Lee Smalley

i would like to attend i have a few warbirds that would appreciate the airing

andy nice graph but i can only comment on my experience the beginner was complaining that the throttle he had left it on was now no longer enough to sustain flight, my own experience is also this my typhoon goes like the clappers initially and then slowly gets worse until the big drop off, personally for the beginner i dont think its an issue and indeed good for him to not get used to just leaving the throttle in one place and manage his throttle through the entire flight, good practice in my opinion

i would be happy to go for HS 645HB on each aileron and something with metal gears on the flaps, it depends on the model the p47 flaps normally go down to almost 90 deg although your 60 sized version might be different my 81" db spit had HS645MGs all around

both of you lads are bang on, i love taking dog for a walk with a pocket full of lipos for my shockie down the field. but also my most of my glow engines dont need a starter, a lock on glow clip and a fuel pump is all i need, properly primed all you need is a flip backwards and 90% of the time they run first time, is electric any easier for a beginner, well maybe it is, only if they get the original setup right, then it is just a case of plug in and go. i think the setup for an IC is if anything easier 40 sized glow engine 10x6 prop fuel and plug, the difficulty for some comes in setting them up, and some find this easier then others and it does depend on who is teaching, what electric ready to fly models do is take that decision away from people who don't have a clue what they want, it provides a switch on and go ability that some can find less than challenging, but it also provides a path for those potential pilots out there that may have given up trying to start an IC engine, and thats a great thing. but to state electric is really the only way is just short sighted, go to other clubs and ask the same question i bet you will get different answers depending on how they do things, and i think it is also completely ignoring those of us out there that really want to learn on an IC equipped model, because yes there are those of us out there like that. i think model flyers out there that are only electric and have only been electric struggle to understand that and get very dismissive about IC, even aggressive in their hatred of it, personally i find that rather sad, below is my hotliner that i was ripping about on sunday, no IC engine is ever gonna fit in there!!

TWS is again bang on, and trebor if you have so much slime then you are either using a fuel with too much oil, too rich or not using a fully sythetic oil, of course you will never get rig of all of the gunk, but you can get it to a point where you can do a full days flying and have to clean only after 7 or so flights and electric is not that hard to fathom if you ask on here and do a bit of research is does get much easier when you understand the acronyms etc, stick with it and its a great power source. ps my typhoon was ripping on sunday with its nearly 1Kw of power !!

well said prop nut and TWS the only downside i can think of for electric is when the newbie turns up with 1 or 2 packs, but that's just the same as a guy turning up with no fuel (yes it has happened) and as the volts of the pack drop the throttle needs to be crept up the throttle range to compensate, but again that really is a nothing issue, and actually helps them learn throttle control, so prob not a downside at all

Posted by David Ashby - RCME on 05/01/2015 22:07:14: I'm never surprised Lee, least of all by your 'thoughts' at least i will always be honest with you and i would never say anything about you i would not say to your face, in this day and age that can be a rarity !!

sorry mate mutirotor!!! it was nice of mr bott for the lecture on electric but i have a few points 1. yes we know and love the benefits of electric most of us fly electric anyway 2. our site is very different out of the dozen or so models there 4 were electric including one of mine, the rest were IC of some form 3. and as i said Andy48 not everyone is able to operate an IC engine some people just are cut out for it, thanks to electric we now have a perfect replacement for those people and others who just want an alternative 4. in years gone past i am amazed how we ever managed to learn to fly if operating an IC engine is as bad as some on here make it sound is it really that difficult or is it just you ?? some on here seem to take great delight in smashing IC over its head with its downsides, just live and let live guys as it can get very tiresome and childish, just embrace the fact there are many different ways we can power our models and most should be equally regarded as viable and practical. just keep it balanced

pete B yes when i learnt to fly IC was the only way to go and yes that now is not the case, but some common misconceptions always arise, a nicely set up irvine 46 (not hard to set up) will run and run like a sewing machine with virtually no messing about, the tyro pilot can be up and down as quick as it takes to fill the tank, and 5 to 7 flights a day no problem, and duration of those flights can be > 10 mins, so there are benefits as well !! one guy i was teaching turned up with 2 lipo packs and within 15 mins they were flat and he had to sit down for an hour to charge, it was not until he had purchased another 3 packs that this situation was eased, it was not a problem just an issue that needs thinking about with electric, one guy john would not go near electric with a barge pole and was in love with his ASP 70 FS which ran like a kitten and i would not like to think about how much flying and fuel he got through until he passed away. if you really honestly think IC engines are a faff to operate and run and are best left to after they have learned to fly then you really need to leave engines alone and stick to electric, you really dont have the aptitude personally i love both and the mag should reflect both positively whilst highlighting each systems pros and cons,

the one thing that was said to me many years ago when i wrote my first article for the mag, was be prepared to be shot down, and i have no problem with that, whenever you write something for public consumption, it is always open for critique, and you have to accept that, but please david you seriously cannot be surprised at a few comments after writing that, and i dont think people are taking it differently to that in which it was intended, you are basically stating to anyone who is thinking of taking this hobby up that to forget IC, and just go electric, well i dont know who you teach David but a few people i have trained over the years simply either dont get on with electric or prefer to have a mess with engines, and again to call operating an ic engine more tricky is shear laziness, it is simply untrue if that person is shown how and has the right aptitude, it is like saying, picking an electric motor and battery/esc combo is tricky... it is if you have not been shown and dont have the right aptitude, to state such an untrue is again lazy and plainly incorrect. you can't state something so controversial and then act all surprised, in over 30 years of flying i have learned that many different people want to do many different things and long may that continue, personally i think the mag is there to provide as broad a scope as possible to encompass as many interests as it can, and generally it does that well, however it has to be careful how it treads this fine line in reviews or articles, to ensure a good spread of interests,otherwise it risks joining the long lists of dead magazines we all just about remember. and BB yes you are correct the review is for a flight controller that could be used in other things than a quad...but really ......come on it is still for quads, and will 99% of the time be used as such!

agreed beb nothing is ic or electric much anymore....but there was a time when the mag insisted a review be done IC for balance

i have to agree with the lads here, poor article really on beginners, lets be even handed eh!! i had one guy training and he was sick of charging his multiple packs, and wanted to go glow another could not get on with engines and was way happier with electric, each to their own, but to state electric really is the only way to go.... is sloppy and lazy sorry david!! and i have to agree i have never put an RCM+E in the bin quicker in my life, agreed i really have no interest in quads and plenty others do, but 2 in one issue !! and then an electric foamie..... 2 days later when at Steve Webbs i purchased RCMW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wash my mouth out !!!!!! sad but true.

agreed that for a lot of issues it us that are at fault, but nothing is 100% and lets face it spektrum has had its fair share of problems, i had a Weston cougar which locked out for about 3-5 seconds before getting her back, and my PB models tornado which i never got back both a quite busy fly-ins and this was only the 2 recent happenings and all were with new rxs, my old ar700s never missed a beat, on both occasions no sign of battery problem or any other for that matter could be found, it is then that i made my decision to swap, if you read about how DSM2 works and how other protocols works then you can make your own mind up, personally i just had too many issues with DSM2 to make it worth it, for me JRs DMSS binds instantly has proven rock solid and whilst i don't get a free receiver when i loose a model from HH, it does not compensate me for an expensive model. JMO

Had a few issues with DSM2 especially head on or at very busy fly ins so I switched to DMSS I consider DSM2 an old protocol now and there are for me better ones out there especially if using expensive equipment

Thanks Steve kind words, it was a big undertaking, and one I would not do again in a rush,, it really takes some dedication and my admiration goes to the regular scale modellers out there, I will get some more pics of the build on, and hopefully when the field improves we can get some good flying shots of her

Balance point on the wing spar seems bang on, as Steve says do a dive test before you add weight to the tail, especially as you state it is a bit lively, get up high, drop throttle to idle and point nose vertically down and let go of the sticks, model should carry straight on down if she starts to pull out then c of g too far forward, if she starts to tuck under c of g to far rearward, do this without any up trim, you might have too much down thrust again do the test for engine alignment test as well

Yeah I really liked southern MC fuel however getting hold of it is a pain in the butt, I easily go through 12 to 16 bottles of the stuff in a season and I ain't buying that much in one go, as for Weston not publishing the contents, I don't really give two hoots, better flyers than me use it on some very expensive engines so that's good enough for me, I also have Moki engines which will not run well on any nitro, that's even cheaper

Nowt wrong with that Percy, I think what you find is that people get settled on a fuel, and they tend to stick with it to save them re-tuning everything, personally it make me laugh when I hear of them spending nearly 20quid on a bottle of fuel, good fuel it may be, but 20quid holy moly, Weston UK 5% delivered to your door 45quid for 4 bottles, and its great stuff, many years ago when synthetic oils were starting out, they were not as good as they are now and some castor was left in as a safe guard nowadays it is not required synthetics really are that good, still its a personal choice, pick a good fuel, one you can easily get, and stick to it, again no real reason to use 10% nitro, but if it works don't fix itEdited By Lee Smalley on 25/12/2014 22:33:56

Any well recognised fuel will do, 5% nitro no more any more is a waste of money, for no real performance, and go synthetic, as for that old chestnut of castor protecting against a lean hot run, please... Most mordern synthetic oils these days wipe the floor with castor at high temps and will protect your engine way better than castor, the only reason to use castor is the smell which is glorious!! I use Weston liquid gold 5% and have done for many years 2st and 4st

yeah yeah Paul, i have dozens of JR 591 servos and i always use 5 cell Nimhs and never has one failed, that is not really getting away with it is it ?? just my experience

Although if I remember the elevator is a single servo using split pushrods, if it is I would put something a bit more powerful in there or use a servo for each pushrod

My 591 work happily with 6v and have done for 5 years!! The hs645 is a tad overkill I use them on my jet weighing 20lbs and flying at 160mph the servos he has looked at will do, he is not buying cheap hobbyking crud is he !!

the seagull extra 300 is a great model loved mine to bits ....litterally, i had a ST61 in mine and it was a great combo, for servos i used HS485HBs all round except throttle

check you have done it, even do it again, you will get amber lights as you waggle the sticks but you will not get red lights, i fly mine with a life 2000 pack and i easily get 6 flights of 20mins a day out of it on my capiche fitted with 5 hi torque digital servos, yes towards the end of the day i start getting amber flashes when wagging the sticks but thats normal, if you are getting solid reds then something is wrong, either your setup, (servos, extension cables, binding surfaces etc) or your batts, trust powerbox ...millions do! try connecting one servo at a time and see when the reds start to appear, what servos are you using ?

you have to set the powerbox switch up for Life type battery, RLFI, the switch does not automatically detect your battery, you have to press some buttons to tell it what you have, when you wiggle the sticks you will still get amber flickering, but this is normal, when it is a solid red coming on is when you need to be worried, can i repeat Peter these units dont go faulty, that is why you pay good money for them and why people the world over trust them with very expensive models.