Beware of cheap connectors

I used this connector in my Fascination 15 and after a slight 'incident', found that that it slipped over the thread on the pushrod. May well have contributed to the crash. Use good quality connectors even in fairly small models.

Fascination 15 meet the ground

Ground meet Fascination (ha ha) Well we had a little incident with this model; slight damage as it appeared to spin in.

Fascination 15

I "completed" (ok assembled) a new model called a Fascination 15 which apparently was designed around a .15 cu in IC motor. I decided to power it via AC electrickry. I had a Turnigy 3530 brushless engine so I put that in it. Had to include 1.5 oz of lead to get it to balance for first test flights. Test flew it yesterday and it flys well. It has a really good roll rate. I need some expo in roll. Used

a 2200mAh LiPo battery. Might need to put bigger wheels on for our field.

Hobbyking ASW28 EPP (2M) Foam wing servo replacement

Well my Hobbyking ASW28 has probably had about 40-50 flights and as the servos are 'no name', I have decided to replace the wing servos with 9g blue Hobbyking servos. I haven't had any problems with the existing servos but the 9g blue ones are pretty cheap and should be better than the existing ones so I decided to give it a go. They are glued in place so have to be cut out. The servos are inside the fuselage when the model is assembled so as long as they are security mounted the look doesn't matter too much (as long as they are mounted properly). I saw a Youtube video where someone moved the servo out on the wing but I won't get carried away like that. Anyway, its nice having no horn showing with the current installation.

Having cut out the servo...

The existing 'no name' servo.

New servo ready for mounting.


Well after the first flights I was a bit disappointed in the roll rate. I thought the HTX900 servos appeared more responsive than the no name servos and therefore expected slightly better control but no. I've decided to mix in some rudder to improve control a bit.

Hobbyking ASW28 (2M) mods

I decided to replace the elevator servo with a HXT900 servo as I wasn't sure how long the supplied servos would last. So I cut it out and replaced it. No issues and I could check the servo arm (which are cheap!). The servos are glued in place and don't present a problem cutting them out. I don't tend to fly with the rudder servo so I have left it in place. I find you don't need rudder to do (sort of) good turns with the model.

Veco Thunderbird kit

Well you never will guess what I picked up at the annual club auction the other night... yeah ok, I gave the game away with the title of this blog. A Veco Thunderbird kit (control line of course). Its what I understand is the Mark II which is the inverted engine. I haven't gone through the kit yet but I hope its all there.

Parkzone P51D BNF engine upgrade

I had an "incident" with my P51D and bent the shaft of the engine so I have replaced it with another. Well I test flew it today and boy, does it go. It will climb vertically and just keep on going. I love climbing to about 300ft and then powering off and and gliding and doing aerobatics. Its fun!!

Note that I have used 3mm bolts as spacers to get the motor forward.