Geoff S

... and don't I know it! I've just sent an email to the 8 year-old twin sons of my nephew. They sent us a couple of cards last week and asked what we did at Easter. We didn't do anything but we used to ride a long distance trial (The Land's End), often on a sidecar outfit and I sent them a picture of us winning the sidecar class in 1973 (so long ago) and another of us riding our tandem more recently (1999) - we were nearly 60 then but it's 24 years ago 😞 Neither of us has turned a pedal this year and I haven't flown much either.

Not sure about cars but the terms are defined by the Vintage Motorcycle Club (VMCC). Vintage is pre-1939 and veteran is pre-1914 IIRC. PVT (Post Vintage Thoroughbred) is pre-1940. Things get a bit vague after that because the VMCC introduced a 25 year rule which means motor cycles I owned new are now classed as eligible, which is somewhat disturbing. It's always surprising to me that machines like Honda etc, which were unknown when I started riding in 1956 can be used in VMCC events. Once you get past models that were initially designed for free flight (or single channel) then it's just a matter of opinion. I would have thought ARTF 'foamies' could be in a class of their own but apart from that, who knows?

Good luck, Matty. It'll take time, but it'll be worth it. Good to know you're progressing.

... and some people used to find the electro-mechanical voltage regulator/cut-out combination used on old dynamo equipped motor cycles complicated! I got quite expert on them from necessity as they needed adjustment with the extra lights needed when a sidecar was attached. The early alternator-equipped bikes were known for boiling (and destroying) batteries as the only regulation was a big zener diode to limit the voltage. At least the dynamo bikes usually had a magneto for ignition, so, provided it was daylight, you got home OK even if the battery was flat. I once spent a night in my tiny open sidecar waiting for daylight 🙂 Life gets simpler by getting more complicated, it seems. I wouldn't know where to start fixing my car now.

They came off in a roll?

Roll on summer? Or at least a bit of warm, dry and calm weather 🙂

I used them for a new battery for our campervan, which was also used infrequently. Excellent and quick service.

If it's working, why do you need to update the firmware? What extra functions do you need?

I suppose it also depends on how far apart the activities are. If it's a full size airfield then there could be a mile separation. That's probably further away than many non-related people are for many clubs as a norm. When RR club flew from the Hucknall airfield (which was actually more of an airstrip with just one long runway), the RR facility was a lot less than a mile away, for instance, as was the Merlin full-size flying club.

I'm more likely to believe a Mick Reeves model to be true scale than just about anyone else, so it looks like there a few Pup kits around that are near scale only. Not that it bothers me - I'm happy with sport-scale for my own models 🙂 There's a lot to be said for adjustments that allow wood economy without totally spoiling the scale look.

The full-size Pup wingspan is 26'6", so a quarter scale Pup should have wings 79.5" long. It seems odd that the Balsa USA 1/4 scale Pup has wings that are 2.5" too short for true scale.

The 60" ws DB Sopwith Pup is a fairly new offering. I think I had one of the first kits in late 2019. Mine is ready to fly now but remains earthbound so far. As you can see the cowl is very short. The wingspan is pretty well exactly 60" as it says 'on the tin'.

Not only RC. All the DiL logic ICs I used to use had 0.1" (2.54mm) pin spacing as well as the analogue operational amplifiers. (still have loads I can't persuade myself to throw away 🙂 ) Of course, that was 30 years ago. Things change and I commend the sensible move to proper metric units.

Never seen that one. Are you sure the pin/socket spacing isn't 0.1" ( as servo/receiver connectors are)

OK, so not so bad I thought but still a lot more expensive from UK sources. Mind you not as bad as cigarettes - a neighbour told me yesterday that they're £16 for 20! Glad I gave up decades ago 👍

I'm just curious, really, because I'm just about 100% electric these days but this is an eBay post for Steve Webb Models (a very reputable outlet). Are glow plugs really £18 each or £179.99 for 10. When I flew with glow engines a few years ago, glow plugs were considered a relatively inexpensive consumable.

I have a model on eBay at the moment and I browsed a bit and found glow plugs to be astronomically expensive (or out of stock?)

I think you need to look up the meaning of 'both' and 'either' 🙂

I still have a 'pressure relieving' piston from my BSA BB34 Gold Star motorcycle (a 4 stroke, of course) which was caused by a worn out TT carburetor (I replaced it with a Monobloc). I use it as as a soldering iron rest sometimes 🙂

Unbelievably productive! What an outstanding list! I've built and flown a Ballerina. I have both a Rans S9 and a Li'l Cub built but, as yet, unflown for various reasons (partly the Covid lock-down). I'm just, as I type, taking a break from my Fokker DVIII covering. The model should be ready to test fly by the end of the month. So Peter's designs have certainly provided me with many hours of pleasure even if I don't fly the models (which I certainly have very intention of doing). Thanks, Peter.

One of our members, who used to run a model shop, had a customer complain that the engine he'd bought wouldn't start and he returned it for assessment. It checked out OK and the customer took it back, only to return it again as a non-runner. When asked to demonstrate his technique in the shop he applied the glow supply and said "There you are, it won't start." He didn't realise it was necessary to turn the engine over by hand or with a starter to get the suck/squeeze/bang/blow sequence to start. How he thought his car engine started, I can''t think!

Well, it's almost ready to test fly (again) when the weather improves - so not this weekend, I suppose. We're lucky that the Ashbourne airfield site is flyable with a tarmac runway because our 'new' site is almost submerged. So, I've gone from this : To this, with a few weeks of labour and anguish : The CoG is just about where it was originally but it weighs 15 grams more, which is disappointing as I was hoping for lighter. The fuselage is just about all new except for the firewall, cowl, spinner, wing bolt mount and undercarriage. The fin/rudder and tailplane/elevator were almost unscathed. The salvaged parts were little more than dirty, which is a benefit of the ground's being so soft and water-logged off the runway itself. I was able to salvage the covering enough to make patterns for the 'windows' but the yellow/red/orange decoration was a lost cause. To give some visibility I added some chequered covering, which looks reasonable, I think. I will spend an hour or so setting up/checking the throws but, apart from that, it's ready to go.

Whilst looking through my stock of stickers to find something to liven up the Wot 4 fuselage I've just finished covering, I came across a couple from the BEFA. I was amember for few years when electrically powered flight was very much a niche activity. In the days of cheap, heavy brushed motors and equally heavy NiCad batteries, a successful fight of reasonable length in anything other than a Rudder/elevator glider was an achievement, and often a very expensive one at that. I suppose now that electric flight is now so easy in small to moderately sized models and even some bigger ones, it's faded away. My background professionally has been electrical/electronic engineering, so electric power was always a temptation. That's my excuse, anyway. What also made me comment is the thread on the future of ic model engines (hopefully rosy). It seems as if the two have almost switched places. I'm just about 100% electric now but I quite like engines and even enjoy stripping and repairing them just as long as I don't have to power my models with them 😉

Our dirty plates are on the draining board, ready for me to wash-up in the sink after dinner in the evening. We have a dish-washer - it's me, and I wash up once/day! 🙂 All the plates are cleared of food - both being brought up during and just post-war, food is never wasted. Much as I would like it to be otherwise, I'm in the several models on the go camp. The trouble is, I like doing the woodwork and seeing something that looks like a model aeroplane appearing on the bench, but I'm less keen on covering and installing servos and their (mechanical) connections. If I get stuck (most recently, trying to decide how to make a sprung undercarriage for the Fokker DVIII) I tend to freeze and move onto another build. Of course, repairs can intrude, such as making a new fuselage for my ARTF Wot 4 Mk2. (I'm just about to cover my creation, so that's nearly finished)

I haven't visited for some time but it's certainly worth a look. At one time it was an easy bike ride away for me (I haven't moved - just got older and weaker!). I did once sail a model yacht there on the cooling pond but there're too many trees for a decent sailing breeze. There's another steam engine worth a visit on the High Peak Trail at Middleton Top, near Wirksworth. It was used to haul trains up the steep incline. It's not all thatfar from Papplewick.