All Activity

First event run with the combination of F3XVault registration/scoring and F3XTiming went off without a hitch. All the expected benefits were realised and in addition, new updates to the scoring interface on the website brought additional time saving/frustration saving for all who were entering times during the day. I'd be happy to demo the process we are using for our F3K events now to anyone who is interested at Radioglide - most likely on the Thursday or Friday evening if anyone is interested...

I'm interested Ray. Where are you based.

Yes it does.

Entry is now open for BMFA F3F Nationals 18-19th June, Wales. http://www.gbsra.co.uk/competition-entries

Entry is now open for BMFA League 2 at Whitesheet on 29th May http://www.gbsra.co.uk/competition-entries

Hi Richard, I have also started investigating ELRS for my gliders but have not done a lot of testing. I am not sure if you know this but the Bat Voltage shown in telemetry on the matek pwm module is on a seperate pin called Vbat. I have soldered a small wire from the Vbat pad to the positive pin where my 1S battery is plugges in and I can then see the Rx battery level in telemetry. At this stage I have a Nomimno ELRS module for my Radio Master T16S that I am planning to use during testing. For me the only thing that is still missing is the vario as I like to have feedback on launch hight. Like Colin has said Radio Master have two radios now with ELRS built in, the zorro and the T16S Mk2. I love the Zorro and I am currently flying using it with the 4 in 1 module. The Zorro is relitively cheap and I think if I decide to use ELRS going forward I would just buy myself the ELRS Zorro and not bother with external modules. I am planning to test this setup with my stanby glider over the coming weeks and will let you know how things go.

Andy, Re your question "Can I decide to camp at a later date?" If I've understood your question correctly, the response is yes, you can make your competition entry on line, then come back at a later point and separately purchase the number of nights camping you require. Alternatively you can send me a cheque to cover your camping, my address and payment details are on the entry form. Hope this addresses your query. Steve

Hi Richard Excellent summary of this new protocol. I too was intrigued by ELRS some months ago and decided to learn a bit about it and try it out on my sports slope soarers which are mainly foamies. Thoughts being that I might as well try it out on something that wouldnt make me cry if it didnt work out! It was a big learning curve for me as I was starting off with zero knowledge of Open/Edge Tx and ELRS. I was fortunate to have a very knowledgable flying friend who has helped me to get to grips with it all. Im really at base level on all this though. EdgeTx and ELRS is a never ending journey of Software and Firmware updates and you'd better like looking at Youtube vid's as thats the best way to learn about it. What I've come to realise is that for many of the people involved with this technology, ELRS is as big a part of the hobby as flying itself. I bought a RadioMaster Zorro ELRS Tx with Edge OS which is a game controller style tx (about £80). As you say Rx's are around a tenner each. The RM Zorro is small, light, has stick trims and decent quality gimbals. All of which is what we plank flyers need. Being small its also ideal for backpacks. I have now used the system for several slope flying sessions and to date it has proven itself to have a solid RF connection. The only problem I have had so far is a strange one that no one seems to be able to fix ..... so far. If I use any native PWM ELRS Rx (All makes) meaning that the Rx's have PWM built into them, ie Rx is on a single pcb, after a few minutes the servo's on all channels become jerky/low res. However if I use an ELRS Rx without built in PWM and then couple it to one of the Matek PWM converter boards (About £6) they work 100% fine. (BTW, Using Rx's like this also gives you the ability to get Rx Battery Voltage telemetry). So for the time being Im using the ELRS Rx's with PWM convertor boards.. The other issue for me at the moment, is the setting of failsafe(s). Its not implemented in a way that us plank flyers would want currently but having seen the speed of development that ELRS has taken on, I'm sure it wont be long before that is sorted out. There is already talk of making the first 6 channels full res rather than just 4. I believe that Mike Shellim has been using a RM Zorro (4 in 1 version) with a DLG and he has done a great in depth review of the RM Zorro on his website. I think that this is a technology that is in its infancy but one that could ultimately have a very big impact on RC Flying in the future. Colin

Having not flown that much over the last couple of years, I was a bit disappointed when I was not able to fly my primary model at the last competition because I was getting excessive "RSSI" and "Telemetry Lost" alerts within 50-100m of myself during the pre-comp practice flights. I've overheard a lot of other people mentioning similar issues with the FRSky Access protocol. FWIW I don't recall having these issues a couple of years ago, and had not flashed the rx/tx since.. but maybe 2.4 gigs is getting a lot more congested? Or maybe access is not very tolerant of multiple pilots using the protocol at the same time. Following this, I decided to give a newish protocol "ExpressLRS" a try. It is designed for FPV drones, but closely fits the type of use we have with F3K models. Benefits include : - Quoted up to 30km + range (means I should easily see 1km range on my crappy F3K installs) Some very small form-factor receivers - half-the size of the frsky rx6r Very low latency (not that it really matters for F3K) Auto adjust tx power (Optional, can increase the power output from TX when signal starts to drop) Increased telemetry feedback of reception and link-quality parameters Rx and Tx can act as their own wifi hotspot for over-the-air firmware updates... the rx/tx has its own webserver built in, just navigate to it's URL and upload the firmware! (It works well) Affordable - rxs are about a £tenner There are a couple of negatives only 4x full-resolution channels (additional 128step resolution channels available - no issue for 4 servo models, perhaps do-able for 6 servo models) Telemetry from Rx's that I have tried lack rx input-voltage feedback Immature technology - Enthusiasts only, you will have to figure a lot of things out for yourself. I have been trying this out, with positive results.. so much so, that I am transferring all my DLG's to use ExpressLRS in preparation for the next competition I've tested the following so-far txModules JRFormat : - BetaFPVtx SlimFormat (frsky x-lite pro etc) : - slimTxModule rxModules Matek 2.4GHz R24-P ELRS 5Ch Receiver happymodel-elrs-epw5-24ghz-5ch-receiver I have this ready and will test soon(below).. has a tiny on-pcb antenna, which could help with tricky installs HappyModel EP2 + CRSF(crossfire) to PWM converter matek-crsf-to-6ch-pwm

See top post for address. Don't know 3words and will not be going to the field until Saturday. Will post 3 words then

Ditto from me, would prefer it in what3words if possible.

This has been my go to plane the past two years, great sport or F3F glider full set of ballast for fus and heavy or standard joiner, wing and tail covers KST servos high voltage and li-ion pack. there are the odd bumps and scratches from use, but over all in good condition. £775 JP

Hello Kev, Have you an address and post code for the site please. Eddy.

Well Martyn don't feel down about your performance. You are one up on me - It seems too windy to even attempt. I have a Speed - Normal - Thermal (3 position) switch for every model. It is only a click or 2 of up or down elevator on these. If it is climbing a bit too steep, I flick to Speed and it holds the right "down" in.

Updated Table

I went to the BATS Seal Road flying site last Sunday to join in with the BMFA Record attempt. The idea was to get there early and get some practice flights in. Since the Shrewsbury comp, I have uprated the battery to 3S now consuming 120W, was 80W, but nothing else changed. The power performance is now much more authoritative and I have a Hacker with Gearbox that I can fall back on as well. Anyway, I arrived later than expected and it was much windier than expected but it gave the opportunity to try different amounts of ballast.. The first flight was best, bust before the Record attempt but only 3:45 after deducting the power run. Now easily getting to 60m in less than 10 seconds and a good way upwind. However, the field is not ideal and although the flight was clearly in lift it was also drifting down to a built up area so I chickened out and settled for staying on the field, Spot where I chickened out.. The wind picked up significantly after the record flights- probably gusting 20mph. Strong enough to blow both my models over (no damage) but I did experiment with ballast. Power performance was still very good, even loaded and I could see that I was actually flying forwards into wind rather than backwards (on glide) but only one decent flight (again at 3:45). One problem I do have is that I need a little more downthrust, having to hold a lot of down to stop it climbing too quickly. I don't think that I can sand any more downthrust in and still get the motor to fit without binding. Reluctant to make any drastic changes before Radioglide.. I am on holiday next week which doesn't leave much time for practice.. So 15th May, 3:45 Mad-Hatter 2e F5-RES Not a brilliant flight but its a score

Have a Google on positioning of the tow hook, from memory it should be just fwd of the c of g, but that is your problem

It’s this Slite, I’m convinced it’s got a death wish! covering is good and tight, it’s the same as all my others. launching is a mix of aircraft carrier style catapult 30 degrees up - wing flutter cos going too fast, or too much up and it pings off very low. I’m sure that the towhook is too far forward, I’ll try it again this weekend, I ran out of enthusiasm last Saturday. ideally it’d be better to meet up with some experienced 2m flyers for a ‘fettling’ day as opposed to purely competing. the advice I get is second to none on this and other RES forums, but there’s nothing better than seeing it misbehaving rather than me trying to badly describe it!

Please add me too : Simon Conran Bmfa 195226 2.4 ghz

Can I decide to camp at a later date?

Yes I can imagine Graham. Well done on your result. Hope we see you at other RES events?

David I believe Steve was flying an older model called a Miles. I had not met Steve before Saturday, but by the middle of the afternoon I was fairly convinced he could max out most times flying a reasonably shaped house brick. GL

Entered for Thursday, Friday and Saterday.

Correction. Motor is F2919 not 2929

A rare if not unique (UK) opportunity to purchase a ready built "Crozilla" f5j competition glider. Only 1 year old since purchase and assembly, this model has only been flown on a handful of occasions. Some minor damage as might be expected from light use, including a small ding to the tailplane from the corner of a cupboard (hanger rash!) and some slight finger dimples to the inner wing upper surfaces, from pushing the wings onto the carbon joiner (was very stiff at first!). Manufactured in Croatia and purchased from "Superfly" Fitted with 6 KST servos, X Power F2929 motor, Vita-prop 11 x 6 carbon folding propeller, VM spinner and 30A ESC. Weight is 1165g ready to fly. Home-made ballast included @ 120g, 180g and 240g. Also included are 4 x 850mAh 3s lipo. Perfect fit and balance for the model. You will need to fit your own receiver but I will leave mine in the model for demonstration purposes. COLLECTION ONLY from Hyde Greater Manchester but I will deliver up to 100 miles (or meet half way), subject to full payment in advance. Original merchant's description… "Inspired by F3K / DLG gliders, our goal was to produce F5J class plane with similar flying characteristics. Starting altitude of DLG’s is around 60 meters, which is, in few cases, also starting altitude of F5J planes. To be able to catch all small thermals, bubbles and slopes on low altitude. Maybe the perfect model for UK conditions.... Specifications o Thin airfoil for better penetration o Wing joiner moved to a center to increasing agility o Large tail boom o Large control surfaces o Mid-wing design o Wingspan: 3440mm o Wing surface area: 69 dm2 o Horizontal stab surface area: 7.1 dm2 o Vertical stab surface area: 4.9 dm2 o Weight from 1150 grams o All parts are made with solid core technology and full CFK in CNC milled aluminium moulds o 28 – 32 mm nose radius" £900 or very near offer.