Pilot Ben

Wanted some opinions on this, as it's something I've always questioned. Now, I get the big M6 nylon wing bolts on a trainer, the idea being that in a low speed crash the wing falls off, minimising damage. On a u/c I get it as well as during a hard landing they will snap off saving the underside of the model being ripped out. The reason I ask is that I have a weston mini hype, a very fragile plane, and one that I feel even a hard landing will mess up! To give you an idea the u/c is held on by 2 servo screws and the fuselage walls around the canopy are made up of one inch wide 3mm ply. I do

Futaba looks good. In which case, I'll probably get one of each, as I wanted two anyway!

I have pm'd some of you asking about rx switches. I also emailed nexus model supplies on James' recommendation and the guy there suggested the powerbox smart switch. Yes, I know, £35 for a switch, but when you consider that the model relies on this, it takes the sting out of it a bit IMO anyway. After reading the blurb and features it seems like a really neat idea. I'll be getting on and I'll let you all know how it gets on in my hands.... It even has a voltage LED in it, which may be of some use. It supports LiPo, LiFe and NiMH too! http://www.nexusmodels.co.uk/powerbox-smartswitch-jr-jr

Well we have to get some rx's from rods for it anyway, so until then its staying asleep in my garage. It has quite a big overlander motor, I'll tell you what later Em @ChasePlane Would say see you all tomorrow, but its chucking it all day, so I'll see you all when I see you! B p.s. And I wondered if anyone had some spare, but not broken standard servos they wouldn't mind donating to the club? I now have a wot trainer and a leccy tutor 40 for club training but they both contain very suspect servos. I don't mind how old they are, but I'd rather use some old ones take

Brilliant! Willing to join us at the interclub on the 29th? I particularly like the gold tipped prop! Looks fantastic... How long did it take you, if you don't mind me asking? I'm looking to get one but don't have bags of time ATM. B

No worries Pete. I'm sure we can reach a conclusion at the field. We may be able to find the correct lipo in rods collection though. Going to Bovingdon for anything nice?

I'll have it on sunday!

Hi All, Shane and I have come across a tutor 40 converted to electric by Rod that we will be using for training. It is a trad’ 46 sized trainer and has a motor and esc. It doesn’t, however, have any batteries with it, and Shane and I have no clue what capacity or even cell count. I’m thinking a 4S 4500/5000mah. Does this sound about right? Cheers guys, B

Ah I see! Think its time to start draining! What are the effects of corrosion? I'm ashamed to say I haven't drained nor cleaned the engine in my Wot trainer since I bought it 2 years ago, and it still runs beautifully once started...

Thought I'd ask if you drained your tank at the end of a day at the field? When I first started I did, but now I leave it as is. I see that nearly everyone drains their tanks and/or runs the engine until it stops of fuel starvation. What are the problems with leaving fuel in the tank and fuel lines? Surely starving the engine of fuel is bad for it, as well as it losing any lubrication from the fuel? I've always gone by the principle that you don't empty your car tank when you finish your trip, and pilots don't empty a 172's tanks after a flight... Discuss please? B

As you know by now, solarfilm has ceased production. This takes away my primary covering manufacture for smaller, less treasured models or repairs. ATM I am on my last roll of covering. I do have a plentiful stock of oracover, but that stuff is extremely expensive, so is not practical for small repairs. The only other alternative I have used is the cheap and cheerful hobbyking covering, and whilst this stuff is alright, I want something a little more robust that will last longer. Any suggestions? B

Don't know who has seen this series, but I certainly missed it! Really good series, glad I found it on youtube! Episode 1 - Episode 2 - Episode 3 - Episode 4 - Enjoy! B

Looks lovely Don!

Surely 94 mph is a bit high in the real world for a foam and hot glue model? I know foam planes have reached those speeds but they’re all EPO/EPP carbon reinforced jobs. At those speeds with a model of that weight you’ll need some nice size servos! How are you going to “trim” the motors so that in the hover it stays where it is? I know a multirotor model setup on tx will have this but a fixed wing? Lots of advanced mixing and programming ahead! Any idea when it’ll be complete? B

Surely if you want to takeoff/land with VTOL, and you want to save as much weight as possible, you could do away with the gear entirely? I don't see much practical use for them and if you really wanted to land it properly surely a pair of heli style skids would work just as well? And if you wanted to stick with the fixed gear you could make it wider by mounting each leg from the front of the tail boom?

These CAA approved clubs would be a bit like home office approved shooting clubs? What implications would that have for us considering our proximity to Biggin? Also, you mention that the commercial operators would buy the low level airspace, but what exactly would they do with it? Surely flying below 500ft in any aircraft isn't that beneficial unless on approach, as well as being risky if a fault occurs? And surely even if they bought the airspace, our proximity to London (city + suburbs) would mean that they wouldn't be allowed to overfly a big city anyway?

So just to confirm it would only be uavs flow via fpv a not line of sight?

I know the plane you mean; the one with the pointy nose and canards. God knows why they'd let that fly anywhere near a city, we get it over Shirley sometimes and it sounds like it's a 747 crashing! Must say having the motor in the 119 is a bit daft, as when it sets off, if you're standing up, the torque of the motor knocks everyone over when it's busy at rush hour. I imagine the cost would be fantastic too; A friend has the new BMW i8 (similar to mentioned i3) and that thing is really not cheap, when the equivalent M3 is around £20,000 or so cheaper. The initial outlay just isn't yet log

Well if an extra 330 can be powered for 1/2 hour, surely it can be done on a bigger scale? With the rate technology is developing flight times will only increase, but I must say that having an electric jet is a bit of a far fetched idea... A tractor or pusher prop would be a much more viable solution, as all we'd get with a jet is a EDF XXXL with flight times of 5 mins

Have to be one hell of a big cell....

Hmmm... Must say in theory it sounds good, but the plane may only be able to travel 100 miles before running out of juice. Looks like a great idea though....

Hiya All, I'm looking to buy a new model, and due to my restricted teenage budget I'm putting some stuff up for sale to raise funds. I have listed prices, but I am also open to sensible offers or negotiation. Please do not hesitate to ask any questions or ask for any more pictures. Viewing or collection will be at the field. So, for sale are the following; ASP 36 (Good condition) - Has been in the front of a cougar 2000 for a short period of time before being put into storage. Has only had 20-odd flights on it due to the plane being crashed into very soft ground, and has

Going anywhere/ doing anything nice Dave?

The school has RealFlight, and as you say it is trying to be a flight sim more than traditional R/C sim, but is probably the most viable alternative...