Starting this thread where you can share your Tips & tricks, Hints &  Shortcuts, that you have read, seen, practiced. Dont guard your secrets,  Please leave it for the community so that all can benefit from it. It could be very technical doesn't matter, someone will benefit. Include pictures diagrams if possible.

Labelling the servo arms

after you use one odd servo arms the rest goes into one box and some us overtime end up in a one big box of servo arms and dont know which arm belongs to which servo, and when we need it we are sifting through one big mess. easier way just staple in the servo identifier like the piece of the box in which the servo came in or the cover in which the servo was packed and sent

Using Sneakers as wheel chocks

Old sneakers could be used as wheel chocks especially when carting models to-fro field. prevents the aeroplane from moving around in your transport. could be used even at the field to prevent it from moving about due to propwash of other aeroplanes. Putting Left and right correctly adds to the aesthetics

Using Small Pin vise Drill bit in Dremel without a small enough collet

It is better have small medium and big collets for your Dremel, comes real handy. however if you don't have one, a small silicon tube insert would do just fine silicone tube holds the bit well and there is no danger of bit slipping. DO NOT forget wear protective gear

Cleaning Fuel Injector

If your gasser which was running well, started to kickback occasionally or has become critical on needle valve setting and has dropped some RPM,well, this could be a case of carbon buildup. Solution ?

Get yourself a Fuel Injector Cleaner , at fast idle trickle a few drops into the intake while proving the engine to full throttle as you do this. you will see definite improvement in the performance

PS
Not for Glow engines with fuel pump or that which has carb 'O' Rings

This one is practiced; Out of rubber bands for your trainer? use old car tyre tubes to make plenty of these. radially cut strips fit 40 sized trainers very well and one can adjust the pressure they exert on the wing and the dowel, by carefully selecting the width of the strip. And they are not affected by glow fuel exhaust like those imported rubber bands (which as per the manual should be cut and thrown away after every flying session)

Krill Models, one of the best and expensive ones, even in them people use 1.5 Ltr PET bottles as fuel and smoke tanks, here is the proof

old tv antennas - (yagi style) are a great source
for aluminium square and tube sections (cheap) most people will
give them away.


use a water level - water in a transparent tube for
getting a dead level - 100% accurate


use two bolts dropped into the blade holder for
setting zero pitch in helis - both the bolts should be parallel
to the main shaft at zero.

Plastic nut bolts for mounting wings to fuselage - useful for low wingers.

1. Get hold of seat hinges for european style toilets (picture 1) -  . Available from a hardware shop. about 70 Rs.
2. Cut them from the center where the two stubs meet, so the threaded bold is separated
3. Take off the big nut and cut it into two parts like in the image, so you get a thicker part and a thinner part
4. cut a slot on the head for your screwdriver to fit in (for tightening/loosening the screw)
5. The thinner part and the bolt can be used to hold the bolt inside the fuselage. Put n the wings and use the bigger nuts to hold in place.

Will post pictures on how these have been fitted in a fuselage soon

Here's how it looks

an aeromodellor can find use for anything incl toilet spares

Thanks Gusty This is an excellent Thread

ordinary paper clip trick to use for z bend push rods it fits the servo holes very nicely.

Hey, why forget to post control horn for foamy by Sim card extract.
And pushrod with 2000 watt heater wire in SPAD (wont rust and guide through flute).
This can also be used in foamy with paper tube guide spaced at distances also.

The same Sim card residue also used as nuts while fixing servos in CORO SPAD.

Edit
Dada ! Seam changed to Sim, with your permission

Packing colouring tape for making attractive.

Aluminium shirt hanger pieces for dihedral bends in spad, and other reinforcements with bend.

throw away foam pieces (even hawei chappal scrap) cut with bottle cover for wheel. though not very good looking but not ugly too.

A neat contraption for orientation of a quad (don't miss the double prop acting like a four bladed one, you could put a inter prop blind nut to keep props relative orientation in place)

The double prop idea is neat! But will it not cause vibration issues and/or drop in efficiency? Can we ca the two props together and then balance..if we do not have the blind nut?

Quote from: lastRites on December 04, 2012, 12:03:21 PM
But will it not cause vibration issues

If balanced well ? no

Quote from: lastRites on December 04, 2012, 12:03:21 PM
But will it not cause drop in efficiency?

Yes it will, now you will have to do some cost benefit analysis, use of high KV prop, use of high thrust/RPM prop (Four bladed has high thrust/RPM, therefore correction will be crisp) and inter motor prop clearance and drawing max out of the motor vis-a-vis drop in efficiency.

Quote from: lastRites on December 04, 2012, 12:03:21 PM
Can we ca the two props together and then balance

I guess the chance of props move off in their relative position thereby leading to vibration will exist. while for a smaller dia prop doable i guess

How To Repair a Fiberglass Engine Cowl

One does see a few boats on this forum. Though there is a proliferation of thermocole boat hulls, we rarely see the sheet hull versions. Virtually non existent are the classic plank on skeleton builds. In case you do happen to build one, especially if you build it from scratch, there may arise a situation where major gap filling exercises have to be carried out. IMHO, building this type of a composite hull (if I may call it that), is time consuming, trick, messy but infinitely more satisfying than any alternate method. It gives the boat much more substance and feel. Of course if you are looking at building something that is only fast and where scale or detsiling is really not of paramount importance, stay away from this process. There are much easier alternate methods of boat building floating around.

Here is a technique that I have been using with good results for filling gaps in between the strip planks:

Pic 1. The planks have been fixed to create the shape of the hull
Pic 2. Marine Fevicol is painted over the hull
Pic 3. Sprinkle sawdust evenly by shaking it through a strainer. Let it dry undisturbed for at least 6 hours
pic 4. After 6 hours tap/brush away the excess till you are left with this finish

Pic 5: After the first coat is dry, now dilute Marine Fevicol with water (50 - 50 is a good solution) and paint it over the sawdust coating.
Pic 6: Note the denser build up after 2 coats.
Pic 7: Looking much smoother now.
Pic 8: Compare this picture with Pic1, posted earlier.

I will repeat this process for a third time. Once the third coat of saw dust + Fevicol is dry, it will be time to seal it all in. To do that I will use a coat of Wembley's Quickfix diluted with NC Thinner and paint it over the sawdust coat. Once the Quickfix layer is dry (after 12 hours) it will be sanded down with emery paper. This entire sealing with Quickfix and Thinner will be done 3 times. Each layer being allowed to dry hard before sanding.

Hope this helps. I welcome your queries / comments.

An Alternative to oracover , monocote etc

Cellophane with 3M Super 77



Here, see this video
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsJm8d6Ek94

Tapping an engine for smoke

Preview, read the article