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 | I've just bought the newly-enlarged magazine R/C Model World
and thought you might be interested to read a bit about it, so
that's the subject of my first little article in this update.
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| I have dabbled in many hobbies during my lifetime but I do think that
r/c model flying must be one of the most disaster-prone, with
helicopters being top of the list! Every aero-modelling magazine you read generally refers to someone's spectacular
crash (and two items of correspondence in this update also do the
same) and I see you can even buy 'hilarious' videos of other
people's expensive disasters! It is at least a comfort to know that even the most expert pilots suffer failures and
actually make the occasional mistake! So,
this time you can sit back at your PC and read about my latest
incident (well, two actually)!
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|
 The
April issue of Traplet's R/C Model World is now out
and is the first issue in the new "bigger and better" format
announced last month. The magazine content has been increased from its
previous 114 pages to 148 pages and is now 'perfect' bound - i.e., not
wire-stitched down the spine, but glued at the spine into its cover - a
binding technique that is fine if the right type of paper and adhesive
is used but with a tendency to become 'loose-leaf' if not! (The term
'perfect' was coined by the bookbinding trade not because it reflects
the quality of binding, but is, in fact, a reference back to the Perfect
Bookbinding Machinery Company who pioneered the process many years ago
now - not a lot of people know that!) I wonder if anybody stopped to
think about the difficulty of removing the plans, though, which are
firmly set in the adhesive at the spine. Be careful as you remove the
plans - they have a tendency to tear out, rather than pull out, and
insufficient margins have been allowed on this first one, so you lose a
bit of the printed image. If you do manage to remove them without
leaving any paper behind, then there will be an increased likelihood that the pages each
side of the gap might then fall out as you use the magazine, although
the adhesive does seem to be very strong. You could remove the plans by
cutting them out on a steel rule placed behind them, but it would be
better if the plans were included as a loose insert.
The magazine is full-colour throughout and the extra pages are
certainly not all advertisements. The editorial content has also been
expanded and the Contents page flags no fewer than eight new regular
features. All interests within the r/c model flight world seem to be
catered for, from ARTF to true self-build modelling, indoor, slow-fly,
slope and flat-field soaring gliders, electric and 'gas', scale, etc.,
although no helicopters.
The mag does appear nice and friendly towards beginners, as well as
containing some good 'techie' articles for the more advanced
enthusiasts; those items are also a great way of learning for us less
knowledgeable types as well! Grab the April issue if you want to
get in on the ground floor for a good tutorial on helping the beginner
through the mysteries of building your own model 'plane.
At a cover price of £2.75, the magazine is the same price as
virtually all the others (interesting how they all cost the same, isn't
it?), so it really does
represent good value - let's hope it stays that way. There are good
savings to be made on postal subscriptions and for new subscribers
there's a free Permagrit tool on offer for as long as stocks last.
e-mail uk; website
uk; orderline UK +44 (0)1684 594505
e-mail USA; website
USA; orderline USA 1-800-695-0208 |
crash crisis
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| Whilst I was building my first fixed-wing trainer recently, my Hirobo
Shuttle ZXX helicopter, "Cathy", had been put to one side
awaiting repair after a tail-down crash landing following a bit of
rather nervous nose-in hovering that had gone somewhat pear-shaped, as they
say. Once the trainer was finished, I turned my attention to the heli;
the crash had been fairly violent and I had lost the blades, bent
the tail drive shaft and sustained a bit of a kink in the tail boom. A
couple of linkage rods were bent and a previous repair to the cabin had
come asunder meaning that it, too, needed replacing. Not too much to do
by way of repairs but costly all the same!
 "Cathy" had previously been decked out with the standard
Hirobo decals on the cabin and tail boom, but since the decal sheet
costs about £9, I
decided for a more minimalist decor. The new cabin was
masked and sprayed in a nice metallic blue, as was the tail fin, a new
name decal was 
produced on my PC as set out in my DIY
decals tutorial in ModelFlight #4 and
a couple of "Shuttle ZX" metallic finish decals were cropped to
add the Shuttle name to the model - I like it!
The repair was completed a few weeks ago and it was then a question
of awaiting some decent weather to get out on the field and check the set-up. At last the opportunity presented itself, and
I was off to a nice little flying field set aside at a local airfield
where I am fortunate enough to have access any day of the week. I needed
to make a few pitch and throttle curve adjustments but, once airborne, she seemed to settle down fairly well
and I enjoyed a bit of hovering and some straightforward lazy-eights
which helped restore my confidence following the fairly long lay-off. I took the model
back to my little field table a couple of times to adjust the mixture
and linkages. On the second occasion, I
remember thinking, "I must check the fuel before flying again"
and then promptly forgot to do so - oh, the perils of advancing years! So, there I was, just lifted off,
tail-in and moving the model sideways when the fuel ran out!
"Cathy" came
down still moving sideways, tilted over as she touched the ground and
that was the end of my brand-new blades, tail drive shaft and tail boom
- all three needed replacing again, but at least the new cabin was still
intact! It all happened so quickly, and all because of a totally
avoidable and careless mistake. What do you say? - @!**#$, I
guess! Within a few days, I was back on the field and
getting the set-up right once more. Everything seemed pretty good after a
few minor adjustments were made, except I thought I heard a single, slightly muffled metallic clunk on two
occasions when I re-started the engine, but was not really sure. I was also
a
bit surprised to find that I had to increase the blade pitch to
more than I would have expected to get into the hover at just above
mid-point on the stick and the engine seemed to be running a bit fast. The wind
was becoming a bit gusty, so after a bit of careful flying and hovering, I
decided to quit whilst I was ahead . On arriving home, I was pleased to be
able to report that "Cathy" was still in one piece! I
was back at the field the following morning, but when I held the model at
the rotor head and turned the engine over to start it, the model tended to
whip violently as though the clutch was out. My little field table has a
couple of runners between which I stand the heli, and if it was not for
them preventing the model itself from turning freely, it would have whipped round against me
- what would have happened if the engine had actually fired, I'm not too
sure!  My guess was that I had some sort
of clutch trouble, of course, so it was back home to the workbench. It's
not too difficult to drop the engine out of the Shuttle and when I did so,
I discovered that one 'wing' of the shaft starter clutch shoe that is bolted
atop the cooling fan assembly had broken off, as you see right. This shoe
fits inside the clutch bell and, I assume, bites against the clutch liner to
engage the drive simply by the wings moving outwards under centrifugal
force as the engine revs are increased. I imagine (and hope) that the
metallic clunk that I heard must have been this loose wing striking
against the inside of the clutch bell. Exactly when the fracture occurred, I do not
know, but I wonder if the problem of high engine revs and high
pitch-setting experienced the day before was because I was operating on a
failing and maybe only half-effective clutch? A quick call to Midland Helicopters meant the replacement parts were
with me the next day. The new clutch shoe and liner are fitted, but our lousy weather
means that, as yet, I have been unable to fly again. Keep your
fingers crossed . . . please! |
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