RE: 70th Anniversary of the dambusters raid
Hi Alan, I have just finish watching the Sunset Parade live from Scampton. Les Munro and Johnny Johnson, the last two surviving crew of the 133 that set out that night in 19 Lancasters. The daughter of Barnes Wallis was there too. I came accross the book "The Dambusters" by Paul Brickhill as a boy, in my school library. I bagan reading it assuming that it was a work of fiction. So audacious was the plot I found the narrative pointing to this being a real, historical event, to be incredible and had to ask my history teacher if it was so. Now more than half a century after I first read that book, the plot still seems incredible, and were it not true, one could be forgiven for declaring it unbelievable. But it happened, and it marked a turning point in the war. After this point the news for Britain and the allies was invariably good. If you are a wardbird fan and you have not read this book, this is a must read. BTW Alan, my dad also worked on Lancs, although in Yorkshire not Lincolnshire, hence I am a Yorkshireman. Ares Moi Le Deluge. John
Posted on: 5/16/2013 12:12 PM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11513396

RE: F-15 Jam
Nice![:D] Thanks for sharing.
Posted on: 9/10/2012 11:58 PM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11224664

RE: Jetpower 2012
Well the northern contingent will leave Leeds Bradford airport on Friday evening and fly to Dusseldorf. Its about a 90 minute drive from there. This must be our sixth or seventh year. We wouldn't miss it.
Posted on: 8/29/2012 12:44 AM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11209947

RE: My New Airworld MB339
That is really, really nice Mark.
Posted on: 8/28/2012 11:25 AM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11209199

RE: NEIL ARMSTRONG RIP
I just love what the family said about how to remember this modest, understated guy. Next time I see the moon, I'll give him a wink. I wonder if there will be a state funeral for him? Neil would not have wanted it from what I have learned of him, and I doubt that his family will either. However, I can't think of a better candidate for this honour. RIP Neil. You inspired a whole generation.
Posted on: 8/27/2012 7:00 AM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11207467

RE: Wow Vulcan low passes from above perspective - VID
By The time I got to Marham in the early 70's I am pretty sure they were all mark 2 Victors. One of the best things about that camp was sitting at the back of a lecture given by the OCU instructors to new Lightning pilots on how to tank off the Victors. Fascinating stuff, but we wandered out mixed with these lads of 19, who where shaking heads and seemed quite sure that what they had just been told was impossible. Of course Lightning pilots became dab hands at tanking, they certainly got enough practice. Back to the Vulcan and that camp at Scampton, one lightler moment that has come to mind was practicing for the dreaded camp drill competion. This particular morning we were be taken for practice by a couple of RAF Regiment NCO's (a right bundle of laugh's). So they marched us down to one corner of the peri track as several Vulcans started up and began to roll. They then stood us at open order on the grass, and told us eyes forward or else. Then they seemed to disappear. We didn't care as we were fianlly going to get close to some Vulcans, as they turned the corner towards the runway. Of course as they turned we were directly behind them, and as they gave her a little throttle to get her moving we were just blown off our feet. The NCO's then appeared as if by magic to prove they did have a sense of humour after all. They thought it was hilarious. I am quite sure that a few of the smaller cadets were never seen again.[:D]
Posted on: 8/19/2012 9:15 AM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11198652

RE: Wow Vulcan low passes from above perspective - VID
Oh Yes, I know about the B29's. They were based at Elvington which is were we now fly. We benefit from a 2 mile long runway, and a hardstanding or PAN that is .6 of a mile by .4 of a mile. We never need to worry about a crosswind if we fly on the PAN. I don't think that the B29's were in service with the RAF for long, as by then they would have been obsolete, in the age of jet fighters. The American experience with the B29 bears this out, and if it were not for the F86's the B29 would have been decimated. The RAF would have faced MIG15's flown by Easter European and Russian pilots. These would have been much more formidable than the North Korean pilots I suspect. John
Posted on: 8/19/2012 5:36 AM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11198513

RE: Wow Vulcan low passes from above perspective - VID
Hi David, You obviously have the advantage over me as I did not ever fly a V bomber. My information comes from two sources, books and other V bomber pilots. In books I have read on the subject I learned that the first British nuclear weapons were tested by being released from Canberra bombers. They may have been specially adapted for this operation, but clearly they were not the answer for Britain's future strategic nuclear bomber force. However, unless the authors were mistaken then the Canberra was by definition the first British aircrft to be armed with a nuclear weapon. As for the attack profile, I got this information from a Vulcan pilot during camp at RAF Scampton. I guess I was an impressionable 16 year old space cadet. My squadron was at annual camp there. Perhaps this particular pilot (who was not that much older than us) was exagerating to impress us, but we were in the company of a whole group of Vulcan crew, and none of then contradicted him. Perhaps this was a standard "tall tale". Scampton was our most eargerly anticipated camp, and the most disapointing in reality. The security, not surprisibgly was extremely high and we spent very little time with the Vulcan squadrons (which was the only thing we wanted to do). My memory of the place is a rather grim reality of preparing for nuclear war. Marham the following year with the Victor K2 tankers was much more fun, and we got to spend lots of time with 55 (I think) and 57 squadrons plus the OCU. John
Posted on: 8/19/2012 2:22 AM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11198435

RE: Graupner MC-32
I handled one but even with the short sticks I could not get my hands around it. Also I could not reach some of the switches on the shoulders. I liked the bult in strap hanger system but this is definatly one for the finger and thumbs brigade. I currently fly a Multiplex 4000, which is a tray style Tx and have no problems with this (other than it's 15 years old and nothing lasts forever!)
Posted on: 8/18/2012 3:26 AM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11197595

RE: Wow Vulcan low passes from above perspective - VID
A few shots from RAF Waddington 2008.
Posted on: 8/18/2012 2:35 AM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11197582

RE: Wow Vulcan low passes from above perspective - VID
Well the first RAF Nuclear armed bomber was the Canberra. However a long range strategic bomber was needed to counter the growing Soviet threat. Three companies all came up with offerings. These all went into service. The first was the Vickers Valient, and later came the Avro Vulcan and Handley Page Victor. Once Gary Powers was shot down the days of the high level attack profile were over, so the RAF switched to low level penetration attacks. The Valiant was not up to this as the wing spars were too weak. Both the Vulcan and the elagant Victor were quite capable of this attack profile, which would often be terminated in a 45 degree pitch up to toss the bomb the last 30 miles onto the target, with the bomber continuing until inverted, rolling out and diving back to the deck to escape the blast. Sadly we will never see a Victor fly again, but we can at least enjoy the Vulcan.
Posted on: 8/17/2012 3:44 PM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11197219

RE: Wow Vulcan low passes from above perspective - VID
I was lucky enough to be at RAF Waddington a few years ago when they returned this particular Vulcan to the skies. I was never at an airshow like this one. The emotional tension in the build up to the take off was palpable, and the cheer from the crowd was deafening. I wish I had been at Beachy head to see it, but last year we had a private airshow at Elvington. Quite amazing as it cruised overhead at 200 feet. The airfeild is the home to the Yorkshire air museum and during WW11, it was home to Canadian and Free French bomber squadrons. The occasion was a memorial to the fallen in that campaign and the Vulcan was there to salute them. Nice as it is, this aircraft is nursed through it's routine in order to preserve it as long as possible. It in no way represents the Vulcans performance in RAF service, which put many fighters of the day to shame. Everybody stops when a Vulcan flies over. Bl**dy marvelous[8D]
Posted on: 8/17/2012 12:19 PM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11197066

RE: New Wren turbines 140 and 180
Ron hasn't told them yet![:D]
Posted on: 8/10/2012 7:02 AM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11188083

RE: Powerbox iGyro
This is interesting. I fly jets regularly in quite high winds. There is little choice living in the UK. In certain wind directions we suffer quite severe turbulence in strong winds, due to trees on the upwind boundary. I tend to keep certain scale jets on the ground in these conditions, as they can be tricky to land when it is blustery. The sad truth is that Shui or Ali would probably cope without batting an eylid, but being just a mortal pilot, I find it beyond my abilities. Anything that would sort this out for me is worth serious consideration. I would certainly like to see one in action in blustery conditions. John
Posted on: 8/5/2012 3:18 AM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11181407

RE: IB...Trouser Activity detected in the South!
Great choice Dick. That is going to look mean all bombed up. I think you are right to paint it yourself too. Can't complain about FEJ paintwork too much, but all these ARF's look a bit "sterile".
Posted on: 8/4/2012 5:58 AM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11180566

RE: Powerbox iGyro
More to the point, how does it handle the signicant differences in ground speed, for a given airspeed on a windy day?
Posted on: 8/4/2012 5:53 AM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11180563

RE: Tam Jets Gear Fail Safe
Hi Todd, Will these work at voltages greater than 4.8volts? John
Posted on: 8/1/2012 12:35 PM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11177435

RE: Fly Eagle F-14 Build
I Know he used max inner flap travel. I can't remember if he used any crow at all though, but I think he did.
Posted on: 7/27/2012 2:23 AM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11170941

RE: Fly Eagle F-14 Build
I was chatting to Ali at the weekend about this. I have ordered the new honeycomb wing with the flaps split and slats. Ali's suggestion was max flap and a little aileron crow. He said the model he flew (in the US) was set up like this and was solid on the approach, If your flaps are split, you can experiment with different set ups. I intend to ensure that the inboard section of flap goes down as far as possible. I will start with Ali's suggested set up. Mark Hinton flew with this same set up too and it worked for him. Once dialled in I may experiment with a small amaount of positive flap on the out board and a large amount inboard. If it works (technically this is still a geoametrically washed out wing) it may reduce landing speed.
Posted on: 7/27/2012 12:02 AM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11170889

RE: Fire extinguishers.
Our club insist that every pilot has a Co2 extinguisher for dealing with start up issues, but we provide a few club ones too. However we have invested in a number of foam Ones and these perform really wel on fuel fire following a crash.. C02 doesn't really hack it with a fuel fire and if there is a breeze they are hopeless. Foam is a good investment for a club, and have them sat in a car wit the keys in the ignituion ready to go at a moments notice. John
Posted on: 7/23/2012 12:15 AM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11165374

RE: Elvington Jet meet
Oops, double post
Posted on: 7/22/2012 2:26 PM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11164732

RE: Elvington Jet meet
I just wanted to thank everyone who came along this weekend for their support. Some people travelled great distances, but the pre order for the good weather really paid off. I said at the beginning that the main thing was to have fun and I think we acheived that. Thanks also to all the club members who mucked in and did the donkey work, especailly Martin for doing all the organising. Its a shame we can't hold more of these, we would if the owners would let us. Thanks all and see you at next year's event. John
Posted on: 7/22/2012 1:37 PM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11164689

RE: Futaba S-Bus system
[quote]ORIGINAL: Xairflyer Ashlok connector Would be much better than mpx one as the pins are crimped, solder connections can break too easily. Would not favour the s bus system at all, yes might be nice one connection but also you are relying on one wire to run all your servos and with all the recent trend in jets for powerboxes, dual receivers/batteries etc to increase reliability, to me this is a step backwards in control reliability. If futaba were clever they would have designed the system with dual redundancy. Not 12 servos on one wire as they demonstrate on their YouTube video ! [/quote] Don't mean to be rude but this is BS. Firstly you have to crimp Aslok pins yourself. It is one thing doing this at an industrial level (and that stil yeilds failures), but when I have used these I have had someting like a 30% failure rate. I have used them sucessfully but after quite a steep learning curve. I aslo found them to be delicate and in need of further support for the cables. With this done I am happy with the result. Conversly soldering requires a certan degree of skill from the outset, but asuming that the builder has that, putting the MPX type plug together is far easier than the Ashlok, by a country mile. Soldering confers improved electrical conductivity on the joint. As everyone know s the Achilles heel of a solder joint is cable flexing, leading to fracture of the conductor, but this can easily be solved by supporting the conductors. Several layers of heatshrink are a starting point and conductors canbe tied down so that there is no flex present. Problem solved. I fix these items permanently into the wing and fuselage roots of all my models. They mate automatically. They cause zero problems . In 45 years I never had a solder joint that I made fail. I lost a jet because of a crappy £3 JR crimped connector. My advice, learn to solder and get the right eqiuipment.
Posted on: 7/14/2012 11:51 PM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11155709

RE: Has the extreme Heat stopped your flying
Well we are going on vacation tomorrow,....... on a boat. Only logical choice...[8|]
Posted on: 7/6/2012 12:13 PM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11145528

RE: Lipo Fire in Workshop
Doesn't anyone use fire proof sacks? I always charge my LiPo's in one of these.
Posted on: 6/28/2012 10:14 AM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11135170

RE: 6 Engine Arado 555 flies!
Yet another fantastic job John and well flown Dave. Is there no stopping this team? I look forward to seeing it fly sometime soon.
Posted on: 5/28/2012 12:23 PM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11097527

RE: panther or cougar?
Jets have swept wings! [:D]
Posted on: 5/18/2012 3:29 AM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11085393

RE: 'KEROSENE OVER WITTERING' APRIL 28/29 2012
Only in Britain could we have a monsoon in the middle of a drought[8|] Bad luck fellas. See you at Wyton.
Posted on: 4/29/2012 6:14 AM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11061052

RE: 'KEROSENE OVER WITTERING' APRIL 28/29 2012
Ian I should watch yer van mate. Some dodgy looking characers eying it up in picture number 3. I am sure I have seen those faces on crimewatch. John
Posted on: 4/29/2012 12:47 AM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11060860

RE: Help with retract UC for new model
Iwould assume that you cannot turn off the twist. It is almost certinly gear driven to twist the leg as the wheel retracts. John
Posted on: 4/29/2012 12:34 AM by Author "JohnMac" in the forum "RC Gliders, Sailplanes and Slope Soaring"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11060856