Still here, and still alive....

Hi NEW222,
I am not letting the new Maac rules get me down. (pun intended! )
Very hard on the fantastic clubs, event organizers, etcetera, it is a damn shame.
I have faith, things will work out.
On the plus side,
400 ft altitude is high on 3ft wingspans.
Perhaps good for S.M.A.L.L planes?
I have a 100% not going to jail reputation, running Cox engines in urban parks here. (+50yrs)
The Cops think it is cool.
I do fly safe, everyone has fun. That is the point.
I figure,
I do not know,
But will have fun,
Finding out,
Dave
P.S. I would like flying with you balogh !

HalfaDave wrote:...
P.S. I would like flying with you balogh !

Thanks, Dave, same sentiments here...I am a loner, my club association is only good for having the general liability insurance, otherwise the other old farts here fly antique,  free-flight and sail planes and are ear-sensitive to the COX music.., so I break laws alone..

I am seriously considering to take my smallest plane, the Lil Sppe-Dee, with myself on my next visit to North Americe (including Canada that I have never visited so far), and fly once together with you CEF guys.

Years back I visited Sig Skyray ( a CEF member not heard of here, already for several years) in Florida, where he and his son flew a COX CL plane with me witnessing, and spilling the bean a little while...

Hi balogh,
I would hesitate visitating Canada, (It is nice!)
Until we can get fresh %15+Nitro fuel.
Electrics, are just not the same.
Would be nice to meet you,
Take care,
Have fun,
Dave

Darn Chancey I hope you and your new to U car work out , I am rather small in frame but been in a few wrecks in my life in small cars and it is not Nice ! My 2004 1500 Hemi has that same addition of sucking fuel ! But i love the size It just makes me feel better ,, About the fling Good for you and Andres for passing the test for getting your planes in the air per Government license, What kind of fines do they have for breaking the rules anyWho

If my conversions are correct then fuel is 60% cheaper there then its here,
local price here is €1.62 / liter.
My 22 year old car only does about up to 15 km/L (or about 35 miles for a gallon) making my fuel cost about €0.15 / km or €0.24 /mile ($.25/mil)

Keep in mind my car is old and build in a then socialist state (former eastblock) so current cars do better.

Hi Chancey! Good to hear from you!! Best of luck with the new Hyundai. It'll be a LOT cheaper to operate than that old Ram; not to mention safer.

cmulder wrote:If my conversions are correct then fuel is 60% cheaper there then its here,
local price here is €1.62 / liter.
My 22 year old car only does about up to 15 km/L  (or about 35 miles for a gallon) making my fuel cost about €0.15 / km or  €0.24 /mile ($.25/mil)

Keep in mind my car is old and build in a then socialist state (former eastblock) so current cars do better.

Hey cmulder, what 22 years old car was made in a socialist country in Easter Europe? We Hungary and most of the former socialist countries jumped the Iron curtain back in 1989-90...I.e more than 32 years ago

When a country maintains a government funded healtcare system and education, a state funded pension system and other forms of social securety then that is a socialist country.
Besides belarus most eastblock countries would have this just like the scandinavian and nordic.
Comunism (Karl Marx style) is a more extreme form.
The name of the countries did not always reflect there actions.. the DDR comes to mind on that subject.

Then I am really relieved, we are no longer categorized as socialist...our crooked government is not fuding healthcare and education, but openly embezzles the funds I as taxpayer give them...

Hey Chancey! I imagine that you must have been spending at least a little time in the workshop during your hiatus. Oftentimes we as modelers find solace there.. sheltered; even if only for a little while. It helps to find some equilibrium.

Hi All,
I agree 2000cc are cheaper on an empty load. (half the time )
Easy Math.
Like running a single port Cox cyl... to the ground. ( almost tripple point pun score ! )
If you can't have fun,
It ain't a hobby,
Take care,
Have fun,
Dave

cmulder wrote:When a country maintains a government funded healtcare system and education, a state funded pension system and other forms of social securety then that is a socialist country.
Besides belarus most eastblock countries would have this just like the scandinavian and nordic.
Comunism (Karl Marx style) is a more extreme form.
The name of the countries did not always reflect there actions.. the DDR comes to mind on that subject.
 

Australia has all of those Govt funded things and I am glad it does. I believe Britain/England also has all of those things. So I guess that makes us Socialist countries in some peoples eyes

@getback I do not know how much fines are or would be, as I did not really look into it. But as said, I will be flying, and hopefully sooner rather than later once the snow melts.

@roddie Sorry, but I have not done anything in the hobby room this winter at all honestly. Was going to start a free flight kit, but hadn't. Just been a very lazy winter here. Nothing currently needs repairing, and I have a couple planes to install engines onto, but want to bench run them first prior to installation.

Yabby wrote:Australia has all of those Govt funded things and I am glad it does. I believe Britain/England also has all of those things. So I guess that makes us Socialist countries in some peoples eyes

The base idea of social-ism is supporting eachother. In general people who live in those countries are happier then average.

The fine is $1000. I doubt there will be cops at the flying fields, but the whole reason for this is to blame/find the operator in case there is some damage to a full size plane. I would need at least 20 planes registered, so there is $100. What bothers me is the record keeping for maintenance. Luckily control line is still exempt otherwise it would be another$100+. A scary thing is that we must have the guide/manual readily on hand. Another $1000. Who carries the manual in the van for every transmitter, or even has the manual? I will put off my license for a while till I see if there are more changes and see if my RC field is still open. Some fields will be lost, and some members will just say never mind and then the clubs will not be financially viable.

aspeed wrote:The fine is $1000.  I doubt there will be cops at the flying fields, but the whole reason for this is to blame/find the operator in case there is some damage to a full size plane.  I would need at least 20 planes registered, so there is $100.  What bothers me is the record keeping for maintenance.  Luckily control line is still exempt otherwise it would be another$100+.  A scary thing is that we must have the guide/manual readily on hand. Another $1000.  Who carries the manual in the van for every transmitter, or even has the manual? I will put off my license for a while till I see if there are more changes and see if my RC field is still open.  Some fields will be lost, and some members will just say never mind and then the clubs will not be financially viable.

From a selfish point of view, what worries me about this is not only how wrong it seems from a civil rights point of view, but its the sort of thing that Oz just loves to do and copy because they claim xyz do it and it is therefore worlds best practice! I fly in the rural/outback country areas and fly on my own and have never been in a club as there are none where I am. I certainly hope this sort of thing isnt happening yet in Oz. But no doubt it will. As tech makes it easier and cheaper for people to do things like aero modelling the Govts wants to stop it. STEM used to be a big thing. Aero modelling is one of the best areas for teaching and encouraging STEM students and out future engineers in all fields of engineering. Be it Nitro, electric, rocket, rubber, whatever there is so much fundamanetal STEM to be learnt its rediculous. That on its own should be enough to stop such stupid laws but I understand fully its not and wont be. I really cant understand the sense behind it. I cant even understand the stupidity type thinking that could possibly drive it

It started a few years ago in the US because of the drone pilots, so they were the first. It is almost better just to get the license and sticker for each plane and not use MAAC or AMA or whatever. They have even more rules to follow, but come with insurance.I picked up a bunch of planes at a swap meet and started getting them ready, now I have to register them. I might have 80 planes if I dig around, and only a few are less than 250 grams, and they do not fly well outside.

The best way to get rid of these baseless regulations is to force the governments to apply them on manned aviation as well.
For example: fpv pilots must have a spotter to avoid "blind spots"
The reasoning is that the camera only shows what is ahead of the craft and not besides, below or above.
Full size aircraft have blind spots too.
Wings and other structures block the view below, above and behind the aircraft.
So a lawsuit should be filed that based on the dangers claimed with flying drones, full size aircraft must have ground based spotters too and banned flying outside visual range.
Blancolerio posted several reports of 2 planes colliding because they failed to have spotters and people died as a result.

Shut down some airports and people will start questioning these rules.

cmulder wrote:If my conversions are correct then fuel is 60% cheaper there then its here,
local price here is €1.62 / liter.
My 22 year old car only does about up to 15 km/L (or about 35 miles for a gallon) making my fuel cost about €0.15 / km or €0.24 /mile ($.25/mil)

Keep in mind my car is old and build in a then socialist state (former eastblock) so current cars do better.

How on earth does a car that is 22 years old still exist and driveable? Look at this way, you may not have car payments, but I'm sure parts prices may be more expensive.

WKMBuckeyes wrote:
How on earth does a car that is 22 years old still exist and driveable? Look at this way, you may not have car payments, but I'm sure parts prices may be more expensive.

I drive my 37 year old 4x4 (1987) daily (if I do drive). Runs fine and parts are usually less expensive than new production.

Here in the USA > statement >> What is the special rule for model aircraft?
Fly under the special rule for Model Aircraft (Section 336)

Follow community-based safety guidelines and fly within the programming of a nationwide community-based organization, such as the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA). Fly a model aircraft under 55lbs. unless certified by the AMA. Never fly near other aircraft. Fines >> Class 1 misdemeanor: Fines of up to $5,000, and/or a jail sentence of up to 12 months.is the best answer I can come up with for fling over 400ft. and or no registration.

While not yet a "classic" there is a big enough group of people who enjoy them complete with online hobby club.
There is a mailorder company in the same town as the factory that has a large stock of the older parts.
Cost is reasonable my last order was for a full rebuild of the rear brake system (drums, shoes and springs), new rear axle bearings.
Also included was the engine coolant pump with intergrated engine mount, a valve cover gasket and the front strut (springs/ shock absorber) rubber mounts.

Including shipping this was about €300.-

When i removed the right side drum i saw the cyclinder was leaking a little so ordered a new pair localy for €50.-

With the help of a friend who is a car mechanic it took us about 4 hours to change the brakes and rubber mounts, most of that time was him teaching me how to do things.
If he did it without me slowing things down it would have been about two hours....

Besides the normal car maintenance tools like axle stands that i already own the only "special" tool was a "spring compressor" clamp that allouws for the fromt strut to be taken apart.
My friend has one and brought it with him

If you do not mind (or even enjoy) maintaining your car yourself then a car can last a long time

In the 10 years that i own this car the average maintenance cost has been below €300 a year.

One reason that my cost are quite low is that i rarely pay for labor.
For exampe my previous tires where (part of) the payment from a small tire company in exange for rebuilding the controll box of there car lift that had failed.
It was a older model and the company that made the lift claimed parts where not avaiable anymore and tried to sell a whole new car lift instead.
I tool that box home, took it apart, cleaned years of oil and dirt off all parts, Found out that the push buttons where common parts that are still avaiable so changed all of those, did the same with all the relays inside. Total parts cost must have been about €50 and about 3 hours of work spread over a few evenings.

For a other mechanic i replaced a broken cable on a engine diagnostic interface and he changed my clutch for just the cost of the part (€100).

The car itself was given for free by my mechanic friend. It had not been used for a few years and was verry dirty both outside and mold on the inside. He has thinking about scrapping it and asked me if i would enjoy fixing it.
He dropped it off at my house on a trailer and i spend a few weeks removing the full interior and washing every part.
Once cleaned changed normal maitenance items like the oil and battery.

The parts changed over the 10 years are font brake disks/pads, front and rear wheel bearings, rear brakes, botum and gearbox side engine mount, tires twice by now , battery twice, altenator brushes and regulator unit. spark plugs, engine coolant twice, oil 3 times (i think) clutch, various light bulbs, gear shifter stick assembly, coolant thermostat, cooling fan thermostat and cable loom.
Most of those parts i changed myself

Sure it takes a person who does enjoy fixing mechanial things and does not mind dirty hands but most times its just follow instructions of the workshop manuals.

All these years my car never let me down so am planning to keep it going for atleast another decade.

^^Inflation here is so bad so car parts are going up daily. The alternator needed fixed on the Chrysler amd it took a month to get the part in. Local mechanic charged one price for it but by the time the part came in, it had went up $100. Brakes needed replaced and was charged almost $60 more. Called to talk and see why we was being quoted a totally different amount than day before. Maybe it's time to go YouTube and Google how to do some things.

It's pretty bad here in the states, groceries go up all the time at the store, bills are higher, my wife is back in college for Criminology full time, works as a Pharmacy Tech on the weekends and we get no help cause my parents had to move in with us because of their health problems, which I think is driving my wife bonkers. It feels like it's never gonna get any better.