RE: ***Share the Fun this Spring! – Forum Giveaway Presented by RC Universe and Hobby-Lobby***
Photo 2: "....The judges found the accurate 1/16th scale fire to be an interesting addition to the static competition."
Posted on: 5/23/2013 8:46 AM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11520243

RE: ***Share the Fun this Spring! – Forum Giveaway Presented by RC Universe and Hobby-Lobby***
Picture 1: To the spectators disappointment, and amongst dozens of meticulously detailed giant scale creations, only Bill remembered to pack a transmitter...
Posted on: 5/20/2013 8:10 PM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11517795

RE: ***Share the Fun this Spring! – Forum Giveaway Presented by RC Universe and Hobby-Lobby***
Picture 2: Although the advert stated "blazing performance", and this was indeed the case, Joe couldn't help but feel cheated by its literalness.
Posted on: 5/20/2013 8:04 PM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11517782

RE: TOWER HOBBIES SUCKS
I have only made four or five major orders with Tower and have had two serious problems. The first (my first order with them) was a heavily damaged Great Planes Fling. The built up wing assembly was seriously crushed, and there was damage to the fibreglass fuselage. Second order involved a damaged Flyzone helicopter which again seems to have been to shipping. However, both resulted in refunds so I was able to have their values reimbursed. It was a pain, however, to repackage the models and ship them back, especially with our extremely slow shipping here in Canada. Personally, I have switched to Great Hobbies for general purchases - far more kits available, more selection, lots of Sig products, Canadian based, need I say more? Graeme
Posted on: 9/8/2012 11:58 AM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11221906

RE: NOTAM from Hell
You guys are lucky. We just got three feet of snow up here. -15 C to boot!
Posted on: 9/7/2012 12:43 PM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "AMA Discussions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11220930

RE: Guillows planes ?
Hi there - A Guillows Cessna was my first ever balsa model which I built when I was around 11 years old. I received the Cessna along with a half dozen Veron and Keil Kraft rubber scale models which were all printwood from a family friend who also threw in two boxes of Model Aviation and RCM&E magazines from the early to mid 80's. The Cessna was built first because it had the luxury of die crunched parts. I didn't know what I was doing and the model ended up a disaster; Nothing was sanded, covering was wrinklier than Winston Churchill's forehead and sagged between the wing ribs like his jowls. The whole contraption was then spray painted bright yellow with about 80 coats, the can's nozzle held between 20 to 30 mm from the model. Needless to say, it didn't fly. However, that model was my first, and I bludgeoned my way through the remaining balsa kits, eventually finishing the last, a Keil Kraft Westland Lysander last summer. These models are the reason I fly RC today, and that Cessna is still sitting in my workshop. I would highly recommend a Guillows kit to anyone, even after my disastrous experience. They are classic models that can be made to look fantastic. Granted, I would suggest you swap out some of the heavier wood components and use them as templates for usage of lighter balsa. Sanding and filler is the difference between a good model and a poor one, and these kits are no exception: If you have balsa dust up to your waistline, you're almost there! Finally, ditch the included red plastic prop. I would suggest carving your own from balsa. The plastic ones are far too heavy for a smaller model, although they will work at a pinch. Enjoy the hobby! Graeme
Posted on: 8/31/2012 2:31 PM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11212873

RE: Wow Vulcan low passes from above perspective - VID
WOW ! I visited the RAF museum 4 years ago and was in awe of the Vulcan they had preserved in one of the hangers. Walking underneath it was kind of scary because I couldn't see how the three spindly u/c legs could possibly hold up all that weight. Seeing it flying would be something I think would be impossible to forget and I would love to experience. Thanks for sharing!
Posted on: 8/17/2012 10:02 AM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11196917

RE: Looking for my 1st build.
The LT's are a bit easier to build but quite "boxy" in appearance. If you want the "quickest and easiest" of the three, this is it. Mk.II is an older design and is more building intensive, but has nice lines and is a bit easier to transport. The Senior is the biggest of all, looks in my mind the best and is the best builders kit. It is harder to transport, however; Standard is a one piece 80 inch wing. For a rank beginner, I'd say the Senior, without ailerons (as built standard), is the easiest to fly - loads of wing area, light weight, and can be powered by a large range of engines. However, if you want ailerons, they will have to be added by the builder. If you want to build, this kit is the one. It has a wonderful truss fuselage and can be made to look rather "scale". I hope this helps, and happy flying! Graeme
Posted on: 8/9/2012 1:11 PM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11187243

RE: Repairing an RTF wing - my Hobbistar 60 trainer
I've never seen a wing damaged quite like that before! Great re-build!
Posted on: 8/8/2012 10:49 AM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "Crash & Rebuild"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11185708

RE: Elevator Trim Issues
Sorry for the delayed response, guys - thanks for all the advice! Well I'm back from my trip and decided to go over the model to look for any of the listed issues. dbacque - I had covered it almost immediately after landing with an iron plugged into my power box and some spare covering. It had not obviously not been as waterproof as I had hoped because when I pulled the patch at least half of the elevator was full of water, including the middle section where the control horn attaches. The weight of the water was enough so that with the model turned off, the elevator would drop all the way down, moving the servo in the process. I checked the elevator servo for issues and found none. I left the model and TX left on for about two hours, played with forcing the controls, etc, but everything checked out fine. There didn't seem to be much flex from the pushrods either. Floats were water free and I couldn't find any wet wood from what I stripped off the bottom and sides. I had gotten them from a yard sale, covered in rather tattered EconoKote, so I figured new film was an acceptable fix. I'll glass them to reduce any chance of them getting wet in the future. In my mind, the weight of the water at the extreme end of the model will have easily changed the C of G, which will have at least made the trim more sensitive. If the wind dies down tonight I'll take her up and see what happens. Thanks! Graeme [edit] Flew the model three times, no issue. In fact, I it seemed to be climbing a bit at half throttle like a flat bottomed model should. No water in the elevator this time - it was easy to check because I covered the bottom with transparent film this time!
Posted on: 8/7/2012 8:04 PM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "Questions and Answers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11184793

RE: Elevator Trim Issues
The pushrods are not the plastic snake type - they are wooden with threaded metal ends drilled into them, ala most balsa trainers. I did have an issue with nyrods in the past, but with a different model
Posted on: 8/4/2012 5:33 AM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "Questions and Answers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11180550

RE: Elevator Trim Issues
Thanks for the quick reply, Charlie - The down trim was expected, but it was the progressive addition after each flight that threw me off. I'm out of town for an airshow and don't have the model here, but I guess I'll reset the trim and see how it goes after a few days of drying off. It was pretty wavy so the model got a lot more wet than I thought. The floats were recently recovered - older balsa Sig units, low temp film covering. Graeme
Posted on: 8/3/2012 7:46 PM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "Questions and Answers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11180276

Elevator Trim Issues
Hello, I just maidened my Kadet Senior on floats this morning, and over a period of several flights have noticed an issue with the trim. First flight, the model was in trim, with the exception of the ailerons. On a low pass, the covering on the bottom of the elevator blew off (never seen anything like that happen before) so I made a quick landing. I recovered it right away and took off again, this time the model needed about five beeps of up trim. Second flight, I needed another 15 or so clicks. By the last flight, the trim setting had changed from +5 to +81 on the digital trim counter. I am not sure what the issue could be. There is no flex in the elevator, pushrod, or servo installation, and there doesn't seem to be any issue with the servo itself. I left the model and TX powered on for about an hour to see if the trim was wandering on it's own, but it remained centred. The centre of gravity has not changed either. All flights were flown at about 50% power, servos are Futaba standard S3003, engine is OS FS-70. Any ideas of where the issue could be? Thanks! Graeme
Posted on: 8/3/2012 7:31 PM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "Questions and Answers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11180264

RE: London Olympics are fantastic!!
It's none of my business, but aren't you all citizens of the same country? You'd think from some of these posts you guys are in the middle of a civil war! [X(] We've got some sailing events and the Women's Individual Time Trials on for today - some of my favourite events - it would be great to see Clara Hughes win gold. Any specific sports you guys are watching out for?
Posted on: 8/2/2012 9:55 AM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11178521

RE: London Olympics are fantastic!!
[quote]FYI, I read a lot and get news on ABF - 'Anything But Fox.' [/quote] [:D]- awesome. I personally have always been a fan of the BBC, and CBC for local news. How about we just agree to disagree on the healthcare? I am very happy with our healthcare and have had nothing but positive (and free!) experiences with countries that have adopted the universal system - including Cuba, which was the best of all. I have never had treatment, other than minor stuff, in the US, so I don't feel I can comment on it as some sort of expert. As for the Olympics - I really hope the US pulls ahead of China. You guys have some really stellar athletes, so the best of luck!
Posted on: 8/1/2012 3:34 PM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11177628

RE: Cox Wings WW2 Aircraft RTF
Before buying a new charger, check that your battery is fully discharged. My brother purchased a small RTF RC car last summer and we had the same issue - no charge on the NiMh, and the charger would refuse to light up. For most chargers to work, they need to "sense" the battery being there first. If the battery was shipped discharged, or it discharged while sitting around for a while, it won't register from the charger. I can't remember the specifics, but to solve the issue with the car, we opened the charger and touched two of the contacts inside with a bent paperclip to cause resistance and thus cause the battery to register. The light went on immediately, and as soon as the battery gained a few seconds of charge, it was enough to keep it going. Once this is done once, the charger shouldn't need this fix again, provided the battery is never left to 100% well and truly dead. Try another battery (already with some charge) with your charger to see if it works, or try your battery with a different charger, if none of the above works. Happy flying! Graeme
Posted on: 7/31/2012 8:54 PM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11176738

RE: London Olympics are fantastic!!
Hey Discus54 - I agree that prevention should definitely be the focus - In a coincidental switch back to the original topic, I suppose the Olympics could be seen as important in encouraging physical activity!
Posted on: 7/31/2012 6:05 PM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11176539

RE: London Olympics are fantastic!!
Vasek - I've had very good treatment in Quebec, on multiple occasions. We certainly do need more funding, but our gov't would rather buy F35's while cutting from everything else.
Posted on: 7/31/2012 3:17 PM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11176353

RE: London Olympics are fantastic!!
Our waiting times are not as bad as you think, especially considering how many hospitals there are in the US compared to Canada. While there are many options for insurance in the states, we at least don't have to worry about insurance companies not following through, being rejected for coverage in the first place, or suffering from an accident. It doesn't matter who you are, what plan you have, or how much you make - you get the same treatment as anyone else. As Canadians, our healthcare is something we are very proud of.
Posted on: 7/31/2012 2:39 PM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11176295

RE: London Olympics are fantastic!!
Hey Darren - What on earth did you see in the opening ceremonies would give you the impression otherwise? I've been very impressed with the UK and Canadian systems. Have you had any bad experiences with them? I am very impressed with the quality and entertainment value of the games so far. Friendly competition between nations, even ones that may not get along, is one of the best ways to realise how important the Olympic games are. Personally, I'm more interested in the Winter Games, but that's probably biased from our Canadian sporting preferances!
Posted on: 7/31/2012 11:26 AM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11176067

RE: Parkflyer - Removing Landing Gear Caused the CG to Shift Back?
Regarding your original problem, the pitch up after removing the undercarriage probably also was resultant from the decrease in drag below the chord line compounding with the weight change.
Posted on: 7/12/2012 10:03 AM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "Questions and Answers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11152667

RE: Where is this hobby going
I'm 18, and have been in the hobby for about six years. As a "young person", I don't feel the problem is us, rather the materialistic and instant gratifying society we live in. We are taught through the media to have the latest and greatest, to flaunt social status and the latest iPhone, watch tonight's big game and ignore the rest. Sadly, hard work and creativity are simply not compatible with this, and the market has suffered. It's just no longer viable to produce quality, hobby grade items when competing with mass production and a company that knows the rules of today. Watch a few YouTube videos promoting your average foam EDF jet. You'd think anyone could fly it based on their chosen vernacular. And only $150, ready to fly? Why would I bother learning how to build one myself if it's done already? Not to mention, the comparable balsa kit costs $200 dollars and it says I should have proper RC experience first, a club field and an instructor. Sounds difficult. So guess which one sells? And of course, as magazines are dying fast, they choose to sell their add space to the foam EDF as well - the balsa manufacturers can't even afford colour adverts anymore. And the balsa kits you do see advertised? Owned by a massive corporation who's profits come from RC cars, ARTF's and toy grade products. This leads me to conclude that there are truly two hobbies here. The consumer hobby, which I have nothing against, and the traditional builders hobby, which has been completely obscured by the former. The manufacturers, retailers and suppliers, our hobby, has to stay afloat somehow, and that won't be through AAA grade balsa and Ambroid.
Posted on: 6/16/2012 2:38 PM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11120424

RE: The best maiden I've ever had!!!!
Amazing! Thanks for the great story and pictures. [:D] Graeme
Posted on: 4/22/2012 4:17 PM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "Off Topic Forum - Planes/Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11052669

RE: flying close to small airport Police on the scene
Just because you can "legally" fly your model somewhere, doesn't mean it's safe. Sure, the circuit is flown at 1000 ft, but you've still got the 500 ft crosswind and base leg. A 100 ft difference between "legal" and the most busy part of the circuit for a pilot is just too close. Not all aircraft are going to be flying in same sized pattern, either. A plane like the ones you are flying are just not suitable for a populated location. I'd suggest you take the long drive and not risk causing a potentially fatal accident.
Posted on: 4/21/2012 10:29 AM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "AMA Discussions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11051116

RE: Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
Could it be the Jet Provost, based on the piston engined Percival Provost?
Posted on: 4/10/2012 3:23 PM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11036644

Bad News...
Accident in Dartford Heath, Kent. Hopefuly the cause can be determined and this sort of thing can be prevented from happening again. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-177139/Teenager-killed-hit-model-plane.html My prayers are with her family.
Posted on: 4/9/2012 3:33 PM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "Questions and Answers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11034998

RE: Gotta love the Chinese Copy Factories....
Absolutely awesome. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery... At least if you wreck your custom painted model, you can go get an exact replica? [;)]
Posted on: 4/8/2012 12:19 PM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11033312

RE: Vintage Sig R-C Sport Build Thread
Hey again, Sorry for the apparent week between posts, but I have now gotten the model into a true "ARTF" stage...Long story short, I ended up using the Ultracote on the foam wing and it turned out quite well. Naturally, it still looks a bit "beaded" up close, but far cleaner than I expected. No wrinkles have shown up since then either, so I'd say it was a success! Another thing that surprised me was the weight of the components. Doesn't seem to be that much heavier than an all balsa model when jury-rigged together. Next up will be ordering the engine/electric motor/turbine/mousewheel, depending on my mood towards power setups on smaller models on that given day... Radio equipment will be without a doubt cheap, cheerful and Chinese, but it's all the same anyways. I'd love to put a rudder only setup or galloping ghost, but for now, I wouldn't want to risk such a pretty and purple model. Maybe later? Progress is still kind of slow, but to be honest, the model sat in a box for 50 years anyways, so the last month or so was a rocket-cheetah powered rickshaw at mach 7 in comparison... or something like that... Sorry about the quality of the photos. I'd love to pick up a Hasselblad from my local Canadian Tire or Walmart but they were out of stock.
Posted on: 4/6/2012 5:38 PM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11031259

RE: Vintage Sig R-C Sport Build Thread
Well the efforts from last night have left me with both a nicely covered fuselage and horizontal stabiliser. So no fireballs or covering stuck to the floor, then! Tonight I'm going to finish off the nose area - it needs some more black - and the rudder, elevator halves and vertical stabiliser. As soon as I'm done that, I'm officially at the ARTF stage, and will focus on getting an engine and the landing gear installed.
Posted on: 3/27/2012 1:36 PM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11017327

RE: Vintage Sig R-C Sport Build Thread
Well these are the covering templates I've drawn up (read: hastily scribbled out in the past 5 minutes) to represent the black trim over the lavender (stop laughing...) base colour. It's a sort of an early 1960's sport model scheme - we'll see how it works out!
Posted on: 3/26/2012 4:41 PM by Author "GraemeEllis" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11016170