Model Flying in Meath/ Louth areas

EIN

hi does anyone know of any model flying clubs round the drogheda area?
or east meath?


thanks:eek:

coolwings

Sure ... flying goes on at .... AFAIK
Trim, Longwood, Gormanstown, Ardee, Laytown/Bettystown, Howth Head, Swords, Dundalk.

To put u in the loop: Usual system is u get a referral and personal introduction to club/instructor by the shop that sells the model, so as to ensure a suitable place for the type of model u got. Also ensures that the instructors who (being nice guys) teach for free, don't get abused by prats who learn & leave, and idiots who show up with toys unsuitable for flying.

Two flying sites in this area are by invitation only-limited members , one is sponsored ... permission conditional on u bot the plane from the shop who sponsors/rents the flying site.

Another has limited runway ... assumes use of specific type of model plane, eg heli, capable of landing there.... don't want planes.

Couple are free ... no club ... just a place fliers know to go when the wind is right, like surfers showing up at the beach where/when the waves are right.

So what have u got? Where do u live (approx)? Can u fly? Is it your 1st model? Do u need an instructor?

FYI There is a body called MACI that has club links. Look in the sticky General thread at top of this forum.

EIN

hi there well the model i have is an Hobbico Nexstar 46 model , about 69inch wingspan with an OS 46 Fxi engine.. loads of power...

the plane is fitted with flaps/spoliers to slow things down a little..


i had built a few models going a few years ago...but never really mastered flying them... had a few crash and burns......

neways,, i contacted maci,, waiting to hear back from them.. do you have any contacts for the club in laytown and bettystown?

the plane came with a simulator and i have flown a few hours on it..

you mention "Couple are free ... no club ... just a place fliers know to go when the wind is right, like surfers showing up at the beach where/when the waves are right". can you tell me where this location is?

many thanks

im based in Drogheda..

coolwings

EIN wrote:

i had built a few models going a few years ago...but never really mastered flying them... had a few crash and burns........

If they were glowfuel trainers, I'm not surprised. Without an instructor, expected lifetime is probably 12-30 seconds for that sort of plane.

EIN wrote:

i contacted maci,, waiting to hear back from them.

Good second starting point. IMHO

EIN wrote:

...do you have any contacts for the club in laytown and bettystown?

No a club there. That is one of the places local slope soarers go from time to time. Soaring with sailplane soarers, and electric soarers behind the beach. However on one occasion I saw one of them fly a glow plane from the beach while tide was out...

EIN wrote:

...the plane came with a simulator and i have flown a few hours on it..

A help surely, but not a substitute for an instructor beside you who takes your radio and saves your plane when you lose it and have seconds left .... then hands it back to you with all ok and the rest of the flight left to do.

EIN wrote:

...you mention "Couple are free ... no club ... just a place fliers know to go when the wind is right... can you tell me where this location is?..

That would be all the headlands along the coastline. eg Howth, Dalkey, Bray Head, Wicklow Head. Slope soarers have soared from most of these places when the wind would be too strong for flying from the club fields with engine planes. (the average Irish day in other words ! )
Different design of plane from what u have got tho. That would be with flying wings and such like which can land on a spot.
Nearest slope to you would be Clogher Head, which is reputed to be brilliant. I haven't flown there yet. Something I can look forward to. Another slope is near Collon. These places would be free, but not suitable for planes with wheels, or planes that can't penetrate a wind.
For soaring type flying in free places check out my gallery & pics page here...
http://uk.geocities.com/norm_flyer/index.htm

EIN wrote:

...based in Drogheda..

You would best go via MACI to the Dundalk club not far from you. They fly similar engine planes to what you've bought.
Also, A couple of years ago there were some glowfuel club type planes being flown off a place on the south side of the Boyne estuary by modellers in Drogheda. That is as much info as I have about this spot , but it would put them near the Mornington Road. If they are still flying there, an enquiry among locals "where do (or did) they fly the planes?" would soon preduce the exact location.
Hope this helps.

EIN

hi i have checked the frequency of the radio gear,.. with the transmiter i got a sticker ch 40 and it mentions 72 or so mhz..

is there a problem using this in ireland? and if so can i change the crystals??

thanks

coolwings

This came up before....

helpdogscat wrote:

just checked the remote controller, it says its a channel-40 72.590 mhz, is that ok ?

Have a look at here for replies ....
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=2159958&postcount=8

Another post on the same subject is here ....
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=2158079&postcount=2

If you fly with that gear, you can have no idea when a legitimate user of 72FM might switch on in your area jamming your signal. If it is over someone (or just something like a car, house, etc) at the time, it's coming down, hard and fast. You could lose more than just a plane.

You can try at the club, but I cannot imagine them taking on such a risk. I suggest you try contacting a reputable Irish hobbyshop and tell them what has happened. They might offer you a deal on a "transmitter, receiver and 35FM crystals" since everything else you have should be ok. Good shops will have solved this problem many times before.

EIN

is it possible to change the crystals out? they seem like they are removable?

is it an option to remove the crystals and put in the correct ones?

coolwings

The xtals will change your channel, but still leave you on the 72 FM band.

eg you might go from ch 40 to ch 42 xtals.
that would be moving you from eg 72.010mhz to 72.020 mhz, but you are still on 72FM.

If you disregard the warranty/instructions and you put a 35FM xtal into a 72FM apparatus, it will not work properly, if at all. The tolerance of such equipment is no more than 3mhz +/- at most, and that would be at a suignificant loss of signal strength, range, and noise introduced.
They are not in the least bit related, since 72FM is twice the frequency of 35FM.

EIN

the manual of my radio equipment states that it can receive and tx on 72 35 and a variety of other channels

coolwings

Two possibilities here....
A you have a printed booklet that is put in with the radios at the factory, and the same book goes into the different radio types. In other words, it can do either 35 or 72 or 40 FM, but only one of those.

B You have a computer radio, (6+ channels with a data screen) that has a removeably transmitter module in the back. My 12 channel Graupner-JR MC-24 has this. This is for people who go from country to country, and they just buy a new module to convert the transmitter to the new country legal frequencies. Only the higher cost/level gear has this feature which would be obvious by the fact that the xtal pushes into a cartridge which is removeable from the transmitter case.
Converting this sort of radio from 72/40/whatever to 35FM takes maybe 15 - 30 seconds.

In a simple analog radio, the xtal pushes into a hole in the transmitter case itself, directly into the circuit board. Converting analog radios is electronicaly simple, but only for the electronic technician, or radio ham. BTW I reckon the warranty would be invalidated with such alteration.