Roger Dyke

Hi Trevor, Good point. I'll look at that. Thanks

Hi All, Recently I had an unscheduled arrival in the rapeseed crops which were about 5 feet high. I estimated (incorrectly) that the plane was about 30 feet into the crops and I had it pinpointed. After 3 extensive searches I finally found it by operating the aileron servo with the TX. It turned out that it was a lot farther out into the crop than I'd thought. This incident then spurred me on to fitting a 'Lost Plane Alarm' to all my 6 planes. The 1st 5 planes were no problem as I fitted the type that go into a spare channel on the RX and operate on a TX switch. The 6th plane unfortunately had no spare channel. I had in stock, one of the alarms with the 2 cables which go in-line with a receiver servo output. I chose the elevator. The instructions say that providing the alarm is seeing a TX signal the alarm is quiet, but if the RX loses the signal or the TX has been turned off, the alarm imits a warbling sound for about a minute or so. Then following that, it changes to a different warbling sound. All I get if I turn off the TX, is a (quiet) delay of about 1.5 minutes, then a constant tone which carries on indefinitely until either I turn off the receiver or turn the TX back on providing a signal. I really prefer the warbling sound, so I then went on-line to purchase a couple more alarms (with the twin leads). This time, a different make from a different supplier. They are physically slightly different too. The instructions enclosed are very similar to the one I'd previously tried (says provides bleeping sound). Anyway, I've just tried both of these and they are giving exactly the same results as the previous one. I am now at a bit of a loss. Anyone else had this problem?

Simon and Nigel, Thanks for your input. I'm afraid the fence is now a done deal. It is erected and the sheep are now grazing in the field. According to the farmer our club chairman knew about it. I suppose an email to the members wouldn't have hurt as it was a bit of a shock to turn up and find it all in place. I agree that the crops that are usually grown can be even higher than the fence, but at least they were softer and kinder to the models if we have an unscheduled arrival. I'm out of the thread now as I think it's done, so thank you one and all for your valuable contributions. They were very much appreciated. Roger

leccyflyer, When I used to fly at another field some years ago we used to do the same. But it's not possible with this fence as it hasn't been installed with a view to be able to take it down then put it up again. It's been erected as a permanent fixture.

Hi Robin, I wouldn't think that farmers actually realise how much room is needed to take-off and land model aircraft and the considerations of cross-winds etc., why should they. The (friendly) farmer just happened to be there attending the fence when a friend and I arrived, so we approached him to find out what was going on. He explained about the imminent sheep arrival and we commented about the fence compromising the model flying. He just carried on with what he was doing and replied that our club chairman "knew about it". Whether our chairman had agreed with it or not I've no idea as there had been no communication to us. The farmer said that the sheep 'may' be gone in a couple of months or so, so I suppose (hope) that the fence will be then removed again but who knows. The sheep are there now so I suppose it's a all a done deal. I don't think flying with the fence will be too bad for 'foamies' etc., but for larger IC models it will be a bit of a challenge.

leccyflyer, JD8, RottenRow, Eric, and kc, Thank you all for the benefit of your experiences. The fencing that has been erected at our field is definitely not removable and is intended to be permanent whilst the sheep are in the field. I do see the benefit to wildlife though etc. It does look like we are going to have to be extra careful over the next few months with our take-offs, landings, and crosswind approaches. Otherwise we will be requiring a lot more bin-bags I fear. Thanks again Roger

Hi Eric, leccyflyer, Denis, Kevin, Martin, and Allan, My thanks to you all for answering my question and your reasurances that it's okay to overfly the sheep. I used to overfly cows years ago but wondered if any new rules had been bought into play. On my last strip we also had a removable fence which the first arriving took down and the last leaving put back up again. In this case the farmer has driven in 4 heavy 4" wooden posts into the 4 corners of our strip and a number of lighter plastic or steel uprights in between them with the nylon tapes stretched between them, so definitely it's not removable. It may be a problem for the heavier IC models that need to land longer and flatter and quite a problem for people learning. It will defintely be a hazard for anyone trying to land in crosswinds. Thanks again. Roger

Hi All, Currently our flying strip is an area mapped out and rented from a farmer of which the rest of the area is agriculutural land which year on year usually has crops grown on it. However, in the last week or so the farmer has erected a 3 foot fence around the perimeter of our take-off/landing strip consisting of a number of plastic or metal rods with about 3 to 4 1/2 inch wide bands of nylon tapes running along them. In speaking with the farmer today (who was still erecting the fence) he intends to put 200 sheep in the field for a couple of months. This fence is obviously quite restrictive for tale-offs and landings (even worse for beginners) but I was wondering as to what our position was regarding over-flying the sheep. Your thoughts would be very much appreciated.

Hi EarlyBird, Many thanks. That works fine Roger

Hi All, Just a quickie. I am new to eCalc and have just generated a screen with all my parameters in eCalc propCalc. The problem is that I can't find the 'Print' button or work out any way to print my screen. I have looked in the help file but can't see anything there either. My browser is Google Chrome. Can you please point me in the right direction. Many thanks Roger

Hi Frank, Yes, my transmitter does have that facility. I'll have to have a think about that one. Thanks Frank.

Hi Martin, Model is propped with an APC 13x6 and peaks at 10,000 rpm. It is propped more for thrust than speed and to keep the noise within limits. It can idle at 2300 - 2500 okay but makes me a bit nervous with recent problems so currently set at at 2700 - 2800.

Martin: I Think I now have the optimum mixture setting for the idle now. I would not say the transision is instantanious though. I would say bottom to top stick movement of about one and a half seconds is fine with no spluttering or hesitancy at all. Thanks for the info regarding temperature change. Denis: The reason I have 2800 rpm is because I was afraid of it dying if a quick go-around was needed. At the moment our strip is very tight to get in on and resembles a sunken box surrounded by 4 ft high walls of wheat. I know 2800 rpm is a little counterproductive as it's still pulling the model, but several attempts are usually required to get the model in and didn't want to risk a flame-out when hitting the throttle to go around. With the latest adjustments, I think that I may have more confidence in it's reliability.

Andy: I don't think the clunk would be bottoming out as I always leave a sensible gap when setting up the tank. I think maybe the opposite. I might have answered my own question. After writing the previous post, I decided to empty the tank to put it all away for today. In emptying the tank, very little came out meaning that with the plane in the vertical position the clunk may have been out of the fuel. Got to check that again tomorrow. I was assuming when carrying out my tests that it was still about half full. Tank is impossible to see where it is situated. Nigel: Thanks for the info regarding the idling time. Jon: Thanks for the info regarding nose in the air testing being none-representative. Also the advice for ground idling.

Hi All, Managed to do a lot of engine messing today. Good news and bad news. I manged to get a decent pickup now by leaning the high needle and getting a good setting on the low one as advised. Another problem: When tuned for peak rpm and then I hold the model nose up at about 10 deg from vertical, the engine runs at peak rpm for about 8 seconds or so then dies. It does this both if I richen it up or lean it out. Years ago when I used to fly models, modellers used to do this to see if it was too lean and then give it a click or two rich to prevent quitting if it started to die. Is this the correct procedure? The system has no plumbing leaks whatsoever. The tank is directly behind the firewall and the centre of the tank is about levei with the engine spraybar. Also, how long should an engine be able to successfully idle for (at about 2800 rpm)? I hear a lot talk about 20 seconds or so. Would it be expected to eventually die after an extended period due to crankcase cooling?