My first heli. It is cheap, small and a lot of fun. I have a lot of practicing to do but if I get good enough and still enjoy flying it I'll upgrade to something larger and scale. I like the idea of flying a nice scale heli around like the real thing, smoothly! No 3D stuff here

I have had this for a couple of years but forgot to add it to my blog. I got it second hand from a fellow RCG member and I have had quite a few sessions with it. I have managed to keep it up for a few minutes, but am yet to catch a decent thermal and speck it out. I'll keep trying

This is my introduction to EDF, but I need to find a 36mHz Rx that doesn't glitch. 2.4gHz would be the go but I'm not ready to change over yet. Until I get over this problem I'll have to just look at it in my study. Lucky it's small and looks pretty good

I decided with my limited spare time I have to fly behind my house rather than drive to the club. If I get home from work and the weather is good I can charge some batteries and fly. Most of my models will be small from now, keeping them cheap and the batteries small and fast to charge. I thought the Mini Swift from Hobby King would be perfect for the limited landing space behind my back fence. I find it under powered, so I will put a more powerful power system in the spare airframe when I get the time.

This is a small and free air show at Point Cook Air Base (just around the corner from me) that is held every two years. Here are some pics....Continue Reading

I'm waiting for an ESC in the mail to fly this one. It looks pretty good and it will be interesting to fly....Continue Reading

I just got this in the mail, a 4 blade 15 inch Ramoser Vario Prop. I tried it out with a Turnigy SK 4250-500kv. This motor on 4S seems marginal with this prop set to the least amount of pitch, about 4 inches. Here are the numbers.

14.11 Volts
52.3 Amps
738 Watts
5917 RPM

The voltage sagged a bit after a few seconds to

13.45 Volts
48.8 Amps
657 Watts
5647 RPM

I might buy some 14 inch blades for it and see how it goes.

I couldn't pass this one up as it was second hand and a great price. I plan to try it as a camera platform for aerial photography. It needs a bit of TLC but everything works and I hope to have it in the air tomorrow.

It is powered by a Hyperion Z 40 20-08, a Pulso 100 Amp ESC and a Turnigy wooden 12X8 prop and various 4S packs (mostly 5000 mAh).
The numbers are:

13.10 Volts
71.2 Amps
933 Watts
9510 RPM

With a 13X4 prop:

13.52 Volts
66.6 Amps
901 Watts
10560 RPM

Seeing this was removed as a sticky from the beginners forum (without notice) I have put it here in case anyone wants to use it. I have to say it will be a lot harder for people to find!

This guide was started by me but is being added to by members of various forums. If you have an addition for this guide send me a PM and I will make any necessary changes or additions. Any input to the guide will be credited.

Following this guide are others. Browse through them all and choose the one that suits you. There is also a wealth of links in Ed's guide in the next post so don't stop here!

Introduction


This guide is intended to help give aeromodelers enough simplified knowledge to choose from the bewildering array of components available, and to assemble appropriate power systems for their model aeroplanes. This guide is not intended as an answer to everyone's questions, but as a basic introduction so that we have a reference to help understand this subject.


Using this Guide

Choosing a power system is a more complicated procedure than I first thought when I started putting this guide together. Often choosing a power system includes a fair bit of educated guesswork. Although it is possible to accurately calculate every important bit of data to determine the optimum power system for a model, most of us will prefer the "educated guess" approach. Unfortunately there is some knowledge required to make an "educated guess", and that is hopefully...Continue Reading

I picked it up this morning and if it was the RTF version I'd be flying it already! It isn't the RTF version though, although it looks like it is RTF even though I haven't even touched the tube of glue or installed any electrics yet.

My plan is to give it the same Silkspan treatment I have given all my GWS warbirds, install a scale size 4 bladed Vario prop and give it a paint job so it looks like a work of art, not a large foam RC toy. I also intend installing full retracts including tail wheel and flaps. At last a model that is big enough for all the extra weight I will be putting into it.

I've had my eye on this model for a while now. I'ts a good size for flying at the club and I'm now in a position to fly one

It is very well designed and constructed and for its size it is very light. If I crash it will be a hard one to repair though so wish me luck.

Here are some pics for you Peter

After giving my Formosa II away I have missed flying behind the house lately, so I decided it was time for another little foamy so I can do touch and go's. The model I decided on is the ST Cessna, a RTF model. It took a few hours to get it together and program my radio and the next morning it had its maiden. There was no wind and it flies great! I flew it in the wind and it gets tricky so it will only come out on the dead calm days from now on. This is a geat little model for the money, and as it comes with everything but Rx and lipo you don't even have to make a list of stuff to buy to get it flying.

Now I want another aerobatic model for behind the house . Maybe another Formosa II or even a Multiplex Acromaster would be nice.

Here are some pics I took today. One thing that was apparent to me was the amount of trouble IC engines cause compared to electric. Often a model would be taken back to the flightline after the motor stopped before take off. I did all my flying before the crowds gathered ....Continue Reading

Here are some shots from this years Avalon Airshow....Continue Reading

I have been eying this model off for about a year now. It looks nice for an intermediate sailplane, so when I saw one for sale here on RCG I jumped on it. I got it the day before yesterday and it's ready to fly already. Hans, the guy I bought it from did a nice job of building it, and his repairs are very well done. That's the great thing about buying second hand, it is cheaper, AND you don't have to assemble the model . I'll save my building time for my next scratch build

I'll take this on my summer holiday, it packs into its original box so it will be easy to transport.

I recently decided to retire my old GWS Formosa II. It has been a great model and I have flown it a lot more than my other models. It has been flown at least once a week (weather permitting of course) and often more for about three years now. It has been crashed and repaired many times and it is tired and worn out, so it's time to give the foamies a rest and get back to good old balsa and ply.

I have been trying to avoid the extremely popular trend of 3D and models of unlimited aerobatic models for a while now. The Cap, Edge, Katana etc all look pretty much the same to me and although hovering looks challenging, I don't consider it real flying. It reminds me of the RC helicopter flyers at the club throwing their machines around the sky in the most torturous and unrealistic manner. To me it just looks wrong. So here I am wondering what to replace my F II with, one of these 3D semi scale models or a pattern model? Well when put like that I will lean towards scale every time so I had a look at my LHS and chose the Katana made by Phoenix Models. The Katana is an interesting aeroplane, and considering it's rarity in real life it is interesting it is such a popular subject in RC. Anyway I like it and now I have one.

Over the next week or two I will detail the build (or assembly) and hopefully I will have a successful flight to report at the end.

Look what I have now . One of my work colleagues (Anthony) got into RC cars and bought one to work. After that I just had to get one, but it had to have a brushless motor . It seems the car guy's here are way behind in motor technology and are still in the land of the brushed motor . I put a 3S lipo in this baby and gave myself the fright of my life, and Anthony and I had to lift our jaws off the ground . It must have been doing at least 70 kph . One squirt of the throttle and it is almost out of sight. Cruising at half throttle (and that's pretty fast) it will spin all 4 wheels if you open it all the way . It is INSANE . I can't wipe the smile off my face.

I hope to take some video of it today and I'll post it asap.

Yes I seem to have a love/hate relationship with GWS models. I love that they are so cheap and I hate that they are not more scale. I don't want to harp on about it but GWS could have such beautiful scale models with some slight changes........but. Oh well, with a bit of work they can be made to look even better, and to most they look fantastic anyway so let's have a look at the model and what I am going to do with it.

This seems a lot more scale than the FW-190 and my only real problem is that the exaust stubbs are too far back, an easy fix. Good one GWS! I guess the reason is that the plastic nose piece is in the way of the front exaust stubbs so GWS has moved them back. I plan to move at least one exahst stub (probably two) to the front to put them in the right spot. This is a replacement for the P-51D which was too small for me. I like to use my 3S 2200 mAh lipo packs and they are too heavy for such a small model. The P-40 will be covered with either Silkspan and/or Polyspan (depending on how much of each I have) and WBPU. I have never tried Ployspan but if it works it should be stronger that Silkspan. Thanks for the Polyspan Peter (wolw) .

Here are some pics.

I like foam for many reasons but to me it looks cheap and nasty and spoils the look of a model. Although it is very easy to build a foam kit, the fact is that foam is damaged very easily. If you have built a foam kit you will know how easy it is to mark the surface of your model before you even get to fly it.

So what can we do to protect and give a nice finish to our foam models? One of the answers is to cover them with tissue and WBPU, or Water Based Polyurethane. So what on earth is WBPU? The stuff I use is a floor sealer and it is very easy and quite safe to use compared to some of the epoxy products. I use my fingers to smooth the tissue during application and when it's dry it peels off them like a layer of skin which is kind of fun .

I can't take credit for this method of covering and I would like everyone to know that my inspiration to use the method came from Matt Haltons build thread for his Ultrafly P-51D Mustang here
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=536128
His model is a great example of what can be done with a foamy.

This is what you will need for the job:

1 can of WBPU. A 1 litre can is enough to cover 4 to 5 small to medium size models.

Enough Silkspan (or Japanese tissue. Google it if you want to know more about it) to cover your model. Silkspan comes in different weights. I use the thickest I can get.

A paint brush about 2.5 cm wide.

Around 120 and 320 grit sandpaper.

Lightweight spac filler. I use NHP Micro-Fill Super...Continue Reading

I did it again! Another GWS foamy. I know how unscale they are after my experience trying to bash the FW-190 into some kind of scale shape, but I'm a sucker for cheap models and for the purpose, this one calls for a $57 cheapy . I have a couple of motors, ESC's, a 5ch RX and some servos ready to go so I hope the only thing I will need to buy now is some paint and a spinner.

I want a scalish model I can throw in the back of my ute and fly at work during my breaks. I work out in the open spaces of the Basalt Plains west of Melbourne in Victoria Australia. My work specialises in the remaining .7% of our grassland communities, which are very special to me, but every day at lunchtime I am thinking how good it would be to be having a bit of a fly, and maybe teaching some the guy's I work with. You all know how it is when you are at work on a perfectly still day and you wish you were out flying your favourite model? Or any model! Well I have had enough of wishing, I have decided the GWS P-51D Mustang will be my new work plane .

Like my GWS FW-190 I will cover it with tissue and WBPU to toughen it up a bit. There are no smooth landing strips out in the grasslands so it won't have an undercarriage and I will try to make it light. I have a range of 3S lipo packs from 1500mAh to 2500mAh and I would like to use them all if possible. I was thinking about only two servos, one for ailerons and one for elevator, but I like using the rudder so it will be a 4-channel job. I want it to...Continue Reading