donnyman

Flyer

Are you using the OPERA browser?? I have it on my system but it does not afford me the ability to post pics on this site.......... can you help?

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

Yes, I am using the OPERA browse but I haven't a clue why you can't post pics. It could be that strange on again off again site error or the speed of your internet.

Clean

Donnyman I switched TOO Opera to get picture posting capabilities here. and the buttons, are up above AND this picture, down below. I THINK, and don't go speaking outta school about this, but I THINK the problem here is it's following the old RCOnline curve. There's just not enough traffic to this site to make fixes and upgrades, worthwhile. It may have been a labor of love at one time, maybe even a money maker. But now I think it's just a labor. The Old RCOnline guy was out touring on motorcycles and had given up on model airplanes and web platforms altogether, if I remember right. I posted a "Will the last person to leave, turn out the lights post there" in the early 2000's. That place was kicking for a while, we had Reps from Tower and SIG on there. Speaking of which, my join date here was 2002 so right about then. NOW if you go to RCOnline its a We teach your kids how to become self learners. So even the sniff of RCOnline is gone including on the Internet Archive Wayback machine which shows Topics but not threads. That's ok, I got a little heady around then and made an ass of myself in the Combat forum. Ya I know, nothing new.

Clean

Dang, my PBF (Pizza Box Flyer, damn, the square piece of plastic with the mouse can muffler and the starburst behind my Flipper and my USS fuse and a HOR fuse looks about the same though it's in my garage and the tail fin has fallen off. 11 years ago in the other house. I need to fly more and talk less, except for that thing. I can't afford the amount of props THAT thing eats.

donnyman

I am on the Opera browser as I type this and it is some timey. I got the pic option for a short time and promptly lost it.

It is my feeling this site is on it's last leg which does not surprise me, with the costs of everything going up I have often wondered how sites of this nature survive. My fear is it will become a pay for play site which is a definite "no" "no" for me. the administers of these sites appear to hide from us, when communication could possibly be it's salvation (two heads is better than one) I do not have the answer but with all the people interacting we should be able to come up with a answer that will serve us all.

Hoping for the best for us all.

Clean

Have you considered TikTok? My daughter is using snap chat and because of that I got on to see the grandkids photos/vids etc. BUT of course, I get those and then a feed that's full of *****s looking for sugar daddies. Block all you want, the world is filled with them. She'll be on that for a bit then she'll go to another site. Then again, I think when I was her age I was on MySpace. There are Facebook pages with model airplanes that are active but those have problems and of course Zuckerberg wants to control ALL speach though we rarely talk about anything in model airplanes that he cares about. Still, I don't like to feed him money. I'm sure the advertisements on this page cover the cost of it but not enough to run interest in running it. Same ole Same ole.
Then again, remember when we used to have to talk through Magazines? several hundred thousand of us across just America and maybe 10-15 guys would get a comment in the section. Times, they are a changin, always.

Telemaster Sales UK

I don't generally "do" ARTFs, however, my club had bought a Kyosho Calmato Alpha as a low wing trainer for beginners and the committee decided to sell it as most of the beginners seemed to be happy with electric powered foamie models. I got it at a 35€ discount. I had never assembled a Calmato but I had had a few flights with other people's models albeit, the larger version of the model and I found them very pleasant to fly. Those who had flown both versions felt that smaller one was the nicer aircraft. It is intended for a 40-46 two stroke engine and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the firewall had built-in side thrust. Such attention to detail is impressive.



I generally prefer four stroke engines but I have a number of nice two strokes, including a new Irvine 53, a new OS 40 V and a very nice OS 61SF, all waiting for their turn to be installed in a model. For the Calmato I decided to use my beloved Enya 50 fitted with a genuine Enya Q silencer. This combination produces a very pleasing sound. One thing that I can't abide is the sound of a noisy two stroke. One of my former lady friends described them as "flying chainsaws!"



The assembly was pretty straight forward, the instructions consisting of a series of drawings with text in both English and Chinese. All of the parts provided in the kit were of good quality, metal clevises for the rudder, elevator and ailerons for example. The parts were also supplied in re-sealable plastic bags with all of the parts for the various parts of the model in their own dedicated little bags so that you don't get the bits mixed up. The push rods to the tail control slide through pre-fitted plastic tubes with very little friction. I have deviated from the kit instructions in only two respects. Instead of using the supplied fittings which clamp the servo to the pushrods, I have used z bends and I have given the tank bay a couple of coats of solvent based exterior varnish.



I still have to fit the tank, switch, battery and receiver and to carry out all of the pre-flight checks, but I will get that done this morning. I am organising an Open Mic Night tonight so I'm going to be rather busy this afternoon. I plan to fly the model tomorrow. My camera is "hors service" but I'll see if I can get someone else to photograph it. That said,here is a picture of what a Calmato looks like. Since Covid only the red colour scheme is available. There used to be a blue and a mauve option. I have attached a picture of my model lifted from the box art below.



I have been impressed by the quality of this kit. I trimmed out a few Kyosho trainers for beginners in the past; does anyone remember the pink ones? They flew very well and if this Calmato flies as well as they did, I'll be very pleased.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

Nice looking airplane!

Telemaster Sales UK

I have a problem is in getting the centre of gravity right. Even with a five cell rx battery up against the firewall, the model balances on the main landing gear at least 10mm too far to the rear. I found this quite surprising especially as I'm using an over-size engine, it also means that I cannot use the fuel tank which comes with the kit but a six ounce red SLEC tank will fit. However, according to Enya's official website, my engine at 315 grammes, is 63 grammes or 2.2 ounces lighter that the OS Max 46AX which is the engine of choice for this model amongst my clubmates.



I'm left with a number of choices:

1. Fit longer screws to the engine mount and bolt some lead to the underside of the mount.
2. Choose from an Irvine 53, an Irvine 46 or a Thunder Tiger 46 which are all languishing unemployed in my cupboard.

At 514 grammes the Irvine 53 is 99 grammes or 3.5 ozs heavier than the Enya. The Irvine 46 is 75 grammes or 2.7 ozs heavier than the Enya and the Thunder Tiger PRO is a whopping 150 grammes or 5.3 ozs heavier than the Enya.



Both of the 46s have seen service in the club trainer.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

Why not see how much weight you need to add to balance than swap engines accordingly?

Telemaster Sales UK

In the end I chose Option 1.



I found some lead amongst my souvenirs. One piece, weighing about 100 grammes already had two holes drilled into it. It must have been bolted below some other engine in some long dead airframe. So, out with the supplied M3 socket bolts, fit a couple of longer ones, thank you Model Fixings, two nuts to secure the engine to the mount and two more to fit the lead in place and now it balances. I will try the club's more sophisticated cg jig before flying this afternoon.