Wonwings Diary-a blog with a difference. - Page 2

**Bunkerbarge** · 26-12-2005

Barry,

An excellent piece and one very close to my heart. I have always wanted to learn to fly a model and have been through the training ground of rubber band powered planes as a teen flying round a field with the wings off-set through to very simple small r/c gliders that spent more time being repaired than flown.

About three years ago I decided to go down the path of a full blown electric r/c almost RTF model which was more of a sport than a training model (Jamara 330L Extra). All I had to do was fly slow right?

Anyway I joined a local club in the knowledge that they had a trainer and were willing to teach newcomers. After weeks of hanging around at the flying site I eventually happened to be there at the same time as the trainer with the training plane and I did a few circuits to be told that I should try a model with airlerons. After a few more visits trying to get together with someone who was prepared to test fly my model I eventually got so cheesed off with watching the big boys showing off with thier helicopters I gave up.

Understandably I went up one day with a friend who threw the plane in the air for me. It lasted about two-three seconds before nose diving into the ground and wrecking the front end. That was over two years ago now and I still haven't got around to repairing it. I knew what I did wrong but 200.00 pounds per mistake is going to make it a very costly experience.

It did convince me though that too many of the people at these clubs have neither the time nor the patience to give to newcomers and they should be a lot more open and honest about this before taking subscriptions off people.

I will hopefully repair the plane one day and have another go but to be honest I enjoy the boat club so much now and I havent got the time for everything I want to do as it is. I have to say it left me bitter about the flying club though and the members who I found generally to be very selfish and self motivated.

I have since also purchased a flight simulator which uses my own radio set which I have spent a few hours on and an all in package polystyrene Cessna which should be considerably more forgiving in those first few hours in the air.

As with so many things nowadays take all the advice that you can get, and forums are fast becoming one of the best sources of that, and with a sensible approach, do it yourself!

It did make me realise though just how important it is to pass things on to newcomers to our hobby of modelling. I always actually enjoy sharing thoughts and ideas at the pond side with people who want to ask questions. I take it as a compliment that they want to know how something has been done on one of my boats and how they can use the idea themselves.

Once again Barry a very usefull comment which I can wholeheartedly endorse and only goes to emphasise what a great asset you are to this forum.

**wonwinglo** · 26-12-2005

Richard,this just goes to prove that such things can put anyone off joining a club,the fact remains that whatever our interests clubs are not for everyone,my own experience of them is that they tend to form a clique which is of no use to anyone but the people involved,believe me after running clubs for many years it is very hard work to keep everyone satisfied,especially to cater for the beginner element,my thoughts on this are that for a club to function properly it must cater for newcomers and experienced alike,but not to concentrate on one aspect.
I have distinctly noticed that model boat clubs are a very friendly bunch, and are far more relaxed and willing to share their knowledge,I am pleased that you have found the right niche to enjoy your hobby,after all that time is so valuable as to be used properly and without hassle.

**wonwinglo** · 27-12-2005

There used to be a saying in the aviation world it went like this 'If it looks right then it will fly right' after all the most beauitiful fighter designed the immortal Spitfire was a true classic in beauty both on the ground and in the air.
It does seem that aircraft of yesteryear,had that little bit of something special about them in terms of beauty when compared with the products of today,the designers used every part of the aircrafts anatomy to show it off the best they could,whilst at the same time getting the best aerodynamically.
To demonstrate what I mean then the little sketch prepared above illustrates my point,lets start with the most ugly of aircraft parts,the undercarriage,notice how neat little wheel spats ( called pants in the U.S.A ) fair over the landing gear parts,then the wing to fuselage joint is neatly faired in with alloy pre-shaped panels,next the Gipsy type engine has been beautifully cowled giving adequate air cooling with easily removed wrap round panels,couple this with a nice polished metal spinner that has been blended into the contours of the fuselage.
Working down towards the tail the essential cockpit is once again blended into the decking with its metal framework to protect the pilot.
The tail of an aircraft once was used by designers as a personal trademark of the company,such as De Havilland & Percival who were so proud of their designs,as the tail fin offers a lot of latitude as regards physical shape and size,and area which is difficult to calculate with any mathematical accuracy,then it leaves a first class blank canvas.
So you can se what I am getting at,pre war designs in particular paid a lot of attention to the way that the machine looked,some true classics include the Mosquito,De Havilland Comet Racer,the unique Lysander,the Westland Whirlwind fighter,even the stubby little Gee Bee racer had classic lines despite its dumpy nature.
Some modern designs seem to have little if any regard for aesthetic beauty,such as the Short 360 ( nicknamed 'Shed' or 'Irish Concorde' by their pilots ) prefering quick build boxy fuselages to nice clean lines.
A study of aircraft design is a rewarding project,one excellent book to get your hands on is 'Flight without formulae' this excellent reading covers all aspects of design without getting out the slide rule,or should we say today the pocket calculator !

**wonwinglo** · 28-12-2005

Winter is a good time to do any maintenance jobs on your model equipment and check things out,it is also a good chance to check those receiver and transmitter batteries so vital for the operation of any radio control equipment in your inventory,here is a bit of advice about any wiring that is over three years old,charge up your transmitter and note the reading on the meter,is it lower than it was ? and when the TX is left on does it start to drop dramatically ? if it does not appear to charge up after connecting it up to the charger then you probably have a resistance in the wiring and it will need checking out,it is well known that eventually an electrolytic action sets into the negative wire of the connections,this has the effect of corroding the wires and making them black in appearance,this is where the problems start and if not checked will cause a failure of the equipment.
The receiver is equally affected as well,in this case it is easier to tell if there are any problems by checking out the plugs and sockets,if these show any signs of green or black near the pins then they will need replacing.
What happens is that over a period of time the ends of the wire degrades and the killer black wire corrosion spreads up the wire and arrests any current flow thus causing the heavy resistance,no matter of changing the cells will help as the root cause is the wiring.
So what is the answer ? well the only solution if you are feeling competent to do the job is to cut out the affected wires and replace them with new ones,the radio manufacturers will do this for you for a price and are well aware of the problem.
The problem really lies in the types of wire that are used,we all expect our equipment to be reasonable in price but this affects the quality of wire used to keep within the budget,if it was gold plated then the price would be astronomical,so for the present at least we just have to live with this problem,it is well known but not over publicised.
So before you blame the batteries check out the wires,a quick check by cutting back a tiny portion of the insulation aprox one inch from the plug or socket will reveal any problem areas,if it is tarnished and not shiny then this is more than likely the problem area.

**wonwinglo** · 28-12-2005

More on Black wire corrosion from the Futaba service department-
There have been some comparative tests designed to identify the cause of black wire corrosion, the results of which indicated that a prime factor is storage in a damp atmosphere. The combination of damp air and a charged battery leads to an electrolytic effect that results in an acidic condition at the negative terminal of the battery. It’s not only NiCads that are affected, check out the earth strap on an older car sometime, and if the connection has not been properly protected, the same corrosion effect can be seen.

**wonwinglo** · 29-12-2005

Bunkerbarge gave me this idea ? with the sheer variety of modelling interests on scale-models he wondered what we could come up with if let loose in that scrap yard ? well I have done this rendering of objects that encompass our own interests.
A sort of flying car with obvious nautical connections !
Remember the Emmit character ? who used to build those remarkable contraptions and display them at places like the motor show etc,one was a huge birdlike creature that flapped its wings and moved its neck,very clever chap.

**wonwinglo** · 30-12-2005

The local racecourse here in Warwick has been used for model flying since the 1930's,over the past few years a mown strip has been maintained by the local council,the strip is some walk away from the former car park due to the fact that the area itself is on the other side of the common.
A few years ago complaints about noise led to a review of the flying facilities offered,after much debate the flying times were cut dramatically loosing two days out of the week,and further restrictions on the times of flying,one of the days was a Sunday when for a lot of people was the only day that they could devote to flying their models,coupled with the obvious un-predictable weather this added a further serious restriction,if that was not enough a new housing development came along right on the outskirts of the racecourse and backing onto the former car parking area,in the councils wisdom they built another much larger car park further down the road,some considerable distance and with a pay and display function,this area is even further from the model strip,and requires quite an hike with model and heavy equipment to get there,the car park has been a disaster being too far from the town centre and nobody uses it during the week even.
It just seems that one obstacle after another has been put in the way of the modeller wishing to fly,first the restrictions on time and days,then the parking problem.
I wonder how many more areas of the country have been affected in this way through ignorance from those not interested in modelling ? and how many more potential flying areas have been lost due to similar circumstances,recreational areas are not to be taken lightly and our valued flying sites are constantly under threat.
One aspect of the above that did not go down well, was the councils lack of consideration that was given to gliders and electric flight models,they refused to make any concessions for these types of models which make no noise.
So effectively they have killed the use of the common land for model flying and placed car parking in areas of no use to anyone.
A great pity that such a great hobby is restricted and flustrated by such measures which are so unnecessary,the council have taken such a negative view.

**wonwinglo** · 31-12-2005

A fund has been set up to pay for a bronze monument in memory of the late Fred Dibnah,the monument hopefully will be placed somewhere in the Bolton area in memory of Britains most famous steeplejack and steam engine enthusiast who did so much for the movement.
Freds two precious steam engines have been moved for safe keeping and winter maintenance while his estate is sorted out,meanwhile the fund raising goes ahead.
Local council have provided £13,000 and the total required is estimated to be in the region of £30,000.
Another good bit of news is that the small mine built in his garden will not now be filled in,neighbours complained about the mine saying that it was in-appropiate,a survey has confirmed that it can stay put in Freds memory,another fitting tribute.
Fred Dibnah has become a modern icon of times past,his love of steam powered vehicles and hands on back yard engineering has been well documented on national television,the publics inteest in his life story is now at an all time high.
Thank goodness he got that MBE which was so well deserved.

**wonwinglo** · 01-01-2006

With a whole new year ahead of us it is time to start thinking about any new models ? well I was just about to pull out a kit from my stash when it occured to me that it would be better to try and consolidate a few of my other projects this year,it is so easy to get started in a new model and forget about others still incomplete,so it was time to sit down and put some discipline into what needs doing,this is what I found-
My eleven foot span Avro Lancaster is now into its sixth year of build,although 65 per cent built it still needs a lot of detail work doing to complete her,all cockpit detail has yet to be installed and following a lucky find of a cockpit canopy for her on e-bay that can be installed,the rudder assemblies although complete are not satisfactory and I intend on making a new set to improve them,biggest job of all is to remake the engine nacelles which got damaged when the model had been stored assembled in a barn which had a flood,the paper mache build ups had not been primed at the time and suffered extensive damage.
Then the big job of covering her and painting can take place,no easy matter on a model this size.
Moving onto other models the Fokker Dr.1 Triplane needs varnishing and detail work,then a crate to be made for her,my old 300 flight hours Flair Pupeteer needs a major overhaul to keep her flying,so that will be a complete strip down job,then a decision needs to be made for my Sunday Flyer which has suffered a lot of oil soakage,possibly a new fuselage on that one ?
Then a complete check up on the hangar residents to see if any mice have attacked any models this year,the little perishers made a meal of some wire harness and made a nest in a fuselage last time ! hopefully we will not have any bother with wasps nests this year either,last time one of my hangars was out of bound for months following an invasion of them.
So when you look at the work in hand it is enough to keep me busy for some time without starting anything else,so I think it is consolidation and disipline in order to get a few jobs done this year,we will just have to see how things go along.

Seaspray · 01-01-2006

Very nice. After years in Scotland. I moved south to Kent.Always very interested in models. One of my customers (as a typewriter service engineer.) was the Hornby Factory at Margate.I took a long time to do the servicing that day. These are only things that you could imagine about staying in rural part of Scotland. Again I've went on to meet famous people a thing I'ed never dream off.

Have a Good and Happy New year to all in 2006. Keep on wrting too, I will be reading with interest.

Martin