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Nick Cripps

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Everything posted by Nick Cripps

  1. Field waterlogged? No problem, take up waterplane flying! Here's a few pictures from our regular flying session at Kitridding Farm on Wednesday. Many thanks to clubmate Mark Newburn for the excellent photos.
  2. It started off bright and clear this morning so it certainly felt like spring even though it was a bit chilly at first. The field was really busy and parking was difficult trying to avoid the soggy areas of the site. I spent the morning flying my Wot 4 ARTF which has been something of an engine testbed having flown with an OS52FS, OS46FX, OS55AX, ASP40 and now a brand new Force 46. I haven't bought a new 2-stroke engine for years (there's plenty of cheap used engines at swap meets) but I thought I'd give this one a try after reading about Toto's trials and tribulations last year. The engine seems to be well-made with a squeaky tight fit initially on the ABC piston/liner set. I had a brief attempt earlier in the week but struggled with a broken throttle trim switch on my trusty (up 'til then) DX9. Today's session went well, running the engine on a Graupner 11x6 prop, Laser 5 fuel and an OS no.8 plug. I had a dead-stick on the first flight but a bit of tweaking of the needles, especially the idle needle, had it running happily throughout all 3 subsequent flights. It could probably go a tad leaner at the bottom end but rain stopped play soon after lunch. Overall a good flying session and I'm happy with the little Force 46 so far.
  3. A shame to hear about the closing of AGC Engineering and Laser Engines. Quality products like this and the level of support provided by Jon are getting increasingly rare in modern times. All the best for the future, Jon, and your new career at Martin-Baker. I hope we will see at Buckminster in September.
  4. A shock to hear this. Hope you make a quick and full recovery.
  5. Sorry to hear this sad new. My condolences to you and your family, Iris.
  6. Like I said, it's not immediately obvious but there is a long-dashed line just below the spar, along the edge of the centre section and along the edges of the cap strips. The sheeting is also shown on the tailplane cross-section. I think it's down to how you interpret the drawing. Certainly I understand it now having seen Steve's build from the supplied parts but I probably would have missed it if building just from the plan.
  7. It's not very obvious on the Outerzone plan, at least at first glance, but the leading edge sheeting back to the spar is shown and is mentioned in the corresponding build article.
  8. Here's a link to the adaptor cable to use the Apprentice STOL battery with a conventional charger SPMXCA326.
  9. I didn't think the rain in the last few days was enough to cause further flooding but the ground here in the Trent Valley has been saturated so much during these winter months that our flying field was again under several inches of water. Our starting benches floated off to one edge of the field a few weeks ago and are now inaccessible without a boat(!), and the storms a couple of weeks ago ripped the covering off the work benches. Despite all that, I again took advantage of the good weather today to get the waterplanes out for a great day's flying.
  10. And me, exactly the same thing. Another small transaction (£0.75) but I guess if enough of them get through then the scammers could make a lot of money.
  11. Neat work as usual Steve. Have you thought about using one servo for each elevator half or perhaps 2 snakes from 1 servo?
  12. Good spot, Caveman. The cranked legs should go in the rear slot.
  13. You could put short tailplane extensions on the outside like those on the DH Vampire. PS - a few extra turns required on that studding in the end of the snake 😉
  14. I've seen a few of these flying and they do look nice, especially with the floats fitted for waterplane operation. They look like a trainer but they are not a beginner's model in my opinion as, like all Cubs, you need to be able to co-ordinate aileron and rudder in the turns, particularly at lower airspeeds.
  15. I had a great day's flying today at Kitridding Farm with the Windermere Model Waterplane Flyers. It was rather chilly but mostly clear and sunny with only a light breeze. Fellow club member Mark and I have a few matching models and have great fun flying them together. Top to bottom are the HK Skipper, FMS Kingfisher, Eflite Turbo Timber and the HK Tundra. The latter has been fitted with LEDs strips for night-flying and looked great in the dusk.. up to the point when a tree jumped out on a low pass 😪
  16. That's incorrect, the AR620 is not an AS3X or SAFE receiver and does not have stabilisation.
  17. That looks neat. Fairing on the outside?
  18. Welcome to the forum Graham. The Bigfoot is a fine little model that works well as a trainer and is capable of basic aerobatics with increased control surface movements. They are a popular model in my local club. I can only echo the previous recommendations to search out and join a local model club.
  19. Assuming your leading edge sheeting is interrupted by the engine nacelles, can you not substitute 3/32 for the inner section?
  20. That's a good point, kc. Whenever I saw David at Billing, or Old Warden, Ken Swailes was always present. Ken built many of Boddo's models and was a big part of his life. After Ken sadly passed away, Boddo was never quite the same and seemed somehow lost without him.
  21. On one occasion at Billing Lake near Northampton many years ago, I was flying my favourite waterplane of the time, an ARC Cessna Cardinal. The ARC range are sadly discontinued now but in many ways they were perfect for waterplane flying as they were moulded from plastic (ABS, I think). All the models in the range (Ready, Beaver, Jupiter, etc) shared the same float set but with different fittings for mounting and have been quite popular over the years. They were slightly heavier than the equivalent built-up models but that was not really a problem; well, most of the time. Boddo wandered over to look at the Cessna and told me that he had recently been flying one for a magazine review. He further went on to ask me if I had tried spinning and, as I hadn't, he suggested I try it as it was "interesting". So on the next flight, I took the model up a couple of hundred feet, throttled back and started feeding in up elevator. As the model slowed I pushed both sticks across and the model dropped into a perfectly-developed spin. After a few turns, and with the lake fast approaching, I let go of the sticks, expecting the Cessna to recover just like all my other models would do. I was surprised to see it carry on spinning, so I quickly put in opposite rudder and aileron, at which point it rapidly flicked into a spin in the other direction. I was by then in full panic mode and desperately banging the sticks into the corners in a vain attempt to recover but, to no avail, as the Cessna hit the water with a splash. Boddo, standing behind me, guffawed with laughter and said "I told you it was interesting, didn't I?"
  22. True, but they are both older designs which were heavily influenced by the free-flight models of the time. Maybe it was a bit of a sweeping statement but you'll rarely see a lifting tailplane on a modern RC design, unless they are trying to replicate that style of model. Sorry for the distraction, Steve, back to the Mighty Barnstormer.
  23. That's how I see it too, Steve. Odd that it has a lifting section tailplane, they are normally only seen on free-flight models. I guess Boddo's intention was that it would be flown that way, with just the occasional intervention by the pilot. Make sure you check the controls before flying, unlike Boddo...
  24. Another vote for Eze Tissue from me. I've just covered a Tomboy in tissue over doculam and really struggled to find a tissue with decent wet strength until I tried EZE Tissue. Only downside is that you have to use a water-based dope as proper cellulose can wash out the colouring dyes.
  25. Same huge tailplane on the Sea Stormer, bigger than the wingspan of some of my models!
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