David John Davis

...and regarding four-strokes, yes they burn cleaner than two strokes which rely on the oil content to aid cooling. I run all of my engines, with the exception of my newer Laser four -strokes, on fuel containing 15% oil. My two strokes chuck a fair bit of the oil out through the exhaust port and onto the fuselage side, my four-strokes less so.

I have been using low oil fuel in the Laser 80 on the recommendation of the factory. I believe that it contains only 7% oil but some people claim 10%. I have been unable to find official information on the oil and Laser's own website is down at the moment. It certainly burns very cleanly but it's only for use in later Laser engines recognisable by the vertical glow plug position. With my OS, Chinese and early Laser four-strokes I will continue to use 15% oil. The metallurgy of the earlier Lasers does not allow for the use of the low oil fuel.

P.S. I've had it confirmed by the factory that the new Low Oil Variant fuel contains 7% oil and 5% nitro.

shortround91

Is there any real benefits going fuel compared to electric other than flight times? As a mechanic I really don’t enjoy working on things non stop any longer adjust valves carbs etc I guess why I went electric. Interested in seeing what you all have to say there with the 3s 2200 I flew again this morning for 12 minutes with 35% battery life still available. Batteries just charged gonna head out for a few more flights see if she will make 15 minutes and report back on battery levels

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Ahh the age old question. There are lots of reasons to go either way. I suppose the main reasons for fuel are flight time and consistent power from start to finish.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

I agree with Andy, you can make a valid argument for both propulsion systems. The main thing to consider is this a hobby, its purpose is to be enjoyed. Pick the propulsion system which provides the most enjoyment with the least amount of stress. You want a hobby not another job!

mgnostic

As much as I love glow power if I were advising a new pilot I would suggest electric. There is just more stuff available now and it's less hassle out of the box. For myself, I enjoy tinkering with the engines and I have the tools and equipment needed to support them. My house seems to have become the place where old glow engines come to retire. I mostly build what I fly and it's hard to justify buying Lipos when I have a suitable engine sitting in a box out in the shop. I recognize that I am like that one guy who shows up at the custom car show with his Model T. I guess it comes with being a part of the over 50 club.

Telemaster Sales UK

I like engines in their own right. I have more than I can possibly use but do not consider myself to be a collector, indeed I have given away several recently. Electric flight for all of its quietness, cleanliness and convenience just does not do it for me.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

There is just something about the sound and smell of a glow engine!

shortround91

Had to replace the front landing gear on the Ranger 1220 a little disappointed it appears the spring ( gear ) is just screwed into the post it sits in. Well landed on grass all the sudden the plane front wheel flopping all over the place. Grab some tools after several attempts get it so I thought tight adjusted the linkage go to take off same thing the spring just won’t stay secure in there. The direction say nothing about adding anything to secure it in place, finally have a so so setting now just worried I’m gonna land again loose control all over this dumb landing gear not holding. Any thoughts, should I do some JB weld Epoxy etc if I bend another honestly for $10 I’ll just buy new again don’t want to tear up my plane over a crap design in the mean time

mgnostic

I ran into a similar situation with one of the few foamies that I own. The articulated nose gear looked cool but wasn't very durable. Some times it's better to just go with a plain wire gear.

Telemaster Sales UK

Mmmm... Steerable nosewheels were almost unheard of in Europe until the arrival of ARTF trainers. If you model has a fixed front wheel it's quite possible to steer the model on take off. You can't do fancy tricks on the perimeter but you can change direction on take off.

shortround91

I just made a few more flights first one good to go last one the wheel spun and nose dove buggered up my new prop. I’m going to look at the top horn that holds the linkage see if couldn’t cracked not making any sense to me other than that possibility happening. Going to email FMS either way let them know their replacement gear is junk no reason it should spin in the housing like it was. I do custom firearm repairs etc have a full size mill and lathe so if need be I’ll just machine my own replacement and see how it goes. Keep y’all informed

David John Davis

My club regularly flies on Wednesday afternoons and at weekends. The weather was excellent yesterday so I took the Laser-powered Super Frontier Senior (SFS) to the field. See Monday's post for details of what an SFS looks like. Just after take-off I was joined by an inexperienced pilot flying an electric powered Baron trainer, and the club chairman flying the club trainer with a novice on the buddy box. After a few minutes we were joined by the club's oldest member, Francois, flying his high performance electric-powered glider. With the exception of the glider I realised that I had the potential for longer flights than any of the others so I decided to fly upwind at a fair altitude and allow the inexperienced pilots some air space. We were all stood in a line with me at the upwind end of the line so I had no idea of what the others were doing unless their models flew across my line of sight. After some time I could hear some commotion going on behind me but had no idea what was going on. In the end there were just Francois and me in the air when he called a landing. Again I stayed high and upwind. His first attempt at landing provoked some concern and on his second attempt the glider shot past my shoulder in a most ungliderlike attitude! The club chairman offered to land the model for him. Once this had been achieved I landed the SFS. The timer told me that I had been in the air for 17 minutes and 44 seconds. Mind you there was very little fuel left in the tank!



In France people celebrate their birthdays and their name days. As yesterday was the festival of St Francis, anyone called Francis or Francois has another party to celebrate so we all retired to the club house for cider and galettes with home-made jam.



PS. The chairman had succeeded in crashing the club's trainer through not taking back control quickly enough when the beginner made a horlicks of things. The wing is broken but repairable. I did exactly the same thing with the other club trainer a fortnight ago! In my case the fuselage is split open like a banana but with plenty of epoxy and the it will Workmate I can repair it.

Telemaster Sales UK

Dunno whether this will work but here's a brief video of my SFS in flight yesterday.

Click on the link. Click on Frans Cooremans, then click on the attachment.

Note that I've changed my clothes and the model's engine!

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#in...gPZlcczxbTwHhL

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

Wouldn't open, drat!

shortround91

Sounds like a time in a half, I think it’s on of the nice things about living rural I have acres of fields that will be empty any time after the corn is cut. I did find a BS repair for the front landing gear bad as it sounds I unscrewed it out a small amount of 💯 mile a hour ( Duck ) tape mid way one the landing gear spring screwed it back in best I could so far so good. It’s ugly has raised the front where I can’t screw it all the way down but who cares the wheel stays in position and I’m back in the air flying. At the doc for my eye socket was kicked by a horse a month ago going through so crap where they rebuilt it. Non stop headaches but when I get home I’ll take a pic of my bubba repair. Enjoy the day
Bill

shortround91

Well here is the bubba repair but it’s held for 9 flights today without showing any signs of failing. Starting to get pretty good with my landings which are a very tight area power wires corn fields and lots of trees, just landing on the road gets a little crazy trying to make sure no vehicles are coming. So far so good no vehicle run overs or close calls we don’t get much traffic where I live. So here’s the repair waiting on FMS to email back after I sent them my issues with the new landing gear assembly. I’ll post what they say once I get a reply sent pics today.

David John Davis

I'll see whether my tame computer engineer can sort it out.

David John Davis

Is this any better?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iRm...Nb0Qjhczb/view

shortround91

Broke my first prop this morning think it was weak from when the front landing gear twisted causing the plane to nose dive onto the road while I was landing. Thankfully from here I saw some say always keep a few on hand so you’re not out flying without a replacement. One more spare left guess I’ll head to the hobby shop today see if they carry what I need. Y’all have a safe great day waiting for batteries to charge and going out for another flight shortly.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

I get access denied, a slight improvement.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

Don't think of it as a broken prop but as a new disposable paint stirrer!

shortround91

I’ve seen some videos of going with another prop for more speed but decreases flight time. I’m a basic flyer for now one the one fields are cut anyways maybe then I’ll try inverted rolls etc

shortround91

Made my first upgrade to the Ranger 1220 happened to stop by a hobby shop on Friday and wow they had a DX6e on sale. Picked it up and a AR610, installed the new receiver used a paper clip to initiate the bind then bound the transmitter. Have had to watch a bunch of videos you know I’m new to nice transmitters etc and had an issue my ailerons and flaps were going on the wrong direction. Figured how to reverse throws now to figure out how to understand expo duel rates etc. figured for now stick to basics and grow slowly now if this wind would slow so I can do some testing. Fly straight and safe
Bil

shortround91

Went ahead purchased my first war bird but oh my Lordy did I have a time setting up safe select ended up spending 4 hours at the hobby shop finally with there help we got it so maybe I can take her up tomorrow. I’ve found out IF you don’t have the current software in your Spektrum transmitter the advanced programming will not be available. We that’s all very silent in here last few days hope alls well.

David John Davis

Several of us are going down to Gueret on Sunday to fly there. Flying will be interrupted by a four-course French lunch. It will be good to meet old friends including some expatriates like myself. If the winds are light I will take the Big Guff and the ARTF Super Frontier Senior which cost me £40 when I was last in England.