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buster prop

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  1. I decided to fly my Cliffwhacker again after it has been gathering dust for about two years. There was a moderate south east wind forecast and Ivinghoe has a slope facing in that direction. When I got there the wind had moved round to due east and was quite strong so I had to fly from the bowl, off the path which goes from the car park to the top of the hill and the west facing slope. That isn’t the best slope at Ivinghoe, gently sloping down towards the big field. Anyway I launched off and the Cliffwhacker flew away, gaining height and just needing some down trim in the strong wind. Much smoother flying once I got it above the turbulence. I’d forgotten how well it flies, good penetration and can move a bit too. The last time the Cliffwhacker flew was in much lighter conditions and I’d taken some nose weight out. With the CG on the wing spar it always seemed a bit nose heavy and I think mine flies better with it a few mm back. Anyway I really enjoyed flying the Cliffwhacker again and must give it some more air time.
  2. Yes £16 is a bit expensive, it might be £20 next year! I bought a ticket online the day before and saved.. £3. I went on Saturday too, getting in late because of the traffic. Good flying displays though, the jets were impressive and almost as noisy as full size ones, always liked the Grumman Panther. I bought some batteries and other bits. The bring & buy seemed chaotic, we waited for so long that people in the Q were swapping models and buying from each other. Don't know why it was so slow, some just gave up or decided to go back later. I don't think I'll bother next year.
  3. Thanks Graham. I will take a small 1 Amp p s u. Enough for my glider batteries.
  4. Matty, it's great that there are outdoor charging facilities at Buckminster. Are those outlets in the picture mains or 12 Volts? I ask because I'm going up there very soon on an ISA awayday. I'm taking my RC-8S Pro charger which has a 12 Volt input not mains. At home I plug it into a Maplin PSU intended for CB rigs, a bit heavy to take with me and I don't want to charge off the car's battery either so an outside 12 V outlet would be just what I need.
  5. My 2013 laptop with Windows 8.1 is due for replacement. I get messages from Microsoft telling me to upgrade but I’ll get a new laptop though because it’s battery is failing and I’d like a smaller screen and SSD. The laptop takes a long time to start up and even though I’ve emptied the recycle bin, taken off old apps and reduced the start list it’s still slow. I read somewhere that Windows 12 is coming out in a year or two so starting with 11 rather than 10 would need one less upgrade. I’ll monitor this thread in case there’s anything else to know about 11. Is it true that Microsoft Op Systems since 10 have their own virus protection? My wife’s computer runs 10 and has been ok, it has SSD and starts up really fast.
  6. Even if a modern car engine was powerful enough, wouldn’t it have to have two spark plugs per cylinder? I thought dual ignition systems were mandatory for aero engines. If one system fails the engine will keep running at slightly reduced power. I flew in a Chipmunk a few years back and it had two magneto switches. How do adapted car engines work in kit aeroplanes, do they have to have different cylinder heads?
  7. I have had two phone calls from ‘Your bank security department’ asking whether some large transactions were made by me. It was a recorded message, female English voice and she mentioned £350 on Amazon and £1100 to an international money transfer website. I was asked to confirm by pressing 1 or press 2 to speak to an advisor. I hung up after listening to the spiel. The scam give away was ‘Your bank..’ I have checked just to be sure.
  8. I recommend Realflight too. I'm still using G3 which is ancient, bought when I started flying to run on a Windows XP PC. That is long gone and my G3 is now on my Windows 8.1 laptop. One vital thing to learn with a sim is to fly towards yourself and land on the strip, before trying things like rolling circles. I use G3 still to practice landings in various wind strengths and directions and it also gets used for slope soaring at Torrey Pines, California. I know Realflight isn't cheap but I've had my moneys worth from it. Later versions might be available second hand.
  9. Thanks, B in B. I'll make some enquiries.
  10. Is it possible to buy balance boards for LiPo chargers? I ask because my Overlander RC-8S was giving a ‘Voltage Error’ when I tried to charge a 3S 1300. Tried another battery, just the same. A 2S one would charge so I suspected that the balance board might be the problem. After doing some continuity checks I found that one of the pcb tracks was open circuit. With the rubber sheet on the board underside pulled back I spotted a broken track (with a magnifier) and managed to bridge it with fine wire carefully soldered to the pins. I’m glad to say that the error message has gone away. What if I couldn’t have repaired the board? It would have been a shame to have to replace a perfectly good charger. Are balance boards all the same or do they have different connectors to the charger? My Overlander board has balance connectors for 2 to 8S batteries although at the moment I just have 2 and 3 cell packs.
  11. Apart from slope soaring at Ivinghoe Beacon the ISA also use the field at Hockliffe for flat field gliding. Comps are held there over the summer and that is what you might have seen. Gliders are bungee, electric or HLGs. No aero tow because there isn’t a runway and i.c. flying is out because of nearby houses. Visit the ISA website as Dickw suggests.
  12. "It will heal by itself" is a dangerous assumption. A few years ago I tripped over a kerb and badly grazed my knee, went home cleaned it with antiseptic and stuck on a plaster. It didn't heal, started to swell. I ended up in hospital being treated for sepsis, intravenous antibiotics and all. Don't ignore minor injuries! Most will heal but If it doesn't dry up in a few days you could get sepsis.
  13. Looking good! Those leading edge profiles really help. As for batteries I used Hyperion 3S 800s because I had some and they are long and narrow to fit into the front fuselage. It goes almost up to the motor and the 3 motor wires going past to the ESC are taped to one side. My X-Res balanced perfectly with those but if you use a smaller battery you might have to add some nose weight. There isn’t a lot of depth under the wing so the servos have to be small. I fitted HS55’s in offset tandem with the front one close to F2.
  14. There is an X-Res build thread on RC Groups for the non electric towline version of this model, good for about 95% of construction. The plan in my kit was in separate pieces rather than on one big sheet. I kept it in case I have to make new bits. One thing to watch out for is that the wing centre panel tapers slightly in chord so the inner ribs aren’t all the same length. The outer ones are more obvious because of the spoiler frames and holes for the alloy tubes for wing joiners. Other than that it’s all quite straightforward.
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