Electric Models Props

Following an accident one of our members recently had I thought I should warn/remind all our members of the dangers of electric models. Always REMOVE THE PROP WHILST SETTING UP ELECTRIC MODELS OR RESTRAIN THE MODEL SECURELY. Never trust the speed contoller to switch the the power off to the motor. All the time a battery is conected consider the propeller LIVE.

BATTERIES

All .On more than a few occasions at the field the subject of batteries crops up, and recently the reason for that has been due to a couple of models crashing due to flat batteries.
The problem seems to arise when replacement batts with higher capacity are fitted.During the post crash disscussion/mortem we usually hear that" the new batts have failed" and when questioned the owners tell us that they have charged the batt overnight with the charger supplied with the radio gear.THATS NO GOOD FOR UPGRADED BATTERIES The charger supplied with your radio is usually 70mah for the 700mah batteries supplied in the set . If for instance you upgrade to 2000mah batteries you will need a charger capable of charging at 200mah overnight 10 x 200 =2000. If yo used the 70mah charger you divide the 2000mah by the 70mah and that will give you the time in hours that it would take to charge 2000 divided by 70 = 28.57hours ; this is an unrealistic charging time .So a rule of thumb is that the chage rate of your slow charger should be at least 1/10th the capacity of the batteries fitted. If your not sure ask at a club meeting and find out as it will be a lot less bother than re-building you model.
Westons or overlander should be able to supply a suitable slow charger for overnight charging . You could invest in a decent fast charger but do check that your battery pack will take a fast charge.

ALL THE ABOVE INFORMATION IS FOR NiCad AND NiMh BATTERIES. AND DOES NOT APPLY TO LI_POLY BATTERIES

Adjacent Channel Check by Phil Fearn

When flying with others who are on adjacent channels e.g. if you are flying on 70 and someone else is on 69 or 71 then be safe and avoid your model being 'shot down' always check that there is no interference to each others models before flying as described by Phil Fearn below :

The check is as follows plane A 's Tx is switched on then the Rx is switched on and checks made for the correct control movements are made, the aerial is then retracted. Plane B's Tx is then switched on and with the aerial fully extended and one meter away from the model ,check that no interfernce is made to plane A. Plane A's Tx then moves 3 meters away from model ,still with the aerial retracted and should still have complete control over the model. This is then repeated with the other model. If both models work ok then the channel seperation on the Tx's are ok.

BATTERY CHECKERS by A.Clinton

Battery checkers are brilliant, before flying check yer battery, have an onboard one on your model to check battery while flying. I.e. displays green for ok - red for dont fly with that battery - easy! a few quid can save you hundreds if not thaaaasands .

Minature bearings by Phil Fearn

Minature bearingsfor electric motors,helis etc are available from High torque uk at very reasonable prices.In the past when your motor went pop or the bits on your heli went all wobbly you either had to throw the motor away or buy expensive replacements parts from the heli stockists.These bearings are not available from normal sources (bearing factors etc) Contact them at hightorquemail@aol.com

Light Weight Filler by Phil Fearn

I have recently been finishing a P40 warhawk and needed some light wieght filler. I tried mixing micro balloons with epoxy .This is very light but hard to rub down so I tried using polyester resin instead. You must mix a load of micro -baloons withe the resin to make putty for large areas (such as wing fairings) to start with. Next stage is to rub off any high spots with a coarse abbrasive .for the next coat and finishing layers mix the filler a little runnier .This filler sands at the same rate as the balsa so you can achieve a good feather edge, and is extremely light.
Micro Baloons are very fine and yes you should wear a mask , also wear the mask when rubbing it down if youre doing it dry.
You can buy the spray putty in aerosol from halfords costs about a fiver . If you have spray equipment you can buy it from most car paint factors eg. Kent and Sussex at sandling ,Brown Brothers or BSB at Rochester City Estate. Its made by Tetrosyl and costs about £ 10 a litre .

Glue Pots & Sticks by Alistair Clinton
Next time your in MacDonalds they do little pots for ketchup - Ideal for using to mixing small amounts of glue. Also MacDonalds and the overpriced coffee shops on motorway services do wooden sticks for stirring your coffee. Ideal for mixing the glue in you new mixing pots.
da da dup dup da - 'I'm lovin' it! "

Fitting a cowling - By Phil Fearn

How many times have you lined up a nice shiny new cowling ready for drilling the mounting holes , then drilled the holes ,just missing the mounting blocks ?

Follow these simple steps and the holes will be in the correct place first time.

First fit the engine and run throttle linkage ,fuel lines etc .Glue the mounting blocks on the fire wall ,taking into account if they need to be proud of the fuselage side.Then drill the blocks for the mounting screws.
(I usually drill out the mounting blocks and fit short length of snake inner, This allows the mounting screws to cut threads into the plastic and the threads will not strip.

Next stick lengths of masking tape ,approx 2to3 inches long to the fuselage sides ,in line with and covering the mounting holes you have just drilled.

These pieces of tape must extend beyond the rear of the cowling .Now using a straight edge draw a pencil line onto the tape from the mounting hole to the end of the tape .

This line must be exactly inline with the mounting holes.Now take a compass and set the needle into the mounting hole and scribe an arc across the pencil line on all of the tapes running from the the mounting holes.(Measure the setting of the compass.If you should knock the setting it will effect the accuracy of the holes you drill in the cowling)

Now fit your cowling over the engine and on to the fuselage. Fit your chosen spinner and prop.Pack your spinner away from the cowling to give running clearance and tape firmly in place. Next stick pieces of masking tape onto the cowling inline with the pieces stuck to the fuselage long enough to go over the mounting blocks (now covered by the cowling) Now draw a pencil line ,again using a straight edge, in line with the line you drew on the first piece of tape you put onto the fuselage.

Take your compass keeping the previous setting and place the needle onto the arc you scribed earlier,were it intersects the line .(Be careful not to press too hard as it may penetrate the fuz covering) Scribe an arc and were it intersects the line on the tape on the cowling will be directly over the mounting hole position.
Drill your holes through the cowling and,if youv'e been accurate they will match the previously drilled holes in the mounting blocks exactly.This method should be used were ARTF instruction tell you to screw into the balsa sides of a fuselage.As we are all well aware of the mess that follows when the screws fall out .

If anyone has any difficulty in understanding my scriblings then please contact me and
I'll try to talk you through .I hope to demonstrate the process at a club meeting in the new year.

Rivets - By Adrian Hawley

Anyone looking to replicate rivets and pannel lines on a scale machine, then try out RC scale in USA. They make a sticky tape with miniature holes all along it, (bit like ticker tape!) all the modeller does is run PVA glue down it and it fills in the holes. Lift the tape and voila a perfect run of even rivets.
I ordered the kit it cost me £18 and arrived in 3 days yes from America. With the amount included I have almost finshed my new Cobra heli with shed loads of tape left. I would recomend it!

A neat screw! - By Phil Fearn

A neat servo screw with a 2mm hex drive is available from Modelfixings.co.uk .They are available in two lengths !0 mm and 14 mm.Prices are £5.20 for a 100.A tool is available(allen key in a handle) for tightening the screws at £2.25.
These screws can be tightened easily without rounding off like a cross head screw .

Spray carbon fibre with hair spray - By Alan Forrest

I have been modelling for more years than I care to remember but I still have much to learn, recent problems with the spats on my Ryan have been solved with the assistance of great advice from our Phil, I had never used carbon fibre before and without a simple tip from him to spray the matt with hair spray before use solved a potential problem in application for me before it occurred.

Cleaning Engines - By Adrian Hawley

I have found, that a good way to remove the black carbon, and burnt on fuel/oil on a model engine is to brush on varnish remover (careful this stuff is harsh), and then clean as normal. Works for me!

Making dropping bombs release system - By Adrian Hawley

When considering making dropping bombs etc for the future. Why not get a good off the shelf "bomb" glue a pin (one of those with a plastic ball/dressmakers type) into the top. Then use a sweetner (hermesetas) container acuated by a servo. The little mechanism inside the sweetner container can hold the pin quite securely, until you actuate the mechanism with the servo. and bombs away. Its even better if you can find those plastic bombs that come apart and contain flour, and take out the sweetners first!