Patch News – April 2014
It’s May already so time for a new Patch News. I’m really pushed for time at the moment to this edition might be a bit rushed, and I won’t have time to sort out the video footage I’ve taken so I’ll hold it over for next month. The April edition was well received, especially the April Fool photo that Gentleman Jim composed of five Sportjets in close formation. There were plenty of clues: It was published on 1st April; there are only four Sportjets in the club; all five pictured had an identical nose repair; and the comments section mentioned Lirpa Loof & Frail Loops… but STILL someone managed to blurt out a daft question about the photo at club! I would name them but Burly Turley gets upset when I pick on him so I won’t…oops!
We started the month with some young bullocks in the field. Those of us who have seen bullocks in the field many times over the years know that although they are really inquisitive and can sometimes be a little aggressive they usually get bored and leave us alone after a while. When I arrived at the barn one morning I was amused to see one member running for the gate chased by a herd of bullocks! If they get too close and ‘stroppy’ it’s best to just head towards them, not move away, no doubt they could do you a lot of harm given the chance so stand your ground. It’s certainly best not to enter the field alone, you won’t be able to fly anyway as you’ll get surrounded.
Chairman Ron took the role of head herder one misty morning and showed us how to do it.
Speaking of Ron, you may have heard that he has taken on the task of mowing the patch for us. He’s bought a new club mower, a much lighter version than the old one and he’s able to lift it in and out of his car without too much difficulty. On behalf of all the members I’d like to record a huge Thank You Ron, it is greatly appreciated. As I write Ron is sunning himself on foreign shores so thank you Chas for taking over for a couple of weeks!
Cyano Steve has also gone off to sunnier climes, he’s gone on his annual Tarpon fishing trip to Florida Keys but before he went he turned up with this little beauty.
It’s an E-Flite UMX Sbach 342 3D from Kings Lynn Models. It may be tiny but it really is a 3D machine, it prop hangs etc just like larger versions, no doubt largely due to its AS3X stabilisation system. The wingspan is just 432mm (17”), it weighs 75gms (2.65oz), and the battery is a 2S 180mAh. I’m looking forward to having a go with it Steve.
Desperate Dan has now had the plaster cast removed from his leg and can reach the patch again. One Sunday he brought along his Skywalker 1900 model fully equipped with FPV gear, and asked me to launch it and be his spotter. Dan flew around for a few minutes and checked the return to home function that should return the model to the launch point if there is a communication failure, and all seemed fine. A couple of times I asked him to bring the model back closer as it was getting difficult for me to see, and surprisingly each time it was only about 500 metres away. This is a 1900mm span model so we obviously don’t fly the majority of our models as far away as we think. Then Dan asked if I’d like a go flying FPV and he handed me the headset while he flew normally. Then I took control and flew around for a few minutes. The model seemed easy enough to fly although I really didn’t have a clue where I was most of the time. There is an awful lot of information on the screens but without having had a chance to study it all on the ground most of it didn’t really mean too much, I was just too busy flying the model to take much time working out what all the numbers meant. A couple of times Dan said ‘turn left’ or similar to stop me going behind the flight line and occasionally I spotted the patch, the road etc. After a few minutes Dan said I should come closer, the screen said I was something like 650 metres away so it must have been right at the edge of visibility. I said I had no idea which way to turn to get closer and he explained about a line on the screen which should be pointing vertically upwards when I was heading directly back to us. Just as I started to turn back Dan said he’d lost sight of the model and on screen I appeared to be diving. Up elevator made no difference and then the screen suddenly went off.
It was a horrible feeling when I had nothing on the screen and Dan couldn’t see the model! Then Mark shouted from the pits that the model had crashed a long way off. We trudged off along the bearing that Mark had taken but after a long search we returned empty handed. Overnight we checked Google Earth and using the bearing we had and around 700 metres distance we decided the model had to be in a reasonably narrow strip of trees that we had walked through previously. Next day we went back and luckily, on his way down a track, Dan met a farmer who said he’d seen the model. With his directions it only took a few minutes to find, phew! The model was indeed in the strip of trees and was on the ground having suffered very little damage as it came through the trees.
So what went wrong? The only thing I could think of was maybe I had stalled it and it had gone into a spin, although on the screen I certainly didn’t see a death spiral and the ground suddenly getting really close! Dan reckoned that was very unlikely as the model is almost impossible to stall with any power on at all. The recorded on-board video should have shown us what happened but sadly the video card was cracked in the crash so Dan was unable to view it. Having reviewed all the evidence Dan has come to the conclusion that battery became disconnected, hence loss of everything. He had used an XT60 connector but it was a cheap copy rather than a genuine one and apparently there have been issues reported online with loss of connectivity.
The minor repairs were quickly completed and a genuine XT60 connector fitted, and Dan has flown it again without further problems.
There were a couple of other incidents on the same day; firstly Dougal Entendre (sometimes known as Mark Agate) had a minor mid-air with Bob Hill. Bob was flying his aged Seagull trainer and I think Mark was flying his MX2 when they touched, but neither thought there was any serious damage. Bob noticed a small trim change so landed and discovered that his tailplane had been well chewed by Mark’s prop! Lucky he had done the correct thing and landed, there may not have been such a happy outcome if he had continued with the flight. Mark got away with a couple of minor dings in one wing.
The other incident involved Steve 1066 and a crosswind ’landing’. The wind had shifted during the flying and most of the morning was spent with the pits in the wrong place. Needless to say as soon as the decision was made to move the pits the wind shifted back to where it had been earlier. According to 1066 it was all my fault (what’s new?!) so I am pleased to include a photo of his misfortune:
It seems he wasn’t overjoyed at having his photo taken but was anxious to point out that he’d only had one crash… at least I think that’s what he’s indicating. Thanks go to Smiffy for the photo; he was heard gleefully muttering something about getting his own back.
Chris Hard has got a new model, a Radjet 800. He’s has been flying the smaller Radjet 420 for a while and decided to try the 800mm version. Chris has fitted a HET 3W 400 watt motor which draws around 38A from a 3s 2350 lipo and the model only weighs 572g so it’s not underpowered. I was flying my Gripen the other day and all I saw of the Radjet was a blur as it kept passing me!
Another new model comes from Nick Squire, a Great Planes Super Sportster 40. The span is 1410mm (55.5”) and it weighs about 2.3kg (5lbs). Nick seems to have regressed since last month, this model is fitted with an I/C motor and 35meg radio gear. Nostalgia’s not what it used to be… It flies well despite those deficiencies and is proving to be a good all round sport machine.
Fanfare time, all stand please, Mark passed his BMFA Examiner’s Test on Saturday. Well done to Mark and thanks to Area Chief Examiner Steve Warren for coming along to our patch to test him.
I went along to observe and to help Mark where needed but to be honest I didn’t see much of the flight. Mark was about a quarter of the way through the test when the shepherd drove across the field, south of the patch, to check the many sheep in the field. About two hundred sheep and lambs that had been down by the gate decided to run after the shepherd and charged straight over the patch. They had just reached him when he got back in his vehicle and drove back past us on the north side of the patch, so they all charged back again! The noise of hundreds of bleating sheep and lambs was incredible and drowned out the model noise totally, I heard Mark say “I’m trying not to be distracted”! By the time he got to the landing the sheep were all grazing happily again behind us as if nothing had happened! Steve Warren must have been slightly bemused, probably thinks we’re an odd bunch that always run around the field chasing sheep. I tried to explain that it’s usually only Smiffy who does that…
So then it was question time and Mark was a bit surprised to be asked about dethermaliser snuffer tubes on free flight models and control-line pull tests amongst all the more expected questions on flying displays and CAP658 etc. But he did well and sailed through so now we have two club examiners again and can take ‘B’ tests for anyone to wants to have a go. Form an orderly line please…
While we were at the field for Mark’s test we watched lots of paragliders enjoying the north easterly wind both along by Old Winchester Hill and at the usual site by the masts. Amongst them was a ‘proper’ hang-glider which looked like a very sophisticated machine, nothing at all like the old style triangular frames covered in nylon. We watched as he caught a thermal and circled up to a great height before passing over our field and disappearing off to the west. We finished flying and were home by lunchtime, but Desperate Dan went to the field in the afternoon. Before he started flying he was surprised by a hang-glider flying low overhead with the pilot shouting at him, wanting to know the wind direction. He duly landed in the field and promptly had a pee; it turned out it was the one we had watched in the morning returning after a five hour flight! Fortunately Dan took some photos so we can see it’s an Atos VR.
A quick Google finds that it’s from a German manufacturer and has a wing span of 13.8 m (45 ft), wing area of 14.7 m2 (158 sq ft) and aspect ratio of 13.3:1. It has minimal cable bracing and incorporates both flaps and spoilers for roll control and as you can see it has a small vee tailplane.
And finally…I said in the last Patch News that Smiffy always has to have more of everything than everybody else, it turns out that this even applies to model clubs. He sent me a photo of his latest model but it was as at the Guildford club’s patch not ours. 
Andy didn’t give me any details but I’m pretty sure it’s a Sebart Sukhoi 29S 50E V2, whatever it is it looks absolutely gorgeous. Come on Smiffy, bring it to our patch, I want to drool…
Colin Cowplain
NO FLYING Sunday 11th May 2014
NO FLYING Sunday 11th May 2014
The sustainability are holding their Green Day again this year on Sunday the 11th May.
As the field will be used as a car park there will be no flying on that day for safety reasons.
Patch News – March 2014
At last! We’ve had some decent flying weather in March, let’s hope April follows suit. It’s been variable and some days have been cold and windy but others have been perfect. Sadly the mowing problem hasn’t been solved yet but I’m sure it will soon be sorted.
I’ll start off this month with my latest toy, a little Saab JAS39 Gripen from HobbyKing. I was ordering a few bits & pieces and got tempted…
It’s about £48 for the plane already fitted with a 50mm fan, the motor, 2 servos, and speed controller, so all that’s required is a receiver, battery, and a little glue. The recommended battery is a 3 cell 800mAh lipo so I ordered a couple whilst hoping the 3 cell 1000’s I use in the Mustang would fit. Flight times are only around 3 minutes on the 800’s so I was happy to find I could indeed fit the 1000’s in which extends the flight times to around 4 minutes.
Before I flew it I read lots of reviews etc online and (as always) found both good and bad comments, but mostly bad. The instructions state the ailerons need about 7 or 8mm of reflex, I think some people must either ignore instructions or just think they know better! I set the reflex and C of G where the instructions said and its first flight went with no problems at all. I had to add a little lead to the tail to achieve the correct C of G, even with the receiver and battery as far back as possible and have since added a little more but apart from that I’ve altered nothing. Some comments said “keep the speed up on landing”, I’ve no idea why, it comes floating it at a crawl and has no vices at all. I’ve had around 25 flights now and have only had one problem; on one flight there was suddenly an odd noise from the fan, I thought it had thrown a blade. I got it down ok and found it had lost all 5 blades! As supplied the motor wires are held in a groove in the top of the duct by a piece of fibreglass tape. The tape had come off and got eaten by the fan!
I was unable to find a replacement 5 blade fan but Giant Shark had a 6 blade fan and housing for less than £3 so I ordered a couple of those. I kept the original housing and, with slight modification, fitted just the new fan. It flies just the same and maybe has a touch more power than before. So I’m very happy with it, it looks great both on the ground and in the air, flies well, and was cheap, perfect!
As I mentioned last month several members are now flying the HK Sportjets, they’re excellent fliers and a lot of fun. We’ve been fooling around with formation flying which has proved a bit hit & miss, mostly miss, but Gentleman Jim managed this great shot when we all briefly got it together recently.
On the subject of formation flying, John Warren and Bob Hill decided it would be nice to fly John’s Albatross and Bob’s SE5A together. ‘Together’ turned out to mean both were somewhere in the south of England but with a bit of luck you might spot both planes ‘together’ in this months’ video. You’ll find the link towards the end of this Patch News.
John might have been rubbish at formation flying with Bob’s SE5A but he got pretty close during an attack on Cyano’s new Crack Yak!
March saw the return to flying of John McEvoy, a welcome return. John chose a very windy day to have his first flight for about eighteen months but had no problems at all. His Spacewalker has one of those quaint old fashioned dirty noisy smelling things up front but flies (and sounds) a treat. Now get and take your ‘A’ test John!
Tony Neal also turned up with a couple of I/C models one day, his P51 Mustang and his PC9. The PC9 had an ‘aborted’ take-off, followed by an ‘interesting’ take-off, but once it was up and trimmed all was well. Both take-offs are in the video at the end of this Patch News.
Tony also flew the Fast Forward that was one the club raffle prizes. It flies well but as you’d expect its definitely not a stooge around model, it keeps the adrenaline flowing!
Steve 1066 Hastings has been dripping on that he’s never featured in Patch News so I’ll put that right. He seems to have found a cheap source of second hand models, cast offs from Cyano Steve. 1066 is into the same 3D flying as Cyano so is happy to take any models that Cyano no longer requires.
He is pictured clutching an Extra 330S, his latest purchase, and he’s getting it set up to his liking. In the other photo 1066 is working on the 330s and in the background is his 330SC. The SC version is made from EPP foam and as you can see has a slab-sided, almost profile like fuselage which helps give it an amazing knife-edge performance. If you see Steve flying knife-edge right across the field at about 5 feet altitude it’s probably the EPP one, just superb!
A new model appeared early in March, another from John Warren. It’s an EPO E-Flite Hawker Sea Fury, and although it’s just 845mm (33”) span it comes complete with retracts. I test flew it and it flew beautifully although the retracts with tiny wheels just weren’t up to our rather rugged patch.
Sadly the model was perhaps a step too far for John, or rather a flight too far away, as John soon discovered that small models disappear rapidly and orientation becomes a problem.
The damage from the resulting crash was fairly extensive but I’m sure the repairs aren’t beyond John’s capabilities so hopefully the model will fly again. From the little flying I did with it I would definitely recommend the E-Flite Sea Fury but it would probably be best to stick to hand launching and belly landing.
Meanwhile, alongside his larger models, Cyano Steve has been flying a Twisted Hobbys Crack Yak 55. It’s a 32” EPP model that looks as if it should only fly indoors but Steve assures me it’s an outdoor model. Twisted Hobbys (no that IS how they spell it) actually do the Crack Yak, and several others, in Standard, Lite, and Supa Lite versions.
I assume Steve’s is the Standard version as it flies outdoors although it’s certainly not up to windy conditions on a hilltop field! Steve has a fair size garden so he can fly the Crack Yak there when he doesn’t have time to drive to the field. However the garden is surrounded by some fairly large trees…
We had a ‘first’ at the field in March…not only did Nick Squire fly his first electric model, it was also his first on 2.4 GHz, and his first foamie! It’s yet another of the EPP P51 Mustangs but it’s not a new model at all, Nick bought the model and radio from Hapless Harper. This means it’s been put together well and flies excellently. The photo was taken after Nick’s first flight with it and the big smile shows he was happy with both electric power and 2.4gig.
Last Sunday saw Mark Agate flying his Skyfun. The model has flown a lot and has had several different motors and speed controllers. Mark has been experimenting with reverse thrust by using an esc intended for use in an R/C car. The results have certainly been ‘different’ but Mark has found that slowing the Skyfun to almost zero means that gravity takes over and it heads vertically down albeit at a slow speed. Lack of air over the control surfaces, which are only elevons in this case, means there is little control to do anything except fall. Mark uses a discus launch to get it airborne without making contact with the prop and the technique usually works well. However the first attempt on Sunday went a little awry and the ground bit the model. I’m think there was probably a little unseen damage as although it got away safely on the second attempt it hadn’t been flying long when the canopy became detached. Losing the canopy isn’t usually a major issue on a model but it obviously upset the aerodynamics of the Skyfun as it proved unflyable. Mark was kind enough to send me a photo of the resulting damage and says the model will now be retired.
For a video of some of the planes I’ve mentioned see here: March 2014 Video This month Ron’s grandson Eddy leads off with an excellent take-off, which is then followed by various aircraft on various days and in various weather conditions, listen to the wind noise in some of the shots! It ends with Nigel baker showing us how to land an Acro-Wot…
Thanks are due to Richard King as he contributed some of the video this month. Richard’s own flying is improving rapidly and he has now done several excellent landings under the guidance of mentor Mark. The landing of his model in the video was NOT done by Richard, that was Mark trying to show how close he could fly to the camera…!
No Patch News is complete without a mention of Smiffy. We all know his mantra is More; more equipment, more expensive, more complicated, in fact more anything! When he turned up recently part of his field equipment was a large flight box labelled on each end with ‘4S 4000’.
I queried why and he explained it’s so he knows what batteries are in the box. I foolishly asked if he changed the labels when he uses different batteries, but no, Smiffy has a different flight box (with labels) for every different battery pack he uses!
What’s the difference between a female flight attendant and a jet engine? At the end of a flight the jet engine stops whining!
Colin Cowplain
Patch News – February 2014
Hooray, finally there are signs of improvement in the weather! Most of February was pretty rubbish but towards the end of the month things gradually started to change. Even at the start of the month we managed a bit of flying, between the gales and horizontal rain, and several new models were flown. I’m writing this in the first week of March and right now the weather is glorious, long may it last.
In the January Patch News I mentioned that John Warren had damaged his Albatross during a take-off attempt. A slow flying WW1 biplane is never going to be the easiest model to get off the ground, it’s vital to be quick on the rudder to keep it heading straight into wind as once the wind gets under one side of those draggy wings there will only be one outcome. The good news is that John soon completed the repairs and the Albatross has flown successfully several times in February. He’s also added a spinner and a few other details; the pilot’s new white scarf can be seen streaming in the wind on low passes.
This photo is a bit odd, there seems to be a low wing monoplane flying over, and there’s a contrail… that can’t be right, Biggles would turn in his grave!
Gentleman Jim brought his high quality camera along one day and snapped my rather beaten up Sportjet on a low pass. There were several better photos than this one but I wanted to show that Harpers Oak is still alive and well.
While we are looking at Sportjets here is Mark’s that he’s now fitted with the undercarriage. They all come supplied with clip on legs and wheels but most pilots don’t bother with them as a jet looks odd flying around with the wheels hanging down. But Mark fancied some take-offs and landings so he clipped them in and had a morning enjoying circuits and bumps.
Jim also took this photo of Burly Turley posing with his ex-Cyano Steve 42” AJ Slick. 
At the time Peter was telling Jim where to set his F stop… I’m sure I heard Jim say he knew exactly where he wanted to put his F stop! Peter resurrected the Slick from a bag of wreckage after Steve ‘modified’ it. It now looks as good as new and flies just like it did before the mishap.
Jim was kind enough to send me some pics of his new Grumman Wildcat. I posted a photo of Jim holding the then unflown model in the November blog and it remained unflown until February. It’s only had a couple of flights so far and they went very well, the Wildcat flew beautifully. It’s powered by a Hacker motor and has considerably more power than the standard Parkzone one (Jim bought an ‘airframe only’ kit). The motor must be pulling the maximum current the speed controller can handle as the motor cut briefly a couple of times at full throttle. A quick closing and reopening of the throttle got it started again and it wasn’t really a problem as the plane flew happily on half throttle anyway. Next time out Jim will try some smaller props to reduce the current draw a little.
Well, it has finally happened; Norwegian Nick has got a foamie! It’s one of the little EPP Mustangs that many of us are enjoying but being a ‘real modeller’ Nick had to do a bit more than just glue it together, so amongst other things his features concealed control links and a snazzy paint job.
How does it fly? Just like all the rest really, they can be tame or wild and they’ll do pretty much anything the pilot can.
Another ‘real modeller’ is Keith Evans and following on from his success with his home grown Spitfire he has produced an ME109.
It’s an all built up balsa and ply model built from Keith’s own plans. He made it 37” span so it’ll fit in the car in one piece, seems as good a starting point as any! At about 3-1/2lbs it’s not light but it has plenty of power and flies extremely well on its 3 cell lipo. Well done Keith.
The last big raffle prize was a Multiplex Xeno, a flying wing that can be flown either as a glider or with electric power. The lucky winner was Bob Hill, although at the time he looked rather dubious about it! However, he put it all together and test flew it on one of the few sunny days in February.
I think Bob was pleasantly surprised when it actually flew, and in fact it flew very well indeed. It’s slightly odd in that (in Bob’s words) it ‘wobbles’ in flight, I imagine that’s something to do with having two fairly small fins and that is probably also the reason it tends to stay in turns rather than level out . But that’s no bad thing if you are trying to keep turning in a thermal and from what we’ve seen so far the Xeno really performs well on the glide. It’s also aerobatic and I did a few loops and rolls etc including one outside loop. When it was safely back on the ground Bob demonstrated how the whole thing folds in half, it’s hinged on the centerline and folds in half downwards to pack neatly away for easy transport. The only thing that holds the wing flat for flight is the clip on canopy and I felt rather relieved that I only did one outside loop before being told about its folding capabilities! The other fairly unusual feature is that the motor is mounted centrally in the wing, rather than at the trailing edge, and there is an extension shaft to drive the rear mounted prop. I didn’t get any photos of Bob’s in the folded position but this Multiplex one shows the motor position and hingeing well.
I took some video snippets on 19th Feb and stitched the decent bits together. It’s under two minutes long and you’ll see Nick’s Fantrainer, Jim’s Pulse & Wildcat, Keith’s Advance & ME109, and finally Chairman Ron showing how to land an edf: PAM Patch
If you can spare ten minutes check out James May taking a flight to 70,000ft in a Lockheed U2 spy plane. It’s been on TV but even if you’ve seen it already it’s well worth another look: U2 flight
Mark Agate tested his new MX2 one Sunday morning. Both Steve 1066 Hastings and Phil Wonky Wiltshire own one of these but neither of them are very impressed by its handling so we were interested to see how Mark’s performed. All seemed to be going well and Mark was certainly gave it a good testing over a number of flights, but he emailed this comment and photo later in the day:
“As several people commented, the MX2 seems to have a vicious tendency to tip-stall when you least expect it. A full-size Tiger Moth started pulling aerobatics right over our heads (and quite low!) while I was having the 5th flight, which distracted me quite a bit. Then the buzzer sounded for me to land, and I thought I had plenty of airspeed, but she flicked and spun into the valley, about 20ft the other side of the road. Damage seems to be confined to broken prop and spinner, cracked cowl and bent motor shaft. Hobby King have spares, so I’m placing an order. I think heavy wings and lack of lateral balance (forgot to check it…) may have been contributory factors.”
The good news is that the spares have now arrived so we should see the MX2 back in the air soon.
Andy ‘Anything you can buy I can buy better’ Smith showed up with a new toy the other day. No not a new plane, or radio, or trolley, or even an uprated heater for his tx muff… it’s a prop cover! It’s a Xoar genuine leather cover that comes in two pieces that are held together with Velcro. Now I can understand that if you’ve got some big scale plane with an expensive scale type wooden prop you might want some protection for it, but why would you need a condom for a spare prop for an electric powered WOT4?
They come in various sizes; obviously Smiffy only needed a small one…
Gary Houghton has recently repaired his Yak 54 after an engine cut caused a rather abrupt arrival. During the repair process he switched the type of silencer to one that is a little less obtrusive. Unfortunately although it looks less obtrusive it doesn’t sound it and Gary has to think again to meet the noise regulations.
Gary’s Yak is looking a little sad after its repairs so I thought you might like to see one with a gorgeous finish.
Look closely and you may be able to spot a couple of outstanding points. The debate following the December blog proved that The ‘Pipe & Camouflaged Trousers model’ wasn’t nearly as popular as the ‘Underslung Totty model’ so hopefully you’ll approve.
A blonde is going on her first plane trip and she’s very excited. As soon as she boards the 747 she starts running up and down the aisles shouting ‘Boeing, Boeing, Boeing’. The crew and other passengers get more and more agitated and eventually the pilot emerges from the cockpit and at the top of his voice shouts ‘BE SILENT!’ You could have heard a pin drop, the passengers are stunned, the blonde stops in her tracks for a moment, thinking. Then she runs up and down again shouting ‘Oeing, Oeing, Oeing’…
Colin Cowplain
