Rob C and Martin D

Rob C.... Good looking, highly experienced radio control flyer. Martin D.... 40'ish, middle age spread kicking in. Motto "You build it, i'll fly it" UPDATE - Martin prob 50s and gone AWOL UPDATE 2 - Martin located working in slate mine in Somerset. Due to return 2027

Saturday, 31 March 2012

Calling all pilots.. Calling all pilots...

BRING YOUR BUNGEES, GLIDERS, EDF'S, ZAGIS, MOULDIES, FOAMIES, SUNGLASSES, QUADS, HELICOPTERS, WINCHES, WENCHES and SANDWICHES!!

Westbury tomorrow, Martin will be there from 9 onwards (because he is sad) i will be there from 12 onwards as i have Frome car-boot sale to go  to first!


Love Rob

Friday, 30 March 2012

Watch this cont.....


Look at this... Thursday afternoon and the slope is full! doesn't anyone have a job anymore? Gay-Dogging-Paragliders don't have jobs we all know... Fantastic lift on a warm afternoon, it don't get much better really







Nice Strega, second hand new... flew very well!!











Lastly a bit of fun....

Rob
(the real brains behind it)

Thursday, 29 March 2012

Watch This.......

Thursday afternoon at Westbury . A Northerly and a load of fun recorded on a telephone. Apologies for the poor quality of picture and sound but it is 4 minutes of pure genius. This is Robs VV models Viking 2 being caught on landing third time round and for good measure Mark the WigWams VV models Big Sting being caught by the mighty Roberto.

Sit back, sound up and enjoy...probably best not full screen






Martin ...the brains of the operation.


Wednesday, 28 March 2012

Overlander Batteries

I have been doing Experiments !!
I have been charging normal NiMH batteries and eneloops and monitoring them discharging over time. I can confirm that standard NiMH batteries do discharge over time and some fairly quickly!! . The eneloops were as good a fortnight after charging as they were when they were charged

Complementary Neck Strap
Anyway I wanted a new receiver pack for the Tanga, Last time I got the Gilbert to make me one up. This time I spoke directly with 'OVERLANDER BATTERIES'. I told the I wanted the latest 2500 mah eneloop in a rectangular configuration with standard Futaba plug. 3 days later and  for only £22  the pack turned up. They also sent a complementary neck strap. What a bargain.

After this waffle, the conclusion is always go for eneloops and for customer service and value for money get hold of Overlander.

The Pack. As far as battery packs go this is a spaff worthy battery pack. It is packed with milli amps that will stay inside until they are required....Brilliant












Martin

Monday, 26 March 2012

Report... not much to report!

Easterly winds yesterday meant that Westbury was the target! It has an easterly facing bowl which scoops air up quicker than a fat man eating ice-cream! We were thermal flying with the buzzards! Now, if you were to ask me in the street about thermal flying, i would say "as dull as f..k" however in practise there is a massive thrill about circling up to height and then aerobatics on the way down...

Thankfully for all Martin could not join us... this gave everybody a chance to talk to each other without having to listen to Martin talking about him self... which he does a lot!

The bonus of the day was having a go at Malcolm's foamy jet. Man this thing goes like shit off a shovel. Malcolm said "when i throw it it might roll to the right with the torque"...... it certainly rolled to the right, almost right over before i caught it! But pure bliss to fly, will go vertical until you cant see it, massive loops, rolling circles and is light enough to thermal too, best of all you can get one for £50 all in, all you need is a speed controller and battery. I LOVE IT! I'm trying to get hold of one... CLICK HERE!


We should get a fleet of these and practise red arrow style.... did i mention its also very very quick!

I am going to buy this (CLICK HERE) well i say i... martin is going half's with me, he does not know this just yet, but he will. Gonna make this the slopejunkies club winch, so do NOT bid on it anyone, great fun for anyone with a hook on there glider... also bloody dangerous, but with the "Gilberts" expert tuition (as he was in GB's F3B team circa 1985) we wont loose a finger I'm sure.

Rob

Saturday, 17 March 2012

Saturday afternoon GLIDER flying Roundway

Saturday 17th March

Quadzilla (see post below) . For a very expensive quadcopter it bounces about the sky like 'Jacks' jumping beans and as for the undercarriage, it looks like Rob nicked it from a cheap foldaway camping table

Anyway , Glider flying today. Myself , Mark and Malcolm popped up to Roundway for a couple for hours. Roundway is a strange place one day you can go there and think the wind is bang on but get chucked all over the place, the next you can go there thinking its a bit off and find it to be smooth as silk. Today was as smooth as silk.

The Line up.... Breta Models Tanga . Marks 4 metre Multiplex Ash 26, Malcs Multiplex 2.6m ASW27B and his Fly Fly Salto. Today Malc was going to try the Salto again, he just had muster up enough courage after the last time.










" LAUNCHING"



It turned out to be a largely uneventful day. Malc did get the Salto flying and following some adjustments to C of G, adding some expo and reducing the elevator end point by about two thirds !! it all went reasonably well. The Salto moved about the sky with purpose. I think there is still some work to be done to it but it does sit nicely and it looks like it will be a good glider in the right conditions. Mark was initially apprehensive about chucking the ASH off but once it was up it flew very well and did look like the real thing, I think Marks love affair with this glider started again today.





Marks Ash darting about and proof the Salto does fly.


Went for the catch but missed .... I have always been shit at catching!


As Rob mentioned tomorrow is a steady northerly. Westbury White horse... Be there!


Martin


Video to prove it!

Another boring post from Martin, i can only apologise....

Check this beauty out! After much stripping down and rebuilding (slight confusion on wiring due to vino rouge) she flies a treat!


Glider flying at Westbury tomorrow! See you there
Rob

Friday, 16 March 2012

Breta Model Tanga Flies again...

Friday 16 March

At last the Tanga has flown again. A few pictures of the day, apologies for the quality .

Ready and assembled in the car park at Roundway. I had the slope to myself today. The weather was dull and the wind was weak .
I did the obligatory range checks , checked everything over one last time and that was it.



The Launch, and although you always worry about the first launch really it was never in doubt. She went off straight as a dye. However due to the little extra nose weight ( better safe than sorry) I did have to stuff in 36 notches of up trim. The dive test was very balloney and not very pretty. As the afternoon went on I removed most of the ''Test Weight'' I had put in, the trim is back to neutral and the dive test results in the glider going straight down. I may put a smidge back in. I think I might have over cooked it.



JUST CRUISING BY........









Crow deployed ... Coming in for the final landing of the day. Today I remembered the reason I like this glider so much. It is quick, corners like its on rails , is incredibly smooth and purposeful and best of all is very easy to fly. It does what you ask it to do. Looking forward to the weekend.

Martin

Wednesday, 14 March 2012

Quadzilla flies ...only just.!!... Tanga will fly again tomorrow at noon!

Wednesday 14th March

Quadzilla does fly but only just. I have just had Rob on the telephone again for the second night in a row almost in tears as the Quadzilla is unstable and does not respond to any controls the way it should. To quote Rob..." I don't want to f'ing look at it again!!"... I have realised that the book of instructions came with allot of writing and no pictures ( not even a cartoon) therefore Rob probably never even opened it, let alone read it. I have dispensed some good advice and calmed him down so hopefully in the next few days he should get it flying smoothly and properly.


Anyway onto more important things, the Breta Models Tanga F3B is ready to fly again and will do at noon tomorrow ...Roundway

The extra thick servo tray is not only in but I have run a line of carbon tow along the length of it. This nose is now rigid and hopefully the weaknesses I experienced with the first fuse has been rectified.

I have wrecked another saucepan and the house smells of molten lead but its worth it. This is the nose lead I have made that puts the C of G at 108mm. Breta Models suggest 106mm. I have a small slither that I will carry in the nose for the first flight that will put the C o G back at 106mm but I want to be able to easily remove small bits at a time to move back if desired

Servo's in, control rods on,battery in....Shes ready to go and I can't wait.





Tuesday, 13 March 2012

Quad-Zilla flies!!

After a disastrous first test flight when all went tits up, we tried again today! the sheer size of this thing is scary. After a nervous start i give it some beans and shes off the deck, the noise of the 8 motors sounds great!! Still a lot of testing to do, we have to add a second receiver to the gimbal to get the full 360 degree pan and tilt. Test the self landing and return to home function!





Me looking perplexed, confused and irritated.... normal for me! I think its because there is something not quite right with the transmitter..... THE SMALL AERIAL, what is this 2.4 rubbish?





Its taken me 2 weeks to put this together. Martin in the mean time has made a servo tray, and someone else did that!

More testing this week, and hopefully a vid to follow...

Rob

Monday, 12 March 2012

Monday 12th March

I have a weeks holiday this week so I have set myself the mission of getting the Tanga F3B up and running again by the end of the week. This is going to be painfull for me as I detest any sort of modelling work but I have set myself small amounts to do in order that by the end of the week she will be ready to go. If you were going to eat an elephant you wouldn't eat it all at once!!

Today the task was to get the on/off toggle switch into the servo tray and get put the holes in the side of the fuz for the wing connectors.

You can see in the background the tray the Breta Models supplied. The one in the forground has been cut from 6.5 mm beech ply, it is also slightly longer and only necessary gaps have been cut. This should help with strengh combined with the additional glass cloth Breta put in this fuz for me. The only tricky thing was getting the toggle swith in tidy as the ply is almost thicker than the swich itself.
The might Mark Wickam cut the servo tray for me by hand, he is a human CNC machine, its as tidy as you like.

You can see that I had to remove the area that the wing connectors will sit. These have now been cut out and the connectors tested for fit.

Tomorrow's challenge is to make up the wiring harness for the toggle switch and glue the servo tray in. What a dull part of the sport this is.!!!!!

Martin

Sunday, 11 March 2012

Weekend 10th/11th March. Alot of flying and Maidens

Saturday

Following my jaunt to Exeter to pick up the new FVK Graphite Thursday evening the weather Saturday was perfect for it. I got upto the slope at Roundway around 1pm , there was very little wind and the other models that were there were struggling.

Maiden of the FVK Graphite
After pre flight checks and a range check it was time for the 'Wigwam' to give me a launch. I opted for a launch without the complications of the motor running. Believe me when that prop is activated you don't want to be near it. It will haul that glider vertical albeit slowly , it almost looks like its prop hanging . Might look to get some smoke canisters






The FVK Graphite flying by. I put the C of G at the point that was recommended by the previous owner. I found that it was necessary to hoof 58 notches of up trim in. I don't like my gliders this nose heavy. I have altered the C of G backwards now by moving the batteries back but I still have a way to go. Currently I think the square loops might be a bit sloppy. The glider is a very nice , stable flyer that will be a joy to fly from the flat field or the slope on a thermic day when there is no wind.





There was also another maiden flight Saturday. It was nice guy Malcolm with a Fly Fly Salto. I have owned a Fly Fly model in the past and in my experience the name Fly Fly is a bit mis leading, as they don't f'ing Fly Fly!! .. I am not the only person to experience this.

Mark taking a look at Malcolm's Fly Fly Salto, There is no disputing the glider looks the part and is very very pretty, The problem is the Salto's wings. That wing shape is never going to be stable and tip stalling will always be a problem at slow speed







The Fly Fly Salto having its maiden. At every turn this glider tip stalled and on occasion started to flat spin.It was all very messy. Malcolm did well to keep it flying in a controlled fashion. The mighty Hudd passed his tranny to Ellis and ran to Malc for the last couple of minutes of the flight dispensing advice to help guide him into a slopeside landing. Hopefully in more wind and with some re trimming and maybe some expo this will be more tame , I am not sure. Once the Salto landed Malc was quoted as saying '' you couldn't have got a fag paper between my arse cheeks, that was terrifying''. I bet Rob would try.



A DLG BLASTER...
I think this is the third generation of the Blaster. These are very popular light wind day slope models. They are discus launch. You can literally lob them 70 feet into the sky, poke out over the edge to see if there is any thermal activity, if not the return back. This one looked striking in pink.


ANYWAY NOW TO SUNDAY's EVENTS


As you maybe aware as Rob has been droning on about it for weeks, if not months he has been building a Droidworx multirotor. Today was the day for the maiden. 



Rob poses next to the Droidworx multirotor that he has been building for about a month. There was alot of wiring and soldering to be done, There were alot of ESC's that needed endpoints setting, there were alot of props that need to be rotating the correct way and there was alot of instructions that needed to be read. All this was quite alot to take on board for someone with a limited attention span that already knows everything
It haMy X Aircraft 650 was being used to film the mighty event of the Droidworx rising from the ground into the sky. Rob powered the Droidworx up, it was an impressive noise and sight but unfortunately it didn't rise like a phoenix, it gently rolled over onto it back similar to a puppy that wants its belly tickled. Rob has taken it home to double check everything and re read the instructions. I am sure the next time it will all work perfectly. This multi rotor is very complicated and there is alot to learn about them.

Anyway once this was all over we headed to the mighty North facing slope at Westbury. Here the wind was minimal but there was enough to keep up. There were some monumental thermals going through. I am sure at one point Robs Rotmilan must have hit 2500 feet, it was a dot in the sky.

There was a good turnout at Westbury. As you can see its nice to be out without the need to wrap up in all sorts of thermal gear.The white model in the foreground is Phils Jaro Muller Escape, a very solid glider


Mark the WigWams Big Sting being launched and setting off into the distance. The Big Sting is a classic and flies beautifully.

 The refreshment of choice for the Gilbert next to his HighLite.. A Cabernet Sauvignon. He sits back in his comfy chair, has a drink and out thermals everybody with his left aileron, right rudder and up elevator method. Legend!!







Rob launching the buzzard. He has another one at home with a ducted fan in. Problem is it has a polystyrene coffee cup coming out the arse and doesn't look quite as good.


I have added this link to a youtube video.It was sent to me this morning from Paul 'Aris' Man. He has been away with work on a course for a couple of weeks ( so he says??), but looking how his video editing skills have come along I think he has been on a I.T course. Watch it with the volume turned up, its very good



Martin



Saturday, 10 March 2012

Quad-Zilla test flight tomorrow!


Well she is ready... The wiring looked like an explosion in a BT exchange this morning, but all sorted now and programmed in! White disk on top is GPS receiver for position lock and "fly me home" fail safe. 14x5 Xoar precision blades made of beech on Axi 760kv motors...


Test flight will be done at a secret location... in Market Lavington!

Rob

Thursday, 8 March 2012

Kinetic 100 this is NOT.. !!

Summer is around the corner so I have added this to the fleet,  I have just picked it ....  Shaftesbury to Exeter , pick up glider and back to Staverton in 3 hours and 5 minutes. Possibly another speed record. I won't leave it the stupid one to calculate the average speed as he will fxxk it up!!

Anyway this is a 3.5 metre FVK graphite Pro version with a 4:1 geared electric motor and a huge carbon folding prop. I think this will be exactly what is required for flying from the slope on a windless day, or maybe from a flat field.


This has a carbon 'd' box construction in the wings and although it looks flimsy it is surprisingly stiff. The empty airframe only weighs 1100 grams, that's less than 3 packs of sausages.!! Going to set it up tomorrow and look to maiden Sunday

Not sure these pictures are doing the glider justice, looks a bit bland. I think on a sunny day , flying overhead with the sun shining through the wings,  this will be a very pretty picture.
Martin





Wednesday, 7 March 2012

Dynamic Soaring Record

The new DS record is now at 498 mph!!!! that is incredible (Thats Mach 0.65... not 0.8 stated yesterday... kindly pointed out by the fat one) The glider used is a Kinetic 100 found here. Spencer Lisenby achieved this at Bird Springs... Fantastic, never tried it but i feel the need for speed! Wont be using the Rotmilan, wonder if my sacrificial Zagi will work? 


Rob

Friday, 2 March 2012

Check this out... QUAD-ZILLA!

I am currently building (for commercial use) a SkyJib 8 Multi-rotor Drone. This thing is the Ferrari of the multi-rotor world!





8 Axi motors will hall this thing into the air, typical payload will be 7kg's! Power will be from 2 X 5000mah 5 cell lipo batteries linked in parallel. Flight controller is a DJI-Wookong GPS equipped board, with "point and click" flight ability through a google maps on a laptop. The legs actually retract out the way, this is because we have a 360 degree pan and tilt gimbal being made for it. The frame comes from a manufacturer in New Zealand called Droidworx and is a carbon work of art!!!





This is carbon porn as far as im concerned...





Heavy duty digital Savox servo drives the retracts.. should be interesting! Retracts come from Photohigher and are also perfect. Flight testing will be in about a week or so. Will post a vid when we do!
Multiplex Royal Pro will fly the thing, as well as give us telemetry. Angry puppy will not be taking to the air!

Rob