Tony Richardson

I just found this on my search and think I have answered my own question.. https://www.militaryaviationmuseum.org/aircraft/royal-aircraft-factory-scout-experimental-s-e-5a/

I know this thread is old but that is how long it takes me to build finish a model LOL. I am now at the point of fixing decals, my question may seem trivial but I'll ask it anyway. My Se5a is finished in the colours of Canadian pilot "Billy Bishop" ( not sure if this has any bearing on placement of decals ) I have noticed on many pictures of the Se5a that the roundels on the lower wing are placed differently on some of these aircraft, roundels on the top wing always seem to be on the very outer end of the wing while those on the lower wing - viewed from underneath - vary from being on the wingtip so speak to being placed inboard of the ailerons, is there a reason for this or just an anomaly due to the person who painted the aircraft? Odd question I know but can anyone clarify.. Thanks Tony..

Hi Peter, what is your altitude limit in the UK?

Hi all, first let me say I have no idea how the BMFA operates with air transport regulators in the UK so I offer no comment other than to all model fliers to be vigilant, observe and obey the rules laid out for you.. There is a lot of anger and frustration over here at the moment because we, the general modeling public, have been put into a position where we have a lot red tape to negotiate brought on by the reckless and selfish actions of a few. First we now have to pass an online certification test consisting of 35 questions, most of these questions are related to fullsize aircraft not models, when you pass that you are required to register your models for a minimal fee of $5 per model, it's a one time fee. Now the fun begins you must keep a log book of all your flights with each model, as with a full size, you must also keep a log book detailing any and all repairs on each and every model, something as simple as a prop change must be logged, prior to flying at your chosen site you must do a site survey - basically file a flight plan ( log it ) stating weather wind etc, it probably sounds far more cumbersome than it will eventually be luckily most of Canada is still in the throws of winter so time yet to get our heads around all this. There are two levels of " Drone " certification ( lord I hate that word ) but we are now all considered drone pilots in the eyes of Transport and Nav Canada. Basic level covers the pilot for club fields etc, Advanced level certification for those that fly in restricted airspace, unfortunately some 50+ club fields fall into this category, meaning members of those clubs will need an advanced certificate to fly, that may change in the future, the advanced exam is 50 questions allowing two thirds the time required for the basic, followed by a flight test by an approved Transport Canada examiner - really starting to sound like a full size aircraft pilot now isn't it. A lot of needless rules because of the selfishness of others. All I can say to you is, support you organization BMFA even if you have issues with how it is run or setup, remember the more voices you have advocating for you the more likely you will be heard.. MAAC our organization is still working with Transport Canada so maybe all is not lost. And for those of you who will surely ask, Yes I did take the exam and pass because I wish to fly this season, we all know government moves at the speed of a two legged elephant so change will not come quickly.. Tony..

Not sure if this is the correct spot or not, I am trying to locate an article by Nigel Hawes about a foam model called "Goolie" I think the article was titled "doing a goolie".. It was a twin electric delta using differential thrust for rudder function, can anyone remember the year and month it appeared in R.C.M.&.E? Thanks in advance for any help Tony..

Thank you all for your replys, yes I do understand FrOs is no longer supported and I do have a Taranis with Open TX but I do still struggle with it at times mainly because I only a dozen or so models and I wish to fly them not mess around with programming a radio so my re programming sessions are few and far between. I have considered upgrading to Ethos but have to wonder if all the bugs are out of it yet? like I said I want to fly not mess around with upgrading on a regular basis. Sorry if I seem short tempered but our club rules have changed and instead of a simple switch to turn the igniyion on it is now a requirment that the ignition can be killed from the transmitter, I have an opto isolated switch running directly from the Rx - I run two 2600mha batteries to the rx one either end of the bus bar - but I cannot get the radio to program a channel to a switch to use as an on-off switch for that opto isolater alone. Tried the throttle cut but to no avail, I may have to resort to my Taranis for this model as I know just about anything can be accomplished using Open TX.. I may yet move to Ethos. For those offering places to send my radio for work I should perhaps point out that I live on the west coast of Canada and Aloft hobbies in northern California is the authorized dealer/distributor for FrSky in my part of the world and very fast and efficient with service and advice when needed. Thanks again for all your help it really is appreciated and yes I'm an ex pat and yes after 45 years there are still some things I miss but every time I visit my village of birth a little more of it has vanished. Stay safe stay well all of you, I will figure it out eventually.. Tony.

Hi all, I have a similar problem with the FrSky OS - Open TX is black magic to me at the moment - being forced to move from JR I thought the Horus x10s would be a good move, don't get me wrong I love the radio but do not find the system as intuitive as I would like. Basic model setup is fine along with rate/expo, rates, fail safe etc, where I get confused is assigning switches to a channel to achieve a certain function, example I would like to use a 3 position switch for the following pos1 function off pos2 ignition on engine at low idle for starting and landing, pos3 ignition on high idle for flight, would have been relatively simple on my old TX but I just cant figure it out on the Horus, just getting old and lazy maybe. I would be interested to hear if the Ethos system is any simpler/intuitive really hate to keep changing radios/systems just because.. Tony..

Thank you Simon that helps a great deal.. It looks like the stitches actually have the knot hidden at the beginning and end of each rib, or am I mistaken??

Thank you both for replying.. Mike I plan on using an NGH30 four stroke gas/petrol engine in this model mounted upright, with as large a prop as it will manage, so the extra bit of clearance will be a welcome bonus.. I'm still hunting for rib stitching pics, not really sure where to look.

This may have been asked before, but I was wondering if anybody on here can provide information on the RAF Se5 and Se5a ww1 scout. As some of you know I live in Canada and I would like to finish the kit I have in the colours of Billy Bishop, I know he flew the Se5a in 85 squadron "the Flying Foxes" and I believe in 60 squadron towards the end of 1917. Were the aircraft powered with the same Viper engine or was 60 squadron issued the variant with the geared HS engine? I would also like some clear pictures of the rib stitching which so far I have not been able to find, also wheel diameter does anyone know or can direct me to the jnformation of wheel diameter on this air craft, picky question I know but the Kit is almost but not quite 1/4 scale and the included wheels look a tad large. Squadron or individual aircraft colours, as I have colour deficient vision the brighter the better and Bishops "Blue Nose" fits the bill nicely, but was this scheme used by him only in 60 sqdr or also in 85 when he returned to England in April 1918 ans was assigned to that sqdr.. Lots of questions and I hope someone can help out here or push me in the appropriate direction. Thank you all for any help you can offer.. Tony..

Manish I fly my 38 on a Great Planes Curtis P6e 73 inch span and it pulls it around the sky very nicely with a 20x6 composite prop ( APC or Master Airscrew ) the model tends to be slightly faster on the APC and I think this because the APC is stiffer than the Master airscrew , RPM are in the 6800 to 7000 range, I have not tried a wooden prop at this time..

Hi all, just a question regarding the NGH 30 petrol engine, does anyone have one and if so what is it like for power quality of build? I have its big brother the NGH 38 and unlike some I have had no issues with build quality, the 38 has lots of torque to turn large diameter props bit of a shaker at idle but no worse than any other motor when throttled up. Tony

First off a gripe, I find - even for my old eyes - there is far too much white space on the page, secondly I had no problem signing in to the forum page but cannot sign in OR create a new account on the homepage, it just keeps presenting me with my sign in information but will not accept it, it does the same when I hit the join button, no fresh page requesting more information, maybe I'll wait a month or two, frankly preferred the old format. Tony..

I'm not one to believe in conspiracy theories, like the one circulating at the moment that the Covid vaccine is impregnated with micro chips to track your every move and a chemical that will allow the government to control you - wherever your government may be - that said I had an interesting experience a couple years ago. My wife and I were at a craft show here in Nanaimo and I spent a large amount of time talking to a couple who had a stained/leaded glass display, it was a hobby for them with a little income on the side, now through the whole conversation I niether gave them my address email or last name, nor did I remove my phone from my pocket, but, and here's the interesting part the next day adverts for supplies to the glass staining/leading hobby started to show up on my phone and laptop?? Now is this coincidence, WAS my phone listening or is the GPS system so sophisticated that it could tell exactly where I was positioned in that building. I might add the main reason I spent so much time talking to this couple was I was interested in how they proteced themselves from the lead fumes, as I wished to start casting my own bullets for my own hobby, so do our devices listen to us, honestly I don't believe so but I could be wrong. Anybody have any ideas???

Well I finally discovered the problem, after swapping out the servo for a new one and changing all extensions between it and the RX I took it upon myself to really examine the offending parts, I used them all on a bench setup with components I knew to be good, it turns out the female end of one extension allowed the pins to move back from the servo lead when it was plugged into it, a very small amount but enough I believe to not have a good solid contact, so with a quick manoeuvre or small bump on landing would cause the connection to move and create the problems I experienced. The extensions I used were Futaba type, not sure if they were actual Futaba or a look alike but the female connectors look a bit oversized, just an opinion on my part but if it helps anyone in the future it has served it's purpose.. Happy building days to you all and stay safe and well over there.. Tony..

Balsa is in short supply here in Canada too, I do not believe they are burning it in factories as they have ample coal supplies for that purpose, the story this side of the pond is the same as yours, wind turbine blades are constructed with a balsa core which is using a huge amount of the available balsa. Hopefully suppliers will meet that demand and have some decent wood to supply those of us that like to build, maybe as its a fast growing tree an increase in plantation size or the number of plantations will achieve this, until then we sit and wait patiently..

Hi all, I hope this is the right place for this question. Has anyone used the Spektrum 5030 digital servo with the coreless motor and if so have you had any issues? I have 6 of these in a model and one seems to have an intermittent problem of refusing to respond to TX input at the most frustrating times.. Example ground check all good, takeoff fine first turn poor response call a landing and good control to get it down taxi in all good, surfaces moving as they should, put it on the bench one aileron not working, change the wiring for that servo from RX to servo, all good then the bad behaviour starts again, I do not think it is the RX as surely that would not affect only a single channel? Thoughts anyone.. Tony..

Please don't forget your overseas volunteers Jon, we get very little snow here on the west coast if any, pretty sure it would fit the Citabria Pro and get a good workout.. Tony....

Trevor,this picture is from the 2009 Joe nall meeting in the US, thought you might like it for inspiration, a model of a prototype that was never built or flown only in a wind tunnel.. Tony.. Edited By Tony Richardson on 23/09/2020 02:53:52

Trevor if you are interested in a scale canard how about this one really unique and perfect for electric, I believe there are some drawings on Wikipedia.Now those are plans I would be really interested in. Tony...

So around 80 quid? the two pieces I got from them were quite sturdy but they were wheel pants not a cowl, Tony.

Phil Doug, if you go to FS home page in the top right corner is a menu of their products, click on "cowls and accessories for kits, scroll down until you see HANGAR 9 - its on the left side - click on hangar 9 scroll down to the 15th or 16th item HN10 and a cowl is listed for the hangar 9 P 47 Thunderbolt 60 cowl.. Tony

Hi Doug, I know its the other side of the pond for you and I have no idea of what your government would charge you for taxes but Fiberglass specialties **LINK** has the cowl you are looking for..

Quick update, I have flown the cub twice since my last post, first time out it was a little better but still not responding to inputs the way it really should, back on the ground I noticed the left aileron was not working - could this be the issue ? as it was getting late in the day decided to take it home and deal with it there ( small screws seem to vanish in the grass especially in bad light) took the cub out of the truck put it on the bench hooked up a battery,aileron works fine, re checked the connector plugged it in and taped it with electrical tape, all good. next outing fair takeoff climb to height back off throttle and it stands on its tail increase throttle nose comes down and keeps coming down, finally get it under some sort of control and call a landing, now it decides it will only respond to rudder, elevator and throttle really sluggish on aileron input. once on the ground taxi back, check the surface movements, all good? what the heck is going on. Finally figured that maybe I added too much downthrust so removed some of that and shifted the battery forward to give a little more nose weight, put it on the runway check control movements, guess what left aileron has stopped moving again and is in the neutral position - it was working fine when I taxied to the pilot box - OK thats it for me for the day, back home on the bench, same thing as before, hook up a battery aileron works fine.. Ive ordered new servo extension cords Y leads and a new servo, i'm hoping these will chase the gremlin infestation out of the model. I don't think its the RX as its only on one channel but I may be wrong, anyone else had a similar problem, the servos are Spektrum 5030 digital coreless servos, I am honestly getting ready to put this one on the block, really frustrating. On the bright side I maidened my Goldberg Tiger 2 and it flew just fine apart from a little elevator up trim, I heaved a sigh of relief after the shennanigans with the cub.. Edited By Tony Richardson on 09/09/2020 06:34:51

Darn the suspense is killing me.. Edited By Tony Richardson on 30/08/2020 23:39:13