To every cloud there is a silver lining - or so they say. This week might not have had a silver lining but at least it wasn't paved with stone. The hand has begun to heal quite well and I can now at least type with both hands. On Thursday I even picked up a balsa knife - without dropping it I might add. The balsa plane is still banished to the back wall of the hanger - which is - I think - where I threw the bloody thing!
I've been a dedicated nitro man and a devotee of scratch building but I must admit to recently having a look at ARF's and even electric - when no one else is looking of course. A bloke I know from the Model Chat Forum - see the link at the top of this page - has just got a JetLegend ARF SU27 Flanker from China and it is a very impressive piece of kit. I'm an ex full size helicopter pilot (Iroquois) and so for my first tentative step to exploring the field of ARF I picked up a couple of small electric Heli's from a bloke I know. Second hand - and supposedly 3D but they'll do to muck around with. It will give me a chance to try both ARF and electric without blowing the budget. The standard model only has a can motor, plastic blades and a NiMh battery pack but the second model has an upgraded rotor head, carbon fibre rotor blades, a brush less motor with decent heat sinks and a LiPo battery. Should be interesting to see if there is a difference and how much performance gain, if any, over the standard model.
I haven't got back into building much yet but I've managed to do a bit more on the Senior Telemaster and some small jobs on the Lancaster. I've also been busy getting out my first newsletter for my club. Any locals who might want a look at it, just message me with your email address and I'll send you a copy which can be opened in MS Word or a similar reader. Oh - while I think of it - the club is holding a working bee at Taylor Field on Sunday 29th July and I'll post some picks of all those hard working volunteers. If any one who is visiting or living in Tasmania wants to turn up and help - you'd be most welcome. Once again - message me for the location. It's on Elderslie Road at Brighton.
I've taken some more photos of progress on the Telemaster, the Lancaster and the Phoenix as well as a final photo of the finished Float Plane - just taken them so check back in a day or so and with a bit of luck they should be on here. I'm also going to add a Gallery Page to the blog so you can have a quick look around at my past and present models.
Cheers.
I.C. engines and scratch building for ever!
