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https://bmfa.org/News/News-Page/ArticleID/2755/Dartmoor-National-Park-Byelaws-Consultation-Action-required Latest from BMFA. Please do take the time to try and stop what is effectively going to be a BAN on model gliding within Dartmoor National Park.

Thanks for the heads up but missed that one

Hi G The Kent comps this year were run as usual for the Kent Cup, but this time run to F5J rules. This league is open to all the various clubs members who can enter at no cost. To be a BMFA League event there must be minimum 8 pilots paying the full entry fee and as this seemed to be unlikely the comps were run as club events only. The old 'Bartletts League' comps were run as full BMFA league events, every entry paid the full entry fee so that the comps could qualify for the National league. Who knows next year could be different, but no idea about that as I am not a Kent club member.The future at Bartletts is not entirely certain due to the limitations of the field etc Hopefully we can work something out for next year.

There's an RF 20-13 0n bmfa classifieds used, £24 posted

Had a great day again with some great flights, definitely worth coming up for. Hitting the landing circle 6 out of 7 times was a huge improvement for me! Just disappointed that my Altis had a malfunction on round 2, scoring nil points, when it would have been one of my best scores. I attach a screen shot, if anyone knows what might have happened, I'd dearly like to know. BTW, the answer to my question above is that whilst the weather forcasts were a bit variable, nevertheless, it is possible to give a forecast with working accuracy 5 or even 6 days in advance.

Hi Pete ,thanks but I wonder why none off the other f5j comps in kent are shown. G

I have recently purchased a JR RS70 rx. It is a 35Mhz synthesized crystal PPM 7 channel rx. I am planning to use it with my Skyleader Courier tx with modern servos. I haven't tried it with the Courier yet because the battery is flat, charging now. I have tried it with a couple of cheap txs as supplied with twister indoor helicopters. It picks up the tx when it scans for the channel it is on and works fine if you move the sticks slowly as you might when flying. But when you bang the stick over as you would perhaps when doing a quick preflight "is it all working" check the servo stops part way through it's travel. If you keep the hard over stick position and wait a few seconds it catches up. Analogue or digital servo is the same. Use it with a JR388 tx or the MC24 tx it behaves as you would expect with no lag. I have used all these txs with Hitec 5 channel rxs and not had this issue. Any you clever people out there shed any light on this by way of explanation?

Hi Alan I was talking with Paul Bardoe yesterday and then trying to think of which model I could dig out and would be the most suitable. Have a Simprop Selection or a Mini Ellipse or an electric Stu Blanchard 3m F3B Calypso. All need re-commissioning and none have high power electric set ups, but one of them should be ok to have a bash with. Your help is chosing the most suitable model would be appreciated. John M

I have inherited a plan 1975 I think of the Phase lift I am thinking of building it for bungee I would like something that can cope with a little breeze as my 2m res can only handle upto about 8mph. What is the phase lift like is it worth building? Dave

Excellent! Please let us know John if you have any questions at all about the Have A Go. What plane(s) do you have for running on the day? Cheers

Thanks John, most welcome.

John, I had the Baudis Salto and the full CROW down flap on it (with elevator compensation) stopped it in its tracks for an easy landing - so your Valenta Salto will be pretty much the same, judging by the two or three I have seen on the Long Mynd. I have the full Baudis Salto set up still in my MPX Profi Tx if anyone (Frank) can advise me how to get it out and onto a spreadsheet for emailing to you if that is of any use. John M

Great idea - I'll see if I can make a couple of those. John M

Some years ago now had a friend who worked for Inmont, who made a really lightweight epoxy/polyester filler. Is there something of the same available now?

Yes he did! Whoops.

Thanks John, I think wookman left a "not" out of the sentence (maybe)! I will place the tow release low and aft on the centreline. It might need a 3d printed plug to keep the muck out. I had a Valenta Chilli double carbon that met its end at a GPS training session, I replaced it with an earlier GPS version (unbuilt) as the later versions have spoilers (just like the Salto) - everyone I have seen fly in that config tapes over the spoiler as it never seems to sit level. But the flaps and ailerons on the Chilli can be set up for crow which will be less easy on the Salto. Anyone have mixing data, ideally as a Futaba model memory (T32MZ or T18MZ)? JW

I would suggest John (an opposing view to Wookman above) that the position of the tow release is not critical. We just had the last Sherlowe aero tow of the year and my Lo100 has the release on one side and 3 or 4 inches back and below the nose and many others have the same. A 5m Valenta Blanik 213 with the tow release about 12 inches back from the nose, on one side and under the front FES prop blades showed no discernable issues on tow so I would say - nothing to worry about. Brakes below the wing surface will create some turbulance and level them up if you can, otherwise fly it and don't worry. My Thermik XXXL for GPS has the same issue but the ends are flush and the middle bowed down so I left them - it flies fine. The pilot needs to get much better (me) before I consider the miniscule extra efficiency in correcting the moulded cap strip bowing being of any use to improve performance. John M

Thanks Pete, for all your hard work this year!

Position of the aerotow release does seem to be critical. My Alpina has it on the side about 2 inches back from the tip of the nose. I would be tempted to resolve the closed brake issue, it can't be helping.

Hope you and yours ate starting to feel better. Are you planning to post the full results spread sheet?

It's been a really enjoyable year for me, my thanks to all the organisers who have put so much effort into running competitions and data collection. BTW, I find the PDFs perfectly readable. Simon

Ideal opportunity to try the e-Sunbird on the course at Buckminster

If anyone in the UK fancies having a go at flying on a proper F5B timed course we are organising a few “Have A Go Events” at Buckminster to let you do just that. Not competitions, so no pressure or panic, just fun days out with like-minded people and plenty of support and advice from regular F5B flyers. No need for any special competition plane, or even a hotliner, as we can adapt the setup to suit whatever you have, whether it is a small foamy glider or a 4m+ moulded model. Just about anything is suitable for the Have A Go days. The aim of the days are to have a trial flights based on the 150m course followed by a short glide around (e.g. 2 minutes) and land. There will be no scores recorded but you are able to have bragging rights over your clubmates if you manage more laps than them on the day. More details, and a lot more information about the F5B class, can be found on the UK F5B website here https://www.f5b.co.uk/have-a-go.html But if you have any questions just ask. Dick

Down to £300.

That position is commonly used with FES in scale models and works well. There won’t be any noticeable difference under aerotow. Look forward to seeing this in action John. Simon