer or two and to watch Scotland get pasted by the Welsh at the rugby. We are a nation of great losers. So .... there will be nothing from the shed today. I may have a couple of domestics tomorrow ... not sure what SWMBO has in mind yet .... I can only hope that whatever it is, it only takes an hour or two and frees me up for some shed time. If so, it's linking the NX8 to the NX6. I've been plotting to do that for a couple of weeks now but due to the lack of weekend flying activity, have kept putting it back on to the back burner. I need to get that out of the way. I have the 1700mm supercub to assemble but won't let myself start it until I have the transmitters bound to each other for my existing trainers. That is meant to be the reward for getting my finger out. The thing is ... I have done it before so don't fear the task, I just need to get started and it will be over and done with quite quickly. I'm also thinking about storing some of my kits ( actual kits not art's) in my attic. They are obviously still all boxed as they came Sariks I'm not sure if the heat generated up there will effect the balsa in any negative way. ..... very cautious about this. Some kits from Sariks and some from Dancing Wings. They are unlikely to see fresh air anytime soon. Anyway ..... enough for now ..... maybe see you in the shed tomorrow. Toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyGnome Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 I admire your pessimism regarding the rugby..... so many of my boyos are out that I've being expecting Gats to call me (it's currently recording whilst I do chores and collect wife from work). Enjoy your evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 Well ...... for a change we were extremely lucky to hold on to the win. We were on fire at one point then the Welsh turned on the style. I'm glad we won but one part of me says the Welsh would have deserved it more showing the fighting spirit like they did. Huge respect to Wales. Just clearing my head from last night before venturing into the shed. ..... this could take a bit of time. Toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 I wouldn't recommend storing kits, models etc in your loft. The temperature swings can be enormous and that alone will do balsa and other materials no good at all. Foam veneered wings are particularly prone to complete ruin after being stored this way. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 I am running into storage problems myself. Keeping airworthy model inside the house is becoming less of an option for me - so I've had no choice but to store some in my fairly large garden shed. Not 100% ideal, however when I built the structure a couple of years back I ensured it wouldn't suffer from dampness as much as I could and provided plenty of ventilation with a good draught underneath it and off the wet ground on a concrete base. Simple guttering also helps and stops water splashing back when it rains. Heating is out of the question and spending a small fortune on proper insulation etc is also a non-starter. It faces south, on an open aspect with no overhnging trees, so in winter it benefits from the sun when we get some, and in summer when it can get very hot, the ventilation seems to do its job, especially if I leave the doors open during the day. Just a matter of keeping an eye on things and so far after three years of use, I haven't noticed any problems with my stuff. A leaky old structure that's half falling down and sits in constant shade under trees wouldn't be much good though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 I paid handsomely for a supposed " shed builder " to build my shed about 10 years ago. I wasn't at home to watch it go up as I was working away at Sellafield at the time. At face value he had done a great job but within about 2 years, I had to replace the floor as water was wicking up through it. It had been built up on slabs ..... but the floor timbers ... 3 x 2 cls buttons had be installed on their side allowing the floor to flex and touch the ground. I cur the whole floor out, installed intermediate slabs as he had only installed them around the edges. I jacked the whole structure up increasing the ground clearance and installed a DPC material on top of all the slabs to prevent any potential ingress of water. The floor is effectively a floating floor as it has no contact with the walls. I have never had any issues since with dampness or ventilation. I also cut about 8 ventilation points with grilles etc around the perimeter of the shed ..... no more issues .... apart from its size ... 14 x 12. I am now looking at replacing it and a secondary domestic shed with maybe a 14 x 18 or similar. This time with a reputable joiner / builder. Toto 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidan mcatamney Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 I suppose I can count myself fortunate as all my planes are stored in every room in the house except the bathroom 😂. Then again I'm a single man and if the right woman came along or any woman for that matter she wouldn't be long in turfing them out the door. Lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leccyflyer Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 Agree with the recommendation against storing kits in the attic/loft, unless it's well insulated to keep the temperature relatively stable and if there is no chance of damp. I moved a lot of kits indoors into the airing cupboard in our last place after some had suffered damage in the uninsulated timber garage. Damp is the worst thing, but coupled with large temperature swings such bad storage conditions can really hurt veneered foam wings especially. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 Aidan, You stay single good Sir. If a woman does come along, its on the understanding that there could be three in the bed .... you .... her .... and a 1.8m wingspan beaver ( hopefully not hers ). A man has his limitations ..... keep building my friend. Toto 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 Leccyflyer, I think I just need to curtail my spending and go on the illusive idea of " one in...one out " . My house is a newbuild with very little scope for the storage of household items never mind models. SWMBO has always been very supportive of my hobbies etc but if she had to start stepping over them in the house ..... that support could suffer. I have a few things to catch up with in terms of domestic promises once I'm earning again and once they are accomplished, I have the fullsupport of SWMBO to start looking at the shed rebuild. A quality future proofed replacement could cost me north of about 7k .....but then .....that's retirement taken care of ..... if I reach it. I think you have confirmed my thoughts and all thought of using my attic is now consigned to the bin. I think onceI am flying ,ore regularly and " solo " the numbers game could change. I'm not willing it on butI think we all lose models on our journey at some point. Toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 1 hour ago, aidan mcatamney said: I suppose I can count myself fortunate as all my planes are stored in every room in the house except the bathroom 😂. Then again I'm a single man and if the right woman came along or any woman for that matter she wouldn't be long in turfing them out the door. Lol. A friend and his missus had a very ornate four poster bed.............after a while he added extra struts across the top and took to storing all his very large gliders across the top! Lost contact with him ages ago - don't know if he's still married. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Fry Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 I once had a mate, he was building a serious yacht from scratch. His plans were reduced scale, and some of it needed to be full size for reference, like some of the hull formers. So he drew them on the lounge walls. Wife arrived home. Still smarting from an earlier incident, where, the heating being non existent in the garage, he had undertaken a repair in said lounge of his motorbike and got caught. Soon to be single. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 On 04/02/2024 at 15:34, Don Fry said: I once had a mate, he was building a serious yacht from scratch. His plans were reduced scale, and some of it needed to be full size for reference, like some of the hull formers. So he drew them on the lounge walls. Wife arrived home. Still smarting from an earlier incident, where, the heating being non existent in the garage, he had undertaken a repair in said lounge of his motorbike and got caught. Soon to be single. I've built pedal cycles in the house and used the oven to heat cylinder heads either to fit or remove valve guides but not complete machines. A friend I was visiting took me into his ground floor bedroom and there was a rebuilt vintage Ariel standing alongside the double bed foot! His wife seemed OK with it. You just have to marry the right woman. The only thing mine seriously objects to is very smelly aromas coming from my workshop, which opens off the lounge - so dope and some paint is 'out'. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidan mcatamney Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 44 minutes ago, toto said: So ..... how easy ( or otherwise ) are the hand launches and belly landings 0n these gliders then ? Toto All being well this Wednesday coming Toto I'm hoping to maiden the Tiger 60. The forecast is perfect so if all goes to plan I will give you a flight report as I know you have a vested interest in this plane. Lol. Unfortunately I will be the only one at the field so no video man sadly. But I will get a video of it done at a later date. Will send you a photo also , that's if it's still in one piece lol fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted February 5 Author Share Posted February 5 Hi Aidan, I'm sure that it's in safe hands. I'll look forward to hearing the low down on it and eventually .... when the variables are right ...... the video to make me jealous. Fingers crossed for a great flight. Toto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyGnome Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 @toto In answer to your question (albeit deleted).... it depends! Watching some club members attempts, it must he really difficult; others make it look easy. As with everything else, it depends on the model, location, weather conditions, pilot. Try it on your sim.... But personally, I'd avoid getting distracted at this stage. Better weather, and increased stick time should be on the way. You'll soon he on the way to solo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted February 6 Author Share Posted February 6 No worries, No intention of complicating things, I'm in a sort of happy space. Just general queries. Some of the videos that I have watched make it look so easy. Have my ear open for this weekend. Fingers crossed, although they are now threatening potential snow due to slight predicted temperature drops. what a hobby. Toto 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Jenkins Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 1 hour ago, toto said: Some of the videos that I have watched make it look so easy. That is a direct outcome of 2 things. Practice and practising the right things. Until I stopped taking 3 models to the field every time I went and flying each one badly, I didn't make progress. Sticking to one model, a Wot 4 in my case, and just practising the same set of manouevres (in my case it was the B Test) improved my flying so much that I was able to pass my B after three months and 80 flights when I flew 2 x Bs per flight - or rather tried to. After that experience i found the return on that investment was huge. I can now choose to fly any of my fleet of 9 operational models so that it looks easy to an onlooker. It doesn't always feel easy to me in strong cross winds though. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Jenkins Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 33 minutes ago, Rich Griff said: Hi toto, As grumpy gnome says.... Take a look at, its winter, who's been flying latest post by David Ashby... Look at the large flying wing launch and figure out how that was achieved, and the conditions it was launched into.... It may look like it a bit but it's not a "javelin" throw... Coastal cliffs launches are easier, mostly only needing a moderate throw...a good nudge out into the lift zone.... No running off a cliff ! A flat field launch would be similar to the flying wing launch picture. Notice the models on the ground in the launch picture also the area behind the flight line. I don't know that flying site, I don't think it's an escarpment... All good for reference and the future. Have a great day. Great hobby, what a country... Hi Rich Do you fly F3A aerobatics? Well, let me tell you that the one of the greatest ways of improving your flying is to take up precision aerobatics. I could carry on ramming this message down peoples throats but I don't. If you want to fly precision aerobatics then I'm always happy to help. You have been told by Toto that he's currently focused on learning to fly a powered fixed wing trainer. Why do you keep banging on about your pet love? By the way, there are a lot of folk, me included, who don't post every time we've flown this winter. For the record, since the new year, I have flown 5 sessions with the 6th coming up tomorrow morning. Give it a rest mate. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyGnome Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 3 hours ago, leccyflyer said: Notwithstanding the ettiquette of replying to the post that Toto had asked the moderators to remove Good point leccyflyer, my apologies to all 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted February 6 Author Share Posted February 6 I think it's time for another thread Rich. The subject has been simmering away but even when others try to just shut it down recognising that it's going nowhere, you are baiting people to the point of annoyance. Take it elsewhere please and if anyone wants to continue with it they can do under it's own steam. At least it gives folks a chance to either ignore or participate. Enjoy your hobby good sir. Toto 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 Off topic posts removed, apologies to those who had quoted in good faith. Please allow Toto and others to enjoy the thread, if you want to discuss other topics, start a thread. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted February 6 Author Share Posted February 6 Many thanks John, No big deal. I think its just one of these cases where we all, as individuals, need to know when to realise that " the ba's burst " and we need to back off. I'm sure there will be many more. .... time to move on. Toto 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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